Bubble Chocolate

Similar to Aero, Bubble Chocolate is an aerated chocolate bar. This bar is 60% cocoa, all natural, and described as "bubbles wrapped in chocolate!" It is distributed by Bubble Chocolate in Salem, MA, but this is a product of Belarus. I picked it up at TJ Maxx (of all places) for $2.99. It is much lighter than a typical chocolate bar, it feels almost fake.

The chocolate itself is alright if not kind of bland. Its certainly not a bad flavor though. The texture is interesting and very new to me. It is kind of soft and crumbly and dry at first, but it melts almost instantly.

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, Sugar powder, Cocoa butter, Lecithin (an emulsifier), Vanilla.

Nutrition: A serving is half the bar (40g). 200 calories per serving, 120 calories from fat. Total fat 15g, Saturated fat 9g, Total carbohydrate 22g, Dietary fiber 3g, Sugars 16g, Protein 2g.

Well, it is interesting but it just doesn't do it for me. I don't feel like I am eating bubbles wrapped in chocolate, I'd prefer solid chocolate no matter how dense it is. I rate it a 5 out of 10.

Boom Choco Boom Crispy Rice Milk Chocolate Bar

(Note: Contains Honey) This is an allergy friendly rice milk chocolate bar made by Enjoy Life. It is like an allergy friendly crunch bar. It was really stupid of me not to re-read the ingredients before beginning this post. But, since I have already eaten one square and uploaded the photos, I might as well continue my post about it.

The taste is okay. I really enjoy dark chocolate so this seems really sweet and otherwise bland. The texture is nice though. The little rice crisps' saltiness adds to the overall flavor of the bar. These seem to be a great chocolate bar alternative for kids with allergies.

Ingredients: Evaporated cane juice, Non-dairy cocoa butter, Natural chocolate liquor (non-alcoholic), Rice crisps (rice flour, rice bran, raisin juice concentrate, honey, salt), Rice milk powder (rice syrup powder, rice starch, rice flour, carrageenan), salt.

Nutrition: A serving is one package. 220 calories, 140 fat calories. Total fat 15g, Saturated fat 10g, Sodium 30mg, Total carbohydrate 22g, Fiber 1g, Sugars 16g, Protein 1g.

I guess this chocolate bar proves that animal products are lurking everywhere. I'm not going to rate this product as it doesn't fit into my vegan criteria.

Gertrude Hawk 70% Cocoa

This is a 70% cocoa dark chocolate bar by Gertrude Hawk. They are a dollar each and come in a variety of flavors (70% cocoa is the only vegan one).

It melts nicely, rich and smooth. The taste isn't bitter but its not too sweet. The texture of this makes it taste indulgent. The bar is a bit thick though, I prefer my chocolate just a tad thinner.

Ingredients: Semisweet chocolate (chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin (an emulsifier), vanilla).

Nutrition: A serving is one bar (49g). 250 calories, 180 calories from fat. Total fat 20g, Saturated fat 12g, Total carbohydrate 24g, Fiber 5g, Sugars 15g, Protein 3g.

Overall I think this is a great bar. I like the natural ingredients. The taste and texture combination is really delicious. I rate it a 7 out of 10.

Maverick Dark Chocolate With Honeycomb Crisps

So I have been in Florida again all week (hence the lack of posts). The weather wasn't all too warm, but at least it was sunny :) Anyway, this is an interesting bar. It is 35 grams of dark chocolate with "honeycomb crisps". Now I am quite familiar with dark chocolate, but lack some knowledge on these honeycomb crisp things. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the crisps turn out to be little pieces of crystalized sugar (glucose) embedded in the bar. The company is called Maverick and the web address they put on the package is venturefoods.com, the same website for the organica white bar.

The bar was broken and a bit beaten up when I opened it, I will try not to hold this against the poor candy itself. The dark chocolate is pretty bitter. The little crystallized sugar pieces add a weird texture but a good sweetness paired with the bitterness of the chocolate.

