Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Hershey’s Special Dark with Almonds

Hershey's Special Dark with AlmondsHershey’s has been pushing its Special Dark line, promoting the products as a Natural Source of Antioxidants | Flavanol Antioxidants.

The new Hershey’s Special Dark with Almonds joins Hershey’s standard Special Dark bar as the companion with nuts.

Hershey’s dark chocolate isn’t daringly dark, it’s just 45% cacao content, which these days isn’t even as chocolatey as some milk chocolates. It’s nice to finally have the option of a dark bar with almonds at the convenience mart or drug store ... though it’s a little late to enter the game as Dove beat them there and even Lindt, Ritter and Ghirardelli are available pretty widely now.

Hershey's Special Dark with Almonds

The bar is lovely, it’s molded just like the Hershey’s Milk Chocolate with Almonds bar. 

It’s not a huge bar, but still a nice portion, clocking in at 1.45 ounces and 190 calories if you’re counting.

Ingredients: Sugar, chocolate, almonds (roasted in cocoa butter and/or sunflower oil), cocoa butter, cocoa processed with alkali, milkfat, lactose, soy lecithin, PGPR, vanillin and milk.

Hershey's Special Dark with AlmondsAs almonds were a little lower on the list or ingredients than I expected, I counted them. 10 whole almonds. Not bad. (Though they’re about the size of peanuts.)

My first reaction is that it’s sweet. My second reaction is that it tastes like cocoa. The almonds have a good crunch and were fresh. Because of the almonds, for the most part I chewed the bar instead of letting it just melt on my tongue. But for the purposes of this review I found some pieces without almonds just for tasting the chocolate.

It’s sugary and a bit grainy, there’s a distinct chalkiness that isn’t that “this is really dark chocolate dryness” instead it’s more like the chocolate’s not fully combined with the sugar. The cocoa butter isn’t really supporting the chocolate, it’s standing next to it so everything just kind of falls apart.

It’s not terrible, but it’s like eating a bunch of chocolate chips. Chocolate chips are meant to stand up to baking and are almost always used in combination with other elements. Here the almonds just can’t cover up the lackluster flavors & texture.

If you’re desperate for a non-milk chocolate bar (that actually has milk products in it) and nothing else is around, this is certainly more palatable than the straight Special Dark. I found it filling, but not satisfying.

Related Candies

  1. Hershey’s Almond Joy Pieces
  2. Hershey’s Special Dark Miniatures
  3. Hershey’s Miniatures
  4. Dove Promises (Caramel & Almonds)
  5. Endangered Species Halloween Treats
  6. Equal Exchange Miniatures
  7. See’s Awesome Nut & Chew Bar
Name: Hershey's Special Dark with Almonds
    RATING:
  • 10 SUPERB
  • 9 YUMMY
  • 8 TASTY
  • 7 WORTH IT
  • 6 TEMPTING
  • 5 PLEASANT
  • 4 BENIGN
  • 3 UNAPPEALING
  • 2 APPALLING
  • 1 INEDIBLE
Brand: Hershey's
Place Purchased: Walgreen's (Echo Park)
Price: $.69
Size: 1.45 ounces
Calories per ounce: 131
Categories: Chocolate, Nuts, United States, Hershey's, Kosher

POSTED BY Cybele AT 9:36 am Tracker Pixel for Entry    

Comments
  1. Can’t say I’m surprised to read your opinion. I love Hershey’s milk chocolate, but I’ve never been a fan of the dark.

    Comment by chocolate and whine on 7/29/09 at 3:24 pm #
  2. callie's avatar

    Aww, I’m strangely loyal to Special Dark. No, it’s not the best dark chocolate I’ve had, but for years it was the only one I could hope to find and even then it was the red-headed stepchild of Hershey’s. I haven’t tried the almonds (interestingly, I don’t like dark chocolate with nuts), but maybe I’ll pick one up.

    Comment by callie on 7/29/09 at 4:27 pm #
  3. I prefer the 4 oz version, but it is getting harder to find. Are you discontinuing this size?

    Comment by Joe Verzino on 6/20/16 at 12:21 pm #
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