Slightly more than strictly necessary

So, I got to inspect another chocolate factory. The inspection experience was glorious, and I came out smelling fairly brownie-like, similar to last time, but the patina of new experience was not quite as shiny as the first time. This one, however, had an onsite factory store, so I made up that lagging sense of excitement there. And how! Perhaps I went a bit overboard:

Lugging these boxes home made me feel like I was smuggling treasure across the (state) border. Looking at this box in particular gives me a slight touch of Midas' fever.

It's such a beautifully decadent sight! If you look closely, however, you'll see why I'm so gleeful about this particular acquisition:

Not yet available for public sale!! I get to try something brand new!!! It's milk chocolate with vanilla caramel. I tried it in a head to head to head competition tasting with the milk chocolate and regular caramel, as well as the 60% dark with caramel, and neither compared. Yes, it seems sweeter (some may say it tastes like the best Rolo ever), but that strong whiff of vanilla, mostly in the nose but also light on the tongue, makes a world of difference. They are disappearing at a rather alarming rate...