Chocolatier: ROYCE'
Flavor: Almond Bitter Chocolate
What I Paid: $9.99
Today I got something a little different for y'all! ROYCE' is a Japanese chocolatier that has slowly been pushing its way into the North American market since the early 2010s. On my recent drive through Illinois, I was able to visit their Arlington Heights storefront, which is conveniently snuggled in the back of a Mitsuwa Marketplace. And while I was there, I decided to pick up this Almond Bitter Chocolate bar to try out!
This bar is a 66% cocoa bittersweet chocolate that is packed with whole roasted almonds. The chocolate here is definitely on the bitter side, but it still manages to maintain a reasonable amount of sweetness. It has light notes of darkly roasted coffee and is a little bit earthy. The almonds in this bar are toasty, roasty, nutty, and crunchy, and they pair surprisingly well with the bitterness of the chocolate.
Do I like it? Well, this is one of those weird cases where I can't really say anything bad about this chocolate, and yet I probably wouldn't get it again. It's good, but it just doesn't grab me, ya know? If you are a fan of bitter chocolate + almonds, I would encourage you to give it a shot. It's pretty good for what it is - I just think it's not for me.