A candy miscellany

Let's just pretend I posted this pictures all cuckoo on purpose. Call it artistic expression. I'm working with Windows 8 now, and I don't think I've ever hated a piece of technology more. I borrowed a copy of "Windows 8 for Seniors" from the library, but I only got halfway through before it was due. Clearly I need a tutor. In any case, this is just a random post of some recent goodies.

As you can see, I found a bargain at Target. I got a Sweet & Salty Bark and a Candied Orange Bark for 48 cents. (They weren't close to expiring, so I figured I was safe. I'm guessing these are going to be discontinued.) I actually really liked these. They were a good amount of chocolate without being too much and I liked the combination of flavors. My only regret is that I should've bought more.

And here, if you turn your computer upside down, you can see the new m&m's chocolate bar. It's a candy bar with mini m&m's embedded in it. There's not much you can really say about that except, yum!

And these beautiful truffles from See's. I really love See's candies because they taste great, they're American-made, they ship well and are affordable. They're definitely a permanent selection on my gift-giving list.

Lastly, there's this deliciousness: Alter Eco Dark Quinoa Organic Chocolate. I wrote about some of Alter Eco's other flavors here, and I loved them so much that I knew I had to try the quinoa one when I saw it at Whole Foods. This chocolate is so fruity and smooth and the quinoa gives it a nice crunch. I only wish that Mr. Goodbar hadn't found the second half in my secret drawer and eaten it.  

Hot chocolate

This heatwave we're experiencing is not exactly the best weather for chocolate (or me, for that matter). The kind folks at Alter Eco Foods contacted me a month or so ago and asked if I'd like to try their chocolate. I said yes, and they sent me a few bars. The full-on heatwave hadn't yet started when the bars arrived, so I was surprised when I opened them and found they had clearly reached a molten state at some point during their travels. I don't usually mind trying chocolate that's bloomed or melted, but these had suffered pretty badly. The foil wrapper had melted into the chocolate, so I didn't even try to sample them. When I told the company the sad news, they said they'd ship out another package, which they did. Guess what? It arrived on my doorstep on a 90 degree day. This time, though, I ran the package straight to the fridge with the hopes I could save it.

The good news is, I was able to salvage the chocolate bars. The better news is that it was fantastic. Usually a nibble or two of plain dark chocolate is satisfying enough, but this was so perfectly balanced that I kept wanting more. Even Mr. Goodbar said it was the best chocolate he'd had in a long, long time. I love the descriptions of the chocolate. The Dark Noir is "fruity and malty, smooth and rich with a firm snap, a strong bite and a hint of licorice." The Dark Velvet, with a "touch of milk," is "melty smooth, with a subtle flowery bouquet and honey finish." I love a good chocolate that has a nice snap to it, and I prefer my dark chocolate on the fruity, rather than bitter, side. These bars were so, so good. They have other flavors, including Dark Twist with crystallized orange peel and Dark Quinoa with nutty toasted quinoa. I've got to try those. The Dark Coconut Toffee was incredible. Little bits of crunchy toffee combined with real toasted coconut. Good stuff. They're available at different health food stores and Whole Foods.

Happy Valentine's Day! (And some new bars from Trader Joe's)

Happy Valentine's Day, Yumsters! What did you all get from your sweeties this Valentine's Day? I want to hear all about your giant hearts filled with chocolates since I don't have one of my own. (I did, however, get something *almost* as good; Mr. Goodbar replaced one of my kitchen cabinets, which have been down in the basement for a year.)

I haven't been eating much candy lately, but I did score some new bars at Trader Joe's recently. One was Dark Chocolate filled with Chocolate Buttercream. The other was Dark Chocolate filled with Speculoos (Cookie Spread). Yes, you read that right. Cookie spread. Can you imagine anything more delicious? First I tried the buttercream bar. The chocolate was good, but not stellar, like in their giant 3 pound bars. The filling was really sweet. It reminded me of a cream-filled chocolate from a box of candy.
I was really excited to try the speculoos bar, because I've never had cookie spread before. I don't know that I can really compare it to anything, but it was sweet and creamy and a nice treat. Not anything that I'd have to have again, but it satisfied my sweet tooth.

Mmmm, mmm, Mint M&M's

I love mint. I love dark chocolate. I love M&M's. Therefore, I love dark mint M&M's. That's all I have to say.

