Until Mathilde and Team Fays created these gourmet snacks, I had never encountered an artisanal chocolatier that made such appealing snacks, or snacks made with gourmet ingredients. These are the best gourmet snacks, and are handy for portion-controlled snacking, yet with enough in each bag to share with a friend. As snacks go, they are also on the healthier side, with short ingredients lists and little sugar in the dark chocolate ones, making these guilt-free pleasures.
The dark chocolate shards with pumpkin seeds and roasted buckwheat have a very appetizing, almost fruity aroma, despite containing no fruit. The soft crunch is extremely satisfying, the texture like biting into peanut brittle, but without breaking one's teeth or jaws. The toasted flavour is subtle, but comes through, for added complexity. Although the chocolate contains sea salt, the salt is not even noticeable, which to me, means it is the perfect amount. I do not like it when salt is detectable, because it overwhelms all the other flavours, especially chocolate! In this case, the sea salt perfectly balances the pumpkin seeds and buckwheat with the chocolate. The texture is outstanding. Since the pumpkin seeds and buckwheat are small, and do not require the extra chewing that an entire almond would, and the taste is not that sweet, this flavour makes for a very good eat-it-any-time-of-day treat. As an added bonus, this is better for our blood sugar than conventional chocolates, because the high protein-to-chocolate ratio means that the protein slows the absorption of sugar into our bloodstream. It is effortless to chew (while still providing so much texture), and there is nothing that can get stuck between one's teeth (such as almond skin), so it feels appropriate to eat this any time of day, because there is no danger of a colleague wanting to discuss something while having a large cluster that still requires chewing, and there is no danger of anything getting stuck between one's teeth.
The dark chocolate shards with almonds, cranberries, and cocoa nibs contain Fays' perfectly-roasted almonds, always so fragrant, perfectly crispy, and easy to bite into and chew. The cranberry flavour really stands out, but in a harmonious balance with the almonds, cocoa nibs, and chocolate. I really enjoy the harmonious blend of flavours and textures -- crisp roasted almonds, soft and chewy cranberries, and pleasantly bitter cocoa nibs. It offers complex flavours and textures.
The milk chocolate shards with almonds and honeyberries are sweeter than the dark chocolate shards, because of the milk chocolate, so are more like a sweet treat to be rationed than an eat-it-any-time treat. The honeyberries taste very bright, which is an unexpected but pleasant surprise. There is a subtle caramel flavour in each bite.
