Well I Appreciate the Effort, Anyway.

As a vegan, naturally I've found there are some food items I've had to willfully shun. But there are many, many more that I have been able to reject without much of a second thought. As a hardcore fan of rich, dark chocolate, I can't say I've ever really missed milk chocolate since becoming vegan.

Last time I was at Trader Joe's, however, I noticed a new product: a vegan "milk" chocolate bar (or "chocolaty bar" as they call it, no doubt to comply with U.S. food label laws) made with rice milk. It's imported from Switzerland, a country that's known for some good chocolate, so I figured I'd give it a try. I've noticed TJ's has been aggressively labeling their non-animal-product items as vegan, including this chocolate bar, and I like to show my appreciation by buying said items. After all, they are a for-profit organization so I figure financial encouragement goes further than just standing in the middle of the store thinking good thoughts then putting items back on the shelf. Plus the bar was touted as a good source of calcium (achieved by adding calcium chloride to it), and adequate calcium intake is something about which all vegans should be mindful.

So I bought one, brought it home, and had at it.

It's not bad. It certainly has more of the creamy flavor of milk chocolate, but it's no Hershey bar. I'm probably not the best judge, though, given my fondness for dark chocolate. Can't say I'd buy it again. The chocolate flavor is nowhere near as strong as I'd like, the texture is too waxy, and the rice milk flavor is stronger than I thought it would be.

That said, if you're one of those unfathomable freaks who actually prefers milk chocolate over dark, yet are forgoing dairy for some reason, you might want to check out this product.

Oh, I suppose it's possible this bar might blend more easily into a liquid, say for making a vegan hot chocolate drink. Perhaps I'll try that with the remainder. But for chocolate indulgence, I'll be sticking with the sublime beauty that is the Scharffen Berger 60%, also available at Trader Joe's.