Disappointment at Trader Joe's

Standing in line at Trader Joe's the other day, I nearly dropped to my knees and wept with joy. There, in the checkout line, were bags upon bags of their new Milk Chocolate-Covered Potato Chips. When I worked at the chocolate shop in college, we had chocolate potato chips that were sublime, a perfect balance of sweet chocolate and salty chips. The chips used were Ruffles because, I was told, they didn't get soggy once they were dipped. The result was something akin to a Nestle Crunch, only with a hint of salt. They were $10.95 a pound back then (I'm shivering as I now realize that was 16 years ago), so I can only imagine what they go for now. Seeing them at TJ's for less than $3 a bag made the purchase a no-brainer.
After I distracted the Sugar Baby with a granola bar, I surreptitiously stole a potato chip out of the bag for myself. I bit into it, expecting to hear angels sing. Instead, I got "wah, wah, wahhhhhh." The chip was stale-ish tasting. It didn't mesh well with the chocolate. It was so not good that I still have the entire bag, untouched, in my pantry. Believe me, something's got to be pretty bad to stick around here.

My other purchase from that trip was the Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Caramel with Sea Salt. Again, this seemed like an instant win. The bar is super thin, which made it very difficult to break into sections. In fact, I ended up getting caramel all over the wrapper because it was impossible to get a clean break. As for the taste, well, it was much better than the potato chips, but it's not one of my favorite TJ's chocolates. The problem with this was that the chocolate was too dark (70%) for the rather large salt crystals. To me, it bordered on savory.

r&d chocolates: A little chemistry, a little culinary magic

Yes, I'm still here. It's been a hot, humid summer in Connecticut, but that hasn't stopped one serious chocolate lover from selling her hand-crafted chocolates at the local farmers' market. Check out my story here.

NewTree Chocolates: So Good, I'm Going to Share

Photo courtesy of the NewTree blog, since my camera has once again crapped out on me.

I'll be totally honest and say I was suspicious of NewTree chocolate bars from the get-go. I was sent four sample bars: Dark 65% cacao with flax seeds and crisped rice; Superfruit 65% cacao with cranberries, goji berries, pomegranate, grape and papaya; lavender; and ginger.
Now, you know how I am with chocolate. I (usually) much prefer nuts and mainstream fillings to more "exotic" flavors, so I was hesitant about these bars. And there's a whole New Agey-goodness about the packaging that made me look at them askance.
But I'm here to tell you ... heeyyy now! Wow. I was happily--very happily-- surprised. I first tried the dark with flax seeds and crisped rice. The chocolate was excellent quality. Not too creamy, not too bitter, and the flax and rice gave it a nice crunch. It wasn't at all gritty or grainy, as I feared it might be. Mr. Goodbar also enjoyed this bar. I know, because it was gone the next day.
Last night he was circling my desk like a shark, looking for an end-of-the-evening treat. "What about the Superfruit?" he asked.
Fine, I said. Just give me a piece.
What can I say? I LOVED it. Again, that lovely, balanced dark chocolate, only this time, there were little bits of dried, chewy fruit. Here's where they did things absolutely, totally right. The fruit bits are tiny, so you don't feel like you're eating a fruitcake. Instead you get smooth dark chocolate first, then a juicy, tart fruit burst at the finish. Now I'm totally anxious to get my hands on an orange or a cinnamon bar. This is some good shizz, my friends, and I'd like to share. So I'm giving away the last two bars, ginger and lavender, to one lucky Yumster.
Here's what you need to do to be considered: tell me about a food (doesn't have to be chocolate; it could be anything) that surprised you, either good or bad. What did (or didn't) you expect? Remember to leave a way for me to contact you in case you're the lucky random recipient. Also, U.S. residents only, please. I'll pick a name on Weds., Jan. 19 at approximately 8:38 p.m. EST.

My New Obsession: Dark Chocolate Stars

My P.I.C. and I decided that, this year, instead of getting gifts for each others' kids, we'd splurge and give presents to each other. Nothing big, just something fun. Well, howdy doo, guess what I got? A veritable candy feast of Trader Joe's goodies. There's Fleur de Sel caramels, chocolate-covered edamame, chocolate-covered peppermint Joe Joe's and-- hold onto your hats-- dark chocolate-covered shortbread stars.
Back in November, there was a woman behind me in line at TJ's who was buying a whole bunch of boxes of the stars. She said she learned her lesson last year when they sold out. I didn't think much of it, because I'm not a huge shortbread fan. But these are beyond compare. They really don't taste like shortbread. They don't have that huge butter taste and are more thin and crunchy than thick and crumbly. The chocolate is delicious. If these were a candy, they just might be voted the best of 2010. Now I know. Next year I will hoard them.
What about you? What treats did you get for Christmas?

