Who doesn’t like chocolate? Okay, truth is I never liked chocolate - not really - until I went vegan. I mean, I thought it was alright, but nothing special. Sitting down and eating a chocolate bar never used to be my idea of a good time. These days I feel differently though. I love chocolate now, far more then I ever imagined I would, and Endangered Species Brand is one of my favorites! I mean what’s not to like? Great tasting cacao, great flavor combinations, tons of vegan options, and not to mention they’re fair trade, Non-GMO certified, and Rainforest Alliance Certified. However my favorite part about them is that every time you buy one of their chocolate bars your money is going towards animal and wildlife conservation. At the end of each year Endangered Species donates 10% of their net profits to environmental non-profits focused on wildlife conservation and habitat preservation. The animals featured on each Endangered Species wrapper aren’t just there to be cute selling points, these are just some of the animals that benefit from your purchases. Right now Endangered Species is partnered with The African Wildlife Foundation , and The Xerces Society - but past partners have included SEE Turtles , Chimp Haven, The Ocean Conservancy, and The National Wildlife Federation .
But enough about the company, lets talk about the chocolate - specifically their new line of creme filled chocolate bars all six flavors of which just so happen to be vegan, how awesome is that? I first heard about these magical bars a few months ago when they were debuted at an expo in California, and I’ve been patiently waiting for them to pop up in any of my local retailers. Just before Easter my husband and I discovered them in our local natural foods store and very excitedly bought one of each flavor to test out, all of which were to die for, but of course I had my favorites.
I think the Sea Salt and Lime flavor was probably our favorite. The flavor of this bar really exceeded expectation, and I loved that luscious bold lime flavor mixed in with the richness of the chocolate and the hint of sea salt. Flavor perfection.
Raspberry Orange is probably second for me because what goes better with creamy dark chocolate then sweet, tart, and citrusy fruits? This bar is a perfect marriage of all three flavors, they work in harmony together and do not overpower one another. You can a bit of each flavor in each bite.
The Almond Butter was perhaps the most surprising flavor. I love me some almond butter and I LOVE the combo of nut butter and chocolate - I’m a totally peanut butter/almond butter cup fiend - but I wasn’t expecting it to win me over as much as it did. The creme was so - well, creamy and it had a wonderful almond butter flavor, that was rich enough not to be drowned out by the dark chocolate.
The Coconut Creme and Lavender Mint were both wonderful too, only I didn’t think that the coconut creme had a strong enough coconut flavor. I was expecting something more in your face, and felt it was a bit muted alongside the strength of the chocolate. My husband disagreed however and thought the coconut flavor was fine. As for the Lavender Mint I was really expecting this one to be my favorite since I love the marriage of lavender and chocolate and Mint and Chocolate separately I thought they’d be brilliant together. While the bar was delicious overall I found that the mint flavor was somewhat overshadowed both by the chocolate and the lavender. Perhaps this is just me because I’m used to a very strong mint chocolate or maybe it just wasn’t the best idea to marry two very strong herbs together. I suppose one was bound to be over shadowed.
Lastly the Blueberry Vanilla which was also excellent. Few things in life go together better then dark chocolate and blueberries, or chocolate and vanilla for that matter and this bar is no exception. The berries lend a real sweetness to the bar that works well against the bitter chocolate. I did not however taste an overwhelming amount of vanilla.
So there you have it, the new Endangered Species Creme Filled Chocolate Bars are delicious! Keep your eyes open for them the next time you’re at your market or health food store and give them a try. If you love good quality chocolate you won’t be disappointed. Promise.
You can learn more about the company and their products here - Endangered Species Chocolate
The ones that I did try were so awesome. I love that they came out w/ a vegan-specific line of cream-filled chocolates. Plus, the fact that they help animal charities is so great.
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