Name: Sweet Dark Orange and Sweet Dark Espresso
Brand: Newman’s Own
Place Purchased: Whole Foods
Price: $1.89 each
Size: 2.8 oz
Calories per ounce: 145
Type: Chocolate

I probably shouldn’t buy chocolate bars called “sweet” and expect something other than sweet. And this being a candy blog, I should probably stop mentioning that I find candy sweet. I’m just calling them like I taste them.

These bars are of excellent quality. Smooth and without grain. The chocolate has good flavor, not much vanilla essence, mostly a roasty, robust chocolate flavor. Each has a flavor added to it. The Espresso has an excellent rich coffee flavor and of the two, I liked the mix of flavors best. It’s not as sweet, and stays true to espresso’s smoky vibe.

The orange one has a wonderful orange peel aroma to it, but the chocolate flavor gets lost in it and of course, I found it a little too sweet.

The chocolate yielded well, melting smoothly on the tongue. Of course it helped that it was very hot over that weekend that I picked them up. I took the bars next door and Amy and Robin agreed that the espresso was the best.

It should probably be mentioned that Newman donates all proceeds from sales to charity and the products are, to the best of their ability, fair trade and organic. But for a high priced “gourmet” bar, I expect just slightly better flavor balance and meltiness.

Rating: Espresso - 7 out of 10
Orange - 6 out of 10.

All yummy photos from the Candy Blog are on Flickr, so if you want to browse the latest reviews, just have a look here:

I can’t fault the candy manufacturers trying to tweak their most popular candies instead of reinventing the wheel. Sometimes they arrive at something that’s as good or even better than the original.

In the spirit of my recent review of the White Chocolate Reese’s, I picked up a few other reduxes.

Name: Nestle Crunch Dark
Brand: Nestle
Place Purchased: Convenience Store
Price: $.75
Size:1.4 oz
Calories per ounce: 135
Type: Chocolate (crisped)

Very fresh, the crisps were crunchy and the bar was glossy and smooth. The chocolate was not waxy, but didn’t really have the melt-in-your mouth feel. The chocolate content was pretty good, but not quite enough to soothe me completely. Maybe it was a little sweet.

On the whole, I think crunch bars are perfect the way they are. Milk chocolate and crisped rice are perfect together. Why mess with it?

Name: White Chocolate Kit Kat
Brand: Reese’s (Hershey)
Place Purchased: Convenience Store
Price: $.75
Size: 1.5 oz
Calories per ounce: 147
Type: White Chocolate Candy

Again, there was nothing wrong with the original Kit Kat. This white Kit Kat seems a bit saltier, which helps to balance the bland sweetness of the white chocolate. It’s not something that I’d be interested in again.

Name: Milky Way Midnight
Brand: Mars
Place Purchased: Convenience Store
Price: $.75
Size: 1.76 oz
Calories per ounce: 125
Type: Chocolate Candy (Caramel & Nougat)

First, I congratulate them for spelling midnight correctly. This bar was very fresh but reminded me that I never cared much for Milky Ways because they’re too cloyingly sweet. I like Snickers, mostly because they mixing sweet and savory. Also, I don’t like candy bars that are too much sugar and not enough fat (and maybe a little protein thrown in). So, in that respect the dark version is much more successful. The richer taste of the chocolate balances the caramel and bland nougat much better.

I have to say, after having plenty of imported candies and things from the remainders at the 99 cent stores, having fresh candy really makes a difference. Even a middle-of-the-road candy like Hershey’s Kisses are better when they’re fresh. Candy’s a treat - if you are going to use those “discretionary” calories on something with no nutritional value, choose something fresh and satisfying. Life too short for bad dessert.

Ratings:
Nestle Crunch Dark - 6 out of 10
White Chocolate Kit Kat - 6 out of 10
Milky Way Midnight - 7 out of 10

Name: Bali’s Best Coffee Candy
Brand: Fusion Gourmet, Inc.
Place Purchased: 99 cent Store
Price: $.99
Size: 7.05 oz
Calories per ounce: 125
Type: Hard Candy

Name: United Coffee Candy
Brand: United Foods Public Company Ltd.
Place Purchased: gift from Mom
Price: $1.75
Size: 7.05 oz
Calories per ounce: 125
Type: Hard Candy

Two different kinds of coffee hard candy. United Coffee Candy is from Thailand and the candies are little, flat rectangles and the Bali’s Best are from Indonesia (Bali) and are circular. Both have similar ingredients - leading with Sugar, then Glucose Syrup with Bali’s Best adding a little dried milk and then both round it out with coffee powder and oil. Pretty simple, and both get it absolutey right.

Each of them are crisp and densely rich. Sweet but with a robust and full sweet coffee flavor. Bali’s is just a little creamier because of the milk powder, but it also has a little more of a bitter twang to it.

Though the shapes are different, each are individually wrapped in sealed pouches.

Both are definitely keepers, something I’ll keep in the car or my purse or even the desk drawer. Easy to share and since I’m the type who likes to crunch her hard candies, these are very satisfying with a toffee consistency.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Related Candies

1. Werther’s Caramel Coffee Hard Candies
2. KitKat Mocha
3. Hachez Chocolates
4. Coffee Crisp

Name: Milk Nougat
Brand: The Foodstuffs Factory of the Jinji Restaurant
Place Purchased: Chinatown
Price: $1.69
Size: 16 oz
Calories per ounce: 120
Type: Nougat (Nut)

Nougat is tough stuff to define. Some nougat is light and fluffy, others are crackly, sticky toffee-like candy. This is the latter. The little bricks are hard and crack when you smack them on the corner of a table. You can easily bite off a third of it and after it gets warm in your mouth is has a nice give for chewing.

