Remarkable candy at an inexpensive price is pretty hard to come by on its own. But try finding a product that isn’t considered mainstream. Well, that just seems impossible. But despite the challenge, it is one that I relish.

Lately, the weather in Austin has been lovely, so I find myself taking random strolls in my neighborhood after work. On a recent occasion, I stumbled past an independent grocery. A nice fact I have discovered in my pursuing of candy over the years is that independent chains often stock items that are normally uncommon.

This grocery was no exception. Their candy aisle consisted of various local and international products. But what to choose? Well, because it was seventy-something degrees outside, when I spotted Bali’s Best Tea Candy: Classic Iced Tea, I couldn’t refuse. I mean, candy plus iced tea on a hot day equals yay!

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I once listened to a radio broadcast about a baker who manufactured artisan bread in Maine. When he was asked what possessed him to become such a baker, he replied with a response of almost disbelief:

“To me, artisan bread just means making the best possible bread by hand. I think everything should be made that way.”

The sheer simplicity and truth of that statement has stayed with me over the years, and it is one that rushed to mind as I began reviewing a line of chocolate bars from Blanxart.

Blanxart is a Spanish confectionery company created back in 1954 by three brothers. Now, Europe is frequently associated with gourmet chocolate, but rarely if ever did I equate Spain with such a thought. Truthfully, as the Spanish were the first to make contact in the New World – where chocolate originated – it would make sense that they retain a claim to being the original European purveyors of gourmet chocolate.

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I’m an easy target for the impulse buys at the grocery store checkout counters. I think it’s a good time to scan the candies and see if there’s anything new, and then of course if something catches my eye, I have to try it. Take, for example, these Ice Breakers in Iced Tea Lemon flavor. I have long been a fan of Ice Breakers candies, and I usually have a container of the Ice Breakers sours in my car. I am also a fan of black tea, so these Ice Breakers sure seemed like a winning combination!

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When I first saw this box of mini cream puffs, I was a little frightened. On one hand I thought, yum, Ceylon tea-flavored mini cream puffs! On the other hand, I figured these would be crammed so full of preservatives that they’d taste like plastic. After all, what kind of shelf life can be expected of mini cream puffs in a box? Well, I needn’t have been scared, because these are actually a delightful surprise.

Each mini cream puff is about an inch in diameter. The shell is rather crunchy, so I guess you could say it’s more like a cookie than a cream puff (i.e., it’s not doughy). They are also a tad scorched in appearance. The innards are supposed to be like cream puff filling, I guess, but as you can imagine, it’s not like custard or whipped cream at all. It’s more like Oreo sandwich filling with a light tea flavor. The aftertaste is surprisingly reminiscent of the aftertaste of hot black tea, and it lingers for quite some time. The candy that keeps on giving!

I don’t think I’d run to the market to stockpile these Chocolat Poche, but I wouldn’t throw them away, either, and if they had other flavors, I’d be all over them.

• Meiji (in Japanese)

Buy Meiji products online:

• at Jbox

chocolate, tea, Japan, Japanese

When I met Chuao Chocolatier at the All Candy Expo, I knew I had found something special. I have already reviewed their Bonbons and signature ChocoPods, and now I am going to review their creative line of chocolate bars. Chuao’s bars really represent the theme of the company: unique, creative and delicious. The bars come in Caracas, Spicy Maya, Earl Grey and Chinita Nibs Bar flavors.

I was really excited to try these, especially since I am already so smitten with Chuao’s other delicious creations. These bars, like the rest of Chuao’s products, use Venezuelan El Rey chocolate as a base and then enhance its flavor by using fresh unique ingredients. All that aside though, what I was really curious about was tasting these to see if they were going to be bar sized versions of the solid ChocoPods: rich, creamy, and 100% addictive. When I opened the wrappers, just a whiff of their aromas told me a loud “yes!”

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