New Dove Swirls

I think 2011 is going to be a good year for chocolate. I have a feeling there will be a lot of new, fun candies out there for us to try. Dove has announced that in January, they'll be launching a new product: Dove Silky Smooth White & Milk Chocolate Swirl and Raspberry & Dark Chocolate Swirl. I tried the raspberry and was very happy with it. Raspberry is one of those flavors that can easily go wrong, but here the sweetness of the berry is nicely balanced with the tannin of the dark chocolate. Like most of the Dove products, I could eat a bag of these in one sitting. But just for the record, I did maintain self-control and only had a few. That's today's story, anyhow. Tomorrow could be completely different.

Minty Mallows and ... Announcing My New Gig!

It's that time of year again ... the time when I can't go to Trader Joe's with an empty sugar tooth because they have all their holiday yummy things out. They have cute snowflakes made out of milk, white and dark chocolate; holiday jelly beans in red, green and white (with no artifical colors or flavors); lots of truffles and fleur de sel caramels, chocolate-covered Joe-Joe's ... it goes on and on. I decided to go for the Dark Chocolate Minty Mallows. Want to know more? You know you do! Check out my new food blog, EatDrinkShopCook! I've accepted a gig as the food writer for a group of local papers, which means my postings here may be a bit sparse for a while, until I get my bearings over there.

My Sweet George: Chocolate Caramels

Like I said a few days ago, I have candy stashed into every corner of my house right now. It needs to get out of sight for a while, until I get back into my pre-birthday rye bread-for-every-meal-and-elliptical machine routine.
But first, I had to try one of the samples I received from My Sweet George Divine Candies. I was sent a bag of assorted candies--Cherry Pecan, Macadamia Nut, Coconut Almond, Lemon Butter, Peanut Butter, and Sea Salt Dark Chocolate caramels. Each piece is handmade and individually wrapped. The presentation is cute and homey. You can definitely tell these aren't machine-made.
Now, as you know, caramel isn't my favorite, but over the past few years, I've developed a taste for it, so I went into this with an open mind. I was particularly excited that it was chocolate caramel, something you don't see very often. I just tried the peanut butter. It was a layer of chewy chocolate caramel atop a layer of salty, crumbly natural peanut butter. It was, I dare say, really, really good. A great combination of sweet/salty/chewy. It was extremely satisfying, and I could've totally been happy with one piece, but I was so intrigued by the lemon butter.
This piece reminded me more of taffy. It had a slick oilyness to it and smelled of fresh lemons. The chew was soft, like taffy, but my teeth are beginning to protest. Apparently I'm pushing my 40-year-old chompers to the limit tonight. As for the taste-- normally I don't like lemon and chocolate together. I love lemon on its own, but I find that it often doesn't pair well with chocolate. In this case, it was surprisingly good. The zestiness was a nice contrast to the dark chocolate, giving it an almost savory appeal.
Here's what I like about these candies: 1) They're homemade. 2) They're satisfying and, according to the website, one non-nut piece is about 70 calories (or two Weight Watchers points). 3) They're different.
A pound of caramels (about 26-28 pieces) is $25. The website is a bit wonky; there isn't an order form directly on the website and the information about the actual candy is buried beneath info on their T-shirts and tote bags. And I'm unclear as to whether or not they actually have a store front.
But so far, so good. The two flavors I've tried are excellent. I'll be trying the others later this week-- after I get over to the gym.

Chocolates for Gods and Divas

I was trying to think of a snarky name for Godiva since their employees are so uppity, when I realized that the name itself says it all : God/diva. Apparently you have to be one or the other to shop there. In any case, despite the snob factor (can you tell this just irked me or what?), I purchased a candy bar for the Sugar Baby at his insistence. It was a Mint Chocolate Chip and Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar. The aroma is a good, solid mint with the fruity undertones of the chocolate. The chocolate is snappy and the filling is a soft, green cream. My first thought was, "Wow. This is yummy!" My second thought was, "This tastes a lot like Andes Candies." It was definitely tasty, but at $2 a bar, you'd be better off buying a package of Andes (or going to your favorite restaurant where they hand them out with the check).

