The kind folks at Snickers sent me an awesome marketing package to let me know about their new Snackonomics game. In addition to four big Snickers bars, they sent me some cool Candy Addict stuff.

So what, exactly, are they marketing? Their Snackonomics game! Until March 31, 2010 Snickers is offering “chompensation” to lucky winners who play their online Snackonomics game.

The game kind of reminds me a little bit of the McDonalds Monopoly game because you collect things to win stuff. For the Snackonomics game, you go to the Snickers website, and enter the official game code on the inside of specially marked Snickers wrappers.

The codes allow you to collect letters which you then use to spell one of four words.

What kind of prizes are we talking about here? If you spell the following words, here’s what you win:

• “SNACKONOMICS” = paid mortgage
  (one winner — prize valued at $225,000)

• “CHOMPENSATION” = salary for a year
  (two winners — prize valued at $50,000)

• “AUTOPAYNUT” = car payment for a year
  (five winners — prize valued at $5,000)

• “CHEWRENCY” = free Snickers candy bars
  (10,000 winners — prize valued at $1.09)

Now, as a friend pointed out to me, this is kind of like gambling. But at least when you play this lottery, even if you don’t win you get candy!

• Snickers Website

1. Direct snacking (good)
2. Hot chocolate (better)
3. S’mores (best)
4. Rice Krispies Treats (sublime, to be sure, but labor-intensive and, as such, ignored here)

Armed with this intimate understanding of what I like to think of as little sugar pillows, I embarked on a three-part sampling of Dandies Vegan Marshmallows to give you, the Candy Addict reader, the most comprehensive look possible at this exciting product.

Straight Marshmallows

These vanilla-flavored Dandies Marshmallows are air-puffed and both vegan and gluten-free, for all of you with the relevant dietary restrictions and/or preferences. They offer a faint vanilla aroma and are noticeably lacking in that chemically stomach churning scent that I associate with… um… other brands. Size-wise, they fall somewhere between a jumbo and mini marshmallow (making them, perhaps, a regular?) and are more dense/less airy than aforementioned others. They are comparable in stretchability and chalky exterior, but I found the Dandies’ interior to be much stickier. And they taste great. Their delightful chew offers a nice creaminess at the end and the flavor, while not especially vanilla-y, is also not especially chemically, which leads me to believe that I could eat far more of them before feeling utterly sick to my stomach.

In Hot Chocolate

I tend more towards the mini variety of marshmallows for my hot chocolate needs, so I had to cut these up for sampling part two. Quartering them worked well for me. As promised on the Dandies website, these melted in that oozy way that marshmallows do in cocoa (but, happily, not too fast) and provided a sweet, slightly spongy element to my hot chocolate. No complaints here.

S’mores (aka “God’s food”)
Much to my delight, these marshmallows toasted very quickly. And while they browned nicely, I would be remiss not to mention that their surface bubbled maniacally (strictly cosmetic) and they were quick to catch fire (potentially troublesome in a campfire situation, less so over the burner of my gas stove. Bonus Addict tip: chopsticks make for a good at-home marshmallow-toasting tool.). And in a sampling moment that nearly made me weep with joy, the Dandies Marshmallows melted to perfection, coaxing their accompanying chocolate squares with them (yes, there were multiple), whilst never reaching that sticky, stringy, taffy-like state that makes standard s’mores generally unruly. Mmm. S’mores are genius. GENIUS.

As are Dandies Marshmallows.

While I was admittedly too lazy to launch the all-important fourth phase of this sampling, I have it on good authority (namely the Dandies website) that these also “make Rice Krispies Treats just like the real ones,” and I’m inclined to believe it. As a Candy Addict (as well as self-professed almost-vegan), these marshmallows exceeded any hopes I may have had for them and I proclaim that you all should go forth, be vegan, and eat (Dandies) marshmallows!

• Dandies Website

Editor’s Note: I let my Mom try these marshmallows, and she immediately proclaimed “They taste like marshmallows used to taste!” She then proceeded to tell a long, nostalgic story of how campfire marshmallows used to come packaged in little cardboard boxes with cellophane over the top… well, you get the idea. Needless to say, she was quite taken with these yummy little gems. So if you’re looking for marshmallows that taste “like they used to taste,” definitely give these a shot.

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.

Let’s say you return home from the market with a big Yukon Gold potato to go with your steak. You’re ready to bake the potato when you notice some fine print on a small sticker. It reads: “Contains salt, milk substitutes, artificial sour cream, onion, bacon and cheddar cheese flavor; 7% real potato.” Although you might like the sound of those add-ons, you certainly wouldn’t think you were holding a potato in your hand, would you? Of course not. A potato is 100% potato. Those other things might go great on your spud, but you want to start with an actual potato, don’t you? Of course.

