A while back I mentioned my Charles Chocolates Hazelnut and Candied Orange Peel bar and the horrible mishap that removed it from its box and rendered it a mystery bar. At the time I said I was looking to get my hands on another bar of theirs (Milk Chocolate With Caramelized Rice Krispies) before reviewing the first and now I have both and have eaten a good bit of each as well.

Both Bars: Charles Chocolates come wrapped in foil and further encased in a nice snug-fitting box. I really like box packaging for chocolate and these are nice boxes. They’re simple and attractive and protect the chocolaty goodness lurking within (the box managed to save one of my bars from a horrible spill of shower gel). Once you get past the wrap you find a somewhat unusual bar waiting for you. Most of the added goodies are lurking right at the top of the bar. It looks like the stuff goes into the mold before they pour the chocolate so there are places where there are divots among the crunchy bits where the chocolate never got to the bottom of the mold (top of the bar). It gives it a neat look. Different.

Hazelnut and Candied Orange Peel: The nuts and orange peel are resting on top of a nice chunky layer of 65% dark chocolate. And it’s good chocolate too. It’s creamy and really smooth. A very laid back dark chocolate and a very nice complement to the orange peel. The bite starts off with nuts and chocolate and blooms into orange and it all comes together quite nicely. It’s an excellent bar for snacking on and as such gets a solid 9 out of 10. This is one I’ll be getting more of in the future.

Milk Chocolate Caramelized Rice Krispie Bar: As the name implies this bar is milk chocolate, though there is a dark chocolate version available as well. I figured with the rice krispie action I would go for the milk chocolate variety. It just felt right. And it tasted right, too. I’m not the biggest fan of milk chocolate – most of my milk chocolate experience has been with the cheaper candy bar kind of chocolate and not the good stuff. This is good milk chocolate. The chocolate is creamy and the caramelized krispies have a nice rich flavor and they fit really well together. It’s not quite as good as the Hazelnut and Orange Peel, but still earns an 8 out of 10.

Now that I’ve gotten a taste I’m looking forward to trying some more of their chocolate. At some point I want to get my hands on their Tea Collection and their Orange Twigs. Both sound good. And of course they have a couple more bars I want to try (Ginger – which I love – and Mocha Java – which I might love). Getting to try new things like this is one of my favorite things about chocolate. There are so many things to taste and new ideas all the time.