I'll Take the Truffle, But Hold the Attitude

It's been a crazy, candy-themed kinda day around here. We started off early by painting egg carton cups to look like candy. (I did candy corn; the Sugar Baby did a chocolate-covered cherry.) Then it was onto the mall where I was cashing in on the birthday freebies. First stop: Sephora, for a free make-up kit, then over to Godiva, where I begrudgingly shared my free Chocolate Lava Cake Truffle with the boy. Let me tell you, it was pretty incredible. It was a dark chocolate shell, dusted with powdered sugar and had a gooey chocolate inside. One of the best truffles I've ever had, I believe. (But really, these Godiva people have *got* to quit it with the attitude. First of all, it's chocolate, not gold. Second of all, they're the ones working there. I'm the one buying. If anyone should have an attitude, it's me. But that's not the way I roll.)
The best candy story I'll save for tomorrow. In the meantime, my new computer battery has arrived, which means I can start posting pictures again! Hooray! Enjoy this goodie from Necco-Door Neighbor Big Tony. It's a kiddy menu from Howard Johnson's, circa 1961. My favorite is the "Miss Muffet Lunch": Petite Vegetable Plate, Bacon Strip, Roll and Butter, Ice Cream, Sherbet or Gelatine. 75 cents.

Some Ghirardelli is Coming Their Way!

Thanks to everyone who entered and voted in the Ghirardelli Dark giveaway. Usually I pick random people, but this time, since there are four lucky recipients, I decided to pick a loyal Yumster, a new Yumster, a Yumster with the best answer and one random name. So if you're:

• Rodzilla
• Philly
• Coolcat or
• Virga

you're getting a a big, bountiful basket of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate! Congrats, Yumsters. Please contact me at candyyumyummail@yahoo.com with your mailing information!

Possible 2010 Candy of the Year: TJ's Dark Chocolate Nutty Bits

Seriously, I'm beginning to think I'm one of those people who have some crazy magnetic/electric field thing going on, because it seems that there's always something going on these days. First it was my computer, then my camera, then back to the computer, then the camera and now, the computer again. Hence, my lack of posts and also the future lack of pictures until I get this situation straightened out.
As a reward for your patience, though, I'm about to reveal my latest find that is so wonderfully crunchy/salty/sweet, so chocolatey good that I think this is very definitely a contender for the 2010 Candy of the Year.
Yumsters, may I present to you...
WAIT! Where have they gone? I just went to the closet to get the bag and it's not there. This is not a good sign. Methinks Mr. Goodbar has been in the pantry again. I can't even tell you how sad I will be if I find out they are all gone.
"They" are Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Nutty Bits. (And just to confirm, yes, I just fished the empty bag out of the garbage.)
The description says, "Our Dark Chocolate Nutty Bits are a crunchy mix of almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, pistachios and sweet toffee. They're kettle cooked in small batches, then dipped in rich, dark chocolate and sprinkled with just a touch of Fleur de Sel, for a superbly sweet and slightly salty treat."
I mean, honestly, does it get any better than that? These babies have everything I look for in a candy: smooth chocolate (not too sweet, not too bitter; it's 60% cacao), nuts and salt. If I recall correctly, they were about $3.50 or so for a 7 oz. bag. Kinda pricey, but so worth it.
Like I said, I have no pictures due to the alien chip that's been implanted in my wrist, but they're every bit as lumpy delicious as you'd expect. Run, don't walk to get these. In the meantime, I'm calling Mr. Goodbar and telling him he'd better stop at TJ's on his way home, if he knows what's good for him.

Ghirardelli Dark Giveaway!

I promised you I’d have another great giveaway, so here we go! Ghirardelli is having a fun contest where they’re asking chocolate lovers to vote for the next Ghirardelli INTENSE DARK chocolate flavor in the “Bring Your Dark to Light” contest. One flavor—Moonlight Fantasy—has already been voted out. So what will the winner be? Will it be Hazelnut Heaven, Cherry Bliss, Tahitian Treasure or Spicy Pecan?

So here’s what you need to do. First, go to www.newintensedark.com and vote for your favorite flavor. There, you’ll be entered into a drawing for all sorts of chocolate prizes. Then, come back here for a second chance to win. In the comments section, tell us what you voted for. Candy Yum Yum will be giving away four Ghirardelli INTENSE DARK chocolate gift baskets (value $50 each).

I’ll be picking four winners on September 18, 2010. Be sure to leave a way for me to get in touch with you. (U.S. residents only, please.) Good luck!

And Speaking of Mint and Dark Chocolate...

