I am such a sucker for nice packaging and tonight’s chocolate bars have some absolutely lovely packaging. The bars in question are both from Choco-Lina who produce sheep’s milk chocolate exclusively. The varieties I came home with are Bourbon Vanille and Dark Chocolate with Pumpkinseeds, both with sheep’s milk. And while the packaging caught my eye and I was intrigued by the sheep’s milk it was the pumpkinseeds that guaranteed that these would come home with me.

The packaging features nice gold trim and the company’s trademark sheep surrounding a gold foil wrap which is stamped with the company logo and sheep. The branding doesn’t end there, either. The bars themselves are imprinted with the logo and sheep and are very nice to look at.

Dark Chocolate with Pumpkinseeds
I really wasn’t sure what to expect from this bar. Beyond, you know, dark chocolate and pumpkinseeds. I kind of figured that there would be big whole seeds running around in the chocolate but they appear to be chopped pretty finely and are spread throughout the entire bar. The chocolate itself smells lightly bitter and somewhat sweeter than I expected. The chocolate is nice if not exceptional and the seeds add a nice texture like chopped nuts but I’m not sure they are adding anything to the flavor of the bar. It’s a good bar, but not great.

Bourbon Vanille White Chocolate
White chocolate and I generally don’t have a lot to do with each other. I had some waxy white choclate bunnies for Easter as a child and it didn’t leave a good impression on me. I’ve tended to avoid it since. I’m happy to say that there is very little in common between this bar and the cheap white chocolate of my youth. The first thing that distinguishes this is the appearance. It isn't the bright white I was expecting. It is a deep, almost dark creamy color and is speckled with vanilla throughout. I find it smells more like chocolate than I expect from white chocolate but very creamy. It’s surprisingly soft as well. I’m used to chocolate with a snap to it and this is somewhere between normal chocolate and fudge. There is a firmness to it, but it doesn’t precisely snap. The taste reminded me a lot of vanilla ice cream – it is sweet and very creamy and has a good vanilla flavor to it. I’m not a good judge of white chocolate, but this I like. A lot.

The Dark Chocolate with Pumpkinseeds was nice, but not overly special. TheBourbon Vanille White Chocolate, on the other hand, I liked a lot. Score wise I’ll call the Dark bar a 7 out of 10 and the White bar an 8.5 out of 10. I probably won’t repeat on the Dark bar, but I’m sure I’m going to go back for more of the White bar. And now that I’ve had it I’m curious as to how the Green & Black’s White Chocolate stacks up to it. I’ve heard that it is very good and loaded with vanilla and I’m wondering if I might not enjoy it as well.