Dreams for Charity

As you know, Sisters and Brothers, we are concerned about more than just taste, texture, scent, sound, and looks when it comes to chocolate.  When we hear that a chocolatier or a chocolate product might be benefiting some charity, we want to look into that.  Our old friends at Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate (guess what they sale?) who were one of the first chocolate makers to send us samples for sacramental review, are supporting the Shriner's Hospital for Children in St. Louis.  For the rest of October 2010, they will donate 20% of the sales of their new Dreams line to this hospital.  Now maybe you don't live in St. Louis or near there so let's look at this new chocolate and see if you may want to buy it for other reasons.

They sent your Chocolate Priestess two boxes, one of their Mint Dreams and one of the Fresh Fruit Dreams.  We'll start with the Mint then look one by one at the variety in the Fresh Fruit.  The Mint comes in a green box with lighter clouds on it and holds 16 pieces which measure 1.25 inches in diameter and are almost half an inch thick.  The ingredients start with chocolate but also include added flavor as well as milk, soy, and wheat if these are concerns for you. 

The disc is smooth and cool to my fingertips as I pick one up. They have more heft than I imagined they would.  Taking a bite I get the immediate taste of darker chocolate followed by a rush of cool and peppermint.  The very white inside oozes out slowly but feels very smooth on my tongue.  As the flavors settle they blend together and end in an over all tingling in my mouth that lasts a good minute or more after I finish eating it.   The blending of the flavors is very even and the overwhelming memory is of the tingling coolness.

The Fresh Fruit comes in a reddish purple box of 8 pieces that are larger at 1.5 X 1 X 1 inch in dimensions.  The ingredients are basically the same as in the previous box but with more added flavors and colors.

 There are four of milk chocolate and four dark chocolate pieces.  However, while you may notice a distinctive swirl on top that generally signals flavors there is not code provided either with the box or on the website.  The flavors inside might include Pomegranate, Orange, Lemon, Cherry, Key Lime, Raspberry, Blackberry, Coconut and Mint.

However when I cut them open I see that not all the flavors are present and that suggests that you can get the flavors in both milk and dark varieties but again that's my speculation not something on the website or literature with the chocolates.  Let's start with the four Milk one in the order of the photo starting at the top left  and working across then down.

The milk chocolates by scent and look seems to have blackberry, lemon, raspberry and orange.  The milk chocolate shells make a soft crunch when I take a bite since I cut them in half.  The blackberry has a very sweet flavor that ends on a slightly sour note, and no little seeds -- thank goodness.  The lemon has almost no scent but it has a definite, sharp kick to the flavor that blends almost perfectly with the creamy milk chocolate.  The raspberry's scent faded quickly after I cut the piece open.  The inside is more solid than the other pieces and the tartness is very sharp yet the creamy chocolate is the final flavor I taste.  The orange is very much a sherbet flavor with a sharp tartness on top of the sweetness hidden inside a mostly solid yet slightly grainy textured center.  The orange almost overpowers the milk chocolate though that flavor returns at the end of the piece as I enjoy the flavors naturally fading in my mouth.

The dark chocolates by scent and look seems to have raspberry, cherry, key lime, and strawberry.  The dark chocolate raspberry is more liquid than the milk version but equally sweet and tart; the bitter darkness chocolate nicely blends and reminds the primary flavor.   The cherry is the most liquid of the centers and it just flows out after I cut it meaning I have to scoop it up on the piece to get the full experience. It has a sharp, candy like sweetness to it and the cherry center is rather sticky but it blends quite well until the bitter dark chocolate becomes the final flavor.  The key lime is a bright green and semi-solid, oozing very, very slowly after I cut it.  It has no scent beyond the dark chocolate but a definite key lime essence as I chew it that holds its own well against the chocolate though once more the chocolate wins.  The strawberry is the second most liquid like center but it mostly stays in the dark chocolate.  It has a semi-sweet strawberry flavor that mixes well at first with the dark chocolate but then is replaced by that wonderful bitterness.

Over and over the dark chocolate was the dominant flavor in those four pieces and here on The Chocolate Cult I have to say that is a good thing.  The milk chocolate could hold its own and that makes it wonderful as well.  Two reasons (flavor and charity donation) to check out the Dreams chocolate line from Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate. Which one is going to draw you to their site or their store in the next nine days to try out this new worthy Sacrament?