Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Bubble Chocolate (2010)

Bubble Chocolate BarsBubble Chocolate was introduced back in 2006 (original review) as the only American brand aerated chocolate. I reviewed it at that time but never saw it widely distributed.

Fast forward four years and Bubble Chocolate has a new look and a new formula. They went all natural (basically went to real vanilla instead of vanillin) and pared down the flavor offerings to just Milk Chocolate and Dark Chocolate.

The bars are large but not hefty. They come in a box with slanted sides (a severely truncated pyramid) and a nicely texture foil wrapping inside. The bars weigh 2.82 ounces but look far more substantial than that, because, well, there are a lot of bubbles in there.

Dark Chocolate Bubble Bar

The Bubble Chocolate Dark Chocolate Bar is 60% cocoa. It’s not terribly dark in color or content. The recommended serving is half of the bar, about 200 calories. I admit, it does feel pretty decadent to eat half of the bar and realize that it’s no more than a regular weight serving of chocolate.

The smell is kind of odd. It’s almost alcoholic, the vanilla notes are that strong. There’s also a hint of coconut.

The bite is easy and just slightly crumbly. It’s chalky in a way and cool on the tongue, but once it melts it doesn’t taste cheap or old. It’s just weird. The deep cocoa flavors never quite develop, it’s like the chocolate intensity of an unfrosted chocolate cake - soft and pillowy and sure, there’s cocoa in there. But the powerful fatty experience of the chocolate is rather lost on me, no rich puddles on the tongue of cocoa butter and cocoa solids.

Milk Chocolate Bubble Bar

The Milk Chocolate Bubble Chocolate Bar is much lighter looking but has a lovely gloss and good snap. There are 220 calories per serving in this version, I’m guessing because there’s less fiber in there ... its place is taken by sugar.

The bar doesn’t smell like much at all, a little like Cocoa Krispies. The texture is similarly light on the tongue and cool as it melts. The flavor is quite milky though not in the European or Swiss style, it’s more American. The cocoa flavors are muted and rather bland. There’s a little hint of caramel and malt but not much else from the chocolate.

Overall, I don’t know how different these are from the initial versions that I tried years ago but I’m just can’t get into this stuff. It’s smooth and nicely tempered but just not enough of a flavor punch for me. For the price I’d probably go for something else on the same shelf like Green & Black’s Peanut Bar or if I’m feeling particular decadent and want to pay a little more, an Amano. For pure fun, the bubbles just don’t do anything for me. However, the price on these is comparable to a similar imported Aero or Dairy Milk but with the all natural ingredients it’s just a step above.

They’re made in Belarus.

Related Candies

  1. Gimbal’s Scottie Dogs
  2. Choxie 3 Ounce Chocolate Bars
  3. Bubble Chocolate
  4. Elite Aerated & Lotte Airs
  5. Dairy Milk Bubbly
  6. Aero


Name: Bubble Chocolate Dark Chocolate
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Bubble Chocolate
Place Purchased: sample from Sweets & Snacks Expo
Price: $2.50 retail
Size: 2.82 ounces
Calories per ounce: 142
Categories: Candy, Aerated, Chocolate, 6-Tempting


Name: Bubble Chocolate Milk Chocolate
    RATING:
  • SUPERB
  • YUMMY
  • TASTY
  • WORTH IT
  • TEMPTING
  • PLEASANT
  • BENIGN
  • UNAPPEALING
  • APPALLING
  • INEDIBLE
Brand: Bubble Chocolate
Place Purchased: sample from Sweets & Snacks Expo
Price: $2.50 retail
Size: 2.82 ounces
Calories per ounce: 156
Categories: Candy, Aerated, Chocolate, 6-Tempting

POSTED BY Cybele AT 3:51 pm Tracker Pixel for Entry     All NaturalCandyAeratedChocolate6-Tempting

Comments
  1. I’m surprised Nestle USA hasn’t put out their version of the UK Aero bar.  If it worked for The Office, it should work for the Aero.

    Comment by Marvo on 6/02/10 at 5:30 pm #
  2. Cybele's avatar

    Marvo - we did have a Nestle aerated chocolate bar back in the 70s called Choco-Lite, but it just didn’t catch on. I don’t know why they don’t just introduce the Aero here, maybe it’s too expensive to import.

    Comment by Cybele on 6/02/10 at 5:36 pm #
  3. I grew up in Buffalo, and went over into Canada frequently, and always saw Aero bars.  So, if they can import them into Canada, they can surely import them into America.  Maybe the perception is that there would be no interest?

    Comment by LL on 6/03/10 at 9:59 am #
  4. LL, they don’t import Aero bars to Canada from the UK.  They are also made in Canada, along with other Nestle products not available in the US.

    Comment by Tara on 6/03/10 at 11:54 am #
  5. I love aerated chocolate and read about Bubble Chocolate in Inc. Magazine. I actually really liked it. I found it light, but very satisfying. I agree that the all natural gives it more street cred.

    Comment by HH on 6/03/10 at 3:24 pm #
  6. This reminded me of an aero chocolate I had a few years back,  Someone sent it to me as a bonus for buying something on e-bay.  It was delicious, some of the best chocolate I had.  Your entry about it motivated me to go looking for the type of candy that I had and I actually found it!  (And ordered it. :D ) No easy task because the wrapper was all in Japanese and I had no idea the name of the product.  Luckily, it has such a distinctive shape that I was able to find it after googling for a bit, and then managed to find a site that sold it in the US.

    http://www.tsunami.hk/english/meito-puku-puku-tai-air-in-choco-snapper-chocolate-cream-biscuit.html

    Comment by Rita on 6/11/10 at 7:20 am #
  7. Just wondering if this is widely available to the public. You might have mentioned it in the article but I also may have glossed over that part. LOL

    Comment by Rachel on 6/16/10 at 2:54 pm #
  8. Cybele's avatar

    Rachel - they just announced they should be at Duane Reade and I think they’re already in Whole Foods. There’s a much more comprehensive locator on the Bubble Chocolate site that I linked to in the stats box:
    http://www.bubblechocolate.com/locator.php

    Comment by Cybele on 6/16/10 at 4:44 pm #
  9. Thanks Cybele! I will check out TJ Maxx and Marshall’s!

    Comment by Rachel on 6/16/10 at 4:54 pm #
  10. I’ve just tried one and I must say the taste is AWWWFULLL.
    I’ve had chocolate from many parts of the world and this stuff tastes like someone vomited in the mixing pot and only cleaned out half.

    DISGUSTING!! I had to throw 23 1/2 (out of 6*4=24) sections of the 2.82oz bar away.

    I believe I am not alone in this opinion… this bar was discounted to $1 then down to $.50 at BigLots

    Comment by PmB on 10/18/11 at 9:01 am #
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