June 4th: Nestle Milo Bar (Aus)

Kcal 265 Fat 14.4g Fat(sats) 12.7g Carbs 30.1g

This bar came with the promise of being 'energy food'...well after eating this I certainly feel energised to write about this bar as I really want to share how good it was.

I did some prior research before eating this bar and I learnt that 'Milo' is actually more commonly known of in the form of a chocolate and malt flavoured milk drink. Though first manufactured in Australia its most popular in Malaysia where 90%+ of all 'Milo' is consumed (Thanks Wiki!!).

Anyway enough with the boring stuff - this form of the 'Milo' bar came from Australia in a single 50g serving. I must at this point say I was particularly hungry before eating this bar - but as of now (30 mins after eating!!) im still feeling very full.

The bar came in a very striking green foil wrapper. It was a bit cryptic as the only bar description on display read 'soft on top with a Milo base'.....thats very good if you know what 'Milo' is!!?? :S Let me fill you in...the bar in appearance looked remarkably similar to a Toffee Crisp...and it was built quite like one to; it had a cereal base with a layer of caramel placed above, all of which was coated in milk chocolate. The bar had a nice biscuity type smell with also a nice undertone of milk - thumbs up!

The texture of the bar was also very similar to a Toffee crisp - it combined a crunchy cereal base with a chewy caramel layer and a nice thick layer of chocolate. The only real difference between this and the 'Toffee Crisp' was that both the cereal and caramel elements were alot denser and more substantial - particularly the caramel which was very viscucous and alot chewier than the gooeyier toffee found in the Toffee Crisp. The chocolate was about right in thickness and provided a nice crisp outer layer.

The 'Milo' base is a mixture of rice cereal and barley - it had a distinct biscuity malty taste which with its substantial nature made for an extremely tasty and filling base to the bar. The chocolate was neither of great or poor quality...it wasnt the strongest in flavour though had a milky sweet taste....in truth this component could be done better. The caramel element to this bar was suprising in taste...I was expecting a very sweet taste but was infact met with a flavour that was more like fudge....it was far creamier than your standard caramel - very tasty.

Overall this is probably the best bar that I have tasted from the Sourthern Hemisphere so far. The 'Milo' combines a nice variety of textures and biscuity malty flavours in a substantial 50g bar that I can imagine when enjoyed with a cool glass of milk would really hit the spot if in a situation of any hunger. The only slight drawback comes with the chocolate which could of been implemented slightly better. Im also not overly sure about its 'Energy Food' positioning but that really dosent matter as at the root of things we have an extremely tasty bar. I would recommend this bar to my whole Chocolate Mission audience...its simple...if you like a Toffee Crisp or just the sound of it...try it.

8.5 out of 10

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June 3rd: Cadbury Bournville

Kcal 220 Fat 11.8g Fat(sats) 7.3g Carbs 26.6g

This bar is commonly regarded as a 'dark chocolate for beginners'... because of this from the start I was hardly expecting a rich 70% cocoa Lindt like experience. My only previous experience with the Bournville range only went as far as my childhood memories of the small Bournville squares always being the last ones to go from the christmas Cadbury 'Roses' assortment tin...not all that favourable then!

The bar came in an adequately substantial six block 49g serving. It was enclosed in a nice looking red foil wrapper with gold writing; unfortunately the bar itself wasnt as smartish in appearance and had alot of scratches and 'blooming' which you can see represented in the above picture. The foil wrapper ensured the bar retained a freshness meaning that its aroma was quite strong upon opening. The smell itself was pretty poor and not all the appertising - at first an resonable cocoa emerged, though unfortunately it transformed into a rather off putting stagnant milk smell...oh dear...not nice.

Putting the first block in my mouth the first thing I detected was the the texture was slightly grainy. The block didnt melt in the mouth and disappointingly stayed as a solid lump until bitten into. The texture wasnt the best and was akin to the lower end of the market cheaper chocolates.

Looking at the ingredients on the back of pack the first two components read as sugar and cocoa. Upon tasting it was very obvious that the sugar ingredient was far more prevalent as the flavour was very sweet for dark chocolate. The cocoa solids level in the bar are indicated as 39% which is significantly lower than you get in most dark chocolate bars. Thats not to say a cocoa note wasnt detectable...it was...but was overshadowed by a more dominant sweet sugary taste which unfortunately left the overall flavour in a musky, non specific poor middle ground.

