I’m just a HUGE chocolate and mint addict. I’m always on the lookout for something new that deals with chocolate mint and I will always try any candy that has that yummy combination no matter what. This time I found these Dark Chocolate (63% cocoa) Thin Mints from Haviland which is a sub-brand of Necco I found at my local CVS.

The first thing I noticed is that these are really thin mints. The photos on the box show something more along the lines of miniature York Peppermint patties with a thick mint center. That is not the case. The mint center is very thin and so is its dark chocolate coating. Luckily you get a lot of mints in the package which makes this a great deal for the money I paid.

These chocolate mints are actually very good. The flavors work in harmony together so that neither one overpowers the other. I’ve had some chocolate mints where there was way too much mint compared to the chocolate. Thin as these layers are, they work together extremely well. It’s a refreshing mint that’s complemented by the dark chocolate.

Another nice thing about these mints is that they are labeled “all natural” which can be misleading from time to time. Looking at the package the ingredient list is small and contains all the things I would hope to find in a product like this. These Haviland Mints were a pleasant surprise tucked away in the candy aisle at CVS. I love when I just pick something up for the heck of it and it ends up being really good.

• Necco Haviland Brand Website
• Buy Chocolate Mints Online

Right before Father’s Day, I had posted about Beercandy and how it would make a great gift for Dads everywhere. I mentioned in that post that I was planning to order some of their products for my beer loving husband for Father’s Day. After all, what could be better for a beer-loving guy? Well, I spoke true and now I can tell you all about their Beer Taffy. I would have also reviewed the Beer Caramels, but sadly, since it was a Father’s Day gift after all, they were consumed before I could taste the. I had asked him for some details that I could include in the review but all he could tell me was that they were the best caramels he ever had.

If you are expecting that the Beer Taffy is going to be a sweet piece of chewy taffy with just a hint of beer flavor, like I did, then you’ll be in for a surprise. It’s nothing at all like I expected. If you like your taffy thick and chewy, then you’ll be very pleased. It literally took me 5 minutes to chew one of these. Your mouth will definitely get some exercise.

If you like the taste beer, then you’re going to love this candy. There are only two beers used to make the taffies, IPA and Stout. Both the IPA and the Stout taffy were equally strong in flavor, even though Stout is a normally a much stronger beer. There’s not much sweetness to this taffy, just enough to qualify them as candy, but the main flavor is beer. The best way I can describe this candy is “chewable beer”.

So, if you’re a beer lover and a taffy lover, you’ll really enjoy this candy. It’s a great combination of both handcrafted beers and candy. I like a good beer myself every now or then but to me it was strange to chew some beer rather than drinking it down. Then again, there’s no cans or bottles to worry about, you won’t need a beer cozy to keep it cool, and you sure don’t need a bottle opener!

• Beercandy Website

With a name like “Firecracker,” you would assume the marketing team just chose a word that sounded exciting to make you think their chocolate bar was also exciting. Turns out, Firecracker is the perfect way to describe this chocolate! No, there aren’t literal fireworks, but the closest thing you can get and still ingest it: popping candy. The bar also boasts dark chocolate, chipotle, and salt.

So imagine if you will: a smooth bar of dark chocolate. You bite into it and taste an above average chocolate flavor, and then you’re hit with the warming sensation of chipotle pepper (it’s not overwhelmingly spicy in this bar, but rather subtle). Your tongue next detects that this candy is slightly salty, and then *POP* goes the popping candy. The popping distracts you for several seconds, and then you remember there are other things for you to taste here. You will yourself to ignore the popping and focus on the salty chocolate flavor.

Mmm, it’s pretty good!

Verdict: This candy bar is definitely worth a try. It’s tasty, and highly entertaining. Definitely a good one to share with friends.

Pros: Lots going on, something for everyone, good amount of spiciness and salt, the entertainment of popping candy in your chocolate. Non-GMO ingredients.

Cons: These cost a bit less than $4, so they are high on the spendy scale. Depending on your personality type, there might be too much going on in one bar of chocolate.

• Buy Chuao Chocolatier’s Firecracker bar at Wal-Mart stores

I’m a huge fan of Lindt chocolates. I could eat Lindt chocolate all day long if I could. There used to be a Lindt outlet store near my home when I lived in Virginia and I used to stock up there once a month. So, I gladly “volunteered” to review these three Lindt chocolate bars that Candy Addict was sent. All three of these bars are made with 70% cocoa, which basically means that they are 70% dark chocolate and 30% other delectable ingredients.

