Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Espresso Baton

The pros:  Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Espresso Baton is coffee and chocolate without the flavors being out of balance. One does not overwhelm the other.

The cons:  If you are expecting a smooth chocolate, you'll have some added texture here from the coffee grounds.

The verdict:  For $0.99 you get six smaller squares of chocolate that are placed together in one neat baton. That baton can easily be shared or broken into 6 pieces. The dark chocolate was nice without being too intense. It was just sweet enough to not make you feel like you are eating a Hershey's bar. There is a nice coffee flavor here which reminds me of espresso. It's very different from Trader Joe's Dark Coffee Squares which to me were like eating a cup of coffee. Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Espresso Baton was much smoother. In fact, this product reminded me of drinking a Starbucks Cafe Mocha in a much more solid (and gritty form). The texture here is a take it or leave it type of thing. The added texture started off as a pleasant crunch. After eating each small piece I kept feeling like I had fine bits of coffee grounds in my mouth, which I found to be unpleasant. The least they could have done was make sure it was a very fine powder. So, while the flavor here seems right, the texture for me is wrong. It was good, but not good enough for me to go repurchasing this item.

The package:

The nutritional information:

The ingredients, allergy information, and all of its certifications:

Out of the package you get six smaller pieces. They were attached, but mine didn't survive the ride home:

Would I buy this again? I wasn't crazy about the texture here. As a flavor combination I liked it, but having the grit of coffee grounds makes me not want to buy this again.

Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe’s for a searchable list.

Did you try it? Let me know what you think in the comments section!