June 16th: Lindt Lindor Hazelnut Truffles

Kcal 79 Fat 6.1g Fat(sats) 4.1 Carbs 5.1g (per truffle!)

Today saw me take yet another dip into the Lindt Lindor truffle world. Having sampled and reviewed the milk chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter and coffee flavoured variants all to relative success I had pretty high hopes for these.

I guess when you think hazelnut truffles you straight away think Ferrero Rocher...well Lindt have tried playing Ferrero at their own game here and have used elements of the Rocher and combined them with their standard Lindor constituants. These Lindor Hazelnuts truffles combine a milk chocolate outer shell, a smooth milk chocolate truffle centre with very fine chopped hazelnuts disperesed thoughout.

As with the rest of the Lindor range there was no effort saved on presentation - they came in smart wrappers that were a slightly darker shade of brown than the peanut butter variant. On the outside they looked no different to the standard milk chocolate variant but once bitten into the small chopped nuts were glaringly evident. These hazelnut truffles had a rather suprising slightly fruity sweet smell...as far as im aware they didnt have any fruit in them but it was interesting aroma nonetheless.

The outer milk chocolate shells had a nice fresh crispness to them - with Lindor truffles I like nibbling away on the outside before indulging on the smooth inside. The outer milk chocolate was as ever creamy and smooth to taste - I know most people immediately think of dark chocolate when they think Lindt but they have to make some of the best milk chocolate aswell (watch this space for a review soon!).

The inside truffle didnt have quite the 'Kinder Bueno' hazelnut filling I was expecting....infact it was actually the same as the milk chocolate variant filling but with the added inclusion of chopped nuts. Of course it was still delicious...a creamy chocolaty buttery taste - absolutely glorious. Unfortunately the chopped hazelnuts didnt quite work out as I would have hoped; they added a nice fresh nutty edge but unfortunately were chopped so finely that they lacked crunch and rather just disrupted the smoothness of the truffle and made it slightly grainy. The fineness of the nuts deprived them from being luxuriously silky as is the norm with Lindor truffles.

Overall these are another great addition to the range and one that are well worth trying if you get the chance. The hazelnut flavour is pretty strong despite the majority of the truffles being comprised of milk chocolate. To be honest I think Lindt have a trick to learn off the Rocher here and that is to use a whole hazelnut at the centre of their truffle and just rid of the chopped hazelnuts...this way the hazelnut element wouldnt detriment the overall smoothness of the truffle yet its flavour would be just as strong. These are still another great Lindt product...not the best in the Lindor range but definately worth trying.

8.0 out of 10

June 15th: Milka 'Choco Swing' Biscuit

Kcal 555 Fat 34.5g Carbs 54.0g

After the success I had with the Milka 'Alpine Milk' the other day I just couldnt waite to try another variant in the Milka range....so I didnt :) Today I sampled the creatively named 'Choco Swing' bar...can anyone fill me in as to why its called 'Choco Swing'?? All a bit random if you ask me! The 'Choco Swing' is formed of 'Alpine Milk chocolate with chocolate flavour filling, cream filling and a layer of biscuit'...sounds yummy.

Due to the amount of layers, the bar came in a thicker pack to that of your normal 100g bar. It was nicely packaged in both a light cardboard sleeve and foil wrapping and had a nice creamy milk aroma - much like the original 'Alpine Milk'. As you can see above breaking the bar up was a bit random...the chunks broke off in all sort of shapes and sizes which was a tad annoying. Putting that small gripe to aside though I must admit the bar looked awesome and the different layers made for a very interesting asthetic look.

The number of varying textures and flavours this bar has was quite remarkable....that being said some were executed better than others.

Coating the bar was the 'Alpine Milk' chocolate layer. Though quite thinly portioned on the top, the base of the bar was thick and provided a nice flavour foundation. As I found with the 'Alpine Milk' I tried the other day its flavour was creamy and its texture smooth...very good milk chocolate.