70% Cocoa

This bar is the “plain” version in the bunch. In my opinion, this is probably one of Lindt’s best chocolate bars. I’m a dark chocolate fan, something I inherited from my Mother and luckily did not pass on to my kids (no sharing!). This bar has a nice smooth texture and just melts in your mouth. It’s not bitter like some dark chocolate bars. The 70% Cocoa chocolate bar is sweet and easy going. Even if you’re not a dark chocolate fan, I think you’ll enjoy this bar and appreciate its flavor.

70% Cocoa with Almond Brittle

I’ve had the Lindt Toffee bar before, the one with the Milk Chocolate and full of toffee bits so I figured this might be the dark chocolate version. The Almond Brittle is scattered throughout the bar and is not as prevalent as the toffee bits are in the other bar. The texture is smooth and you get the crunch of the almond brittle every now and then. The only downside (if there is a downside to any Lindt chocolate) is that the dark chocolate overwhelms this chocolate bar. The dark chocolate and the almond brittle almost work against each other rather than together. I would love there to be a lot more of the almond brittle mixed in with the chocolate so that there’s the joining of the flavors, each complementing the other. Instead you get the great flavor of the 70%, but with a little crunch.

70% Cocoa Nut Crunch

I really have the same opinion about this Nut Crunch bar as I do for the Almond Brittle bar. There are really not enough of the nuts (caramelized walnuts and hazelnuts) to even out the flavor. The nuts give a slight crunchiness to the bar but the dark chocolate flavor just takes control taste wise. As with the Almond Brittle bar, when I bite into this chocolate bar, all I taste it the dark chocolate with a little crunchiness. There needs to be more of the caramelized nuts added to tone down the 70% cocoa and so that the flavors complement each other.

As much as I love dark chocolate, I will just stick to the plain 70% Cocoa bar. The Almond Brittle and the Nut Crunch bars are honestly lacking in any other flavor other than the chocolate. The additions just add a small amount of crunch and truly no flavor. I was slightly disappointed, but still consider Lindt one of my favorite chocolate makers.

• Lindt’s Website
• Buy Lindt Chocolates Online

Candy Addict received this product as a sample from the manufacturer. No payment was received for this review and all opinions represent an unbiased view of the product.

As a woman, I just enjoy shoe shopping. What could possibly be better than that? How about shopping for chocolate shoes? I’m talking about solid chocolate edible shoes. Gayle Harte is a chocolate fashionista and artist. Besides creating cool animal shaped chocolates (like sharks and tigers), she has created a collection of chocolate shoes that would never last in my closet.

The shoes range in style and colors from golf shoes to a special Royal Wedding shoe made in honor of Kate & William’s wedding. Each shoe is solid chocolate and weighs between 4 ounces and 14.5 ounces. Most are 7 inches long and almost 6 inches tall. They are amazing little edible works of art. I know some people would say they’d never eat them because they’re so pretty. Not me, I’d eat one in a heartbeat.

• Gayle’s Chocolate Shoes

World Market is a store that sells a variety of imported goodies, from home decor to gifts and snacks. They also have a great candy section that includes imported candy as well as their own line of chocolate. A while back, we reviewed World Market house chocolate bars. Today, I picked up two of their house line of filled chocolate bars to try out: Coconut Milk Chocolate and Caramel and Sea Salt Milk Chocolate. Both of them sound good to me!

But how do they taste?

World Market Coconut Milk Chocolate

Packaging: Pretty, classy, gold and light green label
Smells like: Regular good-quality milk chocolate, barely a whiff of coconut
Boasts: Creamy coconut ganache filling

When I bite into it: Sweet and milky, smooth. Where’s the coconut?

Verdict: Nice milk chocolate, but overall this bar is nothing special. I wasn’t looking for coconut tanning oil flavor, but I did want more coconut than I got from this bar. Definitely not much coconut going on here. I wish there was a bit more “ganache” in the bar. I did get a small piece of coconut stuck in my mouth after the chocolate had melted away.

World Market Caramel & Sea Salt Milk Chocolate

Packaging: Pretty, classy, gold and brown label
Smells like: Regular good-quality milk chocolate, slightly sweet
Boasts: Caramel filling with a touch of sea salt

When I bite into it: Sweet and milky, smooth. The caramel is oozy, just like most other caramel-filled chocolate bars. Not much of a salty note, but it tastes good.

Verdict: Like the coconut in the previous bar, the salt is subtle, barely present. The caramel is much more a player in this chocolate bar. It’s rich, gooey, and good. Like a slightly upscale Caramello. There’s a sort of salty aftertaste, but it’s not very noticeable.

