MomCentral recently asked a bunch of bloggers to review Ghirardelli’s new Luxe Milk Chocolate. Anyone want to guess how quickly I responded to the email and said “YES! YES! I’d LOVE to review this product!”?
Then, not long after I begged Mom Central to let me participate in this blog tour, a PACKAGE FULL OF CHOCOLATE arrived in my mailbox. Check it out:
Huh, that’s SO STRANGE. Why would there be an already-opened candy bar?
Now, I could have eaten the rest of all that yummy goodness myself, but I decided to share (plus, my scales told me loudly not to be a selfish pig).
Graceful, Elegant, and I had our chocolate tasting after school yesterday. For such an important event, we set the stage accordingly. We listened to Handel. We drank an excellent vintage of milk to cleanse our palates. And we even had a twinkling fire in the fireplace:
Yes, those are white Christmas lights.
Then we got busy. There are FIVE new flavors of the Ghirardelli Luxe Milk Chocolate and we tried them all:
- Milk – Both girls gave this a 10 out of 10. (The scale system was their idea, not mine.) Graceful proclaimed, “Milk chocolate is by far the best chocolate.”
- Hazelnut – Again, both girls have this a 10 out of 10. Graceful’s comment, “This is the perfect chocolate for nut lovers!”
- Almond – Another unanimous 10 out of 10. Graceful’s quip, “Even chocolate haters will adore this sweet treat.”
- Crisp — Ten out of ten. This unanimous love is getting boring. Graceful’s endorsement, “This is the ideal chocolate for someone who likes crunchy and sweet at the same time.” Perhaps my child has a future in advertising?
- Duet — You’ll never guess — ten out of ten again. And Graceful’s assessment? “For people who like both milk and dark chocolate, this is the chocolate for them.”
Elegant was too busy eating to offer any verbal assessments.
It was hard work, but we slogged through. I’m serious. YOU try five different chocolates in short order and see how your stomach feels afterward.
Graceful with bulging cheeks:
And Elegant, who was VERY FOCUSED on the task at hand:
Both girls give Ghirardelli two thumbs’ up on this new line.
As for me, I usually prefer dark chocolate over milk — Ghirardelli’s dark chocolate with caramel is a current favorite — but I thought this milk chocolate had a nice flavor. Not too sweet, which is often a problem with milk chocolate. With a suggested retail price of $2.29, it’s priced comparably with other upscale chocolates. (Believe me, I’m quite familiar with chocolate prices.) Yes, it’s a lot of money for just one eight-square candy bar, but if you think about those eight squares as eight different treats (which is the pace I’d eat them at), then the numbers don’t seem so bad.
But here’s the ultimate indicator of how good this chocolate is: Yes, it’s true that the girls and I are known for our love of chocolate, but Pete does not have a sweet tooth at all. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen him pass on some absolutely yummy decadent confection. After dinner last night, he asked me where I’d stashed the rest of the Ghirardelli samples and then had a piece. Then, he went back for more. And then again.
So today I want everyone tell me what your favorite chocolate is or, if chocolate isn’t your thing, what is.
Swiss Milka bars for me. Which we bring back from France. Go figure.
That chocolate sounds incredible actually. I have a sweet tooth, but can’t stand anything TOO sweet (what an oxymoron), so it sounds perfect. I’ll have to see if it’s available in Australia!
I’m not eating chocolate these days, but if I were it would be Dove Dark or those little hazel nut chocolate thingeys..
I’ve been a Ghirardelli fan ever since we went to the factory store in San Francisco.
I’ve grown to love dark chocolate over the last few years. I enjoy Green and Blacks.
I also LOVE York Peppermint Patties.
No chocolate. Sour candy, all the way. Preferably sour patch kids.
Lindt and Dove milk chocolate for me. Dark, milk and anything that resembles chocolate(in that order) for Mister. Babygirl hearts candybars,balls,bells,cars,eyes,quilts…anything made of chocolate.
As a (former, sadly) Charlottesville resident, I have to go with Gearhart’s. Specifically the Tar and the Earl Grey. Anyone that wants to send some up to CT for a taste test is welcome to!
