February 5th: M&M's Crispy

Kcal 180 Carbs 22g Fat 9.3g

These came in a standard 43g bag, which proved to be quite a substantial portion. They are averagely priced at 65p and nutritionally they were pretty good ... better than your average chocolate snack anyway!

Unfortunately In regards to taste they were also quite average. The initial taste of the sugar coating wasn't overwhelming like many other sugar coated and and the chocolate flavour hit came through nicely despite the thiness of the layer. The rice though was disappointing in terms of flavours, and offered little aside from a mild malt like taste.

Overall compared to some of the other M&M variants these were reasonably bland tasting. The crispy rice centres were by no means bad, but they certainly weren't exciting. I for one would look to other M&M flavours before choosing these.

7.3 out of 10

February 4th: Thorntons Continental Cappucino Bar

Kcal 200 Fat 13g Carbs 18g

This 'Continental' Thorntons bar encapsulates Thorntons' Continental Cappuccino truffles (like shown above) in a bar form.

The soft coffee centre is topped by a layer of thin chocolate truffle, which is encased in a white chocolate coating and finished off with a dusting of cocoa powder.

It looked classy and it had a taste to match. The outer white chocolate was divine in taste and had a heavily vanilla noted taste that melted with a delightful ease and softness. The truffle filling was creamy and smooth, though perhaps could of been slightly stronger flavoured in terms of coffee strength.

Overall this was a really classy bar that tasted superb. In another light it was a little on the expensive side for it's small size and it didn't overly satisfy my hunger to the levels I possibly wanted it to. These small gripes are the only things preventing it from challenging the top 5 of Chocolate Mission.

7.8 out of 10

February 3rd: Hersheys Take 5 Peanut Butter

Kcal 220 Fat 11g Fat(sats) 7g Carbs 23g

This was a new concept to me - pretzels in a candy bar! These are amazingly popular in the US and I had been encouraged to try these by reviews from across the pond.

Described as two large pretzels covered in carmel, peanut butter and a peanut coating sounded intresting. The pretzel flavour was an intresting concept but for me did not fuse well with the caramel and peanut butter. The saltyness was unlike what you get with nuts but more like salty crisps; for me this is didnt fuse well.

The peanut coating failed to establish any sort of flavour agaisnt the other layers. Generally the flavours dont mix too well - especially the pretzels taste like they shouldnt be paired with the overly sweet toppings.

Overall the bar didnt do much for me - never good for an expensive import. One thing I do appreciate about the bar is its originality. If this sounds like your sort of thing its definately worth a go.

6.8 out of 10

*Credit to Cybele at www.Candyblog.com for the pictures

February 2nd: Hersheys Cookies n Chocolate

Kcal 230 Fat 12g Fat(sats) 7g Carbs 26g

I cant say I was especially looking forward to this but it certainly surprised me.

This bar was similar to the Cookies n Crème but instead had the standard Hersheys milk chocolate with cookie pieces. The chocolate was creamy and some of the better milk chocolate I have had recently; which is suprising for a mass producded bar.

The cookie bits were a nice added element to the chocolate and provided a nice crispy crunch.

This came in a 40g bar which was just the right size - it didnt get sickly like the cookie n creme. One thing to note is that this was a limited edition bar which is now out of distribution in the US.

Overall this was above all expectations and one of the best bars I have had recently; its definately worth its place in the upper tier of the Chocolate Mission stakes.

8.9 out of 10

February 1st: Green & Black's White Chocolate

Kcal 573 Fat 36.6g Carbs 53.5g (per 100.0g)

REVIEW-REVISITED - 04/09/2010

Anyone who knows me will know that I'm a bit of stubborn person when it comes to forming an opinion. Generally if I form an opinion on something, I stick with it! Even I however couldn't ignore the amount of e-mails I received along the lines of "Jim you are wrong about Green & Black's White Chocolate, it's a lot better than you say it is" (actual quote!). As you will see in my previous review below, the last time I tried the bar I acknowledged the fact it had promise, but I thought it could have been even better. After receiving what felt like the 100th e-mail telling me to give it another try - I did just that!