When I named Q.bel as the best candy of 2009, I had no idea that they were releasing two new flavors this month. I was psyched when I found out that one of the flavors was mint. When a box of samples arrived, I put on a Curious George video to distract the Sugar Baby and I tore into the mint.
Like all the other Q.bel products, these are all natural with no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, no high fructose corn syrup and no hydrogenated oils.
The mint wafer bars are covered in dark chocolate, and as far as I can tell, the mint flavor is infused into the chocolate, not the cream as I would have guessed. The wafers have a sort of slight coffee-ish taste to them. I liked these, but I didn't love them. I would've liked more of a mint zing. But I had some friends try the mint bars and they all gave them a big YUM. The other new flavor is 70% Cacao Double Dark wafer bars. Mr. Goodbar went straight for these. The bars are vegan and have a rich, cocoa aroma. Instead of a white cream filling, these are filled with chocolate. Now these, I totally dig. Who knew something vegan could taste so good? Mr. Goodbar said he wanted the whole box to bring to work with him for his afternoon snack. I don't think so.

Create Your Own Candy Bar! (Or just eat mine, like Mr. Goodbar did)

A while ago, I got to thinking about what my fantasy candy bar would be. If I had any smarts at all, I would've taken this idea one step further and started a create-your-own candy bar business. But I seem to be missing the synapses that take my ideas to finished products. A mental deficiency, probably caused from drinking coffee at age 5.
Enter Chocri, a German company that allows you to pick your chocolate (milk, dark or white) and select your toppings-- everything from nuts and dried fruits to spices and cereals. In January, they'll be offering this service in the U.S.; in the meantime, they've been inviting some bloggers and journalists to try out their goods. What fun! And such decisions to make.
Some things were easy for me to rule out, like rosemary, hemp seeds, flower mix and basil. I have no interest in mixing these things with my chocolate. Others, however, presented quite a challenge. Should I do a really nutty bar with almonds, cashews, pine nuts and pecans? Or maybe a "fun" candy bar with gummy bears, colorful chocolate lentils and mini sugar bananas? It was tough coming up with some final products, but here's what I went with.
Pictured from left: "I Wish I Was Somewhere Tropical" (dark chocolate with coconut flakes, banana chips, pineapple and sea salt); "Candy Yum Yum Fruit Crunch" (milk chocolate with raisins, cranberries, cinnamon cornflakes and roasted almonds); and "The Whole Shebang" (milk chocolate with pretzels, cornflakes, candy lentils, rice crispies and ground coffee beans). I probably should've ordered a white chocolate bar just to cover all the bases, but since I really don't prefer white, I passed on it. Now I wish I had ordered one, because I loved all of these.
They were actually sitting on the "candy shelf" for a while, because we had all the Halloween candy to slog through. So the other night, when I finally decided it was time to break into one of the bars, I went into a panic. The Whole Shebang was open and it appeared as if the label had been nibbled on. I ran downstairs to tell Mr. Goodbar the unfortunate news that we once again had mice in the house.
"Uh, no," he said. "That was me. I opened that."
Oh. Well, he sure did a job on the label.
The milk chocolate was smooth and creamy and the combination of the pretzel and cornflake crunch with the chocolately lentils was perfect. The ground coffee beans gave it a really delicious, complex flavor, although I think the coffee would've been better with simpler ingredients, maybe plain cashews or a dried fruit.
The Candy Yum Yum Fruit Crunch was reminiscent of a Cadbury Fruit and Nut bar, back when they were actually good. The sweet almonds and tart fruit played off each other and the cinnamon cornflakes gave it a fun twist.
I thought I was being clever by putting banana chips in the Tropical bar. Mr. Goodbar hates bananas and I thought they would keep him away. Wrong. This morning I saw that he broke into the bar last night. The dark chocolate is wonderfully balanced-- not too sweet, not too bitter or tannic. The sea salt goes wonderfully with the chocolate and the fruits give it a nice texture combination.
I'm being 100 percent honest in my review when I say I. Love. Chocri. I love the concept and I love the product. My one bone of contention is the label. Since you get to name your own bar, it would be fun to have a fancier, more professional looking label, but the package itself is great, since you get to see what the bar looks like.
Let's get down to business now. The company won't start selling in the U.S. until January, which is too bad, because they'd make great Christmas gifts. The bars start at $8 and the toppings range from 10 cents to over $2. It looks like an average bar would cost somewhere around $10. Pricey, yes. These aren't the type of bars you'd order for your everyday consumption. However, I think a gift certificate for one or two bars would be a fun present or grab bag gift.
The Chocri website in the U.S. isn't up yet, but you can visit their blog for a preview: www.createmychocolate.com/blog. Check it out. What do you think you'd create?
You can check out some of the other bars that bloggers have created at Candy Addict and The Chocolate Review.