And yet, this potato scenario exactly mirrors what happens when you buy any mass produced chocolate bar. All of them have around 7% cocoa and cocoa butter, and fill in the other 93% with sugar, milk substitutes, vegetable oils, soy lecithin and fake vanilla (called “vanillan”). Yes, you read correctly. Ninety percent or more of your supposed chocolate bar has nothing to do with chocolate, and yet it’s called chocolate!

Why is that, you ask? You won’t be surprised to learn that it’s due to history, greed and a disregard for quality. The cocoa in a nominal chocolate bar is by far the costliest ingredient, so makers want as little of it as possible. And we’ve called this food chocolate for so long that we associate the name with something very far from the cocoa bean.

Enter good chocolate, which has only been around since 1987, when chocolatiers figured out a way to bring out the distinct flavors of the cocoa bean in high percentage formulas without the high acidity and bitterness overwhelming the taste. (Why you don’t want any more than 70-75% cocoa; sugar, cocoa butter and vanilla round out the cocoa bean flavor best.) These artisan chocolates have a concern for quality and flavor. You’ve seen all those dark chocolate bars with percentages on the front, right? That comes from wishing to trumpet the fact that these bars have more cocoa credibility, and it’s a great trend. Except for one thing.

There’s more to a good chocolate bar then cocoa percentage. Most crucial is the bean you use. To cut to the chase, inferior chocolate uses inferior beans (”Forastero”) because they’re easiest and cheapest to grow. This lousy bean accounts for well over 90% of all cocoa grown, and its bought by all the mass producers. And the good stuff? “Criollo” and “Trinitario.”

Like fine wine, these beans have distinct, complex flavors that reflect the soil and climate of where they’re grown. Artisan chocolate of amazing flavor is exclusively made from these beans. (Mass produced, high percentage cocoa bars like Lindt Dark Chocolate contain Forastero beans, so they taste nowhere as good as the chocolate I’m talking about now. Hence, a merely high percentage of cocoa does not guarantee anything in the flavor department.)

El Rey chocolates use only Venezuelan Criolo and Trinitario beans. Let’s taste three of their bars from a very attractive metal tin of 5g squares.

The El Rey Cariaco Dark Chocolate “Rio Caribe” bar is 60.5% cocoa, a single bean (that is, unblended) cocoa variety of Venezuelan origin. It’s a Trinitario bean from the famed north eastern growing region of the country.

It has a great snap and earthy flavor, mildly fruity, but a bit too much vanilla flavor for my taste. If you’re new to real chocolate, however, this bar is a really good one to try because all of us normally associate vanilla with chocolate, so this makes for a good transition. This bar also has a well-rounded flavor with a few high distinct notes.

The 70% version of this El Rey bar shows more clearly why beans matter. Now that there’s less sugar and vanilla, I can taste the nice flavor of this delicious chocolate. The earthiness has some subtle peat or chalkiness to it, and the dark berry notes are more prominent. Wow, this is good. With this bar you really begin to taste chocolate as the complex plant that it is.

And now, the El Rey “Apamate” 73.5% Dark Chocolate bar. Made from the Carenero variety of Trinitario beans, this chocolate is amazing. Although I wouldn’t recommend that you go from Hershey’s to this chocolate (just like you can’t go from diet Coke to well-rounded Bordeaux and compare them very well), it’s great to start tasting real chocolate so you can see what’s going on with this bar.

First, it has a strong rich chocolate flavor that’s earthy and deep. Second, and unlike the Rio Caribe, this bar presents a more harmonious combination of flavors, including berry and an almost spicy taste. There’s also a hint of nuttiness and, most impressively, a long sustaining flavor of them all together that lingers on the tongue well after the chocolate is gone. This chocolate has its own personality. You may like artisan bars with a different character, but that’s what’s great about real chocolate: there are genuine differences to notice and enjoy.

So, all three of these El Rey chocolates have great mouth feel and rich, distinct flavors. These are great chocolates, made to the high standards that great cocoa beans deserve and reward. Although I prefer Amano single-bean chocolate (which I hope to review here in future), El Rey has a real winner here, especially with the Apamate. This Venezuelan company knows what it’s doing.

It’s been twenty minutes since I had a piece of Apamate and I can still feel its presence on my palate. Wow. Go buy this excellent chocolate if you already know about real chocolate. If you don’t, try these three bars in order and enjoy a journey of taste discovery.

