Ah, Malibu, California. A land of endless summer, where twenty-seven miles of ancient rocky coastline collide with crystalline ocean. Where rock-hard beach boys and beautiful surfer girls ride the waves just moments away from hillside manors of the rich and famous. Home of elite equestrian clubs, five-star detox resorts… and fine, European-style chocolate.

If that last item came as a surprise to you, you’re not alone. Malibu is, after all, starlet territory, and as we all know the it-girls around these parts prefer to subsist on water, air and salad. Thus, it was through pure luck and coincidence that, on my way toward a non-candy related venture in Oxnard, I discovered the splendid K Chocolatier by Diane Kron.

Nestled into a tiny berth in an upscale shopping plaza, K didn’t immediately catch my attention. Yet, as it tends to, the word “Chocolatier” popped out at me as I walked by. Drawing closer, my eyes were drawn to an announcement beneath the store’s name: “As seen on the Food Network.” Chocolate? Featured on the Food Network, and called the “Rolls Royce of Chocolate” at that? I needed to investigate further, so in I strode.

Upon entry, it becomes clear K is no run-of-the-mill chocolate shop. While small in size, the space K does have is put to good use. Shelves are stocked with all manner of packaged goods; most wrapped in gold or silver paper or accentuated with sprightly threads of ribbon. Amid the chocolate and truffle variety boxes, I immediately noticed the Hungarian Drinking Chocolate. Sold in a clear canister, the curls of pure European chocolate look made for milk or a cup of strong coffee.

Within a few moments I was greeted by second-generation chocolatier Elie Kron, who explained a bit about the business’s history. “Our family has produced fine chocolates for over thirty years,” he revealed. “In 1974 my father, Tom Kron, popularized the chocolate-covered strawberry. It became Kron’s claim to fame.”

That was in New York City, which the Hungarian-American family called home during the reign of their renowned Kron Chocolatier shops. The Krons amassed an impressive list of customers including Jacqueline Kennedy and Andy Warhol. They sold their business in 1983, aiming to take some time off in order to raise their children.

Yet the family’s love for European-style chocolate ran deep, and refused to abandon them. “Mom is the vision behind all this,” explains Elie, gesturing around the shop. “Mom,” of course, refers to Diane Kron, from which this new store takes its name. The Malibu location is the second and smaller of Mrs. Kron’s stores; the first opened in Beverly Hills in 2000, “spearheaded by (Diane’s) vision.”

In the near-decade since that store’s opening, K Cocolatier has become a well known and highly respected force in west coast chocolate. “We want to bring back the element of having a local candy shop on the corner,” says Elie. “We want people to appreciate the sweeter things in life.”

Elie, 26, has been in charge of company sales for the past two years. He describes his venture into the chocolate business as “the best thing that’s happened to me – yet.” Despite being a child of the digital era, Elie doesn’t see the company venturing into online sales. They have a website, but, Elie explains, “we support traditional values. We don’t think there’s any replacement for walking into the store, meeting the bosses with a handshake, and buying a box of chocolates.”

This philosophy seems to be paying off. K Chocolatier has a fiercely loyal base of customers, many of whom journey great distances in their quest for chocolate. When JuDee and Michael Santomauro first discovered the chocolates, they were living in the Bay Area, which made frequent trips impossible. Since then, however, they’ve relocated to Valencia – it’s still a forty-minute drive, but, according to the Santomauros, well worth it.

“I took them back to Valencia and showed them to the girl at See’s Candy,” confides JuDee, “and she went crazy. She said ‘Where did you get this chocolate?’” I ask what JuDee’s favorite candy is. She recommends K’s Rum Truffles, which she describes as being “really good with a red wine.”

As luck would have it, there was a sample bowl of the much-loved truffles on the counter when I visited. Elie invited me to try one. I took one of the cocoa-dusted balls and bit.

The flavor is immediately striking. What first hits your palate is a blast of unsweetened cocoa dust, intense, bitter… almost coffee-like. After a few seconds, this recedes and your taste buds collide with a sweeter dark chocolate shell. As this half-melts and half-breaks, you are greeted by the creamy dark chocolate center of the truffle. Ultra-rich, buttery, and sweet yet unapologetically dark chocolate, the center is enhanced by an unmistakable hit of rum.

