I had the distinct pleasure of sampling Amella’s Artisan Cocoa Butter Caramels and OMG they are decadent and scrumptious. These caramels have an incredible texture – just a bit chewy and so creamy and buttery that they just melt in your mouth.

Passion Fruit: Out of the three flavors I tried, the passion fruit was my least favorite and it was still excellent. The caramels include real passion fruit, cocoa butter, and Tahitian vanilla and are hand dipped in milk chocolate. The passion fruit flavor is really strong and tangy – if you’re into passion fruit these will make you do the happy dance. Since I think passion fruit is just ok, I’d have preferred more caramel flavor. But even so, yum!

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My first encounter with gummy bears occurred in junior high when a widespread gambling craze swept the school. My friends Rob and Steve and I would save our lunch money by eating only Haribo Gummi Gold Bears that we bought at the nearby convenience store so we could gamble away our quarters. Ah, youth is wasted on the young. I only lasted a few weeks on this Vegas-inspired program as I began to feel weak from lack of nutritious food. I would soon resume the scheduled spaghetti and mystery meat regimen of public school dining options. Does anyone remember Potato Turbate?

As usual, I digress.

Gummy bears originated in 1920 by confectionery producer Hans Rigel of Bonn, Germany, and he named his company HARIBO, a creative acronym using the first two letters of Hans, Rigel, and Bonn. To me, Haribo always sounded vaguely Asian, but through the magic of “Internet Research” I’ve been schooled.

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