Unlike the rest of the Green & Black's range this bar hasn't changed at all in terms of it's wrapper or presentation in the last year - this was all down to a retest of the taste.

Well what can I say!? After sampling a good deal of the 100.0g bar I'm willing to admit that I thought a better of it. The milk based undertones of what I percieved originally were maintained, however both the cream and vanilla elements came across as much more pronounced in the taste, with both having far longer sustained flavour longevity. The vanilla pod pieces no longer felt rough in the texture, with the chocolate melt feeling so much smoother and almost butter like. Compared to what I percieved last time this chocolate taste so much more satisfying and richer - it was almost likea completely different product.

Overall this Green & Black's White Chocolate was well worthy of a higher score than I gave it last time. I don't think I have got many of my reviews wrong down the years, but having tested this one I'm happy I have revisited to give it due credit. This is a fantastic white chocolate that needs to be tried by anyone that considers themselves a white chocolate fan. Would I still prefer to have a Nestle Milkybar!? Err no thanks!

8.6 out of 10



ORIGINAL REVIEW - 01/02/2008

Kcal 202 Fat 12.8g Carbs 18.7g

Green & Black's is range of chocolate bars owned by Cadbury. The idea of the range is that they are supposed to offer consumers a more prestigous chocolate option in the same places of distribution that you can buy any mass consumer chocolate product. This 35.0g bar cost me a pretty pricey £0.80, which is verging on double what you pay for something like a Cadbury Dream or Nestle Milkybar. On the wrapper the bar came described simply as 'white chocolate with Madagascan vanilla.

Presentation wise it thought the bar was nice. I like the cream colour wrapper, and I liked the autheticity of the specs of vanilla within the chocolate.

Moving onto the taste I think it can be best described as quite weak with a mild offering of vanilla. The chocolate avoided being cheap and sickly tasting like the Cadbury Dream, however I think there was room for greater flavour generation. One thing that did spoil the experience for me somewhat were the small bits of vanilla pod which could be felt in the melt of the chocolate which created a somewhat uncomfortable texture.

Overall white chocolate isn't something I would consider myself very knowleadgble about, but I would say this was of a fair to decent standard. Despite having a pretty pleasant vanilla hinted milky taste, the flavours didn't have great longevity and thus didn't create the impression they could of done had they been stronger. Given the price I'm not sure I would consistently pay pay double the price of a Milkybar if I fancied a white chocolate.

7.6 out of 10

January 31st: Cadbury Starbar

***UPDATE***

New wrapper added 02/01/2011


Kcal 260 Fat 14.8g Carbs 26g

The Cadbury Starbar is one of the oldest Cadburys bars on the market and comes described as choc nougat,peanuts and rice wrapped in layers of caramel and chocolate.

The bar itself is very substantial and weighs in at 53g. Not surprisingly it's not the best nutritionally, and is rather high in both fat calories.

Taste wise the bar was quite unique, but it did slightly remind me of the Cadburys Boost. Each mouthful started with a nice flavour hit of cadbury chocolate, with the sweet caramel following soon after. Lining the middle of the bar, the nougat was by far the dominant element in the taste, with the peanuts and rice cereal failing to register much of an impression.

Overall I thought this was a bit of disappointing chocolate, and it was one that wasn't all that much to my taste. Personally I didn't think the ingredients mixed all that well, and the nougat pretty much cancelled out the peanuts and rice cereal in the taste. Something that the Chocolate Mission is proving so far, is that sometimes less is more - what I mean by that is that I often found that the better bars are ones that concentrate on just having a single focus in their enhancing flavours. I guess it is still early days though, who knows what the future will bring.