Taj. Not Tar. Sorry.
Coco Camino Espresso 70% cocoa chocolate bars. (I think you might have tried this.
)They are organic and fair trade, but that’s besides the point. Putting a square of this chocolate in your mouth is like a religious experience. Intense dark chocolate with the addition of espresso. Chocolate + coffee. Nirvana. Truly, it is.
Will have to try the Ghirardelli though, for comparison’s sake.
Frangos. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frango) Mmmmm…..my love of all things Frango is ridiculous. Since I no longer live in Chicago my mom is ordered to buy me a box for Christmas every year. Their candy cane version was uh-may-zing – I’m still nursing a box from over a year ago – kept safe and sound in my freezer.
But seeing as how Frangos are pricey – yeah, worse so than Ghiradelli – and hard to obtain for moi, give me plain dark chocolate. I am currently on an Endangered Species Chocolate Bar kick. But the Dove Dark squares will do in a pinch. : )
Dark chocolate.
I happened to be near a See’s Candies on Sunday so I have a box of chocolate butter creams and a bag of dark chocolate almond clusters on my counter now. Mmmmmmm.
love the cadbury milk chocolate with raisins… probably because no one else in my family likes it so i don’t have to share.
Oh to have sat in your living room with those girls, chocolate, and Handel. *sigh*
Was getting my response ready, then read your comments and lost my train of thought.
Mmmm, See’s. Mmmm, Frangos. Mmmm, (real) Cadbury. Mmmm, Ghirardhelli.
I’m not too picky. I do like milk chocolate better than dark. Hershey’s is yummy, and it’s in that big box for the trick-or-treaters right over there. I think I’ll sneak one while handing it out on Friday.
I could never narrow down my favorites to just one… I love all chocolate and all flavors. I mostly buy Ghiardelli dark chocolate squares, though, as they are the healthiest.
I love dark chocolate. Milk chocolate is just too sweet for me. My favorite is Lindt. Have you tried their Dark Chocolate Lindor Truffles with a sort-of smooth center? OMG – I drift off to heaven when I’m eating one of those!
The only kind of dark chocolate I can eat without dying is the Lindt Truffle kind. The rest is too bitter for me. That being said, I am a total chocolate snob and will only eat the ones that are $3 a bar. It drives Nate crazy but hey, I lived in England and was treated to the most delicious chocolate in the world on a daily basis. You could not pay me to eat a Hershey bar after that.
(I really used to hate chocolate before I went to England. Sometimes I think it would have been better for my waistline had I not discovered Galaxy bars and Cadbury and everything else they had over there.)
Dark chocolate m&ms (in the purple bag).
In America: Dark chocolate Dove. Not only is dark chocolate *good for you* but there are the little sayings written on the inside of the foil wrapper.
Giandujotto chocolates, made in Torino Italy are absolutely the best hazelnut chocolates I have ever eaten. Once in awhile you can find them (usually around the holidays) at a specialty or import store in the US. Otherwise, you will have to fly to Italy to try them. We have relatives there and whenever asked what we would like someone to bring/send from there it is always the same . . . espresso, cheese and chocolate! We would ask for gelato, but it doesn’t ship well
Love all chocolate and find it very hard to say no but my favourites include this dark chocolate with chili peppers and these amazing chocolates that you were kind enough to send me:)
Love the dark best,give me Teuscher’s champagne truffles if someone else is buying BUT Ghiradelli is quite good and I use it in baking, too.
Dove Dark is okay, if it’s milk it’s gotta be Cadbury’s Fruit and Nut, or Caramello. In small doses.
Now where can I get Earl Grey dark? That sounds interesting.
Definitely DARK chocolate. The darker, the better. An admin of mine once brought me a bar of dark chocolate/orange from his vacation to Belgium… I almost okayed a business trip back to get me more. (Kidding!)
The only time I like milk chocolate is if it’s wrapped around a caramel.
My favorite is the Ghiradelli with Raspberry. It is to die for. I LOVE IT!