Placed amid the upper Milk chocolate coating layer and middle biscuit layer was a very thin 'cream filling' layer. It didnt have the strongest flavour though when tasted in isolation it had a slightly sour (in a good way!) yoghurt flavour. It was a fair addition but needed to implemented in a great portion so its flavour was more forthcoming.

Between the base coating and middle layer was a layer of 'chocolate cream'...this comoponent was truffle like in the texture though very similar in taste to the milk chocolate coating. Its softer texture was nice in isolation but unfortunately came at detriment to the biscuit layer.

The biscuit layer was at the centre of the bar and im sorry to say it was a bit of a let down. Its flavour was ok...shortbread like with a slightly sugary wheaty taste - it was nice but could have been stronger. The texture of the biscuit was slightly disappointing - its contact with the 'chocolate cream' below meant that half of it had become slightly soft and didnt have the full crunchy texture you would expect from a biscuit...this is probably also the reason why it broke up into random sized pieces.

Overall this is a great bar and I did very much enjoy it. Its packed full of different ingredients and definately makes for a very tasty hunger killing option. It looks great and is presented both in pack and out of pack very well. The different number of layers and ingredients makes for an interesting proposition but dosent quite pull off an optimum mix. Individually each layer is brilliant, though when mixed in the one bar they dont quite compliment each other perfectly....no better example is the way the yummy truffle like chocolate cream layer makes the biscuit slightly moist and lacking a bit of crunch. Despite these small reservations this bar is still a great choice in the range...a very commendable score and I would definately recommend you try this if your a fan of Milka.

7.9 out of 10

June 14th: Mars Caramel (Can)

Kcal 210 Fat 9.0g Fat(sats) 6.0g Carbs 31.0g

This bar came all the way from Canada and was released Febraury this year. The bar is a direct spin off from the original Mars bar we have here in the UK and is simply just the original milk chocolate coated bar with the nougat removed and it replaced with a more plentiful helping of caramel.

The bar came in a 45g serving which is certainly alot smaller than the 62.5g original version we get here in the UK....because of light nature of the ingredients it didnt make for the most substantial of bars. In appearance it looked the same as any other Mars bar...just a whole lot smaller and more feeble :( I was left rather puzzled by the packaging which had a 'nut free zone' sign on it...err since when has a Mars bar had nuts anyway!??...isnt that called a Snickers :) lol. The bar had a pleasant yet un-remarkable smell...its aroma was sweet and chocolaty but was no more appertising than any other average bar on the market.

Most other chocolate caramel combo bars generally come in a block design (see no further than current Chocolate Mission leaders Cadbury / Galaxy Caramel bars!) ....however this stayed in its original Mars design...this made for a very messy bar...after each bite the caramel oozed out as it clung to my teeth...messy messy messy!!

If im being truthful the bar wasnt the best of experiences flavourwise. The reason I think the original Mars bar works so well is due to the way each of the chocolate, caramel and nougat elements contrast and vary in both taste and texture. The caramel in this Mars Caramel isnt the most flavoursome and lacks the depth of taste that the better caramel bars have...it has a sweet syrupy taste but beyond that its really quite bland and overly sugar based. The chocolate element is fair but as you may gather with most the mass confection bars the chocolate is often little more than average tasting and this is the case here...its flavour has a nice milky smooth taste but its slightly lacking in cocoa strength.

Overall this really isnt the best variation your going to see on what is truly a great original offering. Taking away the nougat seems to strip the bar of both flavour and texture variations and rather exposes the weakneses of the chocolate and caramel ingredients. If you want my advice I would say stick to an original Mars...I guess if you can get hold of this bar cheapely you might be interested in trying it but to be honest the original is far far superior.

6.9 out of 10

June 13th: Milka Alpine Milk

Kcal 530 Fat 29.5g Carbs 58.5g

It seems like im a bit slow getting off the mark with Milka. Just in the last few weeks Ive seen reviews on Choklit, Chocolate Review and German Candy World all recommending different parts of the range....so today where better to start than with the Milka 'Alpine Milk'.

