I picked up the Russell Stover Solid Milk Chocolate Easter Bunny from my local Target. I have always loved just about everything about Easter and as a result any trip to a major superstore takes me hours when the Easter aisles are up. Strolling down the aisles at Target I couldn’t help but pick up a variety of chocolate treats but one that I couldn’t resist was this Russell Stover chocolate bunny.
The Chocolate: Russell Stover Solid Milk Chocolate Easter Bunny
Type of Chocolate: Milk Chocolate
Cocoa Content: Unlisted
Best Eaten: Alone or shaved over vanilla ice cream
Price: $0.99
Despite having a love for great quality chocolate there are still some cheap chocolate brands that lure me in once in a while. To me the true essence of being a chocoholic is the ability to enjoy both cheap and not so cheap chocolate. Russell Stover is one of those cheap brands of chocolate that still catches my eye whenever I am on the lookout for a cheap and quick chocolate fix; however, as it turns out, not all Russell Stover chocolate treats are the same.
Taste:
The Russell Stover Solid Milk Chocolate Easter Bunny comes in a variety of sizes, to lessen the risk of a sugar overdose I picked up the 1.5 oz solid milk chocolate bunny for a whopping 99c. The bunny comes packed in a white plastic tray inside a colorfully decorated box with a window so that much to their delight choco-lovers everywhere can observe their chocolate bunny before decapitating it in one bite.
Upon opening the Russell Stover Solid Milk Chocolate Easter Bunny there is an aroma of what every child would describe as “chocolate.” It’s a sweet and overly sugary smell combined with a milky vanilla undertone. The first bite, which results in the decapitation of my bunny, yielded a thick chocolate which firmly lodged between my teeth due to the half inch thickness of the solid milk chocolate. While the milk chocolate does not melt as well as other milk chocolates I have tried in the past this chocolate still yields a pleasantly chocolaty taste. Although overly sweet the sweetness is somewhat pleasing although on this note one should refrain from consuming the entire bunny in one sitting. There is no deep chocolate sensation to this bunny and certainly no balance between elements within the chocolate. The undertones of vanilla and milk are discernible; however, they are heavily muted by the traditional 20+ grams of sugar in most commercially produced chocolates.
The after taste of the Russell Stover Solid Milk Chocolate Easter Bunny is the sticky sweetness that most of us associate with “candy bars.” There is a muted underlying vanilla that tints the sweetness but this is certainly not a fresh or light chocolate.
Ingredients:
The ingredients in Russell Stover Solid Milk Chocolate Easter Bunny include: milk chocolate (sugar, whole milk, cocoa butter, chocolate, soy lecithin, vanillin.
The Bottom Line:
Russell Stover Solid Milk Chocolate Easter Bunny is a decent chocolate snack to throw in those Easter baskets or even to grab for a quick and affordable chocolate snack. In my opinion everyone needs a sugary chocolate fix once in a while but when it comes to my regularly purchased chocolate list this won’t be found on it, there is simply too much sweetness and imbalance in this bunny to make it a regular feature in my chocolate rations.
You can buy Russell Stover Chocolate from your local drugstore or via Amazon.com !
FTC Disclosure
I received the Mink Chocolates Taj Masala chocolate bar in a Mink Chocolates “Traditional Gift Box” which contained six of their most popular Chocolate bars. I was intrigued by this bar and curious to see how well it fared against the Green & Black’s Maya Gold chocolate that I reviewed back in early February.
The Chocolate: Mink Chocolates Taj Masala Bar
Type of Chocolate: Milk chocolate
Cocoa Content: 38% Cacao
Best Eaten With: Vanilla Ice Cream
Price: $6.08
I have an affinity for nutmeg and cinnamon and the combination of cardamom and cinnamon comes in a close second place. The addition of spices to milk chocolate specifically allow that chocolate to become something more than just a tasty treat, they allow chocolate to fulfill a far greater calling. The addition of spices to milk chocolate make chocolate an experience, one that every chocoholic should try at least once in their life. The Taj Masala box lists: cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, clove, ginger and turmeric as the main contributors to the flavor of this bar.
Taste:
The Mink Chocolates Taj Masala bar is wrapped just like the previous Mink chocolate bars, the only difference again is the color of the box that contains the chocolate. The Taj Masala bar comes in a cinnamon colored box which I find to be rather fitting. Upon unwrapping the Taj Masala bar from the thick paper foil I was hit with the sultry combination of spices, much like the scent of the Maya Gold bar. I was prepared for a similar taste as well; however, being that the cacao content in this bar is lower by 17% the taste was more unique that I bargained for.
The first bite of Taj Masala was soft milk chocolate that yielded to my bite without argument and released a small pocket of crystals. The initial burst of spices is primarily cardamom and ginger. A slight hint of spice but more of a gentle hum of gingerbread which I found to be very pleasant. After swallowing the gingerbread taste transforms in to a clove based blanket over my tongue and with the transformation bring a peppery spiciness of which I am not too fond.
As a personal preference I am not partial to heat. I enjoy the combination of spices to create soft heat such as that of gingerbread but much more than that and I am not volunteering to advocate for your product. The Taj Masala was borderline as far as heat is concerned, what begins as a dull yet pleasant combination of spices turns in to a slightly spicier clove-filled aftertaste. I feel that this can be remedied by pairing this unique chocolate blend with a high quality vanilla bean ice cream to temper the heat and compliment the spices well.
The after taste of the Taj Masala is again, that of cloves. A soft albeit mildly spicy peppery taste which while pleasing for some may be concerning for others. The subtle spice is also accompanied by an overly sweet milky coating of the mouth which can be found in many milk chocolates and easily remedied with a lightly salted almond to cleanse the palate.
Ingredients:
The ingredients in Mink Chocolates Taj Masala bar include: cocoa mass, sugar, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, fat reduced cocoa powder, soya lecithin, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper, cloves, ginger, turmeric, salt, vanilla, vanillin.
The Bottom Line:
Taj Masala is a unique blend which has not won me over but has not yet lost me either. While I enjoy the initial flavor from the blend of spices the clove filled aftertaste and overly sweet milky echo which accompanies it are definitely not my cup of tea. That said, however, I feel that the balance of spices would be well received by clove fans or those who are particularly partial to pumpkin pie.
You can buy Mink Chocolates from their online store or at their local cafe in Vancouver, British Columbia!
FTC Disclosure
I picked up the Russell Stover Solid Milk Chocolate Easter Bunny from my local Target. I have always loved just about everything about Easter and as a result any trip to a major superstore takes me hours when the Easter aisles are up. Strolling down the aisles at Target I couldn’t help but pick up a variety of chocolate treats but one that I couldn’t resist was this Russell Stover chocolate bunny.
