Giveaway Chocolate Stocking Stuffer #1

Sisters and Brothers, hang out because we are about to impart on our most active Giveaway period yet here in The Chocolate Cult.  Remember, you can enter any giveaway no matter if you have won before but you MUST follow the guidelines for each giveaway or you will be disqualified.  Last giveaway saw half of all entries disqualified because they left out one of the steps.  Your Chocolate Priestess doesn't ask a lot but since chocolatiers generously donate we must ask you to do something more than simply leave a comment.  These giveaways in December are so generous that we also require a minimum number of entries so tell your friends, tell your family, tell your kids to enter, too.



Today we are look at two Christmas themed bars from Bloomsberry & Co. a New Zealand company now available in the USA.  These are bitg 3.5oz   bars in a paper box wrapper over a partly recycled paper internal wrapper.  Both have cocoa butter and chocolate liquor in them; the Milk chocolate has milk. If your food allergies are particularly severe, their factories also make products with soy, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and eggs.  I know this is important to a few regular readers so I'm going to work to remember to put this information into my reviews from now on as my gift to all of you.


We'll start with the 34% Milk Chocolate "Peace on Earth" bar.  While the title refers to a Christian song, there is not explicit reference to either Christianity or Christmas on this box so I think you could use it for more than a stocking stuffer.  This bar has two servings so six pieces are a single serving.  Each of these has 270 calories made of 10 saturated fat, 10mg cholesterol, 38mg sodium, 1g fiber, 28g sugars, 3g protein, with some vitamins A and C with 10% calcium and half that in iron.  At 34% this may be a darker tasting milk chocolate than some of you are used to.  The entire bar measures 5.75 X 3.75 X0.75 inches; the same as the next bar we'll look at.  It has a chocolaty scent but I had to bring it fairly close to my nose to really appreciate it.  It took a bit of effort to snap off the first two pieces because it is so thick and when I did that the bar immediately started to melt in my grip because this has no preservatives.  It makes another soft snap when I take a bite and continues to make some sound for the first few chews.  The immediate flavor is a strong vanilla followed by chocolate then a creaminess fading back into chocolate.  That's good because it means our Sacred Substance wins out in the end but the bar takes us on a fair journey of flavors.  Letting it melt in your mouth increasing the creamy tastes as well as letting it coat your tongue.

The Christmas Survival Chocolate Bar is 55% cocoa and if you look at the four images you'll see it can work not just for shopping and Christmas itself bu through the New Year's as well.  The images remind me of road sign and I like the fat little tummy on the New Year's figure -- remember Moderation will help you with that problem even over the holidays, or you can add in more exercise as well.  This is a darker looking bar and has a much more intense chocolate scent. It is the same size as the previous bar but the nutritional information is a bit different.  1/2 this bar has 275 calories made of 10g saturated fat, 3mg cholesterol, 4mg sodium, 3g fiber, 25g sugars, 3g protein, with a bit of Vitamin A and Calcium but 14% of the daily iron an adult needs.  Even though this is just as thick, it is harder to break off some pieces to try and the sounds are a bit louder when I chew as well. However, without preservatives, it, too, starts to melt on my fingertips.  The first flavor is a light cocoa mixed with vanilla that almost immediately gets darker and darker, lingering on my tongue for about 20 seconds after I swallow my first bite.  Letting it melt in my mouth increases that intensity and I really like it a lot.

Thank you, Bloomsberry, for this giveaway and for letting the Chocolate Cult reveal your products to the world.  Remember this excellent milk chocolate should work for any milk chocolate lover and if dark chocolate so far has been in an easily grabbed bar at the check out line of your grocery store, this is a higher quality and an excellent way to introduce serious dark chocolate into someones life this holiday season.

Now let's talk Giveaway.