The 'Alpine Milk' is Milka's standard milk chocolate bar. On pack its described itself as simply 'Milk chocolate with Alpine milk'...the ingredients list read pretty cleanly and the bar had a relatively high 30% cocoa solids (thats pretty high for mass confection milk chocolate anyway!).

I bought this in a 100g bar and had no problems of finishing it within a day - I wouldnt say it was the most hunger fufiling bar ever but it was certainly moreish and easy to consume in high quantities....two sittings of 50g a time did for me.

The packaging was quite simplistic but nice on the eye, the bar came foil wrapped which made for a fresh looking and smelling bar. The bar had a sweet dairy aroma with a hint of cocoa....it was an overly nice smell. The picture above shows you the bar was split into several small blocks each with the Milka logo neatly enscribed onto the service...the surface of the bar was nicely maintained and smooth - it looked appertising.

Letting the first block melt on my tongue it was quickly apparent that the texture was extremely smooth; it melted at a nice rate and had a luxuriously silky feel. As the name suggests the flavour is very dairy based; the milk taste is very apparent though this is not at detriment to the cocoa and it is not overly dominated. On my taste notes I did write down 'hint of nut' which brought a smile to my face when I later looked at the ingredients and saw hazelnut listed...my pallet is obviously coming on. In all the flavour of the bar wasnt the strongest but had a nice creamy taste, I would say its comparable to a slightly less creamy version of galaxy but with a slight nutty edge.

Overall this is a real great tasting chocolate bar that has got me excited about what the rest of the range can offer. Though the flavour isnt quite as distinctive as say Dairy Milk, it still tastes great and is an incredibly moreish proposition. This bar looks great, has a pretty clean ingredients list and has a creamy moreish taste - it sure gets the Chocolate Mission seal of approval. I would recommend this bar to any milk chocolate fans...it maybe to creamy and sweet for people that prefer dark chocolate but for anyone else you can go little wrong here - a nice tasting bar.

8.1 out of 10

June 12th: Drifter

Kcal 264 Fat 12.4g Carbs 35.8g

Well its back!!....Anyone else not notice it even disappear? Well according to Nestle in order to 'ride the wave of consumer demand for nostalgia inspiring bars' (like the Cadbury Wispa) the Drifter is now back in distribution.

Personally I have a few problems with what Ive just 'informed' you of. First of all since when did the Drifter become such an iconic brand!? To some extent I can see why Cadbury have very cleverly brought the Wispa in and out of distribution...the bar has a history with consumers - they have a connection with it...can we really say the Drifter has the same brand power to evoke similar feelings!?...for me no! Secondly theres a few rumours going around that more to the point say the Drifter was brought out of distribution in the first place due to it having a very high transfats content....so its not really a relaunch its just been taken from the market and reformulated....well the pack gives nothing away on transfats content so whether that is true or not is unclear.

Anyway....on to the important stuff.

For anyone thats forgotten the Drifter contains a 'crispy wafer dipped in chewy caramel and covered in milk chocolate'. The bar came in a 52g serving that despite its size was hardly the most fufiling bar.

Now from what I remember of the Drifter they used to come in a foil wrapper? Not anymore it seems - it came in a standard plastic wrapper with a very plain design. The lack of finesse and glitz on the 'on-pack' design work transpired to the actual bar aswell...its was pretty boring in my opinion just two long fingers with a very subtle wripple effect...really not exciting. Despite the lack of foil wrapping the smell of the bar wasnt bad - it had a sweet cocoa smell that had a hint of a honey-like scent to it...not bad at all.

I sightly chilled this bar and this made for a nice variation of textures. The slighlty chilled outside layer although lacking a tad in thickness had a nice thickness to it and had a nice 'crack' to the bite. The chocolate was pretty standard Nestle quality...I have remarked on it several times already but I will reiterate the point again its sweet tasting and slightly milky...its not bad for chocolate that is massed producded.