Overall it seems as if Cadbury have held back from making the bar overly dark and cocoa rooted inorder to avoid the product being too niche. Unfortunately what they seem to have amalgamated here is a particulalry bland and weak tasting chocolate that would neither appeal to a dark chocolate or milk chocolate consumer. This offering falls well below the high standards Cadbury sets itself...if they are going to cater for the dark chocolate consumer they should be braver with their product positioning and offer a product that genuinely can be credited as dark chocolate. I wouldnt really recommend this to anyone - particularly not as a starting place for the world of dark chocolate as its a poor representation of the market.

5.3 out of 10

June 2nd: Lindt Lindor Coffee Truffles

Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???

Coffee...yum....Lindor truffles...yum....I had high hopes for these.

Good luck finding these in a packaged Lindor box selection as I dont think one actually exists...I found these as part of a pick-a-mix selection in my local Whittards shop. I bought four of these which more than made for a substantial portion.

Each truffle came in an individual wrapper that didnt look too dissimillar to the 70% cocoa dark truffles - a dark wrapper with white writing. The truffles were comprised of a thick outer dark chocolate shell with a smooth coffee flavoured truffle centre - they looked nice in appearance though were a bit lacking in anything more than a subtle cocoa smell.

Each truffle had a nice thick outer coating of dark chocolate. As I let the truffles chill slightly in the fridge before eating them the coatings provided a nice firm crack when i bit into them...this firmness provided a great combination of textures with the soft buttery melt in the mouth truffle fillings and was one that I found particularly sumptuous.

The dark chocolate outer shell had a rich cocoa flavour that I can only presume was the 70% Lindt dark brand. Despite its strong flavour it avoided being bitter and once melted had a particularly luxurious smooth taste. The inner truffle was equally as good and despite its light nature provided a great tasting fresh coffee flavour that really delivered in quality. I would genuinely say the quality of coffee flavour was among the best I have tasted on ChocolateMission including my all time favourite Trader Joe's coated coffee beans.

Overall these are some of the best truffles I have genuinely ever tasted - they score on a par with the original Lindt Lindor milk chocolate truffles and justifiably so. These truffles expertly marry the dark chocolate and coffee elements superbly whilst the mixture of firm and light textures provides a luxurious tasting experience thats just so incredibly moreish. I would whole heartidly recommend these to anyone...especially fans of dark chocolate, coffee or truffles.

8.6 out of 10

June 1st: Nestle Crunch Crisp

Kcal 240 Fat 13.0g Fat(sats) 13.0g Carbs 32.0g

Last month I reviewed the UK Crunch bars both of which scored in the upper 6's. Today im reviewing the US 'Crisp Crunch' bar that dedicated reader Justin very nicely sent to me in his box of goodies from the US.

The Cunch Crisp has a rather elaborate seven different layers...three interwoven wafer and milk chocolate creme layers topped with a layer of rice all of which has a chocolate flavoured coating. All seven layers constituted for a large 49.3g bar which was very adequete in settling my hunger.

So the on wrapper boring stuff...you may notice above the saturated fat content of the bar! No thats not a typo it does contain a staggering 13.0g of saturated fat...honestly Ive never come across a bar that contains so much per gram...quite staggering really but the ingredients list shows why this is the case. The bar contains two different types of hydrogenated oil: kernel and coconut....hmmm yuck! Whats even more suprising is that the bar dosent actually contain any cocoa butter :( thats really disappointing to be honest and really suggests this bar could have been made with better ingredients.

Above I described the intricate composition of the bar - this made for a great look and one that looked very appertising. Unfortunately its appearance was slightly let down due to the nature of how quickly the bar melted on my fingers...it was a little greasy feeling after only a few seconds of contact with my hands and did make them feel slightly messy....despite this it still looked the part. Out of the pack the bar offered very little in ways of an aroma, an ever so slight sweet smell but overly disappointing.

The wafer layers despite being in contact with the slightly moist chocolate creme retained a nice crispness - this was further excentiated by the rice which topped the bar. As the name suggested the bar had a nice crunch to it - this with the smooth chocolate creme made for a great arrangement of contrasting textures.

The bar despite containing no real chcolate ingredients was surprisingly chocolaty in flavour. The chocolate creme had a nice creamy chocolaty taste which complimented the malty wafer flavour nicely. The puffed rice ontop made for a nice cereal tasting undertone which added just another nice component to the overall taste. The sheer variation in flavour of the layers ensured the bar avoided becoming monotomous in taste and made this bar incredibly moreish.

Overall this is a better bar than the original Crunch bars we have here in the UK. The design of the bar is on the whole a nice one - it looks good and the nature of the interwoven layers make for an intresting combination of textures and flavours. My slight reservations with this bar came with its nutritional content and ingredients...im sorry but the inclusion of the hydrogenated oils is doing no one any favours...healthwise its a thumbs down...but also just think of the potential this bar has if these were replaced by more natraul actual cocoa ingredients...it already tastes nice and chocolaty it could get even better. I definately wouldnt recommend this to anyone on a diet but to the rest of us this is a great tasting bar that I suggest you try if you get the chance.

