Chocomize.com - customizable, on-line chocolate bars

Some friends recently gave me a gift certificate for Chocomize.com, which I really enjoyed (and am still enjoying). Once at the site, you select your 3.5 oz. base bar and then add up to 5 other ingredients to the bars. The plain, base bars start at around $4 and the additional ingredients range from about 25 cents to $2. I received a $50 gift and was able to order 9 faily deluxe bars (plus $5 shipping) with that amount.

Base bars are available in 3 varieties: dark (56.8% cocoa solids), milk (33.6%) or white. Mix-in categories are sorted into 6 categories: nuts & seeds, fruits, herbs & spices, candy, decorations and other, which includes items like corn flakes, potato chips and of course, bacon bits.

I do have a few minor quibbles, which I want to share:

1) Ideally, the percentage of cocoa solids (and origin of the chocolate) would also be customizable. The fact that they're not is somewhat of a missed bet. With this particular chocolate, 40% would have been perfect for my palate.

2) Even though there are literally dozens of additional ingredients available, puffed rice is not one of them. I thought this was also a missed bet.

3) Additional ingredients are laid on top of the bars and gently pressed into them. The net result of this method is that when you start breaking the bars apart, some of the ingredients tend to pop off and/or separate. I wish they were better integrated into the bars, though the method they use does make for a nice presentation.

4) The gift certificate was a bit difficult to redeem. I was never prompted to enter the information, so I entered it into the comments section of the order screen. I was initially charged for the order but also, a credit was issued to my credit card simultaneously. I did bring this up with them so perhaps it's been remedied.

Of the bars I've tried so far, my 3 favorites have been a Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt, Mini Chipotles and Cinnamon, a Milk Chocolate with Crunchy Almond Croquant and Caramel Pieces and a Milk Chocolate with Roasted Organic Peanuts Macadamia Nuts and Pecan Halves.

As far as mail-orderable food gifts go, I think this is a very nice option. I thought the finished goods, which look terrific, were of very good quality, though maybe not excellent when compared to some of the brands of chocolate I normally buy (Valrhona, Vosges, etc.). Still, if you want send a fun, enjoyable, good-quality food gift to someone, I wouldn't hesitate to get them a gift certificate from Chocomize.

=R=