McConnell's - Dark Chocolate Chips & Nibs

Dark Chocolate Chips & Nibs - Dark Chocolate Ice Cream wtih Bittersweet Chocolate Chips and Roasted Cocoa Nibs

We return to the Santa Barbara-based McConnell's brand this week.  I always check their section of the freezer case whenever I go to the grocery store but I usually only see flavors that I have already reviewed or for homogenous flavors like or vanilla or chocolate.  Last week, I was at a butcher shop of all places and came across a pint of Dark Chocolate Chips & Nibs.  I didn't get any meat on this visit, but I got a cool pint of ice cream. I have note yet reviewed a pint with cocoa nibs before, so I was eager to check it out.

Removing the lid shows a very dark dark-chocolate base with some darker specs visible.  Eating my way in, it is very chocolatey!  One of the more chocolatey chocolate bases that I've had.  The chips were small and added a little bit more flavor but not much more than what is already in the base.  The nibs were quite interesting.  They were small and crunchy (I have an extra picture of them below) and they added a bit of a bitter kick to the pint.  They reminded me of roasted coffee bean pieces.  The more I think about it, the more I like that analogy.  A crunchy nib of a cocoa bean is not as delicious as a chunk of processed chocolate but you feel like you're eating the chocolate in its pure unprocessed form.

A very interesting pint.  This is certainly a chocolate-lovers pint.  As I said above, the cocoa nib is not the yummiest form of chocolate but there is something very hardcore about eating them.    I'm surprised more brands do not have flavors which include cocoa nibs.  If you're a serious chocoholic, then you should check this flavor out.