Though based on a Hungarian recipe, these remind me of imported French truffles I’ve tasted. The best word I can think of to describe these truffles is “transcendent.” I simply needed more. Two days later, I’m still craving the cocoa dusted balls. I have no choice but to award K’s Rum Truffles my very first CandyAddict.com Awesomely Addictive Candy Award!

Also available for sampling were Diane’s signature “K Bears,” which happen to be Elie’s favorite. Adorable beyond belief, these little teddy-bear shaped treats are sweetened rice crisps covered in milk, dark and white chocolate. I tasted those as well, and was very impressed – I was reminded of chocolate-coated Cocoa Krispies. In my opinion, the K Bears weren’t on the same level as the Rum Truffles – but I can see how they might become addictive.

I left K Chocolatier by Diane Kron with six extra Rum Truffles and an eagerness to share the store and the Kron family’s story with the readers of Candy Addict. I’m thrilled to have discovered this local gem. At this point, Diane’s creations are only available through in-person stops at one of her two stores. But if you live in Southern California or find yourself visiting, and enjoy great chocolate, you owe yourself a visit.

• K Chocolatier by Diane Kron Website

Founded in 1921, See’s is an old-fashioned candy company that, according to a friend of mine in Los Angeles, “is all over the place” on the West Coast. As I’m an East Coast kid, I had never had a box of See’s chocolates until about a week ago, when one arrived in the mail. I was immediately excited when I saw the old school packaging: a silver box wrapped with a thin gold ribbon. Good stuff. What I found inside the box, of course, was even better.

The chocolate assortment I received was filled with all different kinds of delicious treats, in both milk and dark chocolate varieties. The chocolate itself is quite good; the milk chocolate is smooth, rich, and creamy, and breaks perfectly as you chew, providing a sweet melting experience. The dark chocolate is also smooth and rich, and complements the sweeter fillings of some of the candies.

What makes See’s chocolates stand out, however, is their fillings: their Milk Chocolate Butterchew is now one of my favorite chocolates of all time, with an amazing brown sugar caramel filling that melts perfectly with the delicious chocolate coating. A pop of vanilla also peeks through, creating a candy experience that is hard to beat. The brown sugar is the dominant taste, which is a rarity in chocolates, but it’s so delicious you’ll wonder how you ever went without it. In fact, I loved the Milk Chocolate Butterchews so much, that I am going to give them the coveted CandyAddict.com Awesomely Addictive Candy Award:

The ingredients in each chocolate tasted incredibly fresh: almond pieces had a nice roasted crunch to them, and toffees were buttery and had a nice snap. Every chocolate had a unique and delicious flavor, though I have to say that the Butterchews, along with the Bordeaux candies (which also have a brown sugar buttercream filling) were the true standouts.

Perhaps the best part of all: you can customize your own See’s chocolate assortment on their website, using their Custom Mix option, which has 102 candies to choose from. Never again will you have to squish the bottom of each chocolate to make sure you’re getting the one you want. A custom mix would make a great holiday gift, as well. And if Santa Claus is reading, I’ll take that 5lb. box of Milk Buttercreams, please.

Editor’s Note: I received See’s Eggnog Truffles to sample, and while they were good, I’d have to say that I wish I had gotten some of those Butterchews instead!

The Eggnog Truffles have an eggnog-flavored soft interior and an outside of white chocolate. On top they have an adorable and festive Christmas wreath made out of hard sugar. The eggnog flavor is very mild, but it’s definitely there. Overall, though, the sweetness of the white chocolate kind of overpowers the eggnog, to the point of almost making your teeth hurt when you eat them. Great for white chocolate/eggnog lovers, but others might want to try another of their amazing varieties!

• See’s Candies Website
• Fundraising with See’s Candies Website

I was recently given the opportunity to try a box of Ococoa’s Butter Cup Collection. I thought I knew chocolate. I thought I knew what flavors go well with chocolate (peanut butter, mint, and Sunkist, to name a few). I thought I knew what to expect from a box of chocolates. Then came Ococoa.

I get a lot of mail and have been receiving two to three packages per week for the last few months. When a box arrived last week, I assumed it was a homeschooling product I was expecting and didn’t bother to look at the return address. I got a knife, sliced the tape on the box, opened the flaps, and said, “I smell chocolate….”

That is a very pleasant, very enticing way to open a package.

