Everybody has had their heart broken, at least once. I’ve had my heart broken a few times, but I’d have to say the worst came with the discontinuation of my favorite M&M of all time, the pinnacle of candy-coated excellence known as Tan. Replaced by the snazzier, hipper Blue after a nationwide vote in 1995, Tan faded away into the dark realm of forgotten candy shells. Although my friends thought I was insane for thinking so, a bag of Tan-less M&M’s never quite tasted the same to me.
Still, I kept eating them, because I love M&M’s, and I will always love M&M’s; like any broken-hearted mess, I’d rather have Tan-less M&M’s than no M&M’s at all. I couldn’t help but feel, however, that there was a dark, empty space in my candy loving heart. Mostly, I wished I could just get excited about a bag of M&M’s again.
And then something marvelous happened: a bag of Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M’s found its way to my house. Oh, sweet sugar: Best. M&M’s. Ever.
I was a bit skeptical when I opened the bag: too often, dark chocolate products have a bitter taste that reeks of over-processing. Not so with the Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M. The chocolate is smooth and rich, and tastes even better against the sweet contrast of the candy shell. I actually went out and bought a bag of Milk Chocolate Peanut M&M’s, for comparison’s sake, and the two are quite similar but the Dark Chocolate wins out due to its richer, more-textured flavor. The Milk Chocolate Peanut M&M’s were good, but very sweet; the milk chocolate doesn’t balance off of the candy shell as well as the dark chocolate does.
The execution of this candy is perfect, from the balance of flavors to the purple packaging to the M&M Addams Family ad campaign. Something wonderful happens when you come across a really great candy: it makes you happy and excited, and it makes the whole day better. Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M’s are one of those candies for me, and that is why I am giving them the Candy Addict Awesomely Addictive Award.
After twelve years, I’m finally going to forgive M&M’s for discontinuing Tan. Yes, my beloved Tan may be gone forever, but I’m willing to imagine that there isn’t a dark empty space in my heart after all: it’s just a giant Peanut M&M, and it’s covered in Dark Chocolate.
Editor’s note: I couldn’t agree with Jamie more. The Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms are great! They remind me of the taste of fudge or brownies. Simply great. I wondered if I was the only one that thought they were so good and evidently, I’m not.
Tan was fondly refurred to “light brown” in my family. Semantics aside, I miss them sorely as well.
August 22nd, 2007 at 12:49 pmI thought that Peanut M&Ms could not be improved upon, but I was wrong. These are sooooo good.
October 27th, 2007 at 2:03 amI literally danced a small and silly jig when I saw these back in the stores. The plain are -okay-, but the peanut are fabulous.
Sadly, it looks like the only color close to tan is gold, and you’d have to order that online or find a store that does ColorWorks. How odd. I was excited when they did the vote and blue won. You can get purple and pink by themselves now, too, but blue still comes in the packages!
January 11th, 2008 at 5:18 amI will have to find these Dark Chocolate M&M’s and write my own review. I guess I’ll like them since I love Dark Chocolate and M&M’s.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:48 pmI just finished off a bag of these – the “tear-and-share” size, mind you – all by myself. They are wickedly good! I only eat peanut M&Ms, and against the dark chocolate, this candy gets my vote for permanent status as a staple on store shelves.
July 7th, 2008 at 3:10 amI had these once, but they tasted exactly the same as regular M&M’s. Sure they’re good, but nothing special.
October 14th, 2008 at 10:39 am