7.8 out of 10

June 1st: Jameson's Ruffle Raspberry

Kcal 125 Fat 5.3g Carbs 18.5g

To be honest I had never heard of this bar until I literally recieved half a dozen requests asking for it to be reviewed. I was told this is bar used to be very readily avalible...yet now seems to be getting less distribution on the confectionary market. Yet again it was Woolworths to the rescue and I found this mini bar hanging around the lower end of their extensive confectionary shelf.

So what the devil is a Ruffle Raspberry...I will leave it to the packet to explain...its a rather small 28g bar that has 'chocolate covered coconut and raspberry flavour fondant cream centre'...okay sounds interesting.

The wrapper also reveals that this little number is also a product of none other than Cadbury themselves...now theres a turn up for the books. The wrapper also told me that the chocolate is comprised of a min of 40% cocoa solids and that a good portion of it is made from cocoa butter..always nice to know.

As you can see in the picture above the appearance of the bar is striking. The chocolate was unfortunately a bit scuffed and rough looking but this was more than made up for by the beautifully flourescent pink coloured centre. To be honest I have never seen anything like it before - its truly unique looking. The bar had a reasonable aroma - it had a slight coconut smell with a hint of cocoa..nothing too amazing but ok none the less.

The bar texture was a bit of a mixed bag. The fondant centre was slightly crunchy with the coconut though also had a smooth creme feel to it. Unfortuntely the texture of the chocolate was slightly grainy and thin in thickness...thus not providing the nicest of coatings.

The taste of the chocolate was also disappointing - despite the claim of having a reasonable amount of cocoa it was largely flavourless and its taste was all but lost agaisnt the strong flavoured centre. The centre fondant was as you can probably guess very sweet in appearance. The coconut element was for me slighlty dull and on its own I could see this being a very indifferent proposition. Luckily for the bar its saved by a nice fresh tasting raspberry flavour which although achieved through flavourings added a nice berry twist.

Overall this obviously isnt the best bar I have eaten on Chocolate Mission but its far from the worst. The chocolate is very disappointing and adds very little to the bar in taste or texture. The centre fondant is a bit of a mixed bag the coconut adds a nice aroma and texture but little in taste...the raspberry twist is a nice added element to this centre though and it makes for a more interesting flavour. It seems this bar has a bit of following though I think this must be due to its nostalgic appeal rather than genuine love for the taste....if your a fan of Fry's bars this is probably worth you having a look.

6.8 out of 10

May 31st: Toblerone Honeycomb Crisp

Kcal 515 Fat 27.0g Fat(sats) 16.0g Carbs 62.0g

Well this was pretty inevitable wasnt it....on Monday I 'rounded off' my reviews of the Toblerone range with my review of the 'Fruit & Nut' variant....well just to make me look silly Kraft have managed to release another variant of Toblerone that not even the internet seems to have heard of!!! Yes a google search and even the Toblerone site dosent show any knowledge of the existance of todays bar....Toblerone 'Honeycomb Crisp'.

Now heres where things get a little complicated....the name and on pack description mentions 'Honeycomb Crisp'...the description says "milk chocolate with almond, honey, nougat and added honeycomb pieces".....ok...but one look at the ingredients and this dosent transpire...milk chocolate...yes, almond...yes, honey...yes, nougat...yes but honeycomb pieces...nope! Instead included is 'rice'. So it turns out this isnt actually honeycomb but infact rice diguised as honeycomb...so how did it fare?

Appearance - brilliant as ever! Not quite the high standard of the 'Dark' or 'Fruit & Nut' variants but still pretty damn nice looking. The aroma was also very nice - as with the other variants a nice cocoa smell but with this bar it was complimented with an added sweet edge..not a synthetic smelling one though - a nice fresh one.

On to the big one then....the taste!! Well initially I wasnt overly impressed. The bar had a near overpowering initial taste - it is one that I can describe as tasting flowery...an elderflower like flavour infact! Its initially very strong and overly sweet for my tastebuds. Luckily this primary flavour was quickly diluted by the creamy chocolate and it soon transformed to a strong honey like flavour that was far more bearable and overly nice. As you can imagine with the added rice cereal the bar had more of a 'snap, crackle and pop' texture. It made for an intresting texture and none the less it complimented the smooth chocolate and small chewy nougat flakes nicely.

