Love them or hate them, Tom’s Farm Mint Choco Almonds are sure to cut a rift between almond fans. In my experience, the audience in favor of mint chocolate has to be close to 50%, while the opposing side is also true. There aren’t too many flavors out there that end up in a near perfect split, but this is certainly one of them. I’m not sure if it’s the similarities in both texture and flavor between toothpaste and mint chocolate chip ice cream, but that’s always been my assumption. I truly wonder if almonds might actually be the solution we need to the mint chocolate chip conundrum. If what I stated previously about toothpaste and the ice cream holds true, I assume more people will fall into the category of finding Mint Choco Almond enjoyable. I guess time and experience will give us the answers. I have admit though… this is one ballsy flavor choice from Tom’s Farm today. It should be interesting to see how everything unfolds!
Package:
Not a whole lot of almonds in this tiny Korean package. There was a whopping total of 7 almonds in this 24 gram package that should have been 25 grams (.88 ounce)! Yes, it was underweight once again… I’m still working my way up to the weight of an entire package of almonds, but I’m getting closer everyday with each underweight package of almonds! I’m still waiting, Tommy!
The packaging today really does bring the holiday spirit that I was feeling from these almonds. The mint chocolate slabs in the picture really do look like ice sheets with a layer of sediment on top. The mountains in the backdrop remind of Andes Chocolate Mints, which makes perfect sense here. Our almond friends are also partaking in a variety of winter activities like: sledding, mountain climbing, skiing, making snowballs, and just enjoying the seasonal cold winter weather. There are some nice touches with the almond clothing as well. I kind of like the little guy in the knit cap and the very safe mint chocolate helmet wearing ski jumper. The rock / ice climbing almond also has a nice hat that looks like something out of the Three Musketeers.
Flavor:
Tom’s Farm Mint Choco Almond has one of the thickest candy coatings I’ve seen yet from Tom’s Farm. These are thick. The layers that make up the candy coating are at least 1 cm in total thickness. Unlike the rocky, cookie studded surface of the Cookies & Cream Almond, the surface of these almonds is smooth and waxy, while maintaining its thickness. There are a few layers to these almonds. At the core, there is, of course, the almond. This is followed by a layer of chocolate coating that’s fairly thin, but still provides a taste of chocolatey goodness. The exterior coating is the mint flavoring, which also includes tiny fragments of chocolate pieces.
In terms of flavor, the mint will hit you pretty hard at first. It has a pleasant intensity about it, that I actually enjoyed, despite being mint chocolate. This is followed up by a brief taste of chocolate, before finishing with the final almond notes. Like I basically alluded to, I’m not a fan of mint chocolate chip anything, but these almonds are quite tasty and would be a perfect substitute for an after dinner minty dessert treat that freshens your breath. There’s some really fun artwork done today that matches the flavor of these almonds well. Overall, it’s an excellent design!
Aroma:
Mint Choco Almond has an intensely strong mint aroma that tingles your nose a bit. For some reason I feel like these almonds smell like the holidays with their chocolatey mint odor. I’m not sure what it reminds me of exactly, but there’s some sort of holiday spirit packaged along with these almonds. For such a thin layer of candy coating I was surprised by the accuracy of the smell. If you’ve ever eaten Baskin Robbins’ Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream or those cheap after dinner mint chocolates, you’ll be more than familiar with the overall aroma. That is… if you’re a lower middle class American like myself, in the case of the tiny little chocolates. All I know is… you can’t have a fancy meal with fancy mint chocolates. It would just be incomplete!
Verdict:
Alright, so I’m actually a mint chocolate chip hater, but I actually do like these almonds. I guess there’s something about the flavor combination with almonds that appeals more to my taste buds than with ice cream? We may never know… but seriously though, these almonds are probably not for everyone. There seems to be a strong split between the lovers and haters of mint chocolate chip. With that being said, I still think these make a solid buy, if you can stomach the flavor of mint plus chocolate!
Which category do you fall into? Are you a lover or a hater of mint chocolate chip? Which snacks do you think work best with that flavor? Do you skip the after dinner mints or chocolates? Let me know in the comments!
If you’re interested in hearing more about Korean snack nuts or instant ramen, check out my on-going series, Noodle Story: An Exploration of Korean Instant Noodles and my other series, I Think I’m Going Nuts: An Eyeful of South Korea’s Little Snack Nuts, here on Medium.
