Unreal - Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds - Nov. 28, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Unreal
Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds 
Good ++ 
Weight: 2 oz. (56.5 g.) / 4 oz. (113 g.) in total package
Calories: 300 calories in 1/2 package
Cost: $5.89 for 1 package
Purchased from: Vitacost, online order 

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate, Movies and Entertainment Theme Week. Some of my most favorite confections in movie theaters were candy-coated almonds (Jordan Almonds); chocolate-covered almonds; or chocolate candy with almonds (Almond Roca).

Today's Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds were made in the USA for Unreal Brands, Inc. (Boston, MA).

Unreal founders started the company to create snacks "made with simple, real ingredients" that everyone might enjoy.

Aroma notes for these almonds included: warm, authentic cocoa; faint warm spice (vanilla); and very faint nut (almond).

What I liked: the authentic dark chocolate coating that was just thick enough to add balanced, chocolate-y flavor, but the coasting wasn't so thick that I couldn't taste the perfectly toasted/crunchy, whole California almonds inside. Despite my first guess that they'd been rolled in dark cocoa powder, my hands were left completely clean (in cool weather at least) after holding and eating them.

I also appreciated the thoughtful execution/creation behind this brand and their short list of fair trade and Non-GMO ingredients. When the founders first unveiled their products years ago, this was a novel and refreshing concept. So glad they're still delivering simple, tasty and arguably much healthier, snacks at a relatively reasonable price.

Ingredients: Almonds, Dark Chocolate (chocolate liquor*, cane sugar*, cocoa butter*, vanilla) (* = Fair Trade Certified by Fair Trade USA.)

Allergen-related information: Contains Almonds. "Made in a facility that handles other tree nuts, milk, peanuts, soy and wheat. Made on equipment that processes milk chocolate."

Compartes - The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows Deep Milk Chocolate (bar) - Nov. 27, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Compartes Chocolatier
The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows Deep Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Compartes Chocolatier, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week on Chocolate Banquet. Also, Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating and feeling grateful today.

Today's The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows Deep Milk Chocolate (bar) was from Compartes Chocolatier (Los Angeles, CA). 

Compartes offers a wide selection of chocolates with different flavor inclusions, including several with references to Hollywood, movies and/or entertainment. 

Aroma and flavor notes for today's Beverly Hills Hotel-themed bar included: sweet milk chocolate. 

This sweet, creamy and rich 46% cacao milk chocolate was also addictive. It was gone all too quickly--just like the Hollywood stars who've visited The Beverly Hills Hotel since it opened in 1912.

I enjoyed the bar's attractive packaging--with lush greenery and flowers inspired by the hotel grounds (and the wallpaper inside) this pink- and green-tinged Beverly Hills resort. (The hotel may even carry Compartes Chocolatier Beverly Hills Hotel-themed bars. After stopping at the gift shop to check, I'd head to the Polo Lounge for a chocolate souffle.)

I "paired" this chocolate with a classic film: "Designing Woman" (1957) starring Lauren Bacall and Gregory Peck. (Their characters in this film met at the famed hotel.) I also enjoyed a documentary called "The Beverly Hills Hotel: A Red Carpet Glamour House" -- a fitting tribute to the Pink Palace.*

Ingredients: Milk Chocolate (Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Milk, Soy Lecithin as an emulsifier, Vanilla)

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk, Soy. "Gluten Free"

*The choice of pink was allegedly inspired by the colors in southern California sunsets.