Overall this isnt the best of the Toblerone range....infact its scored the lowest of the lot lol...but thats not to say it isnt a nice bar...it is. I was a tad disappointed with the fact that the on pack description was a bit misleading...its not actually honeycomb, its a bar with an excentuated honey flavour and a rice crispy texture. Not really the same thing is it!?...but it is what it is and despite it having a pretty overpowering initial flowery noted taste it transformed into a nice strong honey rooted flavour with a great tasting base of great quality milk chocolate. Definately worth giving a try if your fans of the Toblerone range - to be honest Im genuinely intrested in hearing peoples opinions on this bar...that all depends on you being able to find it first though.

7.8 out of 10

May 30th: Nestle Violet Crumble (Aus)

Kcal 240 Fat 8.6g Fat(sats) 8.3g Carbs 38.0g

"G'day There Skip"...errr yeh... todays bar comes all the way from 'Down-Under' Australia via my good pals at Sweetstall. The Violet Crumble is Nestle's answer to the Cadbury Crunchie - a bar that I genuinely have alot of love for.

The Violet Crumble came in a very sizeable serving - and was contained in a pretty stylish purple foil pack. On pack it described itself as 'delicious shattering choc coated honeycomb'.... as you can probably gauge from this description and picture above the product proposition is entirely the same as the Crunchie.

The foil wrapper ensured the product retained a pleasant aroma - slightly chocolaty but with a nice hint of honey - an overly enticing smell.

The outside coating of the bar was comprimised of milk chocolate. Its flavour was reasonable - it was quite sweet but had a nice milky undertone. Unfortunately it wasnt quite thick enough for my liking and its flavour was quickly lost in the midst of the honeycomb centre.

The honeycomb centre....oh dear where do I start. Unfortunately unlike the aroma, a honey taste was nowhere to be seen. The honeycomb was sickeningly sweet and could be described as nothing more but tasting of sugar. Its texture was also pretty bad...I dont know if you guys have ever tasted freeze dried food? Astronuaght food?...but its texture was exactly like that...dry as a bone. It was so dry infact that it made the honeycomb congeal with the saliva in my mouth and literally just stick to my teeth...im sad to say but it was horrible.

Overall if this was a boxing match...in the red corner the Cadbury Crunchie....and in the blue corner the Nestle Violet Crumble....well I hope the blue corner brought a pillow cause its 'going to sleep'....the Cadbury Crunchie would win with a first round KO...the difference in class is that large. The chocolate of the Violet Crumble isnt bad...its passable thats for sure. The bar also looks nice in appearance and I cant fault it for its hunger fufilment credentials...its certainly a big bar. The product literally self combusts when it comes to the honeycomb filling...its tastes ever so sickley and has none of the honey tasting goodness that you get in the Crunchie. Whats even worse than the taste is the texture - it sucks any sort of moistness from the mouth and annoylingly just clings to your teeth...just horrible. I genuinely wouldnt recommend this bar to anyone...I wouldnt want to be held to that...I guess if your a massive fan of the Crunchie I could see why you could be interested in at least sampling this bar but If Im honest I would leave it well alone.

5.8 out of 10

Visit www.Sweetstall.com to find all type of British, South African, American, Canadian candy & sweets.

May 29th: Oreo Cakesters

Kcal 250 Fat 12.0g Fat(sats) 3.0g Carbs 36.0g

Who said 'tea and cake' was an English thing eh? It seems everyone outside the UK gets all these different cake products that we simply just dont in the UK! These were another tasty treat from Colarado's own Chocolate Mission reader Justin. You all may recall my sheer fascination and recent addiction to the highly debated Kinder Milk Slice - well these are along the same premise...two cake sponges with a cream like filling....of course with these being Oreo style the cake was chocolate flavoured.

According to the back of pack, a single serving comprimises of two cakes - which together weigh 57g. To be honest these wernt overly substantial and I was still quite hungry after eating both...I certainly wanted to eat a few more :D :D The packet as you can see above was reasonably good looking... what I was rather pleased with was the cardboard sleeve that protected both the cakes..it did a sterling job to say the least and despite the numerous air miles and extreme weather conditions these faced whilst making their way across the pond, as you can see above they arrived in A+ condition and looked very very appertising.

Unfortunately the smell didnt quite correspond with the look and the aroma was rather lacklusture...not bad smelling just very non descript apart from a relatively low key sweet smell.

The texture of the cakes were suprisingly sturdy. The chocolate cake pieces were more akin to firm chocolate brownie rather than a light cake texture like found in the Kinder Slices. To be honest I preffered this more viscuous type cake as it allowed for a stronger flavour. The taste of the cake pieces was suprisingly more chocolaty than you get with the biscuit version of Oreos, incedently I was suprised by this as looking at the ingredients the actual cocoa content was low.