Ingredients: Cocoa mass*, Sugar*, Glucose, Cocoa butter*, Soya lecithin, Sodium bicarbonate.

*Fairtrade

Nutrition (UK style): Per 100g, 503 calories, Protein 6.3g, Carbohydrate 43.9g, Fat 33.4g.

I don't really know what to say about this bar. I would probably enjoy it more if I didn't feel like I was chewing on chocolate covered glass shards (that happen to be sweet). A 4 out of 10.

Sjaak's Hearts of Cherry Truffles

A heart shaped chocolate in the spirit of Valentine's Day :) This is my last piece of chocolate from Sjaak's. It is of course organic dark chocolate, but this one has a cherry flavored truffle center. Now, I'm not a huge fan of fruit and chocolate and I don't expect much. It is a beautiful piece of candy though. $0.65 each.

The dark chocolate outshines the cherry flavor in these. I like that. The cherry is kind of a nice background flavor. The truffle center is thick and kind of pasty but the whole thing melts together really well.

Ingredients: Organic dark chocolate (organic sugar, organic cocoa paste, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla, organic soy lecithin), Organic cashews, Organic almonds, Organic palm oil, Organic cherry flavor.

These definitely surprised me. Its not the kind of candy I would eat regularly but the flavor is pretty appealing. I rate these a 7 out of 10.

Sjaak's Miniature Cups

I have two more organic dark chocolates from Sjaak's. These are a bit bigger than the other dark chocolates by Sjaak's. The silver wrapped one is Almond Butter, and the gold wrapped is Peanut Butter. They were $0.65 each.

The peanut butter filling is sweet and smooth with a nice roasted peanut flavor.

The almond butter is also sweet and smooth, though a tad drier. It tastes like sweet raw almonds.

The dark chocolate shell on both of these is very.. dark tasting for lack of a better description. I would imagine it has a pretty high cocoa content. The melt is nice and complements the peanut and almond flavors.

Ingredients: Dark chocolate (organic cocoa butter, organic sugar, organic cocoa paste, organic vanilla, organic soy lecithin), Organic peanuts or almonds, Organic powdered sugar.

Nutrition: A serving is one piece. 80 calories per serving. Total Fat 5.5g, Sodium 0mg, Total carbohydrate 5.5g (1g fiber, 3.5g sugars), Protein 1.5g.

Overall these are decent. They aren't phenomenal but enjoyable, definitely better than the other dark chocolate bites. A 7 out of 10.

Sjaak's Dark Chocolate Bites

In case you haven't noticed, I'm a huge fan of Vegan Essentials. I ordered three of the five Sjaak's Fair Trade Organic Chocolate Mini-Bites. I chose Acai, Ginger, and Caramel. They were $0.35 each. I think thats a good price and liked that I could mix and match and only order a few. These are nicely packaged and color coded, pink is acai, silver is ginger, and brown is caramel.

Acai: I am not too familiar with Acai though it seems to be outrageously popular and advertised on everything for some antioxidant purposes and whatnot (correct me if I am wrong). Anyway the center of this is fruity. Dark fruity like cherries or grapes or something and kind of sticky/chewy. I honestly don't enjoy it. The chocolate alone is terrific.

Ginger: This is an interesting flavor combination. Its actually unexpectedly enjoyable. There is much more filling in this than in the Acai, and the filling is more flowing. The ginger is more sweet than spicy and the darkness of the chocolate adds a nice balance.

Caramel: I was most looking forward to this one. Caramel and chocolate is classic. These however are unimpressive. The caramel is thicker, not flowing but not chewy. It is sweet but doesn't really have that caramel flavor I was hoping for.

Acai Ingredients: Organic dark chocolate (organic sugar, organic cocoa paste, organic cocoa butter, organic soya lecithin), Organic rice syrup, Organic sugar, Organic sambazon acai, Citric acid.

Ginger Ingredients: Organic dark chocolate (organic sugar, organic cocoa paste, organic cocoa butter, organic soya lecithin), Organic rice syrup, Organic sugar, Organic ginger, Organic ginger powder, Citric acid.