The Butter Cup Collection is packaged in a simple yet elegant box. A red and brown sleeve with the distinctive Ococoa logo encases the solid brown box. The colors immediately evoked (for me anyway) thoughts of rich, smooth chocolate. Here is my somewhat crummy picture of it:

Inside the box were nine different chocolates coupled with various nut butters and fruits. One of the unique aspects of Ococoa is that owner Diana Malouf steps outside the bounds of normal chocolate confections when making her Butter Cups. She has paired dark chocolate with unusual and exotic flavors that I never would have personally thought to be appetizing, much less delicious. (Don’t worry, Diana proved me wrong.)

From left to right, the flavors in the Butter Cup Collection are:

Top row: Macadamia Guava, Sunflower Honey, Cashew Apricot
Middle row: Sesame Fig, Classic Peanut Butter, Marzipan Truffle
Bottom row: Hazelnut Chocolate, Almond Cherry, Pistachio Date

Since I’m a Candy Addict mom, I had to share the Butter Cups with my husband and two oldest sons. The entire box was gone in less than an hour, which is extremely sad for two reasons:

• The list price for a 9-piece box of Ococoa chocolates is $22.
• They were absolutely delicious.

I’m almost at a loss where to start reviewing each candy since they were all so very good. The Butter Cups all stand about 1.5 inches tall, taller than your normal boxed chocolate. They are all a crisp dark chocolate with, as I mentioned, various fillings. I like a soft chocolate, and these were a little too hard to bite into in my opinion, but many of the flavor combinations outweighed the extra crispness of the chocolate.

I guess I’ll start this whirlwind tour with the Marzipan Truffle since it was the first one I sampled. If you’re not familiar with marzipan, you should go out tonight and find some somewhere. Marzipan is basically just ground almonds, sugar, and egg whites mixed to make a paste. It is a gourmet food that will set you back a pretty penny. I once bought a six ounce tube of it to use in a recipe for $6. It’s high quality stuff.

Anyway, back to Ococoa’s Marzipan Truffle. On its top is a thin slice of almond drizzled with more dark chocolate. The inside contains two layers of marzipan with a layer of dark chocolate ganache between them. (I feel the need to admit that I had never heard the word ganache before.) The inside is creamy and light with a mild almond flavor. I actually would have liked for the almond flavor to be stronger, but my husband said he thought it was perfect.

This is one flavor combination that I thought sounded strange at first. I love sunflower seeds and can eat half a jar in one sitting, but sunflower butter with chocolate? The Sunflower Honey Butter Cup has a thin candy shell, complete with yellow bees, on its top. Though I felt that this candy piece was a little too hard to bite into, the overall flavor of the sunflower butter, honey, and dark chocolate is absolutely, stunningly, delightfully delicious! I find myself craving another one every time I think about it. (I can’t believe I only got to eat 1/4 of this Butter Cup! If I’d had any idea how good it would taste….)

With little sesame seeds sprinkled over its top, the Sesame Fig Butter Cup is an unusual chocolate to say the least. A fluffy blend of dark chocolate and toasted sesame surround a gooey fig center. According to my husband, “If you like Fig Newtons, you’ll like this.” (He loves Fig Newtons, by the way.) Though the fig flavor is milder than that of a Fig Newton, it is still easily detectable and is well-balanced by the sesame.

Mmm, cashew butter. As their price testifies, cashews are among the epitome of delicious nuts. Ococoa’s Cashew Apricot is a dark chocolate cup filled with creamy cashew butter and a small amount of apricot in the bottom. The cashew butter is full-flavored and sweet and will satisfy any cashew lover. It blends well with the apricot without being overpowered by the fruit-flavor.

With a small hazelnut adorning its top, the Hazelnut Chocolate Butter Cup hints at its flavor before you even take a bite. It’s a simple combination of hazelnut butter and dark chocolate. Inside, I found it filled with the pure hazelnut butter and a bottom layer of blended chocolate and hazelnut. I’m a nut lover (or just a nut), and this was the first time I’d had a chocolate with hazelnut. I was quite pleased with the flavor combination. The texture of the hazelnut butter was basically the same as your standard peanut butter filling. The hazelnut on top gave a nice crunch to the otherwise creamy filling.