The middle cream centre of the Cakesters was much lower in proportion that seen in comparison to the Kinder Slice. Its taste was much alike the centre filling you get with standard Oreos...slightly milky but the dominant flavour being a sugary sweet one. Its texture was again very similar to the centre of a standard Oreo biscuit though ever so slightly lighter and more whipped.

Overall although these have scored marginally higher than the KinderMilk Slice, if it was a direct taste on taste contest I would say the Kinder option is superior. As an all round product though these Oreo Cakesters slightly edge it as a contest as they have more appealing look and superior texture to the cake element. These are certainly an incredibly moreish product and after consuming two I was more than ready for another...which isnt an entirely good thing in my opinion. I would definately recommend these if you enjoy the Kinder Slice or Oreos...or just generally if you like cakey products.

7.3 out of 10

Head over to CandyPirate to find similar American Candy & Foods sold directly from the UK!

May 29th: Cadbury Dairy Milk Tasters

Kcal 240 Fat 13.7g Carbs 25.4g

I hadnt seen these for a good while until I came across them in a Cadbury's branded vending machine at Gatwick airport the other day. These dont seem to be a product that are to readily avalible anymore though I remember a few years ago these were quite popular and also came in the form of a fruit and nut variant.

So let me fill in the people who are unaware what these are...Tasters are simply small solid balls of Dairy Milk that are slightly smaller than maltesers. These came in a pack of 45g...slightly smaller than the 49g that you get with the same chocolate in a single serving solid bar form.

In appearance they arent the most impressive product you will ever come across. They are hardly insulting on the eyes but are simply nothing more than small solid balls of milk chocolate...no enscriptions of any sort..just plain milk chocolate balls...for me not much of an issue but not the most exciting of prospects. Luckily the packet saves the product from mere asthetic mediocrity, its a stunning a pruple wrapper with gold enscribed writing. Not only does the wrapper look good but it also maintains a freshness to the product and retains that distinct dreamy smelling Dairy Milk aroma which eminated as soon as I opened the packet.

In taste these are no different to the Dairy Milk bar - its flavour is very creamy with an initial cocoa flavour that transforms into a wonderful creamy milky aftertaste...its delicious. Where the 'Tasters' format slightly suffers is in the texture of the product...due to their small size they arent the most substantial of products. The Dairy Milk flavour dosent seem to come through quite as strongly with these compared to the block form of the bar and I believe this is due to combination of the pieces small size and large surface area. This means they melt very rapidly in the mouth. Despite the nice aftertaste they leave the melting is too fast and the flavour cant be savoured for as long as with the blocks...which is a shame. Despite the rapidness of the melting the texture they do have once melted is smooth and overly pleasant.

Overall theres no doubting these are still a great tasting product...they were never not going to be as they are simply just Dairy Milk chocolate. Unfortunately the change in format from bar to small pieces dosent quite work. They dont feel as substantial as a proposition as the normal bar and certainly dont look as impressive. The flavour longevity also suffers a tad which is a shame as the taste is just so good. I can see how some people might prefer this format - its a different way to consume compared to a standard bar and their nibbling/snacking potential is endless. These are a great a great product but im not suprised they are currently being phased out...I would just recommend you stick with the standard bar...but if you see these and feel like a slight change from the norm I see no reason why not to give these a try.

8.4 out of 10

May 28th: Reese's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Bat Medallions

Kcal 200 Fat 14.0g Fat(sats) 7.0g Carbs 22.0g (per 4 pieces 40g)

Yet another ChocolateMission reader (Justin) has recently very very kindly sent me a great batch of goodies all the way America all in the name of the ChocolateMission cause....thanks again Justin.

So another Limited Edition candy with a movie tie in eh!? This offering from Reese's is tied in with the soon to be released new Batman film. In keeping with the dark coloured nature of our skin tight leather caped friend Batman the traditional Reese's chocolate has been replaced with a darker chocolate...hmmm intresting.

Anyone who reads regularly will know I have a pretty big problem with the standard milk chocolate used in Reese's products...I find it pretty non descript in flavour and waxy in texture...did this new dark chocolate cure this problem?! well read on and find out :)

Justin kindly sent me a serving of four of these pieces which equates to an on package decription of one serving...this is was more than a substantial amount (about 40g) and the rich flavour made for a hunger satisfying product.

Unfortunately the product was slightly damaged in transit (see picture above :( :( ...they got slightly melted..doh!) ... despite this though they still looked rather nice anyway...a deep dark colour with a nice light coloured centre. Looking on the internet each of the pieces is supposed to have a batman symbol enscribed (you can vaguely make it out in the pic above) - on the whole I would say they had a nice look...what I was slightly disappointed with though was the size of the pieces...they were neither minis or standard cups which I think is a tad clumsy...personally I think they should have been kept a standard cup size.

