My first taste of Cote d’Or chocolate was in 1993 when I spent a semester in Maastricht, The Netherlands.  With several candy stores in the city centre, I sampled many a candy variety during those 4 months–and gained several pounds in the process. My two favorite Cote d’Or products to this day remain the plain milk chocholate bar and the milk chocolate with hazlenuts. Being a sucker for marketing–I’m also a fan of the vintage wrapper. But how’s the chocolate? Smooth and creamy, but not overly sweet.

Not all products are available in the US, though most can be found at speciality import stores. The complete line is listed on the company web site, where you can also find suggestions for beverage/wine and chocolate pairings.

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The Butterfinger Buzz is a new variety from the candy maker that contains 40 mg of caffeine per piece (there are two pieces of candy in each package).  According to the website the candy will only be available through April 2009, so if you want to taste, better do it soon.

But how does it taste? Actually, I was surprised, it’s rather rich. In a side by side comparison with the original Butterfinger, the Buzz (pictured right, and regular on the left) has a more intense and full flavor. The color is a deeper, brighter orange, too. Though I suspect that was a deliberate decision.

I found mine at a Walgreens, they are also available at 7-eleven. Yeah, they have an annoying media campaign and Facebook page, but I’m simply going to ignore that and enjoy the candy+caffeine concoction.

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I have a new candy addiction – salted caramels – and I blame our trip to Portland. It was there I tasted the salted caramels from the little chocolate shop, Sahagun. The candy is an adorable cup of dark, creamy chocolate filled with flowing caramel that is at the same time sweet and savory. And the addition of my favorite nut, the hazelnut, on top of the confection makes this treat my idea of perfection.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the hazelnut filled chocolates topped with a creamy, cupcake-ish chocolate hazelnut frosting.

A special thanks to fellow blogger Jessica of ItalyLogue for giving me the head’s up about the liquidity of the caramel so as not to have caramel drip down my chin after taking a bite

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I’m afraid I finally met a candy I don’t like. The problem with Violet Crumble is the texture. The inside ‘honeycomb’ is the texture of those crispy, baked meringues. To me that gritty feeling in the mouth is like eating chalk–not to mention the sensation. I simply can’t get past the texture to even talk about taste.

Clearly I was the kid in school that cringed in actual pain when teachers dragged chalk down the chalkboard. OUCH.

There are a few other, not so biased, reviews out there:
Candy Blog
Candy Addict

Btw, I found this at Long’s Drugs on Shattuck Ave in Berkeley.

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I spotted Flyer Gold Plane No. 2 (Swiss dark chocolate with caramel) at the checkout counter of the Whole Foods Market (in Providence) and was immediately drawn to the packaging. The combination of a lovely vintage plane image, reminiscent of Pan Am graphics, and the words rich dark chocolate with caramel was too much to pass up.

The chocolate exterior was smooth and creamy and the caramel was absolutely lush and thick. I could taste the butter and sugar in the caramel, as well as the rich, nutty flavor that comes from bringing the caramel just to the point before it burns. This really is more of a high-end bon bon, the type you might find in a French candy boutique, rather than a plain bar. That said, don’t let the 270 calories per bar scare you. It’s so rich a few bites will easily satisfy the sweetest of sweet tooths.

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