Did I mention that I like nuts? Almonds are my favorite, especially when they’re covered with cinnamon and sugar. Ococoa has taken toasted almonds, turned them into butter, and combined then with cherries and dark chocolate. Mmm, excuse me while I melt… Okay, I’m back. The Almond Cherry has a candy shell on top, just like the Sunflower Honey, lending an extra crunch to the toasted almond. The cherry flavor is tart and may not be appreciated by sweet-cherry lovers. However, I think you’ll find that sweet almond, tart cherry, and smooth dark chocolate go very well together.

Being the superb daughter that I am, I promised to save the Macadamia Guava for my mom so I can’t give a personal description of its flavor. I do know that it contains ground macadamia nuts and a bottom layer of tangy guava. On its top is a bit of coconut for an added flavor experience. Based on the rest of the Ococoa Butter Cups, I’m sure this one is an interesting and tasty flavor blend.

The Pistachio Date is unmistakable with the bright green pistachio on its top. Full of pistachio butter (I didn’t even know you could make pistachio butter) with dates on the bottom, this Butter Cup is another unusual but intriguing flavor blend. The pistachio butter is smooth and blends well with the dates while chewing. There’s a hint of coconut too. My four year old loved this one.

I’ve saved the Classic Peanut Butter for last. You’ve had peanut butter cups before, right? Just about everyone has. I’ve eaten hundreds or thousands of them in my life. I can tell a great peanut butter cup (Reese’s PB Egg) from a lousy peanut butter cup (you know what I’m talking about). Diana at Ococoa has done something to the peanut butter cup that will forever affect my ability to enjoy Reese’s. It’s really a simple thing that she did, but it has taken the peanut butter cup to a whole new level. What did she do? She added salt. Just a sprinkle of Alaea salt on top. (What’s Alaea? you ask. I have no idea, I answer.) Sweet and salty make an amazing flavor combo, and the Ococoa Peanut Butter Cup is no exception. The peanut butter (which happens to be organic) is very good, somewhat mild in its flavor, but the addition of salt makes the taste of this cup fantabulicious. (Fantastic fabulous delicious, for the uninitiated.)

While I must admit that I can’t see myself paying $22 for a box of chocolates, I won’t hesitate to also admit that these elegant and unique Ococoa Butter Cups are worth their price. It’s important to remember that Diana makes these chocolates by hand. Each one really is like a little (edible!) work of art.

Any one of the Ococoa collections would make a nice gift for any chocolate lover.

I was impressed with all of the Butter Cups, but I have an overwhelming need to award the Sunflower Honey and Classic Peanut Butter flavors the CandyAddict.com Awesomely Addictive Candy Award.

• Ococoa Website

This year’s list includes something for everyone, in every price range, so if you’re looking for a great candy gift, this list is an excellent place to start. From chocolates to chews to sweet to sour to fancy to simple, we’ve got you covered. Every candy on this list is quite different from the next, but they all have one thing in common: they are Awesomely Addictive.

• 100 Calorie Bars- Hershey’s Crisp Wafer Bar
• Japanese Candy: Super Lemon
• Pucchoco Almond and Chocolate
• Nestle Heaven Bars
• M&M’s Premiums
• Wonka Tinglerz
• Popsters- Covered Mini Popcorn Balls
• Toffifay
• Giant Chewy Nerds (Nerds Bumpy Jellybeans)
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Egg
• Chocolate Dipped Strawberries From The Chocolate Covered Company
• Delacre Crepes au Chocolat
• Cinnamon Flavored Fire Twizzlers
• BonBonBar Confections

Welcome to Part Two of my mission to discover if candy and dieting can live together harmoniously. Last time, I wrote about the pros and cons of the Reese’s 100 Calorie Peanut Butter Wafer Bar. Today, I have the pleasure of sharing with you the delectable taste of Hershey’s 100 Calorie Crisp Wafer Bar.

If you have been avoiding a diet because you couldn’t stand the thought of giving up candy bars, fear no more! I have discovered the absolute epitome of low calorie, diet-friendly chocolate bars. Are you ready? Lend me your ears, Candy Addict.

Hershey’s 100 Calorie Crisp Wafer Bar

Imagine for a moment that you fell into a bath of Hershey’s milk chocolate and now it’s raining crispies all around you. That is the flavor of the Hershey’s 100 Calorie Crisp Wafer Bar. It is the perfect combination of rich milk chocolate and crispy wafers.