So how did they taste...lets start with the peanut butter..well guess what!? Yep the usual creamy buttery goodness that Reese's are so renowned for. Again the nutty slightly salty flavour contrasted brilliantly agaisnt the slightly grainy texture...I dont need to say it again but I will..its DELICIOUS and smells fantastic aswell!

So the chocolate...well its fabulous and far superior to the standard milk chocolate that Reese's generally use...but... and there is a but!!...its not dark chocolate. It rather just tastes like a stronger chocolate...its far more cocoa rooted than the standard milk chocolate normally used. Despite giving a strong cocoa taste it isnt one that I would overly describe as 'dark'....just more flavoursome and slightly richer....but at the end of the day far far better. With the flavour being stronger the texture seemed less waxy and more substantial.

Overall its a real shame these are a limited edition as these are going to be gone before we know it :( My only gripe with these come in the form of the slightly arkward size they came in...the shape isnt ideal..its a bit big for a mouthful and with no paper wrapper like the standard cups a bit arkward to eat. Despite this the chocolate really is an improvement...its not quite the 'dark' proposition it promises but its a far more flavoursome chocolate than the standard milk chocolate Reese's products...I just wish this was the standard chocolate used in their products. Again as a peanut butter product its superb...Reese's never fail in this department. Not quite as good as the white chocolate variant which remains my favourite but still very very tasty. I very much recommend you stock up on these whilst we can. Great stuff!

8.5 out of 10

May 28th: Nestle Chocolate Log (SA)

Kcal 235 Fat 9.8g Carbs 33.3g

Todays review the 'Nestle Chocolate Log' was contained in my recent batch of goodies from Sweetstall.com. Recently Dom over at Chocoablog cast his opinion over this bar and his review is really worth a read as he comes to alot of the conclusions that I have done here.

So whats the deal with this bar then? 'creamy marshmallow on crisp wafer covered in milk chocolate'.... so....chocolate? Yep...Wafer? Yep...Nestle? Yep!! Surely they have to use the tried and proven Kit Kat formula!?...unfortunately not :(

As you can see above the bar is particularly fragile and despite numerous layers of bubble wrap and general TLC from the guys at Sweetstall the bar couldnt help but crack and spill out its mallow content. Not only did this ruin the look of the bar but it made it particularly messy to eat. The bar in size was rather good - it weighed a suprising 52g but its hunger fufilment achievements were more down to its overly sugary and sickly nature rather than actual hunger subsidement.

The bar unfortunately not only had a horrible asthetic look but also a pretty hideous aroma - it smelt very cheap and artifically sweetened...as you can probably tell by now this wasnt the most attractive proposition and I wasnt expecting too much from the taste.

....and how correct I was :) the chocolate was ok...Ive definately had worse thats for sure, Despite the unfortunate cracking of ontop of the bar the chocolate was relatively thick..more so at the base which did work relatively well. The chocolate provided a sound creamy coating...unfortuntely this was as good as it got. The marshmallow was suprisingly sturdy in texture...as Dom said at Chocablog its more akin to a very light nougat - which I had no problem with... unfortunately though it made for a very tasteless light nougat...it had a very very sugary taste that by the end of the bar made for an overly sweet one and thus sickly. The wafer wasnt much better - it was poor in texture and had no apparent crispness to it...if anything it felt chewy and stale. The flavour was also quite poor lacking any malty sort of flavour found in the likes of Kit Kats...it had a slight sweet sugary taste which again just added to the sickly nature of the bar.

Overall this was a very disappointing offering from Nestle in a product that has quite a bit of potential. Just think a Kit Kat like product with a layer of marshmallow between the wafer and upper chocolate layer...sounds delicious right!? Unfortunately this isnt executed here...forgetting the appearance and the smell, the bar tastes overly sweet and synthetic....the textures of the mallow and wafer just dont feel quite right!!...lets not even go into the bar ingredients (hydrogenated vegetable oils anyone??...thought not!) a pretty sub-standard bar in my opinion.

4.8 out of 10

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May 27th: Nestle Smarties Milk Chocolate Bar

Kcal 235 Fat 13.4g Carbs 26.0g

I think you guys are just going to have to trust me with this review as im aware this bar was taken out of distribution by Nestle quite some time ago (boooo!!)...so how did I get hold of it you ask?...well I came across one a few weeks ago in my local shady corner shop...its best before date was stamped as 01.10.08...so I should be ok...fingers crossed eh!?...if theres no review tommorow you know why lol!

