DARS Chocolate – White Mint
I haven’t had chocolate mint ice cream in a very, very long time. I guess this is sort of a proxy, or interim between not having any and when I inevitably do, which I can only guess at this point when that would be. I always love the way they package these chocolates. So uniform and consistent. Surprises are fun once in a while, but consistency is important and oft underappreciated in this day and age. It’s doing simple things and consistent things that are hardest in this life.
Smell wise, these are very minty, but the sweet kind of minty. That is to say, these smell like either toothpaste or really minty peppermint gum. Appearance wise, they are white on the outside but the inside is a bright, teal-like colour that reminds me again of toothpaste. Hopefully it doesn’t taste that way. The colour is so prominent you can see it from the edges of the chocolate, without having to see the inside.
While these don’t smell particularly appetizing for a chocolate, these are delightful if you enjoy chocolate mint. I know that chocolate mint is usually accompanied by dark or even milk chocolate, but the white chocolate reminds me a lot of the little mint chocolate nonpareils. They were basically these tiny white chocolate chips flavoured with peppermint and had tiny white round balls that are similar in texture to sprinkles. The flavour really brings me back to those simple times, where I’d eat handful after handful of those nonpareil chocolate chips and enjoy the contrast of the smooth melty chips and the crunchy texture of the nonpareils.
Speaking of nonpareils, these also have a few tiny pieces that also crunch a lot like sprinkles or nonpareils. I can only assume that’s what they were going for, since it had to be something intentional. I for one can get behind this. The nonpareils help to provide a bit of contrast to an otherwise one note chocolate texture. While there’s nothing wrong with that, the added texture adds to the experience. Of course, that could also just be the nostalgic part of me that thinks that, but either way I love it. I think the only thing that could make these better for me personally, is if they had nonpareils pieces to give it an extra crunch to shake up the somewhat simple monotone of just plain chocolate.
A plus with any chocolate mint treat is that refreshing mint aftertaste. That’s present here, and it does last a few minutes, so try not to drink any orange juice or anything that can be ruined by the minty taste. While you’ll feel refreshed, you’ll probably still want to pop an actual breathe mint or some gum, as these only feel refreshing. I’m not sure they “smell” as refreshing. They do make for a nice refreshing snack though, so they get my seal of approval.
