Endangered Species Chocolate – Cranberries, Almonds and 72% Dark Chocolate

I know I often say that I don’t fall prey to the whole scheme of buzz and hype around a product simply because it exists or is sold to consumers a certain way. Things like gluten free and sugar free and all that jazz, while great in concept, doesn’t make up for the fact that sacrifices will be made and not usually for the better of the snack. Some companies find interesting and unique ways around this, but most flounder.

I also find myself wondering what keeps me going and why I keep doing this after all this time. Part of me sometimes wants to give up and just let it fall to the wayside, but the other part of me is scared that if I do I fall even further from my humanity and am left with nothing to keep me going. But then I remember that there’s still so many snacks that still exist in the world waiting to be tried, and I should at least catalogue it for the world to see.

But I am nothing if not understanding, and I am always willing to give a brand at least one chance. You know, unless they publicly admit that they kick babies and use child labour or something reprehensible like that. This brand does not as far as I know…so here we are.

As is customary with a chocolate this dark, the texture tends to be a bit more on a the chalky, brittle side as opposed to the melty chocolate you might get with a lower percent one. The sliver of almonds have a nice nutty crunch to them and help to contrast against the sticky, chewy cranberries strewn about through the bar. The whole experience is standard as far as nut and fruit bars go, but a good chocolate makes it all the better and this is no different.

The flavour is pretty good as far as a 70% dark chocolate goes, striking a good balance between bitter, smoky flavour and the slight sweet notes. The cranberries and almonds are more there for texture, and the flavour is derived almost exclusively from the chocolate itself, which isn’t a bad thing since anyone who enjoy darker chocolate will enjoy this flavour.

The combination of nuts of dried berries is pretty well established at this point, and it’s a hard combo to get wrong if you pay even a little bit of attention. This is great, and the best endorsement I can give is that while this bar is trying to do all the right things from a sourcing and ethical perspective, it doesn’t cut any corners on quality or taste. This is a more expensive bar yes, but the quality is there that I feel comfortable spending a bit more. The other things like proceeds going to charities I support is just gravy.