This bar split into six evenly sized chunks and weighed in at 45g. The bar constituted of milk chocolate with mini smarties dispersed nice and consistently throughout. The blocks split up evenly despite the inclusion of the Smarties...the presence of the Smarties gave the bar a nice colourful look and the enscribed 'Nestle' logo made the bar look suprisingly stylish.

Despite the bar having a slightly dodgy cheap plastic wrapper the smell of the bar wasnt too bad...just a faint cocoa smell that was nothing more and nothing less than slightly appealing.

The milk chocolate of the bar was pretty good. Looking at the ingredients the main ingredient was of course sugar..the next was Cocoa butter which is slightly suprising considering the mass nature of the bar....not suprising when considering the flavour though. The bar had a nice chocolaty taste that was very similar in taste to the chocolate that covers Kit Kats. The milk chocolate brought back memories of when I used to get all excited about finding a Kit Kat with the wafer missing...so it was just solid chocolate...I used to get so excited...just me eh!? Anyway...It melted in the mouth at a nice rate and had a milky aftertaste. The mini smarties gave a nice texture to the bar, adding a nice interspersed crunchy element to the smooth chocolate. The sugary nature of the shells also came through with each bite but not overly so to make it sickly.

Overall its a real shame this bar has been taken from the market. The bar dosent exactly have the most prestigous of ingredients for its milk chocolate but in truth its actually rather good tasting. The Smarties add a nice element to the texture of the bar giving it an interesting crunch with the crunchy shells contrasting the smooth chocolate nicely. Its suprising this bars gone but im pretty sure one day it will be back in some incarnation - if it does I would definately recomend it to anyone...especially fans of Smarties, M&M's...and of course solid chocolate Kit Kat saddos like myself :D

7.9 out of 10

May 26th: Toblerone Fruit & Nut

Kcal 495 Fat 25.5g Fat(sats) 15.0g Carbs 61.0g (per 100g)

This review of the Toblerone Fruit and Nut caps off my reviews of the Toblerone range. 'Save the best till last'....has always been a philsophy I have lived by, but its been more just conincedence that the last bar I have sampled in the range has turned out to be my favourite.

The fruit and nut bar dosent actually contain any variation of nut type from the original - it simply just has the same almond ingredient. However, the nut pieces are noticeably larger and more generous in proportion. The fruit element of the bar is comprised of raisins that encompass 12% of the total bar...these again are very generously disperesed with each chunk containg 2-3.

We have long established now that I really like the design of Toblerone...asthetically it looks unique and intresting but what most impressed me with this bar was the way it avoided breaking up unevenly. Despite their chunky contents of the nuts and fruit - each chunk broke off with relative ease and same size. The bar had a pleasant cocoa smell that had a slight nutty hint to it.

So the bar looked good, smelt good and its ingredients proportioned well...so how did it taste?....well it tasted pretty damn awesome aswell. The chocolate was the pleasant milk chocolate that you get the with the original...it had a creamy taste with a hint of honey, only made better with the small but sweet little nougat pieces. The nougat also added a nice little chewyness to the texture once the chocolate had melted in the mouth - great stuff.

If I have had one gripe with the Toblerone range its been the lack of nutty almond flavour. This thankfully is put right here with the almond pieces being larger in size and more generous in proportion. Its always a worry with raisins in chocolate that they get lost in the taste but this wasnt the case - they had a nice sugary fruity flavour and had a distinct slightly chewy texture.

As aforementioned I was extremely impressed with the dispersion of the fruit and nut elements in the bar..each block seem to have an equal share of both which is far better than having one block crammed full of one or the other.

Overall the crunchy nuts and soft raisins agaisnt the creamy chocolate and chewy nougat makes for an outstanding combination of textures and taste. Fruit and nut can be quite hard to pull off, and with other bars I have reviewed before they have struggled with ill proportioned and bland ingredients...this isnt the case here and its definately the best fruit and nut bar I have had to date. Another thing that suprised me was that this had the lowest Kcal per 100g of the whole Toblerone range...thats just another excuse for you to go out and try this one :) . Toblerone fans this is a must....for everyone else...its still a must - this storms into the top 5!

8.8 out of 10

May 25th: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Miniatures

Kcal 210 Fat 12.0g Fat(sats) 4.5g Carbs 22.0g (per 5 cups - 39g)

Now arent these the cutest things you have ever seen?! These came into possesion courtesy of the kind people at www.sweetstall.com in a 150g bag which ecquates to about 4 servings of 5 cups...so 20 in all.

Being a massive fan of all things peanut butter I could hardly contain myself when I opened the plastic packet and an initial waft of peanut butter overcame my senses...these smelt soooo good and were eminating a lively and fragrant nutty aroma - very very enticing.

