Gourmet

The title seems to be oxymoronic, doesn’t it? Chocolates have so happily stained the overalls of many a toddler while cigarettes have yellowed the teeth of a multitude of adults. The innocence of a child would be difficult to reconcile with the adult’s less-than-pure nature—it is comparable to finding broccoli in a trick-or-treat bag. But perhaps there is something more to this unlikely match than meets the easily dismissive eye. Chocolate cigarettes might not have as great a following as, say, your typical Hershey’s bar, but it has a considerable following nonetheless.

To address the problem of semantics, there are generally two conceptions of the words, “chocolate cigarettes:” the first one refers to chocolate products shaped to resemble cigarette sticks (even wrapped in paper) while the second conception points to the chocolate flavouring of some tobacco items.

Chocolate sticks covered with paper to take on the look of cigarettes have been a popular treat for children all over the world, although they first sat on the shelves of sweets shops in Europe. Even the packaging of it inspires some playful fascination: bogus tobacco brands grace the entire “cigarette pack.” Some of these funnily fake names include “King Lion” and “Farao.” You might also notice that although these chocolate cigarettes come from the same manufacturer each purchase will garner a differently designed pack, definitely one up for the collectors. The taste of the actual chocolate is close to divinity: creamy Holland-made blends wrapped in fine paper with packaging that can fool even the most discerning passerby. A pack containing 10 “cigarette” sticks shouldn’t cost over 2 USD. These could also conceivably be used as a means to deviate the quitting smoker’s oral fixation—just a thought.

Chocolate flavoured cigarettes, on the other hand, are a completely different experience. Imagine: lighting up and taking a puff while the taste of chocolate doesn’t just stop at the tongue but lovingly invades the throat. The exhale comes out slower than usual because you want to keep the smoke inside just a bit longer.

The charred taste of regular tobacco might already be tiresome for the long-time smoker, maybe just a bit too strong, or perhaps even just plain unlikeable. This flavoured cigarette is a good change of olfactory and gustatory pace, tasting almost nothing like the annoyingly charred flavour of regular tobacco smoke. This particular type of cigarette is ideal for the smoker with a slightly different sweet tooth. Chocolate flavoured cigarettes are available at almost any convenience store, a great leap from being only sold in the most obscure tobacco specialty stores. This only means that more and more people are enjoying the wonderful contradiction that is the chocolate flavoured cigarette.

There must be some merit to these two products; retailers have experienced an increase in demand for them in recent times. Cigarette-looking chocolates perhaps take their following from their nostalgia-inspiring characteristic and chocolate flavoured cigarettes for their sheer unique flavour.

Yes, the products may be the very epitome of contradiction, but it seems to be that people love them for that very thought.