Caramel Ingredients: Organic dark chocolate (organic sugar, organic cocoa paste, organic cocoa butter, organic soya lecithin), Organic rice syrup, Organic sugar.

Nutrition: I don't have any nutritional info on these, which of course means there are no calories ;)

Okay, so overall I would simply prefer the dark chocolate plain. I won't buy these again. A 6 out of 10.

Organica White Bar

The Organica line of vegan chocolate bars are made in Switzerland for Venture Foods UK Ltd. The back says from Geo Organics. So, I am kind of confused about the company. The website they provide is seriously organic.co.uk. I visited the website and eventually ended up at venture foods.com which clears up my confusion: "Venture Foods is a small independent company and we distribute our own brands- GEO Organics, Organica, and Rain Tree." Small, Independent, and Organic, these people seem to know what's up :) In addition, the packaging states that 84% of the ingredients are derived from Third World ethical trading projects and the bar is wrapped in recycled paper (although it is also wrapped in plastic on the inside to protect freshness). I ordered this from veganessentials.com.

This is really a beautiful bar. It was broken when I opened it, probably from the shipping process, but otherwise in pristine condition. Its not white like a typical dairy white chocolate would be. It is an interesting off-white with specks of what I assume are vanilla beans. It smells like sweet, milky vanilla. It has a soft bite and melts almost instantly. Its cool on the tongue and really tastes like white chocolate. Sweet and creamy with nice vanilla notes.

Ingredients: Cocoa butter*, Cane Sugar*, Rice syrup (10%)*, Vegetable oil*, (Sunflower oil*), Vanilla*, Sea salt.

*Organically Produced

Nutrition (UK style): Per 100g: 646 kcal, Protein .4g, Carbohydrate 48.7g, Fat 50g.

So, this is half pure fat and very caloric. But, the bar is pretty big and I can't imagine anyone eating the whole thing in one sitting. I did a little math, each square is about 27 calories. I am a huge lover of dark chocolate and was not expecting to love this as much as I did. It is really unbelievably delicious and I feel good supporting this company who seems to have their priorities straight. A 10 out of 10.

Mahalo Candy Bar

Today was a fabulous day. A: I received my report card and I am doing insanely well in all of my classes. B: I got a package from Go Max Go Foods today. C: Theater rehearsal went great (I play Marty in Grease). D: I spent the rest of the day with my mom hitting up Wegmans for dinner (best salad bar ever) and shopping til we dropped. Woah, rewind. What was B? That's right, Go Max Go sent me a package. What was in that package? Four of the best candy bars known to mankind. Why was I sent this package? Well a few days ago I sent Go Max Go Foods an email questioning the use of Palm Kernel Oil in their products rather than Cocoa Butter. I got a lengthy, informative response regarding the chemistry that goes into making these candy bars. In addition to this, the reader of my email, Susan, followed my link to this blog where she noted the poor appearance of my Twilight bar. She explained to me that the white splotches were due to changes in climate and could have happened during the shipping and handling of the product or even in my house. She then asked for my address and stated her intentions of sending me a Twilight bar in better physical condition. She of course did (very quickly might I add) along with Twilight's three best friends and a handwritten post-it note which reads "Hi Emily :) Enjoy! -Go Max Go." So, after a great day its time to review the last Go Max Go candy bar: Mahalo (veganized Almond Joy).

Well, the rice-milk chocolate is consistently yummy. The almonds have a deliciously fresh roasted taste. The coconut center is super sweet and really.. coconutty. I don't know why I'm not a huge fan of coconut, but I will say this is probably something coconut people or previous Almond Joy fans would enjoy. The texture is dense, chewy, and grainy.

Ingredients (Vegan): Dessicated coconut, Evaporated cane juice, Rice syrup, Palm kernel oil, Agave syrup, Beet sugar, Almonds (dry roasted), Cocoa powder (natural), Rice powder (rice syrup solids, rice starch, rice flour, carrageenan), Palm oil, Natural flavors, Soybean lecithin, Enzyme modified soy protein, Salt.

