July 24th: Lindt Swiss Classic Milk Hazelnut Chocolate

Kcal 558 Fat 37.0g Fat(sats) 17.2g Carbs 48.0g

The Swiss Classic range was part of the Lindt portfolio I had not touched upon until today. This particular line of 'Classic' bars fall under the Lindt & Sprungli branding - the difference this has from the original Lindt brand I do not know. The blurb on the back told me that this combination had been 'master chocolatiers since 1845!!' that sure is a long time.

Today I decided to sample the milk chocolate with roasted hazelnuts 125g bar. The ingredients list on the back looked pretty clean - 31% cocoa and 14% milk solids...a slightly odd combination but the cocoa content for a milk chocolate bar is nothing to turn the nose up at. The bar constituted of 17% hazelnuts though one look at the bar and you would have thought the level would be far higher - they were very visible throughout.

The wrapper of the bar looked stylish - it had a premiuim look that set itself apart from your standard packaging....nice solid gold writing with a pleasant looking picture. The bar came foil wrapped which released a wonderfully fragrant milky aroma when split...the smell also had a slight nutty undertone which wasn't suprising due to generosity at which the hazelnuts were portioned....17%!?...I dont think so! As I have described the bar smelt great but looked even better! Despite each block having an abundance of chopped nuts crammed in, the bar retained a stylish unblemished look with the Lindt logo faultlessly encribed on each. Aswell as its classy look it also split up effortlessly and conveniently despite the heavy presence of the nuts.

Taking the first block and letting it melt on my tongue I was initially met with a very familiar smooth milky cocoa intensive flavour - one very similar to the one I experienced with the Lindt Excellence Milk Extra Creamy. Texturewise it was also very similar...it melted on the tongue within a few seconds leaving the hazelnut remnants. Despite the soft enjoyable texture of the chocolate I unfortunately did not enjoy the texture of the nuts. Though shown as wholenuts on the packaging they were infact chopped in the actual bar which meant they gave a gritty and bitty texture that lacked the nice crunch of wholenuts. Thankfully the nut pieces were still relatively fresh tasting and had an enjoyable roasted woody flavour - very distinct and forthcoming in flavour. The combination of the cocoa intensive chocolate and distinct flavours of the nuts made for quite a rich bar that I consumed over three sittings...after each serving I felt very content.

Overall this is another classy bar from Lindt - its not quite perfect but altogether its still very enjoyable. The milk chocolate had a lovely rich cocoa rooted milky taste with a near perfect melt in the mouth texture. The hazelnuts had a fresh distinct flavour though were at slight detriment to the bar due to their chopped nature...they roughened the smooth texture without adding a nicy crunch element, it was also very annoying find bits of hazelnut in my teeth for hours after...this was the bars only true fault. If your into your milk chocolate and nut combinations this is a great option...very worthwhile checking out and is one I would recommend.

8.4 out of 10