The caramel and wafer layers are interspersed throughout the bar. The wafer didnt have the crunch I was expecting and was slightly soft and stale like in texture - compared to say the wafer of a Kit Kat it was poor in contrast. Its flavour was also lacking...largely flavourless though it had a slight note of wheat.

The caramel layer was described as chewy and that it was - it was very thick and unfortunately clung to my teeth. Its flavour was sweet but lacked an edge that the better caramel based bars establish.

Overall I cant see to many people getting excited about the re-emmergence of this bar. The chocolates ok..but its nothing you cant get with any other Nestle bar. The caramel element isnt bad either its flavour is ok but its partially spoilt by an overly thick texture. What really let this bar down was the wafer which was largely lacking in flavour with a below par texture. I guess if you enjoy a Kit Kat and can deal with a slightly less accomplished wafer then you may enjoy this bar...for the rest its probably just another relaunch you can let pass you by.

6.7 out of 10

June 11th: Kit Kat Chunky Cookie Dough (Aus)

Kcal 345 Fat 18.3g Fat(sats) 11.3g Carbs 39.5g

Now im not going to beat around the bush...how good does this bar sound!? Kit Kat Chunky....awesome....Cookie Dough....oh yes.....combined....Kit Kat Chunky Cookie Dough *drools* .... surely a match made in heaven....surely!???

This was a mammoth of a bar and weighed in at a huge 65g!! Take a look at the nutritional stuff above...you do not want to be eating this bar on a diet thats for sure. You can see above the bar came in a nice looking blue foil wrapper...on pack this bar was described as a 'Cookie dough & caramel layer over a crunchy wafer finger covered in milk chocolate'. The cross section picture above shows you that in appearance this bar was no different to the standard Kit Kat Chunky though you will be able to see the additional cookie dough layer siting between the wafer and thin caramel layer. Despite the foil wrapping the bar lacked any sort of real aroma - it offered a vague sweet smell though this was hard to detect - terribly uninspiring in truth.

My first bite into the bar revealed a very thick milk chocolate layer....like with the original KK chunky it was thicker at the base. The milk chocolate was your standard Neslte milk chocolate...very sweet with a creamy milky flavour..its pretty good for a mass confection bar. The wafer element was also its usual high standard...the two crispy layers that cover the thin chocolate creme middle layer had a nice malty taste and still maintained a nice crispy texture.

Unfortunately this is where things turn a bit sour....

The Cookie Dough layer is going down as the biggest let down in Chocolate Mission history...why you ask!?...because it was completely lacking and devoid of any flavour. I tried eating the layer in isolation to the rest of the bar nibbling all other elements away..but still no forthcoming flavour of any note. It had a paste like texture that did not even have a grainy feel that you expect of cookie dough. At a massive push I would say I could detect a slight sweetness to the layer but believe me when I say it was on the whole flavourless. I guess the bar was in part saved by a rather nice tasting thin caramel layer...it had a nice light burnt sweet taste but it was lacking in proportioning and was quickly diluted by the paste like cookie dough.....*sigh* :(

Overall I really cant stress my disappointment enough....this bar promises so much...yet delivers so little. If I wanted a bar like the one I just consumed I would of had a plain Kit Kat Chunky.... at a pinch of the price...a pinch of the calories....more of the milk chocolate... and with alot less disappointment. Such a shame...a terrific idea just executed so poorly - its by far not the worst bar I have ever had...but maybe the most disappointing. Im not going to recommend this to anyone - I wouldnt want you feeling as dicontent as Im feeling right now.

6.8 out of 10

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June 10th: Nestle Peppermint Crisp (SA)

Kcal 235 Fat 11.4g Carbs 30.5g

Today im reviewing yet another imported product courtesy of my friends at Sweetstall. Todays offering came in the form of the South African bar the Nestle Peppermint Crisp. This bar is a combination of 'Peppermint cracknel coated in milk chocolate' and came in a pretty substantial 50g serving - it cured my chocolate pang thats for sure.

