Every holiday season, especially around Hanukkah and
Christmas, Trader Joe’s has new, unique products. They seem to have an inordinate amount of
them this year. One such product is
MONTEZUMA’S CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE COLLECTION.
I cannot be the only one who thinks this product name is
a fail… The one and only thing I think
of when I hear “Montezuma’s” is… Do I
have to say it? I mean, you are thinking
it, too, right??? Ok, ok, ok – I think
of MONTEZUMA’S REVENGE!!!
And it was because of that negative association with the
name that I didn’t even want to taste any of these. I was afraid one bite twould send me running to
the bathroom. So I let David eat
them. J
 |
| LOVELY truffles |
This collection is billed as “innovative british
chocolate” (all lowercase theirs, apparently spelling british without
capitalizing it is innovative!). The
collection contains truffles that go by these lovely names:
·
Columbian Cappucino
·
American Idol
·
Sweet Summertime
·
Tiger Tiger
·
Eclipse
·
Secret Squirrel
·
Milking Maid
The box is gorgeous.
It has a lovely design, great colors, and is tied with a fat, black
grosgrain ribbon. Very classy! All of the truffles are also beautiful and
very well displayed. And I love that
they come with a little guide that has the names, descriptions, and photos of
each truffle on it.
Here is what David, who normally adores chocolates,
thought: “I ate one that had white bits
around the top and wasn’t too happy with it – it was too hard. (I think he must have meant Columbian
Cappuccino.) They all seem too hard to me, they should be a bit more yielding. This one (Tiger Tiger) has quite a nice
truffle on the inside – a deep, dark, rich truffle. This one is not so bad. But they all could do with being a bit more
yielding. And a bit buttery-er would be
nice.”
(I asked him if he would give this item as a GIFT, as
that is what it looks like it was intended for to me): “It depends on who the gift recipient WAS and
how I felt about them… If they were the kind
of person that loves pretty packages then I might give it to them and presume
to think that because it looked so nice that they were enjoying the chocolates. If it were someone who really appreciated chocolates I probably would not.”
 |
| Pretty cool logo, but the name.... |
I decided that I owed it to you, the readers, to taste
one of these, even though I feared it might result in Montezuma’s Revenge… So I ate a Columbian Cappuccino. Surprisingly, I like these more than Mr. David
Chocolate Lover! The outside was hard,
so when I bit it I lost a few bits. Be warned
– do not bite these over a white rug (especially if it is not your white rug!)
cuz chocolate bits are going to falls. But
the truffle was nice. And fancy. Not to mention, pretty.
 |
| I give bonus points to any truffles/chocolates that come with a KEY. Seriously, it makes the whole experience so much more fun. |
I checked out website of the chocolatier in the UK – company website here I see you can buy the same box of truffles
directly from them for 11.99 British, which when I convert it at today’s rates
equals $18.22 US!!! Yowsa, even after
shipping these little chocolate balls to the USA, adding what must be a
mark-up, and putting them on the shelves, Trader Joe’s STILL MANAGES to give us
an amazing bargain at 8.99!!!! Go Joe!!!
I did a bit of research to see how this all came down,
and I see that this is Montezuma’s first foray into America. They inked the deal in August 2015 with TJ’s
and shipped 20,000 boxes of those truffles.
So if you want one, you best grab it soon. article about Montezuma working with TJ's here
These truffles would make a fine gift. But I really do think that they really should
go back to the drawing board on the name.
P.S. - TODAY IS MY DAD'S 80TH BIRTHDAY!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD. I LOVE YOU!
Price – $8.99
Rating - 4
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| Dad holding me in 1966. Neither of us look QUITE like this any more. :) |
