Lindt Hello My Name Is Dark Chocolate Cookie

Place purchased: Target 

Price: $0.99

Number of reviewers: 3

Appearance - 7.8

The Lindt Dark Chocolate Cookie bar is segmented into six pieces. The bar consists of a dark chocolate shell with a thick dark chocolate filling studded with chocolate cookie pieces. 

Flavor and Taste - 7.7

The chocolate coating and filling both taste like chocolate halfway between milk and dark. The cookie pieces taste like slightly darker chocolate and add some bitterness. Though, the overall flavor of the bar is very one-note. 

C: Nice creamy dark chocolate that is the right amount of bitter and sweet. 
S: Good chocolate, slightly chalky and bitter. 

Texture - 7.8

The filling is incredibly rich, like chocolate ganache. The dense texture is juxtaposed by the abundant crunchy cookie bits in the filling. 

C: Very creamy, but velvety and smooth, and the cookies pieces add nice contrast. 
S: I like the crunchy pieces in it. 

Aftertaste - 7.3

The aftertaste is a combination of lingering sweetness and bitterness from the chocolate. 

C: Creamy chocolate. 
S: Slightly bitter. 

Overall - 7.7

The Lindt Hello My Name Is Dark Chocolate Cookie bar has a good chocolate flavor between milk and dark chocolate and an enjoyable textural contrast between the rich filling and cookie pieces. Essentially, this chocolate bar is a dark chocoalte Lindt Lindor bar with bits of chocolate cookie. Quite delicious. 

C: Super yummy! 

Sky Bar Tropical

Sky Bar Tropical is the new variation of NECCO's Sky Bar, which was introduced in 1938. Sky Bars are segmented into four pieces, each with a different filling. The Tropical Sky Bar contains orange, banana, coconut, and strawberry fillings rather than the caramel, vanilla, peanut, and fudge fillings found in the original Sky Bar. Sky Bar Tropical follows Tropical NECCO wafers introduced last year. 

Place purchased: Free sample from the Sweets & Snacks Expo

Number of reviewers: 2

Appearance - 7.5

Sky Bar Tropical has a milk chocolate shell segmented into four pieces. The segments contain runny filling, each of a different flavor: orange, banana, coconut, and strawberry. While the orange flavored filling is orange in color, the banana and coconut fillings are white. The strawberry filling is very light pink. 

Flavor and Taste - 3.5

Orange

The orange flavor is extremely artificial. It reminds me of Tang powder. This one is pretty bad.  
E: Medicinal, not pleasant. 

Banana

The banana flavor is strong and also tastes artificial, like banana taffy. 
E: ISOAMYL ACETATE. Overpoweringly fake. 

Coconut

The coconut flavor tastes somewhat like sunscreen. This is the weakest and most tolerable of the flavors. 
E: Best yet. Like an Almond Joy. 

Strawberry 

Unsurprisingly, the strawberry flavor also tastes artificial. It also has some tartness to it. 
E: Like fruit flavored marshmallow. Fake. 

The milk chocolate and fillings are incredibly sweet. 
E: All too sweet. 

Texture - 5

All of the pieces have a soft, gooey filling. The milk chocolate is slightly dry in the beginning, then becomes a little gummy and chewy. The coconut filling has a few tiny coconut shreds mixed into the filling, which add a little crunchiness and chewiness. The banana filling seemed to solidify as I chewed it and stuck to my teeth. 

E: Chocolate is kind of chalky, otherwise like a Cadbury egg. 

Aftertaste - 5

The aftertaste for all the pieces is mainly just sweetness and the flavor of milk chocolate. The orange piece has a slight bitterness not present in the other flavors. 

E: So sweet! Chocolate a little stale. 

Overall - 4

Overall, the combination of artificial fruit flavored fillings and overly sweet milk chocolate was unappetizing. Also, I do not understand why strawberry would be included as a tropical fruit. 

E: Would not seek out again. Too sweet and flavors taste very artificial. 