6.0 out of 10

January 30th: Paynes Raisin Poppets

Kcal 152 Fat 5g Carbs 24.8g

This was the final variant of poppets that I had left to try and in truth was the blandest.

The contents of the pack read 50% Milk Chocolate 50% Raisins.

The raisins themselves were well rather flavourless and added little in that department - they added a chewy softness which is what you expect but in truth they were extremely bland.

The milk chocolate coating wasnt too much better - like the toffee variant the 'milk' chocolate was tasteless and rather waxy.

Overall good nutritionally but never going to set the world alight tastewise and really quite poor.

5.0 out of 10

January 29th: Nestle Milkybar

**UPDATE 31.03.10**

The Milkybar Chunky is no longer available. The standard sized bar is the one pictured above.

Kcal 137

Another white chocolate offering and definitely the best so far. This bar came in a 37.0g bar. Admiteddly the wrapper is rather childish, though that is unsurprising given the target market.

Taking the chocolate out the wrapper the bar was easily snappable, and had a smell of sweet fragrant vanilla and had a far more appertising aroma than previous Cadbury and Hershey white chocolate alternatives.

Taste wise it was serisouly sweet, but still maintained a delicious milk and cream based undertone that straight away struck me as superior to both the Cadbuys Dream and Hersheys Cookies n Creme. Despite this being an extremelly sweet chocolate I couldn't help myself but consume the whole thing in one sitting.

Overall I have to admit I am a little biased when it comes to Milkybar and it brings back so many wonderful nostalgic feelings from my childhood. Whilst I will admit that is isn't a high quality white chocolate made from the finest ingrdients, there is something about the sweet, milky taste that makes for a very comforting and enjoyable experience. Without the nostalgic feelings you might be left thinking this is a very average white chocolate, but for me personally it does the job nicely :D

8.5 out of 10

January 28th: Aero Bubbles Peppermint

Kcal 193 Fat 12.3g Fat(sats) 10.8g

These were a pleasant surprise.

They wernt top of my list as most wanting to try as I thought they wouldn’t be substanstial enough but was I wrong!

The bubbles feel light in the pack but when emptied you get an awful lot of them.

In colour they are intresting with the green colour and smell wise they smell as they should...minty.

Texture wise they are similar to a flake if a little lighter; they have a real gradule melt on the tongue feeling and the taste is one of the better mint chocolates avalible.

Overall above all expectations - very nice and looking at its score is challenging for a place in the top 5 of Chocolate Mission

8.6 out of 10

January 27th: Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut

Kcal 255 Fat 15g

Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut was never a bar I bought all that often in my childhood, but had been around since I can remember. The bar comes billed as 'raisins and almonds in Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate', and can be found in a variety of different shapes and sizes, ranging from the 50.0g bar I tried for today's review, to the large 230.0g sharing size.

Like the rest of Cadburys' range the wrapper has changed several times down the years. The wrapper you can see above is the one as of August 2010 (I updated this review then!!!), and I personally think it looks pretty great with it's modern matted material feel and clean visual presentation. Although the wrapper has seen significant changes, one thing that has always stayed the same is the fantastic looking chocolate which has always been plentiful in it's fruit and nut protioning.

Fast forwarding to the all important taste test it wont surprise you to hear that I have always really enjoyed the Dairy Milk chocolate. I will hold up my hands and admit I am huge fan of Dairy Milk chocolate. It may not be too everyones taste but I personally delight in the sweet, cream based chocolate flavour hit it so consistently delivers with each bite. The differentiation it has from almost all other chocolates, is something that can't be sniffed at - there is only one Dairy Milk! In terms of this particular variety, both the fruit and nut did manage to come to the party, though I have to say neither were optimal in terms of their input. Taste wise both the raisins and the almonds were not as impactful as other fruit and nut bars I have tasted. That said the almonds were the ingridient with the most cut through, and added a pleasant nuttiness to each and every block where present. In regards to textures I felt both were a little more competent, with the fruit added a unique chewyness and the nuts proving to be fresh and crunchy to the bite.