Bloomsberry is offering five, that's right, five readers bars that were reviewed today.  This is a very generous offer so I want a minimum of 15 people to enter this giveaway.  After you've entered, get your friends and family to enter, tweet about it, put it  up on Facebook or your private blog, but get the word out.  Your chances of winning are ZERO if we don't get at least 15 entries.  The Praim folks are offering the same giveaway starting on Wednesday so this will also be a FAST giveaway so you can get the bars in time for the holidays.  You MUST follow each of these steps to be entered to win.  Winner will chosen on Wednesday, December 7, 2010, right before the Praim post.  You also must be living in the lower 48 states of the USA for shipping purposes.

1. You MUST be a public follower of The Chocolate Cult.  In your comment leave a note saying how you are following us: Blogspot, Facebook, or Networked Blogs.  Please make sure the name  you use in the comment matches your listing via that method because I do check.

2. Go to Bloomsberry's website HERE and state which "Chocolate for a Cause" you'd be most interested in buying and why.  Note: These are NOT the bars I've reviewed above.

3. Make sure you have an email I can easily find, generally by clicking on your name.  I do not recommend putting it in your comment for privacy's sake but I need to contact you and the nice folks at Bloomsberry so you can arrange to get your chocolate stocking stuffer.

I will choose the winner using the same random number generator I use all the time and contact them privately first thing on Wednesday morning so enter NOW. Then get others to enter so we reach our 15 entry goal and 5 of you will get a chocolate stocking stuffer of  your very own.

Comments

Unknown said…
I am following you on Facebook (Jennifer Aldridge).

Being the owner of breasts, I would pick the Pink Emergency Bars!

rishamoonshadow (a t ) yahoo.com is how you can reach me. :)
Ashley said…
I'm a gfc follower.

hewella1 at gmail dot com
Ashley said…
I like the climate change chocoloate.

hewella1 at gmail dot com
PatronQueen said…
I am a facebook follower. Patron Queen

I would buy the pink emergency bars because I also have breasts.
susitravl said…
Like you on FB (SusanBenegas) and I follow you via GFC as susitravl. My email address is visible in my profile. I would like to try the Peace on Earth bar - it sounds delicious!
susitravl said…
Oops - I got too excited reading about all the chocolate and mentioned the wrong one in my comment above. I have been trying to be greener, so the Climate Change Chocolate would be my choice. Thanks, TammyJo.
Unknown said…
I follow via Blogspot (fashionfoody).

I would choose the Pink Emergency Bars!
ella said…
blog follower!

I would choose the Climate Change bars. I like the idea of 15 tips on the wrapper and I'd be interested to see them.

ellaetc(at)gmail(dot)com
jperonto said…
Following you with Google Follower! Definitely the Pink Emergency Bars. My family has a history with breast cancer. Any way to help the cause is always on my brain.

Great giveaway!
jperonto@gmail.com
Cacao-Me said…
i'm a regular follower. My choice is also the Climate Change bar. And you have my email.
Unknown said…
Hi! Just started following you on facebook.

voltagirlatgmaildotcom

Whryne Reed on FB

(fingers crossed and telling my friendz to jump in!)
Unknown said…
Hello priestess I follow you on the Facebook and would pick the emergency pink as boobies make the world a better place

Timbricemarshallatgmaildotcom
The Prosey Rose said…
Ok..I'll go for the Pink Emergency bars because I believe in saving the tatas.
Whryne said…
Whoops! Thought I was supposed to leave the comment with *them*! I said I'd buy then BOTH since they are both excellent causes but if you made me narrow it down I'd be forced to go with the Pink
Emergency as the cause is near and dear to me.
jarnizzl said…
The climate change bars sound really cool; I'd love to see what they have to say (while enjoying the chocolate inside!).
jarnizzl said…
Oh, and I follow you on google!
liquidj said…
Priestess,
I am a facebook follower, and would choose the Pink Emergency bars. I know many people such as myself who support this cause, and some wonderful women that have unfortunately felt the pain of breast cancer.
Anonymous said…
FB follower (Jane Sharma), I would choose the climate change bars because I'd be interested in seeing what green ways they'd recommend.
elizabeth said…
I follow you on Facebook and Blogspot, and I would choose the climate change bar, because I really like the idea of giving someone (or myself) a bit of a carbon-footprint offset.