Aequare chocolates have an interesting story about the chef who started the company and how they’re single origin Ecuadorian chocolate and ingredients and blah blah. You can read their website for all that. What you came here to read is how they taste, right?

When asked if I wanted a sample of these to review, I checked them out and the answer was an immediate HECK YES. This is definitely my kind of thing. On the other hand, that means I’m a tough customer. Like, to start, I was not all that excited about the Dark Chocolate Cocoa Beans, because I don’t really see any reason to eat cocoa beans. I mean, there must be a reason that humanity invented the elaborate processes that turn them into chocolate, right?

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I am fussy about what flavors get mixed with my chocolate. Chocolate is pretty much perfect just the way it is.

But coffee and chocolate are one of the perfect flavor combinations. And I was intrigued by the GoGo Beans concept. I don’t drink coffee regularly, but when I need it, I need it – and yet, I am picky about it. If I can’t get a properly made fancy coffee, I’m not one of those people who can settle for instant with non-dairy creamer (eeek!), so a chocolate-coffee candy with extra caffeine could be a useful thing.

But, it’s not a pill you just swallow – it still has to taste good. And when I got these samples, I was so disappointed, I had to get second and third opinions, just to be fair.

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Tired of drinking your morning coffee? Why not eat it, surrounded by chocolate? That’s one idea for enjoying DeFranco’s Espresso Secrets, anyway. And wouldn’t that be faster, tastier, and reduce your chance of getting burned? Of course it would. And if you put a crazy amount of sugar in your coffee (like, 14g), then it’d be about the same calories, too (160). Okay, enough numbers.

Almost. This 1.3 oz/36g package contains three good-bite-sized pieces of 55% dark chocolate, with a coffee center. If you want a caffeine kick, you better eat all three. But how’s this candy taste?

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My go-to dictionary, the Canadian Oxford, defines “oral,” in part, as “of or concerning a supposed stage of… (infant) development in which the mouth is of central interest.” If this is the case, it would seem that many of us who write for this site never really outgrew the infant stage of development – we’ve never stopped trying to find as many interesting (and hopefully delicious) things to put in our mouths as possible. And apparently, neither have the good folks at Oral Fixation, who continue to provide us with new and increasingly unique flavors of their signature mints.

With flavors like chai, herbal jasmine, and mojito, Oral Fixation keeps pushing the envelope. The lineup has recently been joined by this new Peppermint Mocha flavor, which Oral Fixation’s website describes as providing “the caffeine jolt of a chocolate-covered espresso bean cut with cooling natural mint oil.”

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Before attending the All Candy Expo, all the registered press people were sent dozens and dozens of press releases from various companies advertising their products and inviting us to drop by their booths. That is where I first heard about Landrin Waferatto USA.

The company’s roots date back to the nineteenth century when Georg Landrin began preparing confections for the Imperial Court of Russia. The reputation of his delicacies spread throughout the country and Europe, earning his products notoriety for their quality ingredients and taste.

Landrin USA was recently founded with the intent to market a line of truffles with designs and packaging inspired by couture fashion and art – i.e., appealing to women. I remember checking out some of the photos from their press release to discover all their boxes adorned with orchids, chiffon prints, the elegance of a perfume box, and they somehow unfolded into vases when you opened them.

Elaborate much? Maybe. But the principal and design is aesthetically sound, which is why it’s a current silver finalist for two of the 2009 Sofi Awards (Specialty Outstanding Food Innovation). But part of me didn’t want to like these. They were too pretty. They were too girly.

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