Overall this was never going to be anything other than a product I enjoyed given that it was predominently made with one of my favourite milk chocolates. Whilst I didn't think the fruit or nut elements were the best as flavour enhancing, neither detracted from my liking of the milk chocolate which was every bit as wonderful as in any other Cadbury. The total bar proved to be a fufilling experience which also adds weight to the case of my recommendation. I may not rate this bar as highly as the likes of the Cadbury Caramel, but I would certainly say it is worth a try if you fancy something a little different from one of our proudest brands.

8.3 out of 10

January 26th: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Kcal 230 Fat 11g Fat(sats) 6g

Reese's peanut butter cups are an all time classic - A thickish layer of chocolate covers a peanut butter centre - sounds good huh!?

The dividing of the cups was relatively easy and not the messy experience I was expecting. The smell of the cups was gorgeous poignant peanut butter scents emerged as soon as I opened the packet ... yum!

The taste itself was delightfully pleasent, though there wew a few issues. The chocolate was bit on the bland side, and had an odd waxy texture that didn't feel the nicest when melting. With that said, the peanut butter was nothing short of amazing. It was sweet, nutty and with an amazing saltyness that made for an amazingly moreish taste.

Overall despite the disappointing chocolate this was one tasty product. The only better peanut butter chocolate product I have had are the white chocolate cups, which I would have to say are ever so slightly to my preference. These are an all time classic, and I urge you to try them if you have never had the pleasure.

8.0 out of 10

January 25th: Paynes Toffee Poppets

Kcal 203 Fat 8.1g Carbs 30.7g

The third variety of the poppets range proved to be the most disappointing.

The toffee variety is bassically hard chewy toffee encased in milk chocolate. This is slightly different to the other varietys which have what is supposedly dark chocolate. Though different in description the milk choc differs very little from the dark in that it tastes of very little and has a waxy texure.

The toffee is also pretty lacklusture when compared to say Curly Wurly Squrley.

Overall another mere average offering from Paynes. Nothing to get excited about. 

7.2 out of 10

January 24th: Hershey's Cookies n Creme

Kcal 230

When I was younger we used to take annual trips to Florida - first taking in the joys of Disney World, and then on to the more relaxed Florida Keys. One of the things that always reminds me of these trips, is todays bar - the Hershey's Cookies n Creme. Indeed, this bar became a bit of a family favourite down the years, and it even got to the point that my dad used to have to hide a stash of them from me and my sister when we would travel back to the UK. For those who have never seen this bar, it comes described as 'white chocolate with cookie bits in'.

Lightyears on from these family holidays, this bar is still available in both the US and some parts of the UK. Traditionally the Cookie's n Creme bar comes in a 42.0g, which I think is about the perfect format - anything bigger and this bar would get very sickly. The packaging has seen minor changes over the years, but the foil wrapper has never changed from the creme coloured foil material - the nice looking wrapper above is a photograph as of June 2010. Smelling the bar, a raft of sweet milky aromas set expectations for the taste suitably.

In line with the smells, the taste was very sweet yet had a very strong creamy undertone that safeguarded that sugar becoming over bearing in that taste. The cookie bits dispersed generously throughout the bar were a pleasant addition to both taste and texture. When they were chewed they added a nice bit of variety with their crunchy texture, whilst also bringing a salty, Oreo cookie like element to the party flavour wise. In it's entirety the bar itself was verging on tasting quite sickly, though it did manage to cure my chocolate craving.

Overall taking the white chocolate component of this bar in isolation I wouldn't say that it was much different (of for that matter, any better) than the Milkybar we get here in the UK. Indeed, the actual chocolate isn't of a particularly great quality, however the combination of the chocolate and the cookie pieces make for a tasty synergy of ingredients. If you are going to get an enjoyment from this chocolate at all you will have to like your chocolate on the sweet, creamy side of things. My love for this bar is mainly born out of nostalgia, but if you are a white chocolate fan you might want to give it a try.

