Product Review: Royce Nama Chocolates

It even comes with a mini spatula!

I have wanted to try Royce Nama Chocolates after reading it from my friend Guia's blog. Sadly, it is not available here in the States. I tried eBay, Google shopping, even the official Royce website - they just don't sell/ship here.

Well, I recently found out why. Nama chocolates contain 20% cream, and as such, shipping to the US from Sapporo, Japan wouldn't be feasible. I mean, it would, but the chocolate won't be as good as people rave about. And personally, I don't think cream would survive that long a trip without refrigeration.

I had the chance to travel to Asia recently and sample these sweets. And wow, the Nama totally blew me away. I tried their other chocolates like the Pure Chocolate and Bar Chocolate, and they are also good - comparable to Dove (and maybe even Godiva), but the Nama (which is Japanese for "fresh") is something else. Read on.

Sorry - bad lighting.

What I liked: 

The chocolate just melts in your mouth. Literally. No kidding.
"Velvety" and "smooth" is an understatement when describing Nama.
The chocolates are pre-cut (sort of!) in bite-size pieces. Makes for easy mouth-popping.
They are rolled in dark cocoa powder. 
Fairly inexpensive. $12-15 is a good bargain for chocolate this decadent.
The taste. Just absolutely amazing.
Hubby said what he likes about it is that "Nama" rhymes with "Mama" which he finds very comforting. (Don't ask.) 


What I didn't like: 

Much as I like the dark cocoa powder, it sticks to your fingers when you pick a piece of Nama. Let's just hope your hands are clean when you do that, because trust me, you would want to lick those cocoa powders off your fingers!


The Verdict: 

All I really have are raves for this product. They are so delicious. I would recommend it to everybody - and if you don't love it, then you probably should live under a rock (no disrespect, Patrick). The Royce crew is even kind enough to put your Nama purchase in a special aluminum bag with a piece of dry ice to make sure it gets to you fresh. Would I buy it again? Yes. In fact, in a span of 3 weeks, I bought several boxes of Nama chocolates in 2 countries. I loved it that much (and wanted my son and in-laws to have a taste of it too!).

The Bitter variety is our favorite!