Merci, Germany, for your chocolate

Merci - when associated with chocolate - is supposed to mean the "finest Assortment of European Chocolates with a brand name that literally means thank you, there is no better way of expressing heartfelt gratitude." Merci is actually a brand of French chocolate manufactured by a German company.

Merci Milk Chocolate variety box came with 20 milk chocolate, hazelnut-almond, hazelnut cream, and praline cream sticks lined up in two rows. The cellophane and paper wrapper was easy to open and did not stick to the chocolate. Its simplicity made it elegant and not too fussy. In the hazelnut creme stick, the milk chocolate encased a small bar of light-colored hazelnut creme, which was silky and nutty, but the hazelnut flavor started to dissipate after the next few nibbles. I preferred the hazelnut-almond stick the most with bits of hazelnut and almond in the chocolate. The crunchy texture was complimented by the smooth milk chocolate, though highlighting the chocolate over the nut flavors. The milk chocolate was smooth, creamy, but too sweet in comparison with the others. The praline creme is dryer than the hazelnut creme and the flavor, again, is very subtle with only hints of caramelized sugar. The chocolate is very, very, smooth. This was the overarching characteristic of the chocolate sticks that I noticed. However, I am not really a fan of milk chocolate though, preferring the bitterness of cocoa nibs. Someone get me the Dark Chocolate variety!