You might even want to start with the Caoba 41% Dark Milk chocolate bar (delicious!) and work your way up the flavor ladder. All of these bars and an excellent white chocolate can be had in a great sampler. I highly recommend this gift for you and anyone else you like. Now that’s a present worth unwrapping.

And hey, take that 7% potato back to the store for a real one.

• El Rey Chocolates Website

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.

Looking for a gorgeous chocolate gift? Whether you’re treating yourself or someone else, Edward Marc has some lovely goodies to share with you. I recently received of a box of Edward Marc gourmet assorted chocolates and a box of chocolate peanut butter pretzels to review.

The first thing I noticed was the packaging. It’s very classy and elegant, without being stuffy. My immediate thought was “Ooh, this would make a nice gift!” When I opened the box of chocolates, I was delighted to see that the inside was even prettier than the outside.

Looks are all well and good, but what about the taste? I can tell you that Edward doesn’t skimp on flavor or texture. There’s a mix of solid chocolates and filled chocolates. The white, dark, and milk chocolate shells were consistently rich and creamy, so no matter what filling you got, the chocolate was always great. Plus, there’s a nice variety in the fillings, including fruit, nuts, and creams, so there’s something for just about everyone. I really liked the Golden Raisin Cluster – think uber upscale Raisinet. But hands down, my favorite thing in the box was the Dark Chocolate Salt Caramel. OMG! These people have taken caramels to a new level. The caramel is incredibly buttery, just the right amount of chewy, and not too sweet. With the rich dark chocolate and then the salt – who knew salt could add such a wow factor? – I was in heaven. It’s a good thing I didn’t get a whole box of just the caramels or might have had to propose to someone at the Edward Marc factory.

The only misses for me had to do with personal taste rather than shortcomings on Edward Marc’s part. Personally, I’m not that into orange peel, so the white chocolate with the orange peel didn’t light my fire. And, I’m not really into the meltaways, but if light, creamy, melt-in-your-mouth fillings are your thing, these will make you swoon. I did, however, really enjoy the roasted coffee beans on top of some of the meltaways. They added crunch and a surprising amount of flavor that really complimented the chocolates.

I also tried the peanut butter pretzels. I don’t know what Edward Marc has been feeding their pretzels, but these pretzels are huge!

While the pretzels were good, I can’t say I got the same wow that I got from the chocolates. I think this is, again, a matter of personal taste. First, I love salt, and I felt like the pretzels really need salt. Second, the peanut butter had more of the whipped consistency, like the filling in the meltaways which, again, is not my personal preference. I prefer a more solid, less sweet consistency. That said, I still enjoyed the pretzels. The chocolate was rich, the portion was extremely generous, and the pretzels were nice and crunchy.

Overall, Edward Marc makes a lovely mixed box of chocolates, in variety, in presentation, and in taste. They also make a good box of ginormous chocolate peanut butter pretzels, with good chocolate and texture. In both cases, Edward Marc doesn’t skimp on ingredients or portions. I can see either or both of these making good gifts.

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.

• Edward Marc Chocolates Website

Chocomize is American (although they use Belgian chocolate) and offers a different range of additions, although they also say that ten billion combinations are possible. They offer some pre-made combinations, which doesn’t seem to be in the spirit of the thing, but as someone who previously lamented that I didn’t really want to pick from among ten billion choices, I guess I shouldn’t throw stones, right?

I ordered a dark chocolate bar with pecan and sour cherries, same as from Chocri, and then threw in some candied rose petals for the heck of it, since I’d thought they’d be better with dark chocolate than the milk I’d had them with before.

I also asked for a sample of the milk and white chocolate for comparison, and actually they sent me two more whole bars with surprise additions. Which – again speaking as someone who didn’t really want to pick from among ten billion choices – was kind of a relief actually.

The milk chocolate bar had blueberries, honey roasted soybeans, and crystallized violet petals – perhaps they overestimated my degree of interest in eating candied flowers. The white chocolate had only dried strawberries, and the simplicity was a nice change from the other two.

Again, I think my personal opinion of the combinations is kind of beside the point. I mean, to start, I think that three things added to a chocolate bar is too much, actually. And you probably know whether or not you like honey roasted soybeans or not. (If you don’t, though, try them. They are surprisingly good, like peanuts but less greasy.) Basically, I am sure you are all grownup responsible chocolate eaters who can be trusted to combine these things for yourselves. You don’t need my opinion.