As you can see in the picture above this bar offers a pretty unqiue proposition. The mint cracknel is actually formed by very thin straw shaped sugar strand-like pieces. These sugar straws were very prominant in colour and were strikingly green - this combined with the nicely seperated chocolate blocks made for a nice looking and interesting bar. The bar came foiled wrapped which ensured and maintained a nice fresh smell to the bar...it wasnt suprising the smell was very minty and only had a slight cocoa edge.

To be blunt the milk chocolate in this bar was very average. In terms of texture it did a nice job as a coating chocolate, offering a slightly crisp initial bite but one which melted at a nice rate in the mouth to reveal the centre flavour. Its hard to describe its flavour as it was so largely dominated by the peppermint - by and large though it had a sweet milky taste which was neither fantastic or disappointing...just purely average.

The intricate sugar cane based centre made for a very distinctive centre texture. Initially biting through the chocolate the centre had a initial sharpness and crunch to its build. Once slightly crushed and moistened though the centre quickly became quite chewy and was a complete contrast to its initial texture. Its flavour was very strong and heavily rooted in the peppermint oil ingredient...despite its main constituants being sugar its strong mint flavour avoided it being sickly...this bar was incredibly moreish and had a nice fresh minty taste.

Overall this is a high quality tasting mint chocolate bar that certainly offers someting different with its unique centre texture. The fresh peppermint flavour was hugely dominant and heavily overshadowed the taste of the chocolate...a little too much if we are getting picky! I would definately recommend this bar if your a fan of mint chocolate - this could be heaven in chocolate bar form if thar is your get up. A nice bar that deserves a try if you like the sound of it...just watch your mouth on the initial sharpness of the centre...we wouldnt want a chocolate related injury now would we ;)

8.3 out of 10

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June 10th: Maltesers White

Kcal 177 Fat 8.4g Carbs 22.4g

You may recall that last month I reviewed the original Maltesers which scored 7.4... take a look if you havent already. Today I felt a little peckish after lunch so decided to pick up a 35g bag of the white variant.

As you have probably already ascertained the only difference from the original Maltesers and this variant came in the substitution of the milk chocolate for white chocolate...well that and a shocking 2g from the single serving pack :)

On pack they were described as 'white chocolates, with crisp, light honeycombed centres' and came in a nice foil bag. The white Maltesers were almost identical in appearance but had a nice a slightly yellowish cream chocolate colour. When opened the product had a nice smell - very milky and creamy ...alot like vanilla ice cream.

To taste, this variant Maltesers was again very much a mixed bag. The white chocolate element melted at a nice rate in the mouth and provided a smooth coating. In taste the white chocolate was very milky with a slight vanilla note...its flavour was very much like sweet vanilla yogurt - it was an enjoyable taste though lacked the strength of the original milk chocolate. The honeycomb centres were again very tasty; they had a nice strong malty sweet honey flavour which was only spoilt by its complete lack of substantiality...the flavour lasted only seconds before fizzing and melting away on my tongue. I finished this 35g in a matter of a few minutes, and to be honest I was just as hungry as I was before I ate them.

Overall this variant runs into exactly the same problems as the original though to a further extent. These are a nice tasting product...the chocolate has a smooth texture and a nice light creamy taste...the honeycomb is also pleasant in flavour though just lacks any substanance of any degree. I guess these are a product I would recommend if your after a lighter choice of chocolate...though in my opinion if your going to eat chocolate you might as well do it properly and eat and entirely satisfying product...great tasting but just dont suprised when the entirety of the 350g pouch you buy at the cinema quickly becomes 0g!

7.1 out of 10

June 9th: Lindt Excellence 70% Cocoa Dark

Kcal 182 Fat 14.0g Fat(sats) 8.4g Carbs 11.5g

Ever since the disaster of last Monday's Cadbury Bournville experience ive been yearning for some good quality dark chocolate...thankfully today it was Lindt to the rescue.

