Nope. It means chocolate.
Chocolate Decadence is a vegan chocolate company that makes a wide variety of chocolate bars, holiday chocolates (think vegan chocolate Christmas trees and Easter Bunnies - yay!), truffles, chocolate/peanut butter balls, and buttons.
I got the opportunity to review a few of their vegan chocolates and I couldn't tell that they were vegan! They were just as sweet and smooth and chocolaty and creamy as any other high quality chocolate - there's obviously no need for the dairy!
Since I like have lots of stuff in my chocolate, since my taste buds are commitment phobic and can't settle on one flavor at a time, it was easy to determine a favorite : their chocolate covered almond clusters!
They're vegan, gluten-free (aka: Celiac-friendly!) and 63% cacao. After oven-roasting the almonds, they hand-dip them in chocolate, as is common in European chocolaterias, to ensure best coating and so the chocolate stays smooth and creamy, not chalky like low quality chocolate can sometimes be.
A nice and short ingredient list with just the essentials - no extra fillers to drag it down. They come in little bags of two servings (whoops, I ate them both at once) and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they really were almond clusters, not just chocolate covered almonds, as is often the case.
Like with my granola, I like my chocolate clusters to be in big clusters. :)
The chocolate is super smooth and sweet and delicious!
I really enjoyed these.
My second favorite of their treats was their mint buttons.
A lot of people seem to think sugar and oil aren't vegan - false.
And guess what? Decadence can be vegan, too. Lifestyle choice shouldn't be an excuse for restriction.
They remind me of larger, smushed chocolate chips, only way creamier and yummier. I ate them with bread, in a delicious mint chip sandwich.
They're also super creamy, the perfect amount of sweet, and they put Andes mints to shame!
But let's not forget the espresso buttons - they were my third favorite, but only because the other two were that amazing.
Because these? Despite (or because of) their simple, vegan ingredients...
It's been scorching in NYC, so some of the buttons got stuck together - but they're still delicious.
In typical me fashion, eaten with beans and a P28 flatbread. Also in typical me fashion, I forgot to take a picture until I was halfway done (this time I ate in two plates, though, so it still looks good - yay!).
BUT WAIT - I almost forgot to share a really exciting find!
Normally, I'm not a big fan of plain chocolate - even plain dark chocolate. It needs extra flavors, extra textures, or (at the very least) extra essences just to keep my attention.
So a simple chocolate bar with just those few ingredients? I wasn't expecting much. Especially, using my faulty logic, considering that a non-vegan plain chocolate bar can't keep me hooked.
Well, this vegan one did!
The excitement started with the shape of the bar - though there are two servings in a bar, so it's not technically meant to be eaten at once (reality, on the other hand, can look quite different) the shape and the way that it's wrapped just made me have such a Willy Wonka moment. The bar was just begging to be unwrapped from the top and chomped on, Charlie from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory style. That certainly added a whole new dimension of fun to this chocolate experience!
But the chocolate bar did the rest. It was so creamy, so rich (not bitter, sweet - but not cloyingly so) and the decadent way that it coated my teeth as I bit into it had me sighing with delight.
Thank God my roommates weren't in, I'm pretty sure they think I'm crazy enough as is. What with the mumbling to myself that I do when I'm learning lines for auditions.
Somehow, through all of that fabulousness, the indulgent chocolate flavor really shines - I liked this more than even most German chocolates (guys, that's saying something). Pair with a tall glass of chilled almond milk for a delightful vegan afternoon treat.
Or any time of the day, actually.
Don't forget to enter my virgin coconut oil giveaway!
Have you ever had vegan chocolate?
Which version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory did you like better? While people tend to stick by the originals, this is (again) a case where I choose the prettier movie - and the newer version, starring Johnny Depp, has such amazing set design!
Do you prefer chocolate clusters, truffles, bars, or buttons?
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