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Friday, August 15, 2008
Regal Dynasty European Dark Chocolate
The packaging is less than exciting, in fact it looks dated, like some sort packet of cheap stationery from the Office Max circa 1993. The paper is rather flimsy and the foil wrapper inside is similarly thin, though both seem to do their job of protecting the bar well enough. So I can look past that (especially since I’ve had some very expensive bars that I don’t think have very attractive or useful packaging). The ingredients however are a big old red flag: sugar, cocoa mass, vegetable fat, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, flavor. It states that the cocoa solids are a minimum of 45%. But it never says what those vegetable fats are or if that flavor is natural.
The bar is lovely. It’s well molded and has a crisp snap. It has a sweet and slightly cinnamon & cereal smell to it. It has a difficult melt though, but as it does soften, it is very sweet but at least not chalky or gritty. But it’s cool on the tongue, which usually means substitute fats or substitute sugars and always makes me a bit uneasy. The chocolate notes aren’t deep or complex or satisfying. I would probably find this passable in a chocolate croissant, but standing alone as a piece of confection, it tastes watery and empty of nuance. The simple fact is that it’s not chocolate. I’d hazard that since the vegetable fats come before the cocoa butter on the ingredients list that it wouldn’t even qualify under the laxer rules in Europe that allow veggie fats up to 5%. No, this is a plain old false label. It’s not chocolate. Not even close. But in an odd twist, it doesn’t have any dairy fats so can be considered vegan! Even though I liked it a bit more than the Carlos V Chocolate Style Bar and it was cheaper, I can’t get past the fact that its downright false label. Hopefully it will make passable brownies (which is what happens to many of the bars that I can’t bring myself to eat). Oddly enough, I can see myself buying this again though if I need a really nice looking, generic chocolate bar for a photo shoot. But if you’re looking for something you can actually eat that doesn’t cost too much, wait for a sale on something you know you like or just settle for a smaller package. UPDATE November 3, 2009: Walgreen’s is discontinuing this bar. In it’s place you can buy an even more dreadful bar from R.M. Palmer called 2 Buck Choc, which has awful and unappealing graphics on the wrapper and of course doesn’t taste nearly as good as this (which I didn’t like but at least give it credit). Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 12:50 pm
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Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.
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COPYRIGHT NOTICEAll content (text and photos unless otherwise credited) is copyright 2005-2009 by Cybele MayPlease do not use my photos without prior permission directly from me, they represent what I ate in preparation for these reviews and are not to be used for other purposes. Design by Hop Studios & powered by Expression Engine
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Wow. Chocolate is taking hits this week. Two bars with expensive looks and chocolate-ish flavor…I’m glad I read it here to not be tempted later!
I’m eating some right now, aha! It’s delicious and I’m vegan.
Good analysis. Probably better to spend a little more and get one of the pretty good bars from Trader Joe’s.
What I like about Regal Dynasty ‘Milk’ chocolate bars is the sweet chocolate taste, smooth and creamy texture and when I finish eating eating it I’m not left with a caffeine buzz.
However the dark chocolate bar gives you a nice caffeine hit.
(I’m also enjoying some today)
I am a chocolate lover.These may have been a little cheater. Which shows. The taste is bland not rich and lusious like chocolate should be.The nuts do not even have a fresh taste either. I am having problems even considering it chocolate. This product really needs some improvement for me to purchase again.
Walgreens has quit selling the Dark Regal Dynasty bar in my area. Is it available on line?
can you please tell where in houston or katy texas i can purchase this candy.
Judy - it’s only available via Walgreen’s.
As of the week of Sept 6 2009, Walgreen’s (in Florida at least) put Regal Dynasty bars on sale for 37 cents, with a “last chance” sticker. Looks like it’s gone for good—?
its also being sold out/discontinued at the Walgreen’s here in San Francisco. all of them.
Does anyone know where else its available?
Yes, its not top-shelf and exciting but its less than half the price of all other dark chocolate (unless you count the execrable Hershey’s attempts, which I don’t) and I’ve developed a little habit that my budget won’t support if I’m forced to go upmarket (ack! I ate the gateway chocolate!)
help!
This appears to have disappeared from the Denver area as well. A real bummer for us vegans. It worked great as chocolate chunks in homemade cookies
Do not look for Regal Dynasty Chocolate at Walgreen’s any longer. Their buyer had a bad idea and doesn’t buy it for Walgreens any more, to my disappointment. I thought it was one of the best dark chocolates ever.
I’ve been searching for the Regal Dynasty and finally found out it was a Walgreen’s exclusive?... anything Hershey manufactures gives me diarrhea.
That’s the only thing I went in a Walgreen’s store for but, ultimately bought something else. Oh Well
This dark chocolate was a perfect blend of taste and price. It looked like chocolate, it tastes like chocolate, it must be chocolate. Because of my allergy to milk I can’t find another chocolate bar I can eat. Like another comentor stated, it was one of the few products that got me into Walgreens. Thanks alot.