And the winner is:

The Caramel and Sea Salt bar is the definite winner. The coconut just didn’t have enough presence to impress the judges. And by “judges,” I mean me.

• World Market Candy

A few years ago, we reviewed Mo’s Bacon Bar – a milk chocolate bar filled with bacon. The verdict was that the bar was good, but that maybe the milk chocolate didn’t quite have what it takes to stand up to the applewood smoked bacon. Well, I found Mo’s Dark Bacon Bar at World Market, and I’m here to tell you what I think. Does the dark chocolate make the bacon sing?

Does bacon even sing?

Packaging: A photo-realistic piece of bacon on the front is what caught my eye and convinced me to buy this bar despite its $6.99 pricetag
Looks like: Regular dark chocolate bar with additives
Smells like: Good dark chocolate with a smoky, fatty, bacony smell. In a really good way
Boasts: 62% cacao, applewood smoked bacon, alderwood smoked salt

But how does it taste?

When I bite into it: Chocolate is the perfect texture and darkness. Not too dark, and very smooth. The bits of alderwood smoked salt crunch, and the flavor goes very well with this chocolate. Small pieces of bacon manage to be crispy, yet slightly chewy. Pretty close to the perfect texture of a regular piece of bacon. I feel like it’s quite a feat to get that perfect bacon texture inside a perfectly textured chocolate. In other words, win.

First impression: It’s good.

Second impression: It’s really good.

Sure, bacon’s a popular additive to sweets these days, but often the bacon is more of a novelty than an actual good decision. The bacon in Mo’s Dark Bacon Bar is definitely not just a novelty. The bacon and salt elevate the chocolate to something very special that is made very well. I have been eating this chocolate bar, with pleasure, since I first picked it up. One delicious square at a time.

This bar is definitely recommended for those who like a marriage of sweet and salty, and anyone who needs a little extra bacon in their lives.

Con: The only con is the price tag, but the candy is so good that I would say it’s a worthwhile indulgence for once in awhile.

• Mo’s Dark Chocolate Bacon Bar by Vosges Haut Chocolat
• Buy bacon candy online

We’ve mentioned NewTree Chocolate before, the Belgian chocolate with the healthy twist. I picked this NewTree Belgian Biscuit 65% Cocoa dark chocolate bar and bought it before I even noticed its impressive list of health benefits. This particular bar has flax seeds (touted as a source of Omega 3), three times more fiber than similar chocolate bars, and 30% less sugar. I just bought it because it had a picture of cookies on the front.

So it’s healthy. But how does it taste?

Oh, and before I tell you how it tastes, check out the earth-friendly features of this chocolate bar:

• GMO free
• Certified 100% CO2 neutral
• NewTree also contributes to the protection of the Amazon Rainforest

The packaging has a photo of the candy on front, with a cookie and some flax seeds sprinked around. The packaging has a modern, environmental feel, with the green NewTree logo (the green background has a leaf texture). Notable: the packaging didn’t say anything about being made with post-consumer (recycled) content. I would kind of expect that from a company as into green-sounding projects as NewTree.

The chocolate has a sweet earthy scent. The chocolate has quite a snap to it (not uncommon in chocolates with higher percentages of cocoa). There’s a crunch to the chocolate when you bite into it because of the cookie pieces and flax seeds inside. Despite its 30% less sugar, this chocolate is adequately sweet, especially for dark chocolate.

The taste is a thin chocolate flavor with a note of cinnamon that kind of reminds me of the flavor of Ibarra Mexican chocolate. If you bite into a flax seed, you get the green, slightly medicinal (or hay-ish) flavor of the seed. If you don’t bite into the seed, you will get them stuck in your teeth! The cookies don’t seem to add any flavor, but just a gritty texture to the chocolate.

This is not to say this chocolate is unpleasant. You probably won’t forget that you’re eating healthy chocolate, though! Would I buy it again? Probably not. It doesn’t taste good enough for me to buy again. And I’m not a huge fan of flax seeds.

If the health benefits of this chocolate bar appeal to you, then you’ll probably be happy eating this. Between knowing that the candy is better for your body, and knowing its better for the environment, you can feel good about your choice to support this company.

• Buy NewTree chocolates

I have said before that I’m a huge fan of coffee. I recently received some CaffeMallows for review… they are a mashup of gourmet marshmallows and a cup of coffee. The packaging boasts that they are a “pop-in power coffee shot.” Caffeine and marshmallows? What could possibly go wrong?

