Recently, I had the distinct pleasure of sampling Dove Promises of Hope. What is the difference between the Dove Promises that they have at the store on a regular basis and Promises of Hope? I will refer to Promises of Hope from here on out as the trendy sounding “POH.” POH is a limited edition in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The package is specially marked, featuring the recognizable pink motif, as well as the wrappers.
Because the package is pink (for breast cancer awareness) and brown (for chocolate, of course), I had a bit of trepidation on how the make part of the species would perceive it as far as desirability of packaging. Of course, they say real men wear pink, but will they buy pink. To find out, I asked My Favorite Guy.
“What do you think? Does it look too girlie?”
“No, not at all. I would buy this.”
Well, that settles that.
Upon opening the bag, we were floored by the aroma. The most magical, thick and heady smell of dark chocolate bursted forth. I wondered if it was just one of those situations where the contents were concentrated and it would just go away after a few minutes. On the contrary, on repeated smellings this was not the case, if “repeated smellings” is even proper English. While the initial surprise had dissipated, the aroma still lingered after shoving the bag in our faces an hour, and even a day later. We were also, once again, intrigued by the wrap of the individual candies and the machine that must wrap them. Does the wrapper bind so tightly that the embossing on the chocolate is translated to the wrapper, or does the wrapping machine indent the symbol on the chocolate? We are still trying to figure that one out.
The wrap on the candies was a bright, brilliant pink. Instead of the usual thoughts to ponder, all the quotes were from actual breast cancer survivors from all over the country. While some of the thoughts were specific to Breast Cancer (“There is life after Breast Cancer”), there were inspirational quotes that could be applied to broader circumstances and challenges. As an added bonus 10% of the sales of Promises of Hope will be directed to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Not only does chocolate make you feel good in general, you can feel even better about making a difference. On a side note, studies have shown that foods rich in antioxidants, such as dark chocolate, may help prevent cancer. How appropriate.
I have sampled a lot of different chocolate, due to my status as a chocoholic. There are cheap candy bars and some chocolates that will cost you $10 an ounce. I would go as far as to say Dove dark chocolate, in general, is one of the best values in dark chocolate out there. It isn’t waxy, the ingredient list is short and pronounceable, the consistency is creamy, it is not bitter, the price point is affordable, and it is readily available at grocery stores and pharmacies.