When I was a very little girl, maybe three or four years old, my family visited Hershey Park in Hershey, Pennsylvania – hometown of Milton S. Hershey and birthplace of Hershey’s milk chocolate. All the years I was growing up, I had a memory from this trip of riding in a boat on an indoor canal through tunnels and dark rooms where Hershey Kisses were dancing. The air was heavy with the scent of chocolate because the canal was actually filled with melted chocolate. I could remember reaching over the edge of the boat and dipping my fingertips in the chocolate river.

In my senior year of high school, my mom and I went back to Hershey, PA, and visited Hershey Park again. I can’t put into words my anticipation of floating along that chocolate river again. We waited in line, slowly getting closer and closer to the place where we would board the boat. I could smell the chocolate fragrance.

Finally we climbed into the boat and were launched into the canal. Strange, I didn’t feel like I was floating… more like I was rolling. I took a peak over the edge of the boat and then turned to my mom almost speechless. “That’s carpet,” I said. Stunned.

My three-year-old memory had played a horrible trick on me. The boat, the brown color of the carpet, and the chocolate aroma piped into the building had combined to created a fictitious chocolate river in my mind. I wept bitter chocolate tears over the realization.

I tell you this sad tale, Candy Addicts, because as I sat here munching the Hershey’s 100 Calorie Crisp Wafer Bar, the delectable combination of milk chocolate and crisp wafer brought before my mind’s eye the sight of flowing melted chocolate as I floated leisurely in my little boat, dragging my fingers through the delicious river. That is what this candy bar can do for you.

Alas, we need to return to reality. If you have enjoyed the crisp candy bars by Nestle (Butterfinger Crisp and Crunch Crisp), you will love Hershey’s 100 Calorie Crisp Wafer Bar. It contains two wafer sheets with a layer of chocolate… dust? I don’t know what to call it, but it’s similar in texture to the chocolate layers inside a Kit Kat, only the color is much darker here. The entire bar is then coated with real Hershey’s chocolate. This little bar is so delicious you would never dream that it’s diet-compatible. I’m awarding this one the Candy Addict Awesomely Addictive Award Candy Award.

Stay tuned for reviews on:

• Hershey’s 100 Calorie Pretzel Bar
• York 100 Calorie Peppermint Wafer Bar

• Hershey Website
• The Hershey Company’s 100 Calorie Bars Website

Buy Hershey’s 100 Calorie Crisp Wafer Bar Online:

• at Amazon.com

Hardcore sour people are like hardcore chili people: always looking for the next fix, forever buying products with labels like “X-treme Sour,” only to be disappointed again and again. As someone who craves intensely strong flavors in both food and candy, it’s a pain I know all too well. (You’ve heard of a supertaster? I’m pretty sure I’m the opposite.) Well, my sour-loving friends, today I’m going to share with you the one candy that always satisfies my sour cravings: the Nobel Super Lemon.

“Oh, Candy Addict Staff Writer Laurie,” you’re probably thinking, “how sour can they be? The bag doesn’t even have the word ‘sour’ on it.” It’s true – in contrast with American sour candies, which scream “Crazy Mouth-Blasting Sour!” if they’ve ever been within a three-foot radius of a grain of citric acid, the packaging seems downright sedate, giving little hint of the pummeling your taste buds are about to receive. (Note that these are also imported by a brand called Santa, who sells them in a different-looking bag, but I’m pretty sure it’s the exact same candy inside.)

The candies inside the bag look innocuous too – little yellow hard-candy spheres with a dusty whitish exterior. Well, that dusty white stuff? The helpful English-labeled diagram on the back of the bag calls it “Lemon Taste Powder,” and it’s got to be pure citric acid, or close to. To a sour-lover like myself, the stuff may as well be crack.

When you put a Super Lemon in your mouth, you are hit with the kind of sour that twists your tongue into a Moebius strip and knots up your jaw muscles like something out of a Boy Scout rope-tying lesson. The kind of sour that screws up your mouth – nay, your entire face – tighter than security at a White House press conference.

Then, just when you think you can’t stand it any more, the sour’s gone, leaving you with a nice mellow easy ride down with a smooth, tangy lemon drop. (The lemon drop also has a sour core to it, but compared to the mouth-pounding exterior, it’s mildly refreshing, no more.) I like to refer to the whole experience of eating a Super Lemon as a “sourgasm.” As the Roy Lichtenstein-esque comic-book woman on the bag says, “OH! Powerful Candy.” Lady, you’re not kidding.

