John&Kira's: Caramel, Honey, and Chocolate Bees

Five days until all the chocolate goes on sale. Are you ready? It's much, much more exciting than Valentine’s Day. Whether or not you agree with me, today, I have a review of another potential Valentine’s gift/treat to get on the cheap on February 15 - the John&Kira’s caramel and honey chocolate bees, a piece showcasing 62% cacao Valrhona chocolate, filled with a blend of Pennsylvanian honey and salted caramel, and beautifully painted with colored cocoa butter.

There is, of course, a story behind how I came upon this box of bee chocolates. Evidently, when I was at Cocova a few weeks ago with my very sneaky significant other who bought me champagne truffles behind my back (THE HORROR), he made note when I said “aren’t those cute” as I walked past a display of these.

I mean, they are, aren’t they?

Apparently, he covertly got a box of these, with the intent of saving them as a Valentine’s Day gift.

Then he handed them over to me on January 29.

Fail, dude. Complete fail. Delicious fail, but still. Fail.

Anyway, when I opened this box more than two weeks before Valentine’s Day, I found that it was even cuter than I imagined.

Bee facts await you under each piece.

Alright, so we have cute covered. How about the actual chocolate? Each piece has a complex aroma of honey, fig, and coffee, and also had an adorable little face painted on the shell.

(Enough already. Give me my &*^&!@# chocolate.)

The chocolate shell has a smooth and moderate melt with a slightly creamy texture and standard vanilla and coffee flavors, with a subtle mint note at the end.

 

And then there is the filling. Oh, the filling. It’s a liquid-type caramel, which, while thick, is still runny and leaves you with a sticky mess after one bite. The flavor is delicious – it’s buttery with a clear salty edge and a hint of honey.

Summary: adorable and delicious. But a mess.