[Review] Sjaak's vegan chocolate, winter edition

 

Forgot to photograph these near a ruler. I'd say the Mint Mills (#3) are about 1" wide.

L-R: candy cane Meeple, caramel apple Meeple, Mint Mill, peppermint Bite

• Brand name: Sjaak's
• Location: Blue Lake, California
• Known for: Organic vegan chocolates handmade in small batches

TL;DR: While the quality on all of these was great, I wouldn't buy most of them again based on my preferences.

 

 

🖤Mint with Candy Cane Crunch Melk® Chocolate Snowmeeple

(A “meeple” is a small figure, usually in a stylized human form, used as a playing piece in many board games; our meeples can be eaten. Handmade organic melk® chocolate coating over organic mint and candy cane filling is sure to have your taste buds singing a festive tune.)

These were the reason I finally made my purchase. The candy cane sounded so good, and I had been struggling to find a vegan peppermint bark for the winter 2020 season. (Spoiler: Sjaak's does have a peppermint bark, but I wasn't able to get it. Sad times. More on that below.) Unfortunately, these did not meet my expectations. Sure, they're good, but it wasn't minty enough for what I wanted. The chocolate is great, as with everything here, and the filling was smooth and creamy. The flavor was pretty minty but not as much as I would hope, whereas the candy cane portion was... lackluster. Each chocolate had so few candy cane bits that anyone could miss them. Disappointed. The candy cane pieces are tiny and sweet, maybe like grains of sugar, and they didn't taste particularly like mint. The overall taste was a good blend of sweet and minty, which did remind me of a candy cane. Would not repurchase - they were fine but not ideal.

 

🖤Spiced Apple Caramel Coconut Milk Chocolate Snowmeeple

(A “meeple” is a small figure, usually in a stylized human form, used as a playing piece in many board games; our meeples can be eaten. Handmade organic coconut milk chocolate coating over organic spiced apple caramel filling is sure to have your taste buds singing a festive tune.)

These are SWEET, too sweet for me. As always, the chocolate is creamy and smooth, and the ratio of filling to chocolate is pretty good here. Given the texture, it feels like more filling than chocolate, but it's still pretty close to evenly proportioned. The filling taste reminds me of those soft apple Nutri-Grain breakfast bars. They're almost identical. Since I can't have those anymore, it was a fun reminder. That said, the filling is incredibly sweet and always hurt my teeth; it is honestly too much. For that reason alone, I wouldn't buy these again.

 

 

 

🖤Mint Mills

(Decadent dark chocolate filled with our signature truffle filling, infused with peppermint oil.)

I saw reviews that compared these to Andes Mints, and I'd say that is a pretty apt description. The flavor is subtle, much more chocolate than mint. The chocolate has a smooth texture and a tiny snap when you bite into it. The main difference between this and an Andes Mint is the filling - Andes have no filling and are relatively thin with a strong snap. Mint Mills, on the other hand, are massive with a thin chocolate coating over tons of filling. The filling is smooth and carries most of the subtle mint flavor. It's too much filling for me, personally, which makes it hard to eat more than one. Maybe that's the point? I once heard that the fancier and more decadent something is, it can satisfy a craving with less food. If that's true, then these definitely fit into that category. I'd still prefer less filling overall.

🖤Peppermint Cream Dark Chocolate Bites

(Rich, organic dark chocolate filled with a refreshing, creamy peppermint filling.)

By far, these were my favorite of the items I tried. The chocolate is dark but not terribly bitter, and the ratio of filling to chocolate was about 50/50, which is perfect to me. The chocolate is a little bit thick, so it snaps when you bite into it. The filling has a lot of mint flavor with some sweetness, very reminiscent of Junior Mints. These are great, and I have looked forward to eating these once in awhile as a midday snack from the fridge.

Thoughts

I bought the dark chocolate bites first, which was my first experience with Sjaak's. I loved those and was looking forward to trying other items, especially since the entire company is family-owned and vegan. Unfortunately, I will have to stick with the Bites for any follow-up purchases, since I did not really care for the other items I tried. They were good quality but not my preference.

My initial feelings on the brand overall are mixed. I wouldn't repurchase most of the items, but I loved the dark chocolate bites enough that I could imagine keeping them around. I also had a weird experience with their customer service - I reached out about making a change to my order before it shipped, and they said they would do it but never did. I was hoping to try their peppermint bark but didn't get a chance. Still, I love their range of offerings and will most likely order again, but I'm not opposed to ordering from a distributor if it's smoother that way. Also, I feel lukewarm about their packaging - everything was shipped in cloth bags or boxes, as shown on their website. I am totally on board with no plastic being used, but it's very hard to repurpose something that has the company name all over it. It's cute when you get your order, so I get it. There doesn't seem to be an easy answer on that front.

I have purchased from the company website, but they also have a limited (and sometimes exclusive) selection at Natural Candy Store. I have only shopped with NCS once (purchasing the Bites), but they were top-notch and so kind! My item did come in plastic, though, so keep that in mind if it matters to you. The other items (Meeples & Mills) were purchased from the company website, and I had no issues beyond the customer service interaction I mentioned above. I do wish that they showed cross-sections or more dimensions for the items, because it's hard to tell how dense a piece is or how the chocolate/filling ratio is from just a top-down photo.

The snowmen were limited edition for the winter holiday, with limited availability up until January. The Mint Mills (Sjaak's only) and Bites (Sjaak's & NCS) seem to be year-round offerings.

Bottom line: I love the company's ideas and unique products, especially for a small business that is completely vegan. I'll try them again eventually but will keep in mind that their fillings tend to be on the heavy side. It would be especially interesting to try some of their gummies, since that's the type of candy I prefer!