How about the chocolate, though? Like I said in my Chocri review, I come to this with a prejudice that Americans have a tendency to pile on the toppings (pizza, sandwiches, etc.) with the apparent assumption that if there’s enough stuff on top, it doesn’t matter that the underlying product isn’t of very good quality.

Well, OK, I apologize for my prejudice. This chocolate is less to my personal taste than the Chocri, but neither is it a cheap junk that they’re hoping you won’t notice under a load of gummy bears, wasabi peas and gold flakes.

I was most suspicious of the white chocolate, on general principles, because there is so much bad stuff going under the guise of white chocolate. It didn’t help much that the big, dark, wrinkled lumps of dried strawberries looked on first glance like – um, let’s just say it was something not edible, and maybe only my mind would jump to that idea because I’ve spent a lot of time in my life cleaning up after a wide range of animals.

But the white chocolate is good. It is sweeter than the Chocri, but quite acceptable. And the strawberries are a good addition in the way that strawberries go well with white creamy things.

The dark chocolate is also not bad. Also a hair too sweet – but I like very bitter dark chocolate. The cherries and pecans are good. And so is the rose petal, with a very strong rose flavor, but I wanted to pick it off and eat it separately (which was unfortunately impossible). OK, I give up – candied flower petals on chocolate are a bad idea. I tried something new, now can I please just stick to nuts and crispy rice? Thanks.

The milk chocolate was my least favorite but I am a tough customer for milk chocolate, I prefer it to be basically dark chocolate over which someone has more or less waved a carton of milk. I think it’s fair to assume that someone whose favorite kind of chocolate is milk chocolate is going to like this better than I did.

I don’t care for the ‘big chunks scattered on top’ approach that both of these companies take. I’d rather have smaller pieces more evenly distributed. They’re obviously going for the visual effect, with similar packaging with clear plastic windows displaying the top of the bar. (Which as noted in the case of the strawberries was not such a hot idea.)

Overall I think these bars are – not surprisingly – more pitched to American tastes as far as sweetness level. If you are the sort of person who often complains that things are too sweet, I suspect you would prefer the Chocri. If that is not one of your recurring problems, you are likely going to be OK with the Chocomize. But you would not be embarrassed giving either as a gift, and since they have different toppings, your choice might come down to either the choice of additions and/or the price, which I can’t speak to, having not paid for either one.

So, if this sounds like fun to you, go wild. Personally, now I am going to go eat some PLAIN chocolate for a change of pace. And please, if there is really anyone out who is tempted to order a chocolate bar with Sour Patch Kids on it, I would rather not know about it, OK?

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.

• Chocomize Website

Another box of filled chocolates to sample! You guys have no idea how hard I work for you. Derry Church Artisan Chocolates have a schtick which is kind of cute, where each one is named after a city and is flavored with stuff that at least sort of has something to do with the place they are named after. They also have some flavors that I can pretty much guarantee you have never encountered, which is sometimes a good thing and sometimes very much not so good at all.

San Fran – black mission figs. Good dark chocolate. Just a hint of figs really but it’s enough. It’s a good combination.

London – butter toffee and crushed almonds. I picked this up and said to my assistant “I don’t like toffee, you can have this one,” and took a little bite. And then finished the whole piece. (Don’t worry, there were two, he got the other.) Nice and buttery and not the kind that sticks in your teeth. They need to make a whole big bar of this.

Savannah – peaches in white chocolate ganache with oat crumble. I give them credit for this idea. There are lots of chocolate companies making flavors you’ve never heard of, but most of them are European or Asian types of flavors. Here’s a solidly American idea. But… the peach filling is not bad, but I just can’t do the oat crumble with chocolate. A for imagination, but I would not eat this again.

Cairo – date and balsamic vinegar, with a topping of jaggery (brown sugar and molasses). Eating the parts separately, you can taste the balsamic vinegar in the filling but surprisingly, this is not awful like it probably sounds. The little topping bit tastes extremely of molasses and has a nice sandy texture, and is something I could use more of in my life. Eating it all at once it comes together into its own indescribable but mostly fruity-tasting thing.

Burlington – maple syrup and pecan. I hate to be un-American but this is another one that doesn’t do it for me. I don’t really taste any maple syrup. I don’t want maple syrup on my chocolate anyway though, come to think of it. Another A for patriotism, otherwise, not for me.

Winter Haven – orange and white chocolate. This tastes totally like white chocolate and yet also has the flavor of orange juice. Kind of confusing really but in a good way.