Me too. I often went in just for Regal Dynasty, and ended up buying other items. I first bought it when it was Brazilian, thought the Polish version a bit inferior, but still good enough, and price was right.
Where can I get the Regal Dynasty European dark Chocolate bar in San Francisco.
Jerome
Was very disappointed to discover that Walgreen’s has discontinued selling Regal Dynasty Dark Chocolate bars. Might not register as healthy and some remarked on the wrapping, but I thought it was right tasty and wasn’t buying it for the fancy wrapping - the price was great. I would continue to buy it if I could find it. Any suggestions, anyone?
yes I work for walgreens also and we discontinued it at .37 cents too!!! What a shame because it it fabulous chocolate!!!! WE NEED IT BACK!!!! PLEASE bring it back!!! I HAVE TOO MANY CUSTOMERS LOOKING FOR IT WHY DOES A COMPANY ALWAYS HAVE TO CUT SOMETHING OUT WHEN EVERYONE IS ASKING FOR IT?????
THE 2 BUCK CHOC IS OK BUT THE REGAL DYNASTY IS SOOOO MUCH BETTER
Kathleen - you ask why? I don’t know why Walgreen’s made their decision, but Regal Dynasty was a fraud. They labeled their product as something it was not. It was violating FDA’s standards of identity for product labeling.
I’m not saying that it wasn’t tasty, but fraud is fraud.
Regal Dynasty Dark Chocolate is the best I have found…Went to Walgreens today specifically to purchase and found the no longer carry it…Very dissapointed! Hope they will bring it back soon.
Cybele, the FDA’s labeling standards are themselves pretty much a sham, if not an outright fraud. As a recently diagnosed diabetic who now reads every label, I am astounded at the deception allowed.
European standards are more logical. For example, EU sugars are quoted as grams percent. In the US, they’re quoted as grams ‘per serving’, and a ‘serving’ can be almost anything a manufacturer decides.
How am I to know how much sugar or sodium I’m consuming when they’re quoted as grams while the serving size is sometimes quoted as milliLiters. Even if the serving size is by weight, it’s still not clear, for it depends on how many ‘cups’ you’re buying. A can of soup may say 600 grams per serving, but you have to figure the can contains two-and-a-bit servings. You have to bring a computer with you to the supermarket!
As for taste, most EU chocolate brands beat US brands hands down. IMO, only Mary See’s comes anywhere close to Marabou or Cadbury’s. (Yes, even as a diabetic I still sneak a bite or two of candy. Might as well die happy.)
I hope Cadbury’s will be bought out by a consortium of Hershey’s and Ferrero-Rocher rather than Kraft, for then at least Hershey’s might learn something.
They could also learn something from Regal Dynasty. At least it tasted good, fraud or no fraud.
Peter M. - as a recently diagnosed diabetic, I hope you take this in the manner in which I intend it: eat real chocolate. Please don’t eat unknown vegetable fats. I suspect it’s palm oil in here (or worse, partially hydrogenated palm oil), and as a diabetic you’re at much higher risk for cardiovascular disease and palm oil is a known contributor.
On the other hand, really good chocolate might actually be good for you and the very dark stuff has a low glycemic index.
If you live in an area near Trader Joe’s they sell excellent quality, high cacao content chocolate at a very reasonable price. If you’re a fan of See’s, you should try the chocolate that it’s made from, Guittard, which can also be purchased reasonably in the baking section.
I agree that the current labels are not as helpful as they should be. (That’s one of the reasons that all candies included here are calculated with the same portion - the number of calories per ounce.)
Nothing taken amiss, I assure you. I do live near a Trader Joe’s. My companion brought back some of their dark choc last week. It tasted like I was eating my own socks. I’d rather die happy eating Swedish Marabou, Swiss Lindt, or English Cadbury’s. Or Brazilian Regal Dynasty. Even after consuming copious amounts of RD, my last A1C was an acceptable 7.3%. When I was first diagnosed with T2DM, about 3 years ago, it was 10.8%.
Upon that diagnosis, I started eating sugar-free cookies and candies. And friends started plying me with same. Bad, bad, bad. I have since learned that SF cookies are still made with refined flour (Hey, they’re COOKIES, folks!), and SF candies often contain maltitol, a sure-fire stomach irritant. So now I eat anything I want so long as it doesn’t taste like socks, but in tiny quantities.
Damned if I know what I’m gonna do for Thanksgiving, though. I’m invited by friends. I’ll have to take one teaspoonful each of mashpots, cran dressing, and pumpkin pie, while concealing scads of white turkey-meat in a doggie-bag. (Just kidding. I wouldn’t bring a doggie-bag to my friends’ feast, would I?)
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