Nutrition: One serving is 57g or one bar. 280 calories per serving, 170 calories from fat. Total fat 19g, Saturated fat 16g, Sodium 55mg, Total carbohydrate 26g, Dietary fiber 1g, Sugars 18g, Protein 3g.

So, I am beyond impressed with this company. Personal preference steers me away from these bars but there is nothing quality-wise wrong with them. There is nothing wrong with them texture-wise or flavor-wise either (for those who enjoy coconut). I give these bars a 6 out of 10. I give Go Max Go a 36274891950 out of 10.

Whizzers Chocolate Beans

Finally, vegan M&Ms! Or vegan Smarties if you're in the UK. Actually, these are made in the UK, so it would probably make sense to say these are veganized Smarties. I ordered these from veganessentials.com. The simple packaging states "Whizzers Chocolate Beans. No Dairy, No Wheat, No Gluten. Free from Artificial Colours or Preservatives." The back describes these as "Chocolate centres in a crisp sugar shell. Chocolate centres contain 56% minimum cocoa solids." There are four colors, yellow, brownish-orange, pink, and green. The colors are dull compared to Smarties or M&Ms due to the natural coloring.

The taste is all there. The candy shell is crisp and sweet. It is a bit thicker than I remember the M&M shells being but its enjoyable. The chocolate center is decent. Its not the best tasting chocolate but then again neither were M&M's chocolate centers. Basically what I am trying to say is that these serve the M&M replacement purpose.

Ingredients: Sugar, Cocoa mass, Cocoa butter, Emulsifier (soya lecithin), Gum arabic, Glazing agent (carnauba wax), Flavouring, Natural colours (tumeric, copper chlorophyllin, carmelized sugar syrup, beetroot juice).

Nutrition (UK style): Per 100g: Energy 2119kj, 505kcal, Protein 3.3g, Carbohydrate 70.3g, Fat 21.8g. (The package is only 50g so there are about 252.5 calories total.)

The biggest difference with these and M&Ms are the colors. The flavor and texture are familiarly yummy and these candies turn out to be quite addictive. I am in the habit of sucking on the shell until it can easily be peeled off releasing the cool melty chocolate on my tongue. I am pretty content with this sweet vegan treat. An 8 out of 10.

Twilight Candy Bar

For the past week I have been out of town, in Florida actually, hence the lack of new entries. But now that I'm home, I have finally decided to review the Go Max Go Twilight candy bar. This is the vegan equivalent of a Milky Way. It is described as caramel and chocolatey nougat with a rice-milk chocolatey coating. Upon opening, there are some obvious physical abnormalities. The chocolate is speckled with a white-ish substance. I'll admit it is kind of freaky and I've never encountered an issue with these bars before. However, it was entirely sealed and therefore hardly inedible.

The caramel is soft and sweet with a sort of buttery flavor. The chocolatey nougat tastes the same as in the Buccaneer though maybe a bit less chewy. The rice-milk chocolate coating is deliciously sweet and melty and the whole combination is really terrific flavor-wise. My only issue, as with the buccaneer bar, is the lack of texture. I wish there were some sort of crunch to these like in the Jokerz.

Ingredients (Vegan): Corn syrup, Beet sugar, Evaporated cane juice, Palm kernel oil, Palm oil, Cocoa powder (natural and alkalized), Rice powder (rice syrup powder, rice starch, rice flour, carrageenan), Soy protein concentrate, Dextrose, Natural flavors, Soybean lecithin, Salt, Malt powder (extract of barley malt and corn), Enzyme modified soy protein, Carrageenan.

Nutrition: A serving is 60 grams or one bar. 250 calories per serving, 80 calories from fat. Total fat 9g, Saturated fat 5g, Sodium 85mg, Total carbohydrate 42g, Dietary fiber 1g, Sugars 29g, Protein 1g.