Dublin – Irish whiskey cream liqueur and coffee. My assistant, who is a whiskey fan, said this didn’t taste much like whiskey. Which was fine with me, but I still didn’t like this one. Somehow it just gave the impression of not very good milk chocolate – I think the additions weakened the chocolate flavor without adding enough of their own flavor.

Derry Church – bigger than the others, milk chocolate with what they call “dulce de leche caramel,” which basically seems to mean that rather than the usual stiff chewy caramel you get inside a chocolate, this is soft and flowing, and it’s wonderful. It’s that really good caramel flavor that seems to hit every single taste bud in your whole mouth – nice and rich and full. I am not crazy about the milk chocolate in these chocolates, which is not intense enough for me, but never mind the chocolate, in this one you could just eat the filling off a spoon.

Plymouth – the description of this filled me with dread: chocolate with pumpkin pie spice? But it was excellent – the problem is, they’ve named it wrong. It tastes just like one of those chocolate covered gingerbread Lebkuchen cookies, and obviously should be named after a city in Germany instead.

Mumbai – curry. Of this, the less said, the better.

County Kildare – oatmeal. Before you say “yuck,” it might be worth reading the description that says “remarkably similar taste and texture to freshly baked oatmeal cookies.” But you might, like me, still say “yuck” after you taste it.

Rome – cappuccino flavored, and cute, topped with what looks like foam dusted with cinnamon. It’s OK, it doesn’t bowl me over, but what a relief after curry and oatmeal. Sometimes there’s a reason that certain combinations are traditional and certain combinations are unheard-of.

Paris – strawberry jam and white chocolate. This really is strawberry jam, and tasting it makes me realize that jam really does have its own flavor – it’s not just strawberry and it’s not like what fruit flavor chocolate fillings are usually like. And I am not sure I would have thought it was going to be a good idea if I’d known this in advance. But, I like this one.

To sum up, some of these are too off the wall but more to the point they are not really my style, so they are not going to knock Burdick or Theo out of the top rank as my favorite artisan chocolate. But enough of the flavors are good that I am left with a curiosity about the remaining ones that I didn’t get to try. (Hmm, Edinburgh butterscotch sauce?) So I should also point out that you can buy these chocolates packaged in a pretty little Japanese bento box, fancy chopsticks included and wrapped in cloth in the Japanese way, and Christmas is coming, and don’t leave out the London and Plymouth, OK?

• Derry Church Chocolates Website

I’m not a stranger to “healthy” candy, nor are my views on it anything but direct: there really isn’t such a thing. So if you’re looking for a candy that’s going to be something I recommend you add to your diet, you can stop reading now.

That said, I do believe there is a difference between candy and candy that is better for you. And with childhood obesity on the rise, more and more parents are looking for these sorts of confectionery avenues. Kids are always going to want to eat sweets, so you might as well buy them the ones that are not as hard on their bodies.

Recently, I have reviewed products from companies that share this vision for candy, namely from Surf Sweets and BrightSpot, so it’s not all that surprising to hear of more and more companies adopting this mantra. The latest comes from Yummy Earth, who proudly boast a tagline that their candy is “The best stuff on earth.” Hmm… Snapple anyone?

The idea for this company is steeped in genuine love of both candy and children; the founders are two fathers who teamed up develop a candy for their children that didn’t rely on all the additives, preservatives, etc. that are common in most American candy.

There are certain traits each of their products share, including all being certified USDA organic (the first of its kind for gummy bears or gummy worms), manufactured without corn syrup, and stamped with a variety of allergen-free ingredients. Note that the Parve (a specific designation of Kosher) certification displayed on their website applies only to their hard candy, as the gummies contain gelatin (presumably an un-Kosher gelatin), which is also why the hard candy is certified vegan and the gummies aren’t, so you’d do best check the specifics on each bag for the slight variances.

Organic Candy Drops: All these pieces were shaped at about a half-inch diameter. The bag I received came in fourish flavors, which all remind me of hard candy sticks in terms of flavor and smooth surface.

Wet-Face Watermelon: is the pink piece. It bears a refined watermelon taste with a slight burst of tartness. It’s not really watermelon, and as someone who dislikes watermelon in candy, I enjoyed that.

Mango Tango: this piece is half-orange, half-yellow. The citrus here is zestful, but more indicative of lime, lemon, and orange than mango. I am not sure what flavor is doing the tango with the mango, but it’s very confusing in a delicious and flavorful way. Not really mango, but tasty.

Cheeky Lemon: this piece is the full yellow drop. The lemon flavor is more tart than zestful, but in an understated manner that lets you appreciate the charm of a lemon. I don’t really notice the cherry notes hidden under the potency of the lemon flavor.

