My friends and family were good to me this Christmas and, naturally, many of the exciting gifts I received were candy. Of all the various treats I was given, I was most intrigued by a tin from Peet’s. I’d never heard of Peet’s before, and was ready for some good eatin’ from the looks of the high-quality packaging. All four varieties in the one-pound tin looked and sounded tasty: Toffee Almond Crunch; Chocolate-Covered Cherries; Chocolate-Covered Blueberries; and Chocolate-Covered Cranberries. My only dilemma was deciding which candy to try first.
I decided to start with the Milk Chocolate-Covered Blueberries first, and they were excellent. They had a strong, naturally sweet, intense flavor, and I could tell without question that the dried fruit inside the candy was a blueberry.
I chose the cranberries next. I’ve never eaten Chocolate-Covered Cranberries before, and I expected them to be tart. Instead, they were a little too sweet, and the coating seemed distractingly waxy.
I went for the Toffee Almond Crunch third. I like toffee, but the generous filling inside the Peet’s chocolate was too salty and left a funny aftertaste in my mouth. I didn’t detect much almond while I was chewing, but there was a definite hint of almond mixed in the strange aftertaste. I really didn’t like the Toffee Almond Crunch at all, but a friend who shared the candy thought it was delicious.
I saved the Chocolate-Covered Cherries for last, mainly because they were so big and looked so good, and I wanted to make sure to end on a good note. They lived up to their looks. The dried fruit was very natural tasting, and the candy wasn’t too sweet or overwhelming.
When I searched for Peet’s stores, a map of their locations popped up and showed that they’re dotted sparingly across the U.S., and none are near me. The company clearly seems to focus on coffee – after all, their full name is Peet’s Coffee & Tea – but for a drink retailer, they make some pretty decent candy. My favorite chocolate-covered fruit is still far and away Marich’s Chocolate Strawberries, but the Peet’s gift was well-packaged and much appreciated.
Buy Peet’s Sweets Online:
- at Peets.com
mmm. i used to work at peet’s in berkeley when i was in college. the toffee almonds are really good. the selection you received are the most popular candies at peet’s. we would often set out bowls of them for sampling. you’re right–coffee and tea are their real specialties. the history of peet’s is very interesting–how it spawned starbucks and all…
January 3rd, 2008 at 4:23 amAlfred Peet recently died here in Oregon (in Ashland) in August of 2007.
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:33 amMy family and friends gave me NO candy. None! I get the feeling that they don’t want to enable my addiction (CANTSTOP-NAAA: Candy Addicts Not Too Strict Though Often Particular – Not At All Anonymous). Can your family adopt me, please?!
I did get some, ummm, interesting cookies, however, they were “interesting,” not good! Had to buy my own damn candy…but boy, I could totally go for those chocolate covered cherries and blueberries; I’ve had ‘em before…mmmm!
January 3rd, 2008 at 5:11 pmNormally don’t like choc covered dried fruit, so I will bypass these:)
January 4th, 2008 at 7:46 pm