So on behalf of all our sour-head readers, I’m awarding Super Lemon the coveted Candy Addict Awesomely Addictive Candy Award. If you’re looking for a sour fix without the hype, head on down to your nearest Asian grocery, grab a bag of Super Lemon and you too will be experiencing sourgasms in no time at all.

(I have heard of people getting stale ones that weren’t actually sour. So if they don’t taste sour to you, they’re broken – go get your money back!)

Buy Nobel Super Lemon Online:

• at Amazon.com

I love me some Japanese candy, and usually the Asian markets in my area have a good supply. But lamentably, I have never been able to locate the Puccho brand of chews. A unique texture combining the soft chew of Starburst with tiny balls of gummi and, sometimes, fizzy candy bits? Sign me up! And the flavors sound great – melon, cola, and especially ramune. (Ramune is a Japanese soft drink that’s a lot like 7-up or Sprite. It has an indescribable flavor that’s almost lemon/lime… only not. The flavor is totally addictive, whether in candy or drink form, and there’s nothing quite like it outside of the Japanese candy market.)

So on a recent trip to my local Asian mega-grocery store, the T&T, I was elated to encounter the elusive chew at last. Sort of. Instead of a paper-wrapped “stick” or an awesome plastic tube thing, they came in a small bag. Very small. They were also expensive – $2.99 for the tiny bag. On sale. The regular price was nearly five bucks. (Oh, T&T – I love you so, but come on, what’s with your prices?) Instead of “Puccho,” these were called “Pucchoco” – that’s right, they’re chocolate-covered. And rather than being fruit or soda-flavored, they were almond-flavored – a new one on me.

It wasn’t ramune… but it would do.

The caramel-colored bag, decorated with adorable almond-headed characters, turned out to contain eight individually wrapped pieces, each about the size of a Jolly Rancher. The individual wrappers came in two colors, a caramel-brown and a darker brown, but I didn’t detect any difference between the candies inside. The candies themselves were glossy little chocolate-covered squares sprinkled with bits of crushed almond.

The package shows a brown-and-white checkerboard effect to the filling, but it just looked white to me (though the layer was too thin to really make out.) The taffy had a rather hard snap to it, like a chocolate-coated Starburst. There are no little gummy bits, but they probably wouldn’t go well with this kind of flavor anyway. Instead, the center has a graininess to it – I’m pretty sure there’s some ground almonds in there, just enough to add texture without actually making it crunchy.

At first, the chocolate flavor dominates, but as the chocolate layer melts away, the flavor of the center comes to the front: a warm, toasty nuttiness with a bit of salt and a rich skim-milk-powder flavor, kind of like White Rabbit candy. The overall effect is a lot like the taste of dry hot chocolate mix (not that I’m in the habit of eating hot chocolate mix with a spoon or anything). It’s a comforting flavor, like a mug of hot chocolate on a cold day.

Overall, this is one candy that definitely lived up to my expectations. In fact, I’m going to go ahead and award it my very first CandyAddict.com Awesomely Addictive Candy Award. And as for that ramune flavor, I guess there’s always Jbox.com.

• Puccho Website (Japanese)

Buy Puccho Online:

• at Jbox.com

“To share or not to share, there is no question” declares the side of my chocolate truffle Nestle Heaven bar… and I have to say no truer words were spoken. These three flavors – chocolate caramel, chocolate truffle, mint truffle – are among the most delicious, addicting, totally fabulous chocolate bars I have ever tasted. It took precisely one bite for me to come to the conclusion that this range of chocolate bars qualified for the CandyAddict.com Awesomely Addictive Candy Award.

Every single part of these bars is lovable, and awesomely addictive – from the funny yet elegant packaging, to the feel of the chocolate, to the taste of each piece. Each of these is gold foil wrapped and then completely contained by a cardboard box. The box opens at one short end, so you can slide out your chocolate bar and then slide it back in if you manage to stop yourself from eating the whole thing. The boxes are covered in funny sayings, like “If I have to choose between you and my chocolate, you won’t like the answer.” The descriptions on the back are edible enough without even getting to the chocolate, with brilliant copy like this: “…the delightful mint truffle center oozes through your mouth…” Oozes, people. It oozes!