Pomegranate Pucker: is the deep-purple piece. I have to say I enjoyed the other flavors, but wasn’t bowled away until this one. Wow! The pomegranate juice notes are strong with an alcohol base flavor profile that is robust, complex, and deep like a woodsy wine. Notes of black currant and grape juice reveal themselves, and I am reminded of the black currant piece in Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles, a product I lauded to no end. Of all the things the kind folks at Yummy Earth sent me, this was the best.

Organic Lollipops: come in eight different flavors, including three of the flavors found in the candy drops. Each lollipop is about an inch in diameter and labels its flavor on the wrapper (the candy drops did not do this, hence why I mentioned their colors).

In terms of the repeating flavors (Wet-Face Watermelon, Mango Tango, and Pomegranate Pucker), each resembles the flavor and smooth consistency found in the candy drops, except the pomegranate is not as bold here.

Strawberry Smash: like the watermelon, this is comprised of a muted strawberry flavor, relying on the taste of strawberry in an altered state, such as a jam or fruit leather. It too reminds me of the strawberry piece in Rowntree’s Wine Gums. This piece refrains from being to sweet and lets the flavor speak instead of sugar. Very delicious.

Sour Apple Tart: I believe this piece is more tart than it is sour, the way a Granny Smith apple isn’t really sour. The apple flavor is reminiscent of freshly squeezed juice and is spot on for what it is trying to convey to your taste buds.

Very Very Cherry: there are so many types of cherry flavors, and this one is more along the lines of a cherry juice or the tart quality found in sour cherry pie. Those who are fans of that sort of cherry will enjoy this.

Googly Grape: I’d wager that this is the most traditional of the flavors. The taste is approximately that of grape juice, but not nearly as sweet. It’s mild like a grape popsicle, but genuine in it’s flavor presentation.

Tooberry Blueberry: blueberry is a hard flavor to reproduce in a candy, and these guys do pretty well here for the most part. Like their other flavors, it tastes more like the fruit juice than the fruit itself. I am not quite sure what the white flavor swirling the blueberry is (cream perhaps?), but I would prefer this lollipop without it.

Gummy Worms: For those of you accustomed to eating gummy worms, please not that these are about half the size of a traditional worm. I would also say they look a little more snake-like than worm. Regardless of size or shape, they are highly fragrant and provide a 100% daily dose of vitamin C.

Sour Apple Tart: in gummy form, the sharpness of the apple flavor in the lollipop is muted—but this is a great thing. The taste is pure apple and works well with the firm, but easy to chew texture of the gummy. Best of the three flavors.

Pomegranate Pucker: oddly enough, this version of the pomegranate flavor differed from that of the candy drop and lollipop.

Tangy Tangerine: tangerine isn’t a popular gummy flavor, but I’m not sure why, since it works well here. The citrus component is far from subtle and has a great tangerine zest, but it does seem more like orange than tangerine.

Gummy Bears: these are akin to Haribo gummy bears in shape, but not as defined. Like the gummy worms, they too boast a 100% daily dose of vitamin C. I also noticed the gummy chew was a bit firmer in these, which is a nice contrast from your typical flabby gummy.

Sour Apple Tart: the gummy quality is definitely playing a role in reducing the same flavors that are in the hard candy. Even more so than the worms, these lost that tartness in the lollipops. I think the reduced intensity worked well in former example, but here it’s just too subtle.

Pomegranate Pucker: not really a surprise, but the pomegranate flavor here is completely different than any of its other manifestations reviewed so far. Had I not known these were pomegranate, I’d probably guess grape.

Strawberry Smash: this bear in particular stood out. More so than the others, the chew factor played out well. The strawberry flavor mirrors that of the green bear in the Haribo variety (yes, green is strawberry in Haribo land), but does so in a much more flavorful and natural way. Best in this bag.

Aside from offering a great array of flavors in some better-for-you ways, one thing I really enjoyed about these guys was that the hard candies came in resealable bags; not sure why the gummies didn’t as they would need it more, I would think.

For those of you who, like me, enjoy certain flavors more than others, you can purchase the majority of these in individual flavor bags, as opposed to the mixed variety I sampled.

All in all, I think these are actually tasty. I don’t say that in that “healthy candy” tasty way, but tasty for any type of candy. Certain pieces here are just spectacular, and I would easily purchase those on their own. In a testament to how good they are, I actually handed them out for Halloween and received a variety of compliments from my neighbors; in the better-for-you candy world, your toughest critics are kids, and Yummy Earth easily made them smile.

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.