Pure Dark Chocolate, Anyone?

Hey Yumsters, here's a deal for you. Pure Dark, a chocolate shop in New York City, just launched its website where you can order some yummy looking slabs, barks, fruits & nuts, discs and nibs. I haven't tried this chocolate yet (I'm celebrating my birthday in a few weeks by going to the city for a chocolate and candy rampage, so perhaps I'll get to the Pure Dark store then), so I can't tell you how it tastes, but if you're so inclined to order some for yourself, use this code for 15% off: PD022009.

The Great Debate: Dark vs. Milk

(Milk Chocolate: "Where's the party?" Dark Chocolate: "I can't believe they let them in.")

As you may recall, Jody made the following comment during the Great Candy Giveaway:

"I would like to see you address the fact that people who like dark chocolate feel that they are better than those who like milk chocolate. I would like you to tell them that it is a matter of taste. And that they're probably lying about preferring dark chocolate so that they look more sophisticated."

Very interesting point, Jody. I will admit, in the past I’ve been known to be a dark chocolate snob. Yes, I actually do enjoy dark chocolate, but I also like milk. And of course, it all depends on the brand. In some cases I prefer the milk over the dark.

But you’re right in saying that some people feel that dark chocolate makes them look more sophisticated. This can be evidenced by the recent increase in chocolates that list their cocoa percentages.

First though, an explanation on the differences between milk and dark. Dark chocolate is made from sugar, cocoa butter and chocolate liquor (which has nothing to do with liquor at all; it’s simply liquefied cacao beans). Milk chocolate contains the same ingredients, plus milk.

Nowadays you can find bars of dark chocolate that list the cocoa content in percentages, usually anywhere from 50% to 85%. So if, for example, if you have a bar of 70% chocolate, that means that the remaining 30% is sugar. In other words, the lower the cocoa percentage, the higher the sugar content. High=bitter, Low=sweet.

Personally, I find anything over 70% usually inedible, which I suppose makes me part of the bourgeoisie in the serious chocolate circles. And really, if you meet someone who’s talking in-depth about their preferred percentage of cocoa content, run the other way.

However, it’s not all bunk. There is something to be said about the complexity and deliciousness of dark chocolate without sounding like James Lipton. Unfortunately I’m going to use another snobby product for comparison—wine.

My first real interest in wine started on my honeymoon in Venice. (I know, I know, stop with the pretentiousness already.) But the fact of the matter is, I’m terrified of foreign languages, so we often ate at a cafeteria-style restaurant so I wouldn’t have to ask for the check (“Il conto, por favor”). As I pushed my tray along the metal counter, I fell in love with the machine that, instead of dispensing soda, poured out wine. It looked so beautiful, that red wine splashing into a glass carafe. The thing was, I didn’t really like the taste so much. But after drinking it for lunch and dinner for a week, it started to grow on me.

Once we got back home to the States, I started off on the Great Path to Wine Appreciation. Yep, I was drinking white zinfandel. Any wine snob will pish-posh white zinfandel, but hey, it’s a great place to start if you’ve never been a wine drinker. It’s syrupy-sweet, the pecan praline of the wine world. Soon, the white zin began to taste too sweet, so then it was onto whites like Chardonnay and Riesling. Then came the desire for something with a little more oomph. It was onto reds—first Beaujolais, then Pinot Noir, then onto the serious stuff—Merlot, Cabernet and (red) Zinfandel. It was a natural progression.

Chocolate can be the same way.
I will state for the record here and now that some days, there is nothing that fits the bill more than a simple Special Dark bar.

Other times, you might be wanting something slightly more upscale, like Lindt (which, in my opinion, makes the best mass-market out the “upscale” chocolate at a reasonable price). And then from there, you move on up to more boutique, sophisticated chocolates. It all depends on your mood. Like I’ve said before, I much prefer a good piece of milk chocolate almond bark to a tiny square of gold-dusted chili-lime-cardamom dark truffles. I think there’s a fine line between “sophisticated” chocolate and just plain dumb chocolate. There’s no need to “enhance” perfectly good milk or dark chocolate with all sorts of crazy spices and elements. Keep It Simple, Stupid.

So there you have it, Jody. Yes, some dark chocolate lovers are faking it. But there are others of us out there who like chocolate in almost any form it takes. But don’t let the dark lovers intimidate you, because the fact of the matter is, they’d probably respect you (and envy your honesty) for preferring milk.