McCormick World of Flavors Chocolate Bars, Part 2

McCormick World of Flavors Chocolate Almond Bar

Place purchased: McCormick World of Flavors, Baltimore 

Price: $4.49

Number of reviewers: 6

Appearance - 6.0

The McCormick World of Flavors Chocolate Almond bar is consists of 31% milk chocolate with small roasted almond pieces dispersed throughout the chocolate. The chocolate is a dull brown color and has a thin layer of bloom. 

Flavor and Taste - 6.0

The almonds taste very oxidized, and the chocolate is sweet. 

C: Kind of blah.

J: Creamy chocolate. Almond flavor is great. 

L: Good chocolate, slightly oxidized. 

S: Strong nutty flavor.

Texture - 5.5

The chocolate is crunchy. It is difficult to distinguish the crunch of the almonds from the crunchy chocolate.  

C: Crunchy, brittle. 

J: Nice contrast between creamy chocolate and almond pieces. 

S: Brittle chocolate. 

Aftertaste - 5.8

The flavor of the milk chocolate dominates the aftertaste. 

J: Lingering almond flavor is dry and persistent. 

L: Bland.

L2: Rancid. 

S: Sweet. 

Overall - 5.7

I was unimpressed by this chocolate bar. The almonds were oxidized, and the chocolate was too dry and crunchy.

McCormick World of Flavors Chocolate Jalapeño & Peanuts Bar

Place purchased: McCormick World of Flavors, Baltimore 

Price: $4.49

Number of reviewers: 6

Appearance - 6.2

The McCormick World of Flavors Chocolate Jalapeño & Peanuts bar is comprised of 31% milk chocolate, small pieces of peanuts, and jalapeño powder. The chocolate is rich brown in color, unlike the chocolate in the almond bar. 

Flavor and Taste - 7.3

The chocolate bar tastes like milk chocolate with salty peanuts at first. The heat from the jalapeños comes in toward the end, though there is no actual jalapeño flavor. 

C: Get peanut flavor first, then spicy jalapeño at the end. 

J: Good chocolate flavor. A bit of salt from the peanuts. Nice spice at the end. I really like the subtleness. 

L: Nice nutty, love the spice. 

S: Salty with a lot of heat. Spicy. 

Texture - 7.3

The milk chocolate is softer in this bar than the almond chocolate bar, which is strange since they both contain 31% milk chocolate. 

C: Crunchy.

J: Nice contrast. 

Aftertaste - 6.6

The aftertaste is very spicy. 

C: Mostly just spicy.

J: Spice is too persistent. 

L: Good burn.

S: Has a lot of heat. 

Overall - 7.3

The Jalapeño & Peanuts bar is significantly better than the Almond bar. The chocolate is softer and creamier, the peanuts provide a welcome flavor rather than rancidity, and the jalapeño powder gives a powerful kick.

McCormick World of Flavors Chocolate Bars, Part 1

McCormick World of Flavors Chocolate Bars, Part 1

As of right now, all McCormick chocolate bars are only available for purchase from the McCormick World of Flavors store in Baltimore, MD. My friend who bought these bars for me said that McCormick is planning on opening an online store soon.

Chili Cinnamon & Cocoa Bean

Place purchased: McCormick World of Flavors, Baltimore

Number of reviewers: 3

Appearance - 6.3

The chocolate bar looks very plain. 

Flavor and Taste - 8.7

The chipotle imparts an umami taste to the chocolate. There are also large salt granules (I tried taking a picture of one, but my camera couldn't focus in on it) in the bar, despite salt not being listed in the ingredients and the nutrition facts claiming 0% sodium. 

C: Warm, rich. Makes me feel happy. Reminds me of cookies. Has umami and salty tastes. Really well balanced. 
S: Delicious, salty, a little heat at the end. 

Texture - 8.0

The chocolate is creamy, and the cocoa nibs give added texture. 

C: Nice creaminess, not too hard. 
S: Smooth. I liked the pieces in it. 

Aftertaste - 7.8

The aftertaste is mostly salty. There is also some heat from the chipotle powder. 

Overall - 8.0

The Chili Cinnamon & Cocoa Bean bar has a very complex and enjoyable flavor. McCormick's expertise in spices and flavors really shines through in this chocolate bar.  

54% Dark Chocolate

Place purchased: McCormick World of Flavors, Baltimore

Number of reviewers: 3

Appearance - 4.7

The mold McCormick uses for their chocolate bars is very generic. Additionally, the entire bar is coated with a thin layer of bloom. 

S: Not very creative - looks more like a baking chocolate. 

Flavor and Taste - 6.8

The chocolate bar initially tastes like nothing. Not chocolaty, not sweet, not bitter... just nothing. After I chewed the chocolate awhile, the chocolate tasted like semi-sweet chocolate chips. 

C: Bitter, but not overly so.
S: Not bitter at all. Not very characteristic.  

Texture - 5.0

The chocolate is hard, crunchy, and dry. It is surprising that the 54% dark chocolate bar would be significantly drier than the 72% dark chocolate bar. 

C: Has a nice snap. Creamy texture when it melts. 
S: Crunchy. 

Aftertaste - 7.0

The aftertaste was slightly sweet. 

C: Tastes like chocolate. 
S: Sweet. 

Overall - 6.0

Overall, this chocolate bar was incredibly underwhelming. The texture of the chocolate was so dry that no flavor could be detected until it had been chewed for a short time. Also, the bar was coated in chocolate bloom. I understand McCormick making chocolate bars to showcase their spices, but this one was just poorly made dark chocolate. 

S: Ok, but not great. I really didn't like the texture.