Despite their relative small size I was impressed to find each cup came protected in both a foil and paper cup wrapping...this not only looked smart but ensured that cups maintained their freshness and shape.

As you can see from the cross section above each cup had a relatively thick chocolate coating. In these minatures the proportion of chocolate to peanut butter certainly does favour the chocolate side of things - especially when you compare these to the 'Big Cup' versions which are litterally crammed to the brim with the creamy stuff.

This effected the texture and taste of the cups slightly in comparison to their standard sized siblings. The thicker chocolate made for a initial pleasant crunchy element, providing a nice 'cracking' feel. Unfortunately the overall texture was slightly offset in comparison. The chocolate in these miniatures is again the same slight disappointment it is in every Reese's product...slightly lacking in flavour with a weired waxy texture. Unfortunately as it is slightly more prominant in this variant it is at its detriment, as the waxy texture masked some of the amazing peanut butter flavour. The peanut butter despite lacking a bit in proportionality still had a lovely slightly grainy texture that gaves it that authentic nutty but creamy taste.

Overall these are a variation that certainly smell and look fantastic. They are alot less messy to handle than the original two cups format and just perfect if you would like just a small chocolate snack. Five at a time seems a good number and certainly went away to subsiding the hunger I had. Unfortunately the proportioning of chocolate and peanut butter wasnt quite to my taste - I would prefer more peanut butter...however despite this I still very much enjoyed these and would recommend them to any Reese's/peanut butter/nuts fan.

8.4 out of 10

Fancy getting your own 150g bag of Reese's miniature Cups? Click on the www.sweetstall.com link above and check out this and other great candy and chocolate items!

May 24th: Nestle Kit Kat

UPDATE: 24/07/10 - I've added in a picture of the Kit Kat Chunky + updated my review with my thoughts on how it compares to the four finger.

Kcal 233 Fat 12.2g Fat(sats) 8.3g Carbs 28.2g

Now I honestly don't think there can be too many people alive in the UK today that have never at one time in their life had a Kit Kat - if we are being truthful these are probably more likely to grace the average persons lunchbox rather than an apple. Whilst the Kit Kat has iconic status in the UK, you might also want to experiment by typing Kit Kat into google. You will be literally amazed at the number of hits of websites you will get in the Far East - they seem to have more variations of the Kit Kat than we have alternatives in our whole confectionery range here in the UK. So how does the original version we have here in the UK size up on the Chocolate Mission ranking then!? ...sorry to spoil the surprise if you have avoided the end but I can confirm it does pretty good.

As you can see above I sampled this in the 'classic' four finger product (45.5g). This did seem rather large in proposition, but I was left wanting more after polishing the fourth finger off. The design of the bar has always been pretty flawless - personally I'm happy with either a four or a Chunky, though I do have a soft spot for the iconic status of the four finger. The finger design is flawless in concept and makes for a handy and nice looking product. The inscribed 'Kit Kat' symbol placed on top, in my opinion always makes Kit Kats look extra classy look. One thing that is consistent across both formats, is that the foil wrappers do a great job of keeping the products both looking and smelling fresh. The Kit Kat I ate for today's review smelt both chocolatey and creamy with just a hint of savoury biscuit.

As I'm sure we are all aware Kit Kats constitute of 'layered wafers surrounded and coated in milk chocolate'. The bar has a nice texture to it with the base having a slightly thicker layer of chocolate - personally I like nibbling off the thin chocolate layer on top and then eating the exposed wafer with the rest of the chocolate base. The wafer had a nice light crispness which avoided melting away too quickly in the mouth - it lasted sufficiently long enough to provide a subsequently pleasant flavour. The chocolate was typical of other Nestle products. No it wasn't special by any means, but it had a smooth flavour flow that had a decent balance of milk and cocoa flavours. Unlike some wafer products, I always find that the Kit Kat wafers always deliver a decent amount of flavour. Though I would say the Chunky format is better at delivering long lasting flavours, this four finger bar still managed to generate the desired wheat biscuit flavours. The contrast of savoury wafer and sweet chocolate are what make the Kit Kat so great.

Overall there's a reason why the Kit Kat has such a iconic status ... it tastes great ... it looks great and its just an overly fun product. For me it's only slight issues comes in that it could be a little more substantial - whenever I eat a four finger or a Chunky I still feel like I could eat another. I'm not sure I should even bother recommending this because chances are that you would have tried a Kit Kat sometime in your life. Just to be on the safe side though, I genuinely recommend this product to anyone - go on 'have a break - have a Kit Kat'.... I had to get that in somewhere ;) very close to breaking into the Chocolate Mission top 5!

8.3 out of 10