Three Bags of Hedonistic Delight

The folks from Hedonist Artisan Chocolates sent us several Offerings and today we are looking at the final one -- three variations of their Bark.  These are the "Milk Chocolate Bark with Sesame," "Pecan Cranberry Bark," and "Pistachio Ginger Bark."  That is the order you see in the photo to the right from left to right.  The bark is broken into pieces as it should be so I can't really give you a measurement for them except for their thickness that varies with each flavor.  The ingredients are all natural, nothing artificial on the bags but there is no nutritional information either so remember to practice Moderation as your Chocolate Priestess tries to do.

We'll go in order of the barks above starting with the only milk chocolate variety Hedonist makes: "Milk Chocolate Bark with Sesame".  The clear plastic bag is tied off at  the top with a brownish paper or hemp rope which unties easily.  The primary scent I immediately get is the sesame and as you can some of the pieces are just loaded with white and black seeds.  The pieces are 3/16th of an inch thick and the milk chocolate is very cool to my touch.  The sesames are very crunchy and they have a strong taste because they are roasted and that adds a darker edge to the piece I tried.  However the milk chocolate really can't stand up to the sesames and I can't say I'm personally pleased since, as you know, I want the chocolate to be our main flavor or at least the one we are left savoring in our mouths.

The "Pecan Cranberry Bark" has both dark and white chocolate, the dark on the bottom with the white on top but the two are also blended together to make these pretty swirl patterns I hope you can see in the photo along with pieces of pecans and dried cranberries.  The win colored natural fiber string unties with a bit more work to release a complex fragrance where I believe the darker chocolate edges out the other flavors making me smile with hope.  These pieces are thicker, at least 1/4th inch.  The cranberries and nuts are spread around so it will take me about two bites to try it out thoroughly.  The bark itself snaps loudly when I take a bite and at first I can taste the bitter dark chocolate then the crunchy, sweet pecan, the tart and crunchy cranberry, the smooth white chocolate and as the scent promised, it all ends with the darker essence.  A second bite of just the chocolates confirm that the first flavor is dark then white then dark again.  I love this bark!

The final variation we were sent is the "Pistachio Ginger Bark" sealed with a moss green hemp or something else natural as a tie.  Let me be honest: I don't really like pistachios so I'll try to focus on the dark chocolate and the ginger, taking a second bite to really get into the two flavors I think I might be most impressed by.  When I open this bag, which is the most difficult of the trio to open, the pistachio essence hits me hard.  As you can see these are thick pieces of dark chocolate and there are entire nuts as well as large pieces of what looks like candied ginger on top.  These pieces are over 1/4th inch thick probably to support such big pieces of nuts and ginger.  When I bring this to my nose, the scent changes depending on where I take a whiff -- the sections with only ginger, strong ginger scent, the pistachio areas have a strong pistachio scent and the chocolate only a combination of all three flavors.  Both the ginger and the pistachios crunch and have distinctive, sharp flavors but the dark chocolate surprised me by fighting up to become the final essence in my mouth.  You better like ginger and pistachio but even if they aren't your favorite, the dark cocoa will make you happy.

Did these descriptions make your mouth water or your eyes light up a bit, Sisters and Brothers.  The "Pecan Cranberry Bark" really made me happy but perhaps another sounded better to you.  When I shared these with nine other people everyone had a different favorite.  Hedonist Artisan Chocolates has more than just Bark.  You can find their main shop in Rochester, New York, or you can find them in other stores around the state.  If you don't live nearby you can check out their website.  When they were shipped to me, they came in eco-friendly packaging which means they are concerned with our planet, the only place your Chocolate Priestess knows of where our Sacred Substance is grown and turned into Chocolate.  For eco-consciousness, their focus on purer chocolate and unique flavors, Hedonist Artisan Chocolates again wins our approval as a worthy Sacrament.