Trader Joe's Organic Dark Chocolate PB&J Minis

Little known fact about my husband A - he had never had a real peanut butter and jelly sandwich until going to college. I know some of you are losing it right now, because the first time I learned this, of course I reacted as one might to someone seriously expressing that it's a good idea to not vaccinate your kids. "How have you not had a PB&J before???" "How do you want to leave your kids unprotected against infectious diseases that vaccines have obliterated???" Ok fine..maybe I overreacted over a PB&J. 

This is a new product, although it doesn't really feel like one. TJ's came out with a PB&J milk chocolate bar maybe a year or two ago that I never tried. But package it in mini-form, much like the beloved dark chocolate peanut butter or almond butter cups, slap on some nice packaging, and make it as organic as it can possibly be and voila - new product! 

 I must say the ingredients are pretty good for a sweet treat. And gluten free. What and I can have three pieces??

Hmmm...I know I'm paying more for better ingredients, but eight pieces in one package stings a little, especially since I live somewhere between consumeristic America and the frugal-waste-not-want-not-get-the-best-value-for-your-dollar mentality of immigrant culture. So $0.40 per piece may seem "cheap" or "inexpensive" to some but kinda bougie to others depending on who you are.

1) YES THANK YOU FOR AN EVEN DISTRIBUTION OF FILLING. Can I just say I never paid attention to the ratio of chocolate to filling in a filled dark chocolate until the inconsistent amount of filling in those almond butter cups. Did not know that I had to be thankful for something that I had always taken for granted before. Let that be a life lesson y'all.

2) The PB is great, just like the PB filling in those classic TJ's dark chocolate PB cups.

3) Some people have issues with the jelly part, saying that it tastes like weird like cordial. I think it's fine - it's sweet but tart and there's a good amount in there to make this a proper PB&J. Also, I'm always eating it together with the peanut butter because who eats a peanut butter jelly sandwich by eating the peanut butter and jelly slices each separately? That makes no sense. You eat them together because that's the point of pairing them together.

4) I'm still unsure whether or not dark chocolate is the best vessel for the PB&J filling. I like the taste of this dark chocolate - it's dark without being too bitter. I think (and A definitely thinks) perhaps that milk chocolate overpowers the PB&J combo less, but I guess that product already exists. Anyhoo, I got used to the combo by my third or fourth piece. I don't mind it at all, but in the real world I think a regular semi-sweet chocolate pairs better, flavor-wise, with PB&J.

5) $2.99 for a bag. It's not terribly expensive but I feel like this is one of those things that can add up real fast if you're popping these like no tomorrow. Considering that you can get a pound of the dark chocolate ones for about $5 (compare that to the $13.71/lb price of these dark chocolate PB&J minis), the question is this - does PB&J in a dark chocolate spark that much more joy? Via flavor in your mouth or money saved by remaining in your wallet?

6) But it's pretty good, especially if you like things stuffed into your dark chocolate.

TL;DR: Trader Joe's Organic Dark Chocolate PB&J Minis. A nostalgic favorite enrobed in a fun-sized dark chocolate. Good things come in mini packages, just make sure to eat as a unit. 7.5 out of 10. Mantou Joe repurchase? Actually maybe yes.