Candy Hunting: New Coco Bites

Anastasia Confections recently announced their new product Coco Bites. Beginning in September, Original, Key Lime, Piña Colada, and Rum Coco Bites will be available in 6 oz, 12-piece resealable bags. Original and Assorted (Original, Key Lime, and Piña Colada) will also be available in 12 oz, 24-piece bags. All of the Coco Bites are coated in dark chocolate and individually wrapped. 

Meiji Rich Strawberry

Place purchased: napajapan.com

Price: $3.25

Number of reviewers: 5

Appearance - 6.6

The Meiji Rich Strawberry bar is pink with darker pink strawberry flecks. The strawberry bar is also very thin.

E: Alarmingly pink. I feel like it's going to be grainy or medicinal, and I haven't tried it yet. 
J: I like the pink color, but usually it makes it seem like it will be white chocolate. 

Flavor and Taste - 7.1

The Meiji Rich Strawberry bar contains dried strawberries in white chocolate. The strawberry flavor takes time to develop. Initially the bar tastes like nothing, then becomes sweet. An intense strawberry flavor follows along with a more subtle milky, dairy flavor. The strawberry flavor is incredibly similar to that of strawberry Pez. 

C: The strawberry flavor is excellent. Tastes like strawberry ice cream.
E: It does taste like strawberry... But there is this weird, waxy lag-period before the flavor hits that is off-putting.
J: Fruity strawberry, slight tang, no chocolate taste whatsoever. The strawberry seems artificial.
S: Very strawberry, sweet, tastes like a strawberry filled granola bar. Yummy! Not artificial tasting at all!  

Texture - 6.8

The bar is creamy and smooth until the white chocolate dissipates. The remaining dried strawberry flecks have a grainy texture. 

C: Nice and creamy.
E: It is grainy...
J: Some slight textural differences from specks of strawberry in the chocolate.

Aftertaste - 6.8

The aftertaste is sweet with the same strawberry Pez flavor. 

C: Strawberry and creamy. 
E: Intense strawberry, but a little artificial. 
J: Strawberry. 
S: Sweet, a little acidic. 

Overall - 6.9

Overall, the Meiji Rich Strawberry has a very strong strawberry flavor while retaining the texture of white chocolate. It is worth trying if you are interested in trying candy from Japan or like berry-flavored confections. 

Dairy Milk Bubbly Mint

Place purchased: Canada

Number of reviewers: 7

Appearance - 7.7

The Dairy Milk Bubbly Mint bar is segmented into different sized bubble-shaped pieces. The bar has an aerated milk chocolate base below a white, mint-flavored layer and another coating of milk chocolate. The thickness of the mint layer in each piece differs due to the variation in height of each piece. 

E: Really bubbly! Intriguing, but mostly weird. 
J: Cool raised and interesting aerated appearance. 
S: I really like the bubbly chocolate bar.

Flavor and Taste - 7.1

At first, the flavor is mostly just sweet milk chocolate. The mint flavor develops as the chocolate is chewed and the milk chocolate flavor dissipates. The mint flavor is slightly cooling from the menthol in the peppermint oil.

C: Nice minty flavor, reminds me of Andes mints, but a little bit creamier. 
E: Disappointing. Way too sweet, kind of sour, and ultimately lacking in punch. 
J: Great cool mint flavor. Sweet chocolate.
L2: Minty is good, not too much. 
S: Soft mint, blends well with the chocolate.
Y: Overall yummy. A little sweet to me, though. 

Texture - 7.2

The mint layer is thick and creamy in comparison to the aerated chocolate, which is rather crumbly. While this does provide textural contrast, it is not a pleasant one. 

C: Nice and creamy, soft.
E: Crumbly and chewy simultaneously. 
J: Very smooth and creamy chocolate. The air bubbles aren't doing much for me. 
L2: Smooth mouthfeel.
S: Interesting when you let it melt on your tongue. Creamy. Top half is creamy, but thicker.
Y: Smooth and soft.

Aftertaste - 6.8

The aftertaste is pepperminty and slightly sweet. 

C: Minty chocolate. 
E: Weird, medicinal minty aftertaste.
J: Mostly mint.
S: Mint is stronger in the aftertaste. 
Y: Clean. 