The three flavors I tried were based on milk chocolate, and each rectangle has a filling in the top portion of the rectangle. The caramel one is a sweet, delicious, gooey caramel while the other two are soft, melting truffle fillings with strong, stunning flavors. The pieces are generously proportioned, which means there is a decent amount of filling in each. The mint truffle version tastes almost exactly like a Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie, while the chocolate truffle tastes like a premium chocolate truffle you might find at a high-end chocolate store. The caramel flavor is the most benign, but even then it’s only because it’s a fairly classic pairing of flavors and so it isn’t deserving of quite as much praise. Apparently the truffle versions come in both milk and dark, as well as hazelnut cream, orange and caffe latte… so we all know where I will be headed next.

Heaven bars are the love child of a Heaven ice cream bar – which is basically just ice cream covered in a fairly rich layer of chocolate. I’ve never really loved those, but these chocolate bars, I love with an almost fierce affection. They are a bit more expensive than your average chocolate bar, and they are a bit smaller than their competitors, but as the box says, “I’d take this over a dozen roses any day!”

I’m not sure I can make this any more clear: these chocolate bars completely rocked my world, and I am thrilled to bestow the CandyAddict.com Awesomely Addictive Candy Award on them. I’d offer you some to try, but there is no way I’m sharing! Get some for yourself!

• Nestle Australia Website

The new M&M’s Premiums line has arrived, and as soon as you see a box you’ll realize that these are no ordinary M&M’s. These M&M’s are something special. From presentation to taste, M&M’s Premiums are quite impressive, hitting the mark in both style and substance.

The presentation is fantastic, starting with the outer packaging. The typical M&M’s bag has been swapped out for a sleek, upscale-looking box that is resealable on the outside as well as on the inside, as both the outer carton and the plastic inner pack of M&M’s come with resealable tabs to keep the candy locked in and fresh.

It’s a small but wonderful innovation, as it allows buyers to carry, share, and store the M&M’s without worrying that they’ll spill. You can also pour out a handful for a friend and then save the rest for later without having to resort to the old school M&M’s pack method of rolling the bag as tight as you can and shoving it in your pocket, which is nice.

The M&M’s themselves are also quite striking: with pearly shells of soft mint green, royal blue, shimmering copper, raspberry red, and a dazzling lavender, the M&M’s provide a lovely visual that I’m sure will be quite popular for parties, gifts, and holidays. Their decorative quality is fancier than your typical holiday-themed M&M, which makes them appropriate candy decor for weddings and other formal events as well. They really are quite lovely. Almost too pretty to eat.

Almost. But come on, now. A pretty candy shell isn’t going to stop me from shoveling M&M’s into my mouth in the least dainty way possible. I can’t help it, man! I’m a Candy Addict!

Speaking of the pretty candy shell, there is something you should know about the M&M’s Premiums line. The fabled hard candy shell that coats the M&M’s we know and love is not present in these candies. Sacrilege, you cry! M&M’s without a hard candy shell!? How did this happen? How can this be?!

DON’T PANIC.

Believe it or not, you might not miss the original candy shell as much as you think. In the Premiums line, the candy shell provides a different texture than the cracked-sugar taste of an original M&M – here, the shells are softer, giving the candies a creamier, smoother texture. With the multi-layered flavors that comprise each Premium M&M, the softer shell allows for a more flavorful candy experience – where the original shell provides that fantastic textural sensation and sugary snap we all love, the Premium shell melts into the rest of the candy, creating a richer texture overall.

There are currently five different flavors of M&M’s Premiums: Chocolate Almond, Mocha, Raspberry Almond, Mint, and Triple Chocolate.

Chocolate Almond: Peanut M&M’s are one of my favorite candies on the face of the earth, so I was especially excited to try the Chocolate Almond Premiums. Coated in a shell of brilliant royal blue, the Chocolate Almond Premiums are quite pleasing to the eye – and even more pleasing to the mouth. The almond center of each M&M tasted nice and fresh, with a sharp roasted flavor that contrasts nicely with the sweet, smooth milk chocolate that coats each nut. They are similar to Peanut M&M’s in size and texture, but the almond center gives the candy a richer, deeper flavor, and the thinner shell allows for a more chocolaty, denser chew than one would find in the originals. I still prefer the Dark Chocolate Peanut M&M’s, but the Chocolate Almond Premiums are a welcome alternative.