This was the first bar I can remember in a long time where sugar was not the highest in proportion on the ingredients list...as you can guess with a minimum of 70% solids Cocoa was the most prominent. Speaking of the wrapper as you can see above its very stylish - a crisp clean white and black background with sleek gold writing. The chocolate itself had a nice appearance...it was split into six easily breakable mouth sized chunks each with a nice pattern and Lindt logo enscribed. The chocolate was tightly foil wrapped and once opened a lovely cocoa aroma emerged. As evident here Lindt never fail to go that extra mile in regards to the presentation of their products...stunning.

As you can guess with a minimum of 70% cocoa solids the flavour was reasonably rich. Letting each block slowly melt on my tongue the chocolate melted at a nice rate and formed a luxuriously smooth yet thick texture. It had an initial unique bitter smokey flavour but once melted held a nice rich cocoa lightly vanilla noted taste that was suprisingly sweet....ultimately very rich but yet very moreish!

Overall every aspect of this bar radiates quality, everything from the asthetic look of the wrapper, the ingredients, the texture just emits a message of luxury...thankfully this is something that is also evident in the taste. The flavour isnt overly complex yet is rich and delicious...nothing complicated here just high quality dark chocolate. I would recommend this bar to anyone...whether your a connoisseur of dark chocolate or just looking for somewhere to start you can go little wrong with this bar.

8.9 out of 10

June 8th: Oreo Cakesters Chocolate Creme

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

A few weeks ago dedicated Chocolate Mission reader Justin was kind enough to send me a pack of the original Oreo Cakesters to review...they scored a very reasonable 7.4 Chocolate Mission rating. For that reason when the opportunity arose for me to get my hands on a pack of the 'Chocolate Creme' variant I wasnt going to turn it down.

Much the same as the original variant these came in a pack of two cakes (57g), for reasons I will go into they turned out to feel like a more substantial product. As you can see above the cakes looked identical to the originals though with a darker coloured creme filling - very prtty to look at (..but even better to eat lol!). Aromawise the cakes lacked any smell worth mentioning...again a slightly sweet smell but nothing massivelly appealing.

The cake elements still retained a nice firm brownie type texture...slightly moist but firm and substantial to the bite. The cake pieces had a nice chocolaty taste and were definately still my favourite part of the cakesters - scrumptious.

So...the defining element of this variety the chocolate creme...how did it fare? Better than the original creme fillling in my opinion. Though still the same in proportion the creme filling had a thicker denser texture and with this a stronger flavour. The original Cakesters creme had a very sweet slightly milky flavour, this variant was creamier but slightly less sweet and had an cocoa edge to its taste.

Overall if I was offered a pack of these or a Kinder Slice I honestly dont know which I would pick (both probably haha!). These are on a par with the Kinder Slice but marginally better tasting than the original Cakesters! This is solely due to the creme filling flavour being slightly more distinguished making for a marginally more satisfying product. Again these come highly recommended by myself - an absolutely perfect snack enjoyed with a cool glass of milk.

7.7 out of 10

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June 7th: Snickers Nut'n Butter Crunch

Kcal 250 Fat 15.0g Fat(sats) 6.0g Carbs 25.0g

As much as I dont like to admit it, the whole 'Limited Edition' candy craze in the US has encaptulated me. Im justifying my spend on this bar based on the fact that Chocolate Mission is currently jointly being led by the Original Snickers so it would be irresponsible of me not to review a limited edition Snickers offering...thats a good enough excuse for me anyway :D

This limited Edition Snickers offering is named the 'Nut'n Butter Crunch' and is comprised of 'milk chocolate, peanuts and creamy peanut butter taste'. This was all crammed into a 48.5g bar...a big on pack slogan states 'Snickers satisfies'...im not going to dispute this... despite its smaller size compared to the original Snickers (UK) it was more than sufficent and was a nicely portioned bar.

The wrapper had a nice colourful bold appeal whilst the bar itself had a nice asthetic look to it. The bar had a enticing cocoa smell which was further extentuated with a strong nutty note when bitten into.

As you can see above the milk chocolate coating was not the thickest....it provided a nice crisp outershell but due to the nature of the chewy centre its creamy flavour soon took very much a back seat...fortunately the centre filling was absolutