Wonka Exceptionals: Peppermint Shortbread Chocolate Pieces

There are some chocolates that I tend to avoid. By now, I know which popular brands generally have better tasting chocolate than others. However, when brands that are known for making poor chocolate come out with a new product, I try giving them another chance. Because I believe that people and companies can change, I decided to give this product a try:

Despite the fact that they're a little more expensive per piece than other chocolates, and even though their packaging is somewhat fancier, Wonka chocolates don't taste good at all. They taste rather watery compared to chocolates. I would rank the more affordable Hershey chocolate bar much higher than Wonka chocolates. In-fact, I'd rank Hershey's chocolate higher than quite a few higher priced chocolates, but that's an entry for another day.

However, it's the Christmas season, and these seasonal chocolates intrigue me, so I asked myself, "Why not?"

Each piece of chocolate comes individually wrapped

A piece of chocolate cut in half, showing the bits of peppermint and shortbread

My initial thoughts on this candy was that it was pretty good. However, that was due to the candy bits and not due to the chocolate. The chocolate was, once again, watery and not as good as other types of chocolate. It lacked richness and a strong chocolate flavor. Sure, the candy bits enhanced the flavor of this candy, but it felt like they were put in to compensate for the chocolate. Wonka has a good thing going with Nerds, Nerds Rope, and other non-chocolate candies, so maybe it would best for them to do new things with those products and avoid working with chocolate. However, there is one Wonka chocolate product that I like very much, which is due more to its novelty than the flavor. However, that's also probably another subject for another day.

Wonka Exceptionals: Peppermint Shortbread Chocolate Pieces: 6/10

Wonka Fruit Marvels: Not so marvelous, but not bad

It seems as if the Wonka company can't seem to top anything it made in the 90's and early 2000's. They seem to put out products that are sub-par at best, and they only really count as candy because they're sweet and in some sort of shape. Take for example the recent Golden Ticket promotion that Wonka has been trying to promote. With the promotion they introduced a new line of chocolate bar. Those chocolate bars lacked richness or any kind of depth, and outside of the fancy packaging, I'd rather have a Hershey's Milk Chocolate bar. For a factory that prides itself on chocolate, they sure aren't that good at making it.

Needless to say, outside of Gobstoppers or Nerds, I don't expect anything from the Wonka company to be any good. Even with lowered expectations, I expected this next candy from the Wonka company to be somewhat decent:

I have no idea how long they've had Wonka Fruit Marvels, but I've recently just seen them. Flavors outside of white grape include grapefruit, orange, and some other citrus fruits I can't remember. Like I stated before, when purchasing this candy, I had no expectations going in.

Back of the box

Shiny purple bag inside of the box that holds the candies

A Wonka Fruit Marvel

This candy comes in two parts: the hard outer shell and the gummy center. The outside is somewhat chalky, but has an okay flavor. After a few seconds, you can then bite down on it and get to the gummy center. It's at this point that the candy gets sort of confusing. It definitely wasn't bad, but it was different. It felt like there was a mess in my mouth seeing as how there hard candy pieces mixed with gummy candy.

Would I get this candy again? Probably not. I didn't hate it, but I didn't find it to be marvelous. Like I stated in the beginning, over the years the Wonka brand has disappointed me. The candies that they put out that I like have been available for years, and their new creations are never really all that good. Candy must have really sucked in the 70's if everyone was going crazy over Wonka products like they did in the book and the movie.