I sampled each of three flavors, Mocca Mallows, Java Mallows, and Coffee Mallows:

Mocca Mallows:

Packaging: Cello bag with label. Has a Stickybits barcode which you can use with the Stickybits App.
Looks like: A 2″ brownie square
Smells like: Rich, sweet coffee-cocoa smell
Feels like: Squishy, springy when I pinch it
Boasts: A Real Espresso & Cocoa Blast

But how does it taste?

When I bite into it: There’s an odd flavor. I guess that’s coffee. Kind of an instant coffee sensation (must be the combination of the flavor and the slight grainy nature of a homemade marshmallow. Then bits of cocoa nibs (the beans where chocolate comes from – texture like a coffee bean) hit me in the texture department. The marshmallow begins to melt away (but the nibs stay behind) and the weird coffee flavor gives way to sugary sweetness.

First impression: This is a weird flavor.

Java Mallows:

Looks like: A medium-brown brownie
Boasts: DOUBLE Espresso Boost

Tastes like: Coffee, but not in a good way. I’m kind of frowning as I eat this bite and type this sentence.

Buzz: I can physically feel the caffeine affecting me at this point. I ate half of the Mocca Mallow 10 minutes ago, and about 1/4 of the Java Mallow just now. This is significant because I am a regular coffee drinker.

Coffee Mallows:

Looks like: A light-brown brownie
Boasts: Double Coffee Boost

Tastes like: The mildest flavor of the three. No weird texture (nibs) issues. They still don’t taste good, though.

Notes about the Ingredients:

1. Gelatin: Ingredients include beef gelatin. On one hand, I am impressed that they include that info on the ingredients because I would think that means it’s a higher-quality gelatin (but I don’t know that for a fact, it’s just a feeling I have). On the other hand, I have never seen gelatin on packaging list what animal it is made from. I guess that means this confection is out for any vegetarians or vegans out there. If you are vegan, you have already ruled out marshmallows anyway. If you are vegetarian, where do you stand on gelatin?

2. Caffeine: These marshmallows are caffeinated, and the packaging says “Not for children or teens under 14.” Even though they are not required to do so by the FDA, I wish they would include the amount of caffeine in the nutrition facts and/or include a comparison graphic like “eating this marshmallow is equal to drinking one shot of espresso!”

3. Ingredients List: All the ingredients are things you have heard of and come in contact with in your own kitchen. This is a very good thing!

4. Kosher: These marshmallows (along with the beef gelatin) are Kosher certified.

Verdict:

If you want a buzz, then CaffeMallows might work for you. Could be a good alternative if you are on a long road trip and you don’t want to drink a ginormous cup of truck stop coffee. Flavor-wise, I don’t love these.

• Caffex – Maker of CaffeMallows

Candy Addict received this product as a sample from the manufacturer. No payment was received for this review and all opinions represent an unbiased view of the product.

When you think of dark chocolate additives, spicy chocolate isn’t so far-fetched. Cranberries with chocolate is not uncommon, but chocolate+chili+cranberries is definitely unique. Jersey Devil Chocolates boast a 54% cacao dark chocolate bar that includes dried cranberries and chipotle chili. Why cranberries? Because New Jersey (where the company is based) is the 2nd highest producer of the fruit, and the legendary Jersey Devil reportedly lurks in the South Jersey Pine Barrens where the cranberries are grown.

So how does it taste? It opens with a sweet fruity flavor (presumably the influence of the cranberries) and follows with a mild heat and spicy finish, which is not unpleasant at all. If you eat a small piece, it’s not too spicy, but just a nice mild heat. I noticed if I ate two squares at once, the heat intensified. I gave a piece to each of my preschool sons (3 and 4) and neither of them complained about the heat. The 3 year-old said it wasn’t too spicy “because it’s sweet!” Duh, of course it can’t be too spicy if it’s sweet, mom! The texture of the chocolate is snappy, much like other cacao-rich dark chocolates, and the dried cranberries add some chewy-crunchy bits.

One note about the packaging that I thought was cool: the 14 year-old son of the owner drew the original devil logo. The entire family helped create the look of the Jersey Devil; they wanted him to be smiley and smoking hot, much like you’ll be after eating this chocolate! I’d eat this chocolate again. The combination of cranberries, chocolate and chili might prove to be addictive.

Editor’s note: I, too, tried the Jersey Devil Chocolates and thought it was delicious. It has a good spicy kick and the cranberries add a great fruity taste to it too. Now if only it also came in milk chocolate.

• Jersey Devil Chocolates

Candy Addict received this product as a sample from the manufacturer. No payment was received for this review and all opinions represent an unbiased view of the product.