Mars has examined the data: we love chocolate, and especially around Christmas. Here are some astounding facts about how fat we all are, courtesy of Mars:

• In 2015, consumers spent $1 billion on chocolate candy during the Christmas season. ?
• In 2014, those who purchased Christmas chocolate bought more than four packages and spent more than $23.20. ?
• 81% of all Christmas stockings include chocolate candy. ??
• 61% of all Christmas chocolate purchases are merely to fill their candy bowls at home. ?

So when Mars was brainstorming on the next Christmas seasonal M&M, the choice was clear:

Just double down!

Double Chocolate M&M’s: chocolate candies flavored with chocolate.

Sounds redundant, doesn’t it? Not so fast. Double Chocolate M&M’s feature a layer of milk chocolate AND a layer of dark chocolate. We’ve seen Mars employ two layers of chocolate before: first with Hot Chocolate M&M’s and later with Easter Sundae M&M’s. These are basically the Hot Chocolate M&M’s stripped of the artificial marshmallow flavoring. Pretty simple stuff.

But seriously Mars, stop making flavors that are hard to produce good M&M art with.

I tried, but like… barely.

When you dive into your Double Chocolate M&M’s, you’ll initially think they taste just like the regular milk chocolate M&M’s. The flavor is immediately familiar and enjoyable; M&M’s have withstood the test of time for a reason. They’re considerably larger than the regular ones, which doesn’t affect the flavor but does mean it’ll take less effort to fill your entire mouth with them.

The aftertaste transitions to a bitter, satisfying dark chocolate. I have to admit that it’s cool to experience this transition from front to finish. The flavor profile followed this same milk chocolate -> dark chocolate order of operations each time I went back for more.

While I miss the novelty of the Hot Chocolate M&M’s, I still enjoyed the Double Chocolate M&M’s more than I thought I would. They’re pretty much the best of both worlds – the sweet creaminess of milk chocolate mixed with a sharper dark chocolate. They’ll leave little room for complaint for chocolate lovers everywhere, aka 100% of the population according to recent data by Mars.

In the head-to-head battle of chocolatey holiday M&M’s, I give the nod to the Shimmery White Chocolate M&M’s by the slimmest of margins. They’re a little more off the beaten path (they shimmer!). But really, it will come down to whatever type of chocolate is your preference.

We patiently await Triple Chocolate M&M’s next year.

Chocolate Rating: 20 out of 10
Odds I Buy More Chocolate Than the Average Consumer Rating: 10 out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 out of 10

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