I was so excited to receive this sample of Lula’s Chocolates’ Aloha Rocky Road. The wrapper says it contains “homemade, artisan marshmallows”, “Hawaiian, house-roasted macadamia nuts”, and “premium milk chocolate”. Doesn’t that just sound delectable? I like the Hawaiian twist on your traditional rocky road with the addition of macadamia nuts in place of almonds or walnuts.
The chocolate comes in one giant, chocolate-covered slab. The packaging is simple, yet functional (unlike the Sweet Sweet Confections S’mores Bars) – the cellophane was sturdy and the package opened easily. Surprisingly enough, the bar arrived fairly intact – only a few marshmallow pieces on the edges were slightly smushed, and even then barely noticeably so. I also liked how the Lula’s logo looked summery and Hawaiian.
I appreciate the quality of the ingredients that went into this treat. The marshmallows are good – they’re fluffy and not overly sweet but definitely not bland either. The chocolate is good quality as well. It has a nice texture, a great snap, and a smooth mouthfeel, and though it was milk, I didn’t find it too sweet at all. The macadamia nuts were delicious as well, but really, it’s hard to go wrong with chocolate-covered macadamia nuts.
Tastewise, I think this bar got everything right. It was delicious, and the lucky friends I shared it with agreed. However, I didn’t like how it came in one giant slab. It was hard to eat and share, as it didn’t break into pieces easily. Should I pick up the entire bar and bite off a chunk? Should I try to break it apart with my hands? I went with the latter, which was difficult and messy. Also, the marshmallow and macadamia nut pieces are haphazardly distributed throughout the bar, and it’s hard to get a taste of both in the same bite. It was more like I was eating chocolate covered marshmallows and chocolate covered macadamia nuts that just happened to be fused together.
I think the concept could be improved by changing the presentation. Why not make individually wrapped, bite-sized pieces of Aloha Rocky Road – one cube of marshmallow topped by a roasted macadamia nut, all coated in chocolate? That would make them easy to share and easy to eat. Of course, it would be harder to pack, but I think it would be an improvement. An OM for the way it is now; an OMG if it wasn’t so messy.
Varsha