Talenti's rise to super-stardom has been swift, but well warranted. They know how to play to their strengths. They know exactly what people expect from them and they deliver. They've built a reputation on well-made gelato with high quality ingredients and now I was ready to try their version of Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup. While the assortment of Talenti pints are always easy on the eyes, this one is more aesthetically pleasing than even their Caramel Cookie Crunch and Banana Caramel Swirl. The thick stripes of peanut butter pushing up against the plastic pint were plenty enough persuasion for me to throw this one in my cart.
The 260 calories per serving contained in Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup is pretty high for a pint of Talenti, but pretty reasonable for a super-premium featuring both chocolate and peanut butter. This would also be my first experience with their chocolate gelato, so I grabbed a bite of just the base first. Talenti describes this particular flavor by saying, "We blend our Belgium milk chocolate gelato with a rich swirl of creamy, organic peanut butter. Then, we add all-natural mini chocolate peanut butter cups for our take on a flavor everyone loves." The chocolate gelato is as smooth as you'll find. Much like Sea Salt Caramel, the smoothness of this gelato just can't be touched by ice cream. The milk chocolate is rich, decadent and borders on the verge of being dark.
The mini peanut butter cups aren’t that large, but they are plentiful. There are easily a score of these packed throughout, probably more. The added quantity makes up for the fact that these are smaller than most other cups found in other flavors and the familiar combination of chocolate and peanut butter works together seamlessly. Accompanying the small cups was perhaps the thickest swirl I’ve seen from Talenti. The smears of peanut butter were stiff, slightly salty and really rounded out this flavor nicely.
Although some companies tend to lean towards caution when it comes to mix-ins, I love the fact that Talenti isn't afraid to show some confusion inside their pints. There's no law and order here. Mix-ins run amuck. There's no form or fashion to how the ingredients fall into these flavors. But something about the whole offering just comes up a little short. The world of peanut butter chocolate ice cream concoctions is a competitive one and I can't give this one the nod over others, but it's still worth trying if you're a looking for an above average gelato.
Where I Found It: Ingles Markets
Grade: B
