Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Honey Mints

CHOCOLATE WEEK on the blog continues now with Day 4. 


Everybody likes chocolate. Everybody likes peppermint. Everybody likes honey. But what if you were to put all three of them together?

That question has now been answered: It's wonderful.

For many years, I have been in the habit of eating two of York's miniature peppermint patties after lunch every day. For the last few days, I've been substituting these candies instead. The fact that I have not been able yet to decide which I like better is a ringing endorsement of the TJ's product. I don't know if it will replace my longstanding habit, but it's good enough to pose a serious challenge to my favorite.

It's one of the best chocolate items I've had from Trader Joe's.

Will I buy it again? 

Can you keep a secret? OK, good. This is just between you and me: I've already eaten three bags of them.

Trader Joe's French Liquid Soap, Orange Blossom Honey

For more years than I care to try to calculate, I've been a loyal user of Softsoap, and specifically their "Soothing Aloe Vera" variety. I'm a frequent hand-washer, so this soap's most important quality is that it's non-drying. Additionally, it doesn't have antimicrobial ingredients (completely unnecessary in soap), it's pleasant to the touch, and it has no heavy scents. I buy it in gallon jugs to refill the dispensers, which also makes it highly economical. Frankly, it's going to be hard for anything to displace my preference for this stuff. But I'm willing to try, for the sake of my devoted readers. That's just the kind of guy I am.

I love honey, so when I decided to give TJ's a chance to win me over with a liquid hand soap, and I discovered that they carry a bunch of different kinds, the "orange blossom honey" thing jumped out at me.

It's certainly true that this looks like a bottle full of honey. Moreover, when you squirt a little into your hand, it definitely smells like honey. But I want you to consider two things: First, it's hard to think of why anybody would want to wash his or her hands with honey. Second: There's no actual honey listed in the ingredients. No actual orange, either. So basically it's a mixture of oils and glycerin, with artificial honey and orange scents added. Which, granted, is pleasant enough at first, but I found it to grow tiresome quickly. It's also several times more expensive than Softsoap, with no large-sized refills available.

Will I buy it again? 

Because this is an actual product of France, and bears the "Trader Jacques" label, I think it's only fitting that I let my answer come from Marcel Marceau, with his famous gag from "Silent Movie":






Nina's View

It's pleasant, and doesn't seem to be too drying, which is nice in a handsoap. The fragrance is okay. But my go-to handsoap is Method's Sweet Water, which has a lovely light neutral scent, and which comes in bulk refill bags for my dispenser. Not giving THAT up.

I do, however, favor TJ's Lavender hand and body lotion, which I first encountered in my friend Sonali's house. Nice, nice stuff. It won't replace my staple Curél for after bath lotion, but it does grace the downstairs bathroom for the enjoyment of my guests.