Overall - 7.2

Overall, I enjoyed the flavor of the Dairy Milk Bubbly Mint bar and how it transitions from milk chocolate to mint. I do not think the aerated chocolate works well in this application, however, as it gives a crumbly texture when chewing. 

E: Really not a fan. 
J: Great candy!

Lindt Hello My Name Is Salted Caramel

Place purchased: Target 

Price: $0.99

Number of reviewers: 3

Appearance - 8.0

The 39 g Lindt Hello My Name Is Salted Caramel bar is segmented into six piece. The milk chocolate pieces are filled with a very liquid caramel. Target also sells a larger 100 g Lindt Salted Caramel bar. 

Flavor and Taste - 7.8

The strong butterscotch-like flavor of the caramel predominates over the flavor of the milk chocolate. Though, the sweetness of the chocolate comes through and offers a nice balance to the saltiness of the caramel filling. 

C: Yummy creamy milk chocolate, nice caramel flavor that has a little bit of sour to it, which is nice contrast to the chocolate. 
S: So rich, creamy and milky caramel, didn't really get salt though. 

Texture - 6.7

The caramel filling is incredibly runny. The textural contrast between the filling and the milk chocolate is pleasant while eating the bar, however it does not work well during storage. Over the course of a day, the caramel in the uneaten half of the bar had completely leaked out of the chocolate. I was left with chocolate shells in puddles of caramel. 

C: Soft and creamy. The caramel is very soft. 
S: Creamy caramel. 

Aftertaste - 7.5

The aftertaste is the lingering flavor of caramel and milk chocolate, along with the saltiness of the caramel. 

C: Caramel and creamy mouthfeel. 

Overall - 7.7

Overall, I enjoyed the intensity of the salted caramel flavor and contrasting textures of the Lindt Hello My Name Is Salted Caramel bar. I think this bar is a great addition to the Lindt Hello My Name Is line. Though, I would recommend either eating the chocolate bar in one sitting or positioning the remainder of the bar in a way that the caramel cannot leak out. 

Lindt Ice Tiramisu

Place purchased: Lindt Chocolate Shop 

Price: $5

Number of reviewers: 5

Appearance - 7.4

The Lindt Tiramisu bar has a dual layer filling comprised of a chocolate coffee layer above a white mascarpone layer. The bar is encased in milk chocolate. 

E: Looks like a pillow of chocolate. 

Flavor and Taste - 7.7

While chewing, the chocolate bar initially has very little flavor, just sweetness. Then a strong mocha and mascarpone/creamy flavor hit. The combination of mocha and mascarpone tastes incredibly similar to tiramisu.  

C: Coffee, creamy but weird off-note. 
E: Flavor builds slowly, but ultimately achieves the rich coffee flavor of tiramisu.  
S: Tastes like a tiramisu cake! Very complex flavor. Delicious! 

Texture - 7.7

The fillings are very thick, almost fudge-like. The chocolate layer contains small pieces which add a nice crunchiness to counter the rich filling. 

C: Creamy, but not too much.
E: Filling is a little too dense, has a nice crunch though. 
S: Creamy, with little crunchy pieces. 

Aftertaste - 6.8

The aftertaste initially tastes like mocha. Then the coffee flavor fades to result in a sweet and creamy milk chocolate flavor. 

C: Creamy but that fruity aftertaste still stays in my mouth. 
E: Aftertaste is a little bitter- probably due to coffee flavor. 
L2: Intense coffee flavor/benzaldehyde. 
S: Cake and cream.

Overall - 7.5

The prominent mocha and mascarpone flavors make the Lindt Ice Tiramisu bar stand out from other tiramisu chocolate bars. Finally, a tiramisu bar that actually tastes like tiramisu. 

Despite the remarkable flavor of the Lindt Tiramisu bar, the bar contained a concerning ingredient: apricot kernels. Apricot and peach kernels contain a high amount of a compound called amygdalin, which is converted in the body to benzaldehyde (an almond/cherry flavor compound found in amaretto) and hydrogen cyanide (a very toxic compound). I am assuming Lindt used benzaldehyde converted from amygdalin extracted out of the apricot kernels, but the fact that the apricot kernels are still listed as being present in the chocolate is disconcerting.