As a self avowed choco-holic, I tend to shy away from getting chocolate bars that you can “customize” because, invariably, the chocolate is not all that good and the goodies you can “add” to your bar are either too sweet or are boring (yes, yes, peanut butter cups are delicious, but they ALREADY have chocolate so why would you put them in a chocolate bar?) I realize I sound like a chocolate snob but with such great chocolate bar options out there, why would I want a personalized chocolate bar?
I tell ya, Chocomize is why. Being ever the skeptic, when those lovely folks offered to send me my very own bar I had second thoughts, but then again, I DO love my chocolate so I said sure, send me something yummy. Well, boy did they.
Let me back up and tell you a little about Chocomize first. Chocomize sells custom chocolate bars. You choose what type of chocolate (dark, milk or white) and then add toppings…like nuts or fruit or candy. In fact, they have some amazingly yummy toppings like poppy seeds, raisins, organic cashews and roasted pistachios along with creative additions like organic sesame seeds, diced lemon peel, and Skittles.
What makes them even more fantastic are the not-so-expected toppings (think herbs and spices) like cayenne pepper, cardamom, crystalized rose petals and all sorts of other fun treats. For even more customization, you can add plaques with well wishes on them like “Happy Birthday”.
In fact, they have 106 different ingredients which makes for 36,843,895,308 different possible combinations. Chocomize, according to their blog, (if they were feeling extra generous) “could give a different chocolate bar to every single person in the world for almost a whole week”. Their words, not mine. Just think of it!
I got my very own “Kate’s Chocolate Bar” – one with cherries and almonds, the other with crystalized violet petals and peanuts (and a Happy Birthday plaque). Both came on a dark chocolate bar.
The dark chocolate is delicious – sweet but not too sweet. And the toppings are big and plentiful. You might think that you’d get a smattering of bits and pieces but you’d be wrong. The cherries were full and plump (as plump as dried cherries can be) and the peanuts were the size of actual peanuts. Imagine that. And the violet petals were an interesting touch. I can’t say I tasted violet (what, by the way, is violet supposed to taste like?), but they crunched in an unexpected, puffed rice sort of way. A little crunch with some give. Very tasty.
You can order your chocolate bar solo for not much more than you’d pay in a grocery store for something way less inventive. Or, if you’d like, you can order in bulk. Great idea for weddings or corporate events.
Plus, I’ve got to add an “atta boy” to Chocomize for giving a portion of their proceeds away to charity. You can see the charities they support on their website and can even add some money to your order and have it go directly to the organization of your choice. And Chocomize tells you how much they’ve raised so far for each organization. Very nice touch.