Think of the nougat chips that you have in a Toblerone bar ... these are like that only with a very strong butter flavor instead of honey and peanuts.

I like the consistency and fresh flavor. The Milk Nougats are also wrapped in that fantabulous edible rice cellophane. However, after chewing them down to the last little bit, a very strong and artificial butter flavor erupts. Like the that artificially flavored butter you get in bad movie theater popcorn. It doesn’t go well with the delicate vanilla of the nougat or the hearty peanuts.

I’m a huge nougat fan, I love the stuff from Italy (torrones) and the French nougats (both soft and hard) and was a bit disappointed with the unpleasant butter taste to these. Alas, that’s affected my rating. I’ll give other Chinese nougats a try if I run across the, as everything else, including the packaging and tiny bite size of these is excellent. Also, the price can’t be beat. European nougats are often over $5 a pound.

Rating: 5 out of 10.

Name: Turkish Delight (Hazelnut)
Brand: Sultan
Place Purchased: gift
Price: $4.69
Type: Turkish Delight

I’ve gotten the impression that some of those who come to the Candy Blog are curious about Turkish Delight. I’ve already detailed my impressions of The Ginger People’s Ginger Delight. Today’s review is of a more traditional Turkish Delight.

But first a little background from the back of the package:

An old Turkish aphorism tells one to “eat sweetly and speak sweetly”. Sweets have always been an important component of Turkish cuisine. The origin of Lokum - Turkish Delight - dates back to the time of the Ottoman Empire. A part of Turkish culture for centuries, the recipe has remained virtually unchanged from its inception.

A whimsical tale tells of the creation of Turkish Delight: In an attempt to appease his many wives, a famous Sultan ordered his confectioner to create a unique sweet. Eager to please his Sultan, the confectioner blended a concoction of sugar syrup, various flavorings, nuts and dried fruits then bound them together with mastic (gum arabic). After many attempts, the delicately scented and sugary sweet Lokum - better known in the West as Turkish Delight - was created. The Sultan was so taken by this elegant new creation that he appointed the sweet maker the court’s Chief Confectioner. Thereafter a plate of Lokum was served at daily feast in the Ottoman Court.

Lokum was unveiled to the west in the 19th century. During his travels to Istanbul, an unknown British traveler became very fond of the Turkish delicacies, purchased cases of Lokum and he shipped them to Britain under the name Turkish Delight. Today, Turkish Delight remains the sweet of choice in many Turkish homes. Enjoyed world wide, the subtle flavours of Turkish Delight finely compliment coffee and sweeten the breath at the end of a meal. Traditionally offered at Christmas in the West, Turkish Delight is becoming increasingly popular as a confection to be enjoyed year-round.

Most Turkish Delight I’ve had in the past was coated in a mix of cornstarch and powdered sugar, which makes it rather messy and though it’s a pretty bland coating, it does make for a sweet coating. Turkish Delight is generally flavored with scents - light and aromatic scents. In the past I’ve had Orange Blossom, Rosewater and Lemon.

This traditional Hazelnut Turkish Delight from Sultan is coated in coconut, which keeps the cubes from sticking together or to your fingers but also adds a wonderful nutty/chewy texture to the delicate sugar paste and hazelnuts (filberts).

Turkish Delight is probably not a treat for everyone. It’s not really a “snackable” treat where you can take it to a movie and pop them in your mouth. It’s more like something you’d put out with some nice cookies on a plate with some delicate tea.

Rating: 8 out of 10.

Name: Fruits Gummy
Brand: Kotashima
Place Purchased: Chinatown (Los Angeles)
Price: $1.69
Size: 5 oz
Calories per ounce: 100
Type: Gummy

Aside from the name, these were great. Well, and the packaging.

The drab outside package featured rather drab pictures of the fruits flavored within. After opening there were over a dozen little individually wrapped gummies - each in a pretty colored wrapper with a fruit shaped gummy within. You can pretty much improve you enjoyment of these by dumping them from that outside bag. The fruits are pineapple, orange, strawberry, lychee and melon. The orange ones are cute little slices the size of an actual tangerine slice and the pineapples (also pictured) are tiny little pineapples.

Unlike the German-style gummies, these are a little sticky on the outside, which makes the individual packaging necessary. Biting into them, they’re less rubbery than gummies as well, but have that same great chewy-but-not-sticky texture that you find in a firm gelatin. The flavor is really intense, very fragrant. But, while the pineapple smells really good and is sweet, it has not tang to it. There is no sour associated with these gummies at all - they’re all sweet and perfume.

I found it refreshing and really pleasant, while I think I’d prefer them with a bit of a bite to them, the flavor is so dense I can see why they went this way. The package heralds that they’re made with real fruit juices and pretty much nothing else but that and some gelatin/pectin and sugar.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Name: Green Tea Mini Pie
Place Purchased: Chinatown (Los Angeles)
Price: $3.99
Size: 5.2 oz
Type: Nut Brittle

These are one of the oddest things I’ve bought in ages. Made from pumpkin seeds, corn syrup and green tea concentrate they’re little bricks of pumkin seed brittle.

They look a bit strange, very green like they’re made from seaweed or something. And they smell like, well, green tea and pumpkin seeds - which is not exactly an enticing combo. But the simplicity of it and the unique essence of pumpkin and green tea is really nice. They actually look like the picture on the package.

They’re pretty good for snacking and not terribly sweet. They’re mostly pumkin seeds, so it’s very filling. The biggest drawback really is the price. At four bucks for about a third of a pound, they’re pretty pricy for something that I usually throw out when carving a pumpkin.

Rating: 7 out of 10