When I order from See’s, I often get a Custom Box: at those prices, I don’t want ANY pieces I don’t like. However, there is quite a discount for getting a pre-made assortment: the Custom Mix is now $22.00/pound, while a pre-made assortment is $17.50/pound. The $4.50 difference may be worth it if I like ALMOST all the pieces in a box.
But how to tell if I like almost all the pieces, when the description for the Chocolate and Variety Assortment is this:
Choose from our most popular soft centers, crunchy nuts and smooth caramels wrapped in milk, dark and white chocolate. Enjoy everything from Cashew Brittle, Toffee-ettes® and Molasses Chips to Kona Mocha, Divinity Puff and more.
There are roughly twenty-five pieces in a box, and they’ve named five of them. I NEED MORE INFORMATION.
Purely in the interest of science, I purchased a box and kept track of all the pieces, which I will list here (you can see descriptions of each piece on the Custom Mix page):
Almond Square
Almond Truffle
Apricot Delight
Butterscotch Square
California Brittle
California Crunch
Caramel
Cashew Brittle
Dark Almond (2)
Dark Butterchew
Dark Nougat
Divinity Puff
Kona Mocha
Maple Walnut
Milk Almond
Milk Bordeaux
Milk Chocolate Buttercream
Milk Molasses Crisps (3)
Milk Walnut
Mocha
Toffee-ette (2)
Vanilla Nut Cream (2)
Of those twenty-two types, four are ones I would order for sure. Four are ones I really like but might not think to order, and so would be especially happy to see in an assortment. Six are ones I think are okay; six more I think are kind of meh. And two are ones I actively dislike and would give to Paul. It’s a nice assortment, but for me personally it would be more financially prudent to order a custom mix. I am ALL ABOUT financial prudence with my $22/pound chocolate choices.
I notice they have a note posted right now about the Rum Nougat not currently being included in the box. This tells me: (1) that they sometimes vary the pieces, (2) but that they must mostly be consistent, or else they wouldn’t feel it necessary to mention a change.
I VERY MUCH WISH I’d also bought the Assorted Chocolates, the Soft Centers, and the Nuts and Chews assortments so that I could list those as well, but I didn’t have this idea until the box had arrived and I was tearing into it with teeth and claws. Well, something for the future.
Over the summer, I tried to order my mom a box of rum nougat (her favorite and mine) and we were told that because of a problem with their walnut crop, they weren’t making those for the time being. It was supposed to be resolved by the fall, but it’s possible that the only reason the rum nougat was left out was because of a problem. Just another data point for your study :)
I hope Paul enjoyed the Apricot Delight and Maple Walnut. At least that’s what I would have passed off to my husband. The rest sound delightful! And thank you for your sacrifice in the name of science :)
I am so glad that I found your blog, because it always makes me smile.
Well now I want some See’s candy.
Well, now I’m kicking myself for not putting See’s on my Christmas list.
When I go to See’s it’s to buy an entire box of the Milk Bordeaux. There is one under the tree right now. It’s my family’s favorite, so why mess around with other varieties?
My mother-in-law always brings me chocolates when she visits.. something from the drugstore like Whitman’s or Russell Stover. They are fine and I enjoy them, it’s a nice thought. WELL, actually, I enjoy several of the pieces a lot, eat some just because I like the chocolate and then either throw away or give away many of the remainders. I have tried to hint several times that I would so much enjoy the assorted CREAMS box, but I haven’t seen any results yet.
Either she 1- isn’t listening to me, 2- doesn’t remember, 3- is passive aggressively gifting, or 4- likes eating the ones I don’t like. I guess we’ll never know.
Wait! Or 5 – she bought 30 boxes of chocolates after christmas years ago and we have to wait until they are all gifted before she buys anything different. This is probably the most likely, sigh.