Mocha: The Mocha Premiums are exceptionally good – the coffee flavor is strong without being overpowering, which allows the creaminess of the milk chocolate to blend nicely with the snap of the coffee, creating a smooth, rich taste akin to a Starbucks Mocha Frappucino. I was incredibly surprised at how much I loved the Mocha Premiums. And an added bonus – their outer shell is a lovely shade of copper, which is about as close to resurrecting my beloved tan M&M’s as I’m going to get.

Raspberry Almond: I was hesitant to try the Raspberry Almond, after my disappointing experience with Razzberry M&M’s last winter, but the issues I had with the Razzberry M&M’s seem to have been dealt with here: the raspberry flavor of the Premiums is much more natural than that of the Razzberry predecessor, and the roasted flavor of the almonds balances out the sweetness of the chocolate and the raspberry coating. I have to admit that these were still my least favorite of the bunch, but perhaps they would make a good addition to a trail mix – kept cold, of course!

Mint: The softness of the Premium shell lends itself especially well to the Mint variety, as the dark chocolate shell melts right into the minty, white chocolate center. The smoothness of both the white and the dark chocolate are complemented perfectly by just the right amount of mint, giving the M&M’s a soft, creamy texture similar to peppermint patties and a taste reminiscent of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Out of the five Premiums, the Mint has the best potential for use in baking. I can easily see them used as a delicious addition to brownies, cookies, and even as a topping on ice cream sundaes.

Triple Chocolate: My absolute favorite M&M’s in the new Premium line have to be the Triple Chocolate Premiums. As the name implies, three types of chocolate make up these delicious little treats: the shimmering purple shell, made from a layer of dark chocolate, encompasses a thin layer of white chocolate, which, in turn, surrounds a creamy milk chocolate center. I was extremely impressed by these M&M’s – I didn’t expect to be able to taste all three chocolates as they melted away in my mouth – particularly the white chocolate layer, which is subtle at first but strengthens as the milk and dark chocolates begin to blend together, providing an unexpected, creamy sweetness. It’s exactly what the line should be: they still taste like M&M’s, only amped up to a higher level, with a more complex flavor brought on by a quality blend of three premium chocolates.

The Triple Chocolate M&M’s Premiums are so good that I am proud to present them with the CandyAddict.com Awesomely Addictive Award:

M&M’s Premiums may not be the M&M’s we’re all used to, but trust me, they are truly a welcome edition to the M&M’s family. They’re lovely on the outside and even better beneath the shell.

• M&M’s Premiums Website

My absolute favorite candy from this year’s All Candy Expo has to be the new Wonka Tinglerz, malted pieces of crisped rice covered in Nestle’s milk chocolate and pumped with a carbon dioxide blast to give them some serious popping power. Tinglerz won’t be hitting stores until September, but I was lucky enough to score a pack at the Expo – in prototype packaging, no less. The real packaging hasn’t been unveiled yet, but we’ll be sure to bring you a picture as soon as we can.

You could easily classify Wonka Tinglerz as a sort of wacky cousin to Nestle’s Buncha Crunch, as both candies are alike in taste and appearance, with one notable exception. While the Tinglerz retain the pellet-like shape and the crispy, milk chocolate taste of Buncha Crunch, the Tinglerz offer an experience that Buncha Crunch can’t match: a popping, fizzing sensation that hits the mouth as the chocolatey bits dissolve.

The popping sensation (and the accompanying sound it makes) is quite similar to what one experiences when eating Pop Rocks, though the popping and fizzing that accompanies that Tinglerz isn’t as harsh. I’ve had a few slightly painful experiences eating Pop Rocks; the Tinglerz, by comparison, provide a much more pleasant type of pop and fizz.

Even without the fizz factor, Tinglerz are a joy to eat. The chocolate is smooth and delicious, and each pellet has a crunchy, slightly vanilla flavor that peeks through, providing a nice contrast. At times, the Tinglerz will stick together to create a giant Tingler cluster, which is a blast to eat, as the giant piece breaks apart as you chew, creating a super chocolaty mega-fizz.

Wonka could not have executed this candy any better: it’s both delicious and a whole lot of fun, which is everything candy should be. For that reason, I am proud to present Wonka Tinglerz with The Candy Addict Awesomely Addictive Candy Award.

Wonka Tinglerz are now one of my all-time favorites, and I can’t wait to get my hands on another pack. Is it September yet???

• Wonka.com