As I said, my only complaint is the texture thing, but then again this isn't a new candy bar, just a veganized version of something classic. So, overall I find this bar pretty delicious and totally satisfying. I am interested to see if Go Max Go comes out with any other rice-milk chocolate confections. This one is a solid 9 out of 10.

Buccaneer Candy Bar

As I continue my reviews of veganized candy bars, I decided today was the day for the Buccaneer. This candy bar by Go Max Go Foods is the vegan alternative to a 3 Musketeers. It is described as chocolately nougat with a rice-milk chocolatey coating. The first difference I notice between this and the Jokerz is the shape. The Buccaneer is rounder, more log-shaped whereas the Jokerz is more of a rectangle shape.

The first bite is soft and chewy. It is very sweet with warm cocoa tones, kind of like hot cocoa. It becomes enjoyably grainy as it dissolves. I wouldn't say these are just like a 3 Musketeers because I haven't had one of those in years. I do however remember them having a lighter chocolatey center. The center in this candy bar is more chewy than fluffy. Thats definitely not a bad thing in my book.

Ingredients (Vegan): Beet sugar, Corn syrup, Evaporated cane juice, Palm kernel oil, Cocoa powder (natural and alkalized), Rice powder (rice syrup powder, rice starch, rice flour, carrageenan), Palm oil, Malt powder (extract of barley malt and corn), Enzyme modified soy protein, Salt, Natural flavors, Soybean lecithin.

Nutrition: A serving is 57g (one bar). 230 calories, 60 calories from fat, Total fat 7g, Saturated fat 6g, Sodium 75mg, Total carbohydrate 43g, Dietary fiber 1g, Sugars 33g, Protein 1g.

These have the least calories of all the bars and only 26% of the total calories are from fat (Jokerz is about 46% fat). I really enjoyed this but found it to be lacking in texture. I couldn't finish the whole bar because it was so rich. The flavor is great though. I rate this a 9 out of 10.

Jokerz Candy Bar

Go Max Go Foods is a relatively new company that makes a line of vegan candy bars. These implicitly imitate some of the most popular mainstream chocolate bars of nonvegan candy lovers. The four bars are Jokerz (like a Snickers), Twilight (like a Milky Way), Buccaneer (like a 3 Musketeers), and Mahalo (like an Almond Joy). I received the first three in my stocking at Christmas and was never so inclined to buy a Mahalo as I never actually enjoyed Almond Joys in my pre-vegan days. These can be found at Wegmans for about $2.00 each. They can also be ordered online at veganessentials.com.

The first thing i notice after taking a bite is the fresh roasted peanut taste. After that subsides, the caramel which has a very slight pull and grainy texture (or maybe the grain is from the nougat) comes through. The caramel is sweet, sugary, and kind of buttery (with a nice hint of salt). The rice milk chocolate is delicious, kind of cool on the tongue but has very little cocoa notes (I don't mind). The nougat is delicious too, chewy and sweet. You can only imagine how everything tastes together. It's just how I remember a Snickers bar.. minus all the guilty feelings :) I also for some reason remember Snickers being a bit drier.

Ingredients (Vegan): Corn syrup, Peanuts (dry roasted), Beet sugar, Evaporated cane juice, Palm kernal oil, Cocoa powder (natural), Palm oil, Rice powder (rice syrup powder, rice starch, rice flour, carrageenan), Soy protein concentrate, Dextrose, Natural flavors, Malt powder (extract of barley malt and corn), Soybean lecithin, Salt, Carrageenan, Enzyme modified soy protein.

Nutrition: A serving is 60g (or one bar). 280 calories per serving, 130 calories from fat, Total fat 15g, Saturated fat 6g, Sodium 95mg, Total carbohydrate 33g, Dietary fiber 2g, Sugars 22g, Protein 5g.

