SUN CUPS (Not Just for the Poor, Peanut-Allergic Children Who Can’t Have a Reese’s)

I’ve always been open here about my love of chocolate. So imagine my delight some months back when I received an e-mail from a little chocolate company, offering to send me some of their products for free. Um, yes, please, and thank you. FREE CHOCOLATE, PEOPLE! 
So I got these things called Sun Cups in the mail. I looked up the company website, and I was intrigued by their small business story. They didn’t offer to pay me, and they didn’t even directly ask me to write a post about them. They just sent a very nice letter inviting me to try their product.

But I figured since I’ve never written an official review before (seriously, never), it would be a fun exercise. And though the chocolate-sent-straight-to-my-doorstep thing may have biased me a little bit, I vowed to be 100% honest. (I actually wouldn’t know how to give a dishonest review. If I tried, I’d be so eaten up with guilt over being untruthful that I’d probably give myself writer’s block and have to shut down my blog and hole up in my room and gorge myself on Sun Cups all day, which would be an ironically sad situation.)

Anyhoosers, Sun Cups are like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, but with allergy-friendly and partly organic ingredients. So, you know, practically a health food. We have gluten issues in our family, so the gluten-free part was great. But they’re also nut-free, soy-free, and egg-free. If you’re a vegan or have a dairy allergy, you’re out of luck (though their website says a dairy-free version is in the works).

Hello, gorgeous.
I was also psyched to see that they use ethically-sourced chocolate. (The blissfully unaware can read about the problems with cacao and child labor here.) As much as I love chocolate, I try to avoid buying chocolate that doesn’t specify its origin. (Side note: As of my writing this, the big 4.5-lb bags of chocolate chips at Costco are ethically-sourced, so go nuts, Costco shoppers!)
So based on their business and ethics and ingredients, the Sun Cups had already scored a few points. 
Then we tasted them.
Oh my.
Have you ever tried Trader Joe’s sunflower seed butter? If you haven’t, you should. Then imagine it covered in yummy, smooth, not-at-all-chalky-or-waxy chocolate. That’s what the sunflower seed Sun Cups are like. Now, this probably sounds fabulous to you health nuts out there, and absolutely disgusting to you All-American Reese’s purists. I feel you. But don’t knock it til you try it. Delish.
We cut the cups up like pies, so we could each get a piece. There may have been some vicious fighting over the extras.
The sunflower seed cups come in milk and dark chocolate. I’m a dark choco fan myself, and so is my mom. She totally flipped her lid over these things. The milk ones are good, too. The kids liked those best. But the dark ones were positively delectable to my highly refined chocoholic palate.
(How am I doing with the reviewing so far? I thought that last sentence sounded quite fancy. I’m thinking I should become an official chocolate reviewer so I can throw around even more sophisticated phrases like “fruity nuance” and “nutty undertones.”)
Sorry. Small digression.
Next, we tried the caramel cups. If you’ve ever had a Caramello bar, these are a lot like that, only yummier. The kids actually liked these best of all. Super smooth and creamy. I wish they’d make a dark chocolate version. Or maybe a dark chocolate salted caramel version, since salted caramel is apparently the law now.
I don’t recommend trying to cut the caramel cups into pieces. It’s a delicious but messy endeavor.
Finally, we tried the mint cups. These didn’t impress me quite as much. The mint filling was a little gritty, like sugar. No one else in the family was bothered by the texture, but I prefer my sugar filling to be silky. But the chocolate is great, and the taste is good. A fine alternative for the Junior Mint lovers of the world.
So, the final verdict—even subtracting my free chocolate bias—was that the Sun Cups are definitely worth a try, especially if you have allergy issues in your family. At the store, I’ve seen them run between  $1.50 and $2.00 per two cups, so more than your average candy bar, but not terribly outrageous for the health food world. My mom bought a bunch for full price after our taste test, so that says something.
I’m cheap, so I waited until they were on sale and then stocked up. That’s how I roll.

First review, done! Whew. That was fun. If anyone else wants to send me free chocolate, e-mail me and I’ll send you my address. (Seriously, I’ll never say no to free chocolate.)

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Annie writes about life, motherhood, world issues, beautiful places, and anything else that tickles her brain. On good days, she enjoys juggling life with her husband and homeschooling her children. On bad days, she binges on chocolate chips and dreams of traveling the world alone.

Comments 4

  3. Mmmmm! Sound yummy. I really love any chocolate-nut combo. Would be great to see the ingredients list. Do they have a version without cane sugar or corn syrup? Tricky, but not impossible!

    Reply

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