7.2 out of 10

January 23rd: Galaxy Promises Hazelnuts

Kcal 214 Fat 14.1g

Another bar from the galaxy range that describes itself as a blend of dark and milk chocolate with Hazelnuts.

I do love galaxy chocolate and there is no doubting that chocolate wise this is one tasty bar. The two different types of chocolate blend nicely together and one flavour is not lost on another.

What is disappointing is the lack of hazelnut flavour. For a bar that is supposed to deliver a nutty taste it just fails and the flavour is completely lost in the chocolate.

Overall this bar is let down by the absence of the hazelnut flavour it deserves.

7.2 out of 10

January 22nd: Fruit Flakes Yogurt Raisins

Kcal 133 Fat 5.5g

I have only recenty rediscovered the joy of raisins and these yogurt covered ones I guess can be considered a healthier option to the usual chocolate bar.

In essence they are just raisins coated in a sweet tasting milky flavoured coating which is described as yogurt.

Nutritionally these are low across the board - tastewise they are pleasent and rather moreish. The only downside are their inability to 'fill the gap' so to speak. They arent the most fufilling and one pack does leave you wanting more.

Overall ok but unspectacular, great if you fancy a healtheir option to a candy bar.

5.0 out of 10

January 21st: Paynes Orange Poppets

Kcal 190 Fat 5.5g Carbs 32g

After yesterdays poor showing from the mint variety I wasn’t expecting much from this offering.

Bassically it offered exactly the same as the mint but not suprisingly tasting of orange.

Unfortunately the chocolate was still the same quality I.e. poor and still nothing to write home about. What was suprisingly nice though was the Orange flavoured inside.

It tasted suprisingly fruity and quite refreshing.

Overall these are nutritionally not bad; and definately better than the mint offering. I would even consider having them again.

5.0 out of 10

January 20th: Paynes Mint Poppets

Kcal 185 Fat 5.4g Carbs 33.3g

These didn’t come with the best reputation but werent the worst nutritionally wise so I decided to try them after tonights dinner.

They cost 39p which when you compare to some of my imports which come in at over £1.50 a pack then was really quite cheap.

Unfortunately cheap is a word you could use to describe the taste of the chocolate too. It was supposed to be dark chocolate but just didn't taste of much, providing a mear waxy textured coating. The peppermint inside wasn't too bad - maybe a tad intense but ok tasting. 

Overall not my cup of tea but there will no doubt be worse. 

4.4 out of 10

January 19th: Cadburys Curly Wurly Squirlies

Kcal 205 Fat 7.9g Carbs 31.2g

Woohoo I can now cross another Cadbury product off my 'to review list. These Cadbury Curly Wurly Squirlies are a variation of the original Curly Wurly and are simply small chewy caramel pieces coated in chocolate.

The caramel isn't the worst - it does taste quite sugary but you would expect that with most caramel bar. Behind the sweetness it does taste nicely buttery and it does melt quite nicely in the mouth with a nice slow chewy consistency. Whereas the caramel was rather tasty I thought the chocolate was pretty disappointing and this was largely down to it not appearing particularly fresh with a very dusty looking surface. The chocolate not only didn't appear fresh but I felt the melt was very grainy for Cadbury chocolate and I was disappointed at how thin it was implemented. The chocolate basically didn't really deliver the desired chocolate flavour hit and failed to leave a lasting chocolaty impression in my mouth. On a more positive note the nutritional values were not bad considering the pack size.

Overall this was no where near the best Cadbury product I have reviewed on this site so far. The real disappointment for me was the chocolate which was not up to the usual Cadbury standard with its laboured, cloying melt and unfresh appearance. This was a shame as the inner chewy caramel was actually very moreish and pleasant.

6.2 out of 10