So, this is by no means a light treat. It's actually quite fattening. However this is candy so who cares? After all it is vegan, there is no cholesterol (obviously), there is no contribution to animal cruelty, and it is absolutely delicious. I can't wait to review the other two bars. It would be cool if these came in smaller sizes and maybe dark chocolate varieties. Overall though, I have no complaints. I rate this a 10 out of 10.

Dark Chocolate Crisps

These are like swoops which I haven't seen on shelves in ages. Basically they are pringle shaped dark chocolates with little rice crispies embedded throughout. They are Trader Joe's brand, guess where I got them. (Trader Joe's duh).

I think these are better to chew than to melt on the tongue because the crispies get loose and wander aimlessly through my mouth which I don't enjoy. However, I have tried eating these both ways and the chocolate has a nice melt but I can't stand having those little crispies just floating around. I like the dark chocolate flavor and when chewed, the crispies add an interesting texture though they are smaller than regular puffed rice crisps typically found in chocolate. The rice crispy bits add very little to the overall flavor, maybe a pinch of saltiness, but not enough to make a huge difference in the flavor of the chocolate.

Ingredients: Dark chocolate (sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavor, puffed rice (rice flour, sugar, barley malt extract, salt, calcium carbonate, rapeseed oil, soy lecithin.

Nutrition facts: Serving size is 12 pieces, 3 servings per container, 220 calories, 120 calories from fat, Total fat 13g, Saturated fat 8g, Total carbohydrate 22g, Dietary fiber 3g, Sugars 17g, Protein 3g.

These are nice, not my favorite, but I will have no problem eating the whole box. 7 out of 10.

Sweetriot unBAR 65

This is a sweetriot chocolate bar. Its a small 1.34 oz hunk of 65% dark chocolate with crunchy cacao (that's kuh-kow) 'peaces.' According to the package, it is "the unofficial bar of the world." I found it at wegmans for $1.89 and was impressed with the little story on the back. "sweetriot. fix the world. sarah & the rioters. created and made directly with our loving latin amigos, sweetriot continues its sweet movement to fix the world with its 'mega peaces' of chocolate. with just one bite, you're joining us as a rioter. PS-did we mention it's all-natural, low calorie (48 calories per mega 'peace'), gluten-free, dairy-free, and has high antioxidant levels! hit sweetriot.com"

Well, there you have it, I am a rioter. News to me. However I have a few questions about the chocolate like, who is Sarah? And her rioters? And how exactly are they saving the world 'peace' by 'peace'? So, as the blurb on the back tells me to do so, I visit sweetriot.com. It turns out Sarah is the mastermind behind the chocolate/cacao products. She and her team live by these values:

• We use premium, high quality, and all-natural ingredients.
• We believe in fair trade with developing countries.
• We celebrate culture and diversity through our products.
• We create sweet experiences for our customers, partners and employees.
• We are young at heart, energetic, down-to-earth and contribute to the greater good.

When I opened the package, I was greeted with a sweet chocolatey scent. Less like dark chocolate, and more like semisweet chocolate chips or something. And what are those adorable little creatures molded into the chocolate? They look like little birds.

The chocolate is sweet and melts rather quickly leaving behind small bits of cacao. The cacao nibs are bitter but in such a way that compliments the chocolate. The crunchy texture of the nibs against the smoothness of the chocolate is quite enjoyable. The taste is pleasantly more complex than I had expected, sweet, yet dark and woodsy with delicious coffee tones.

Ingredients are as follows: Cocoa mass, Sugar, Cocoa powder, Cacao nibs, Cocoa butter, Soy lecithin and Natural flavor.

Nutrition Facts: There are four 'peaces' in the bar, but the whole thing is considered one serving. So a total of 190 calories, 130 calories from fat, Total fat 14g, Saturated fat 7g, Total carbs 19g, Dietary fiber 2g, Sugars 10g, Protein 3g.

I love almost everything about this bar, from the taste, to the mission of the company. I do wish however, that it were less of a hunk of chocolate and more of a bar (thinner), nibbling would be easier that way. I like the size of the bar though, a good sized treat and easy to share. I rate this candy a 9 out of 10.