Convenience store desserts often force consumers to choose between sweet and tart. Chocolate and fruit-flavored offerings dominate at this time of year, and we’ve got highlights from both sides for those unsure of which direction to head.
FamilyMart has fans of fruit flavors covered with its new Melon Gelato Frappe. This chilled beverage (¥320 after tax) captures the seasonally appropriate taste of cantaloupe. The addition of frothed milk to create a gelato-like consistency really elevates the product, adding layers to each cup. Plus, it works wonders in the heat.
Those craving some chocolate-based sweetness should head over to Ministop to give its new Belgian Chocolate Pudding Parfait a go. This intricate dessert (¥386 after tax) offers everything laid out in the title, plus a nice dusting of assorted nuts on top.
As the name implies, this one packs a sugary rush in almost every bite. If that’s your preference, though, brave the summer heat for this limited-time creation.
As the discount retailer has already started selling Christmas treats, including Cadbury snow balls and biscuit selection boxes.
Being B&M, they’re also super cheap, with a pack of Cadbury’s famous milk chocolate spheres covered in icing sugar Snowballs setting back just £1 for an 80g bag.
If you’re more of a biscuit fan, there’s also Cadbury and Oreo Biscuit Assortment boxes for £3.99, containing a selection of Fingers, Roundies, Wispa, Choco Sandwiches, Cocoa Spirals, Cadbury cookies and of course, Oreos.
The first time East Brainerd-based chocolatier Ella Livingston tasted Nama chocolate from her homeland of Ghana while studying abroad in Japan, she had one thought: Why hadn’t she had it before?
“I was just like, this is ridiculous. There was no way that I should have had to travel outside of the United States to taste true chocolate,” the 26-year-old said. “There is a whole other world out there of quality chocolate, and I haven’t had access to it.”
There may still be months to go until Christmas – and August Bank Holiday sales still launching – but it seems B&M is keen to get in the Christmas spirit early.
Livingston was born in Ghana but moved to the U.S. at the age of 3, where she says although she had strong ties to her culture, she had little connection with the actual land.
“We still had traditions that we kept at home — we spoke the language at home, we interacted with other Ghanaians — but Ghana itself was still very far,” she said.
After her time studying abroad, Livingston decided to bring a true taste of Ghana to Chattanooga and started Cocoa Asante, a chocolate truffle company that uses cocoa sourced from Ghana.
Livingston has been selling her handmade truffles directly to local businesses for resale and online to customers since 2018 with the help of organizations such as Kiva.
Since starting, she has made an assortment of chocolates, from milk and dark chocolate to white chocolate and even a vegan variety.
For Livingston, making and selling Ghana-sourced chocolate is about more than just taste. It’s about supporting the farmers there through equitable business practices.
Currently, she purchases already processed beans from a Swiss company that ethically sources out of Ghana, but Livingston’s main goal is to go from “bean to bar,” buying beans directly from farms and processing them herself before making her truffles.
West Africa provides about 70% of the world’s cocoa, with about 30% of that coming from Ghana. The country recently worked to set a minimum buying price for cocoa in order to better support and incentivize farmers to keep growing.