• Yummy Earth Website

Chocri is a German company that plans to open for business in the US in the new year. Their website allows you to design your own chocolate bars – white, dark, or milk, with your choice of additions, which range from the normal (nuts, fruit) to the more exotic (gold balls, gummy bears, spices).

When they asked if I’d like to order some sample bars to review, I was all “heck yeah,” but as I delved into the site, I began to realize that I am not exactly the ideal customer for this sort of thing. Because A, I have very strong opinions about what flavors go together, and B, I am overwhelmed by too many choices.

So, on the one hand the only things I would be sure I would like were the totally traditional choices like milk chocolate with crispy rice. On the other hand I knew that was totally not in the spirit of the thing. What would be the point of getting a combination that I could get anywhere?

Beyond that, I no longer remember exactly what went on in my mind as I clicked around the options on their site – so many that they claim that more than ten billion combinations are possible. So when the following bars arrived, I thought some crazy person had ordered them:

• White with red rice and mango cubes
• Milk with coconut shavings, candied rose petals and a marzipan rose
• Dark with pecans, sour cherries and orange pepper

Well, on the bright side, they sure aren’t anything you could walk into a store and buy, right?

The first thing I noticed about these bars is that they are larger than they looked to me on the website, and so this also meant that some of the toppings were surprising. Red rice is not small rice crispy things, for example – they’re rice crackers.

Another thing is that the toppings are really on top, not mixed in. (I guess this means if you really didn’t like something, you could pick it off the top. But this would also totally not be in the spirit of the thing.) They are also distributed beautifully but not necessarily evenly throughout the bar. You get big pieces of pecan decorating the top, not little pieces chopped up and thoroughly mixed in.

Now for a little rant: In America, companies that specialize in this sort of thing tend to let the quality of the underlying product slide, figuring it will get lost in the mass of toppings anyway. I’m thinking for example of certain places that specialize in letting you mix toppings into pretty lousy ice cream; pizza tends to be another good example of this.

I was hoping I could expect better of the Germans. I am really not interested in eating a lot of fancy nonsense mixed into mediocre chocolate. Happily, that is not what they are selling.

The white chocolate is particularly excellent, with a great creamy texture and no cheap off-flavors. If you think you don’t like white chocolate, please make sure that you’ve had some that’s as good as this before you give up on it.

As for the toppings I put in this one… the red rice crackers, OK they look cool, but are not really what I want in chocolate. That’s not their fault, it was my choice. The mango chunks are very small, dried and candied tasting. They are fine, and the combination is fine. I have to say though that what I like about this is the bites that happen to have no topping and are just really good white chocolate. Which is, yes, not in the spirit of the thing. So sue me.

The dark chocolate is also good. It’s just a hair sweeter than I like, but the texture is great – I prefer it not too hard and snappy. The pecans and dried cherries are good, and fortunately this one is not a totally insane combination. The orange pepper doesn’t make much of an impression on me one way or another, but that’s fine.

The milk chocolate is my least favorite, but I am very hard to please when it comes to milk chocolate. It has to be much darker than normal, which this isn’t. Candied rose petals add even more sweetness, which this doesn’t need. I’d love to try those with dark chocolate, though.

The marzipan rose is lovely, as are many of the other decorations they offer – these are going to make an interesting gift-giving option for the chocolate lover.

To sum up, despite the fact that they were ordered by a crazy person, I am kind of sorry I mentioned to some other people that I would share these samples with them, especially the white chocolate. I think I may have to temporarily lose track of where I put that one.

• Chocri Website (German)

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?

But wow, they were good. I wondered if it was just because the chocolate coating was good, but upon disassembling one and eating the parts separately, I concluded that although the chocolate is indeed good, it’s the whole combination of chocolate and bean that’s “wow.” It reminds me of the taste of good strong cocoa powder. I mean the good stuff like a soft chocolate truffle might be rolled in (not your Swiss Miss in an envelope with milk powder). If you like that flavor you’ll love these.

And the texture is OK. The bean is perfectly edible, not as hard as a coffee bean.

These actually caused some domestic unrest. (”Are you finishing those? Don’t you dare finish those. I don’t care if I said I was done writing the review, PUT THOSE DOWN.”) I would definitely consider buying them again.

I also got a six piece assortment of their filled chocolates. They are large enough that six seemed like plenty, but then I discovered the heartbreak of the small collection of chocolates. The flavors I’d seen on the website that I was most excited to try – ginger, lemongrass, and passionfruit – were not included. I assume the selection is random and you have to trust to luck…

But, I know, shut up and eat your free chocolate…

Ecuador – 70% chocolate ganache filling. I didn’t like this at first. It seemed greasy and not all that flavorful. I wondered if it was affected by the trip – the package came from Florida, and in a week that was unseasonably warm for this time of year – and indeed, it was better the next day after a night in a cool dark house took the oiliness away. So, see where it says on the back of the box to store at 61-64 degrees? Take it seriously.

Le Citron – Meyer lemon – a nice herby-lemon hit at the beginning, almost like Japanese yuzu, although it kind of faded as I ate it.

Salted Caramel – This was not what I expected – not caramel inside, but “the finest caramel ganache,” which is basically a chocolate filling. I’m not sure if I would have identified a caramel flavor in this without a label, but the salt was obvious. I am not really a fan of salt-candy combinations (chocolate and pretzels strike me as an abomination) but this was surprisingly good. The bits of salt explode in your mouth here and there and then fade, making this an entertaining few moments of chewing.

Coffee – this is the mildest coffee flavor I can ever remember having in a chocolate.

Blackberry cobbler – blackberry puree and almond praline. OK, first of all, forget the whole ‘blackberry cobbler’ thing, when I make cobbler it has no praline in it. But setting that aside I still wasn’t crazy about this. Not a strong enough fruit flavor and there was some flavor in the praline part that I can’t pin down but that I didn’t like, kind of like hazelnut (although there’s no hazelnut in the ingredients list).

Amazon – “dark chocolate ganache with Ishpingo, a unique flavor from the Amazon, and a hint of cinnamon.” This was VERY good with a capital VERY. It was more than a hint of cinnamon, unless that was the Ishpingo, which, says the Internet, supposedly tastes kind of like cinnamon too. Chocolate and cinnamon is kind of old hat, but this was not boring at all. Maybe that’s the effect of the mysterious Ishpingo.

The conclusion? A couple of these were very good. The chocolate itself is excellent. The approach to flavorings in the fillings is a little restrained for my taste. I like a filled chocolate with a fruit (or something like coffee) filling to really punch me in the face with the flavor. I recognize that this is a matter of personal preference, so if you’re looking for something very high quality and you prefer not to feel like you’ve gotten a black eye from your chocolate bonbons, these are definitely worth a try.

• Aequare Website

Just in time for Halloween, the Twilight film franchise has released New Moon themed Halloween candies. The folks at the National Confectioners’ Association sent me three flavors to try.

Do you remember Sky Bars? For those of you who have never had the pleasure, a Sky Bar is a chocolate bar made of different sections, each of which contain a different filling. So in one chocolate bar, you got caramel, vanilla, peanut butter, and fudge fillings. Awesome.

Well this classic candy is getting a modern makeover. Instead of putting all the fillings in one bar, now some of the segments have their own, individually-wrapped candy bar with different Twilight New Moon characters on different flavors. I tried the Edward caramel and the Bella creme. Edward’s chocolate is etched with a family crest and says “Cullen.” Bella’s is shaped like a heart and says “Bella.” Both are good-sized chocolates.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a Sky Bar, so I can’t compare these to the originals. But I can say: yummy! The caramel flavor is loaded with a soft, sweet caramel that’s more liquid than chewy. The creme has almost the same consistency and the flavor reminds me of a Cadbury creme egg – really sweet but I somehow love it anyway.

Between the packaging, the cool shapes of the candies, the generous size of the chocolates, and the taste, I’d say these would be a huge hit with Twilight-loving Trick-or-Treaters.

I also tried the Twilight Sweethearts “Forbidden Fruits” conversation hearts. My box said “2 of 3″ and featured Edward. They are a bit glittery, and say things like “Soul Mate,” “With You,” “Live 4 Ever,” and my personal favorite, “Bite Me.”

For me, conversation hearts have always been more about having fun with what they say than how they taste, and this box was no exception. These still have the same chalky consistency I remember, but the flavors are much stronger. Flavors include orange obsession, tempting apple, passion fruit, and secret strawberry. They all tasted very sweet, very artificial, and, oddly enough, vaguely medicinal to me. I can’t say I enjoyed how these tasted. Fun to play with, yes. Fun to eat, not so much.

Since these come in a big box, they are not really suitable for handing out at the door on Halloween. But they’d be a lot of fun in a candy dish at work or at a party.

Given a choice, I definitely would choose the Sky Bars over the Sweethearts. Either way, enjoy your Twilight New Moon Halloween goodies!

Necco makes both the Sky Bar treats and the Sweethearts.

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

• Necco’s Website