Sunday, November 30, 2014

See's Chocolates

See's is a mid-sized California based candy and chocolate maker.  They have a huge assortment of truffles, with pretty much every sort of filling you could want.  They also always have fun seasonal varieties.  And they always give you a sample while you browse.  While they aren't amazing, they are certainly better than Godiva or Lindt.

Milk Chocolate

Milk Peanut.
"Roasted and salted peanuts covered in smooth milk chocolate."
Milk Peanut: Inside.
The peanuts, just like the almonds in the previous one, were left whole, which I liked for so much crunch.  Although the description says they were salted, I didn't taste any salt, and it was really missing from this.

Overall, very bland, as it was just mediocre milk chocolate and plain peanuts.  Salt or some other complexity needed.
Almond Square.
"Roasted California almonds held together with buttery caramel and dipped half way in smooth milk chocolate to show off the delicious center."
Almond Square: Inside.
I like everything in this, but I didn't actually like it.  The caramel was too thick and chewy.  Nuts usually add great crunch, but since the whole thing was too chewy, they seemed like too much work too. Meh.
Milk Patty.
"Buttery caramel covered in smooth milk chocolate."

Creamy milk chocolate, much better than standard candy.  The caramel was somewhere in-between chewy and gooey, rather perfect actually.

Dark Chocolate

Dark Chocolate Almond.
"Roasted California almonds smothered in rich dark chocolate."
Dark Almond: Inside.
The almonds were left whole, decently roasted.  Dark chocolate unremarkable.  This was just fairly standard, nothing wrong with it, but not very exciting.

Previous tasting notes: the almonds have nice flavor, and there were tons of almonds.  The chocolate was pretty standard though.

Scotchmallow® 
"A layer of caramel with a layer of honey marshmallow covered in rich, dark chocolate."
Scotchmallow®: Inside.
This was the item I was most excited for.  I love marshmallows!

Sadly, it wasn't awesome.  Same mediocre dark chocolate, caramel that was too chewy.  The marshmallow was lost amongst everything else, and didn't really seem very fluffy.


Dark Nougat.
"Chewy nougat with honey, roasted California almonds, angel flake coconut and vanilla covered in rich dark chocolate."
Dark Nougat: Inside.
Quality dark chocolate, smooth but with a slight bitterness.  Very chewy nougat that reminded me more of a caramel due to its sweetness and chew factor.  A bit too chewy for my liking.  Whole almonds for good crunch.  I didn't taste the vanilla, and maybe saw a few flakes of coconut, but did not taste them.

Overall, it seemed just like a fancier version of a dark chocolate almond snickers.  The chocolate was the best part.

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Dark Chocolate Butterchew

"Buttery brown sugar caramel with vanilla covered in rich dark chocolate."

The caramel is smooth and very buttery, really nice consistency.  Very sweet overall, but pretty delicious when paired with bitter coffee.

Subsequent tasting notes: Too much sweet, not enough interesting flavor.  Decent caramel, decent dark chocolate, goes well with bitter coffee.

White Chocolate

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Divinity Puff

"Fluffy white chocolate center with English walnuts covered in white chocolate."

Very, very sweet.  Nuts and white chocolate do go together well, but they are lost in the sweetness.

Truffles

"Delicious masterpieces featuring luxurious, rich flavor. See's Truffles are made with only the finest ingredients of dairy-fresh butter, heavy cream, real fruit, and of course, our famous chocolate."
  • Pecan Pie Truffle: "Our Pecan Pie Truffles start with a rich buttercream filling with only the freshest pecan pieces folded in, then they're surrounded by See's white chocolate and topped with an extra large pecan half."  Tasting notes: too much white chocolate, just sweet.
  • Egg Nog Truffle: "White chocolate covered eggnog flavored buttercream."  Tasting notes:  just sweet, not good, not even that eggnoggy.
  • Apple Pie Truffle: "Rich, creamy truffle center of white chocolate, Granny Smith Apples and a touch of cinnamon covered in white chocolate and decorated with white chocolate lace."  Tasting notes: apple pie center is very, very flavorful.  White chocolate is meh.
  • Cranberry Orange Truffle: "The center, a fusion of airy white chocolate, citrusy orange and real cranberry pieces is enrobed in See's rich, luscious dark chocolate and finished with delicate striping".  Tasting notes: Like the others, very flavorful center, chocolate meh.  Center does have a very strong orange flavor though that is nice, dark chocolate is kinda lost and meh, not much cranberry flavor.
  • White Mint Truffle: "Truffle center of white chocolate, cream and peppermint covered in white chocolate and decorated with white chocolate lace."  Tasting notes: sweet white chocolate, mint ganache inside is too subtle, really flavorless overall.
  • Orange Cream Truffle: "Creamy soft center with oranges, covered in smooth milk chocolate." Tasting notes:  Very nice creamy milk chocolate, intensely orange flavored center.  Too bad I don’t like orange.
  • Pumpkin Pie Truffle: "Truffle center of white chocolate, pumpkin, allspice and cinnamon covered in milk chocolate.".  Tasting notes: Decent spices and creamy inside.
  • Mocha Truffle: "Creamy center flavored with coffee and cream covered in smooth milk chocolate and decorated with chocolate rice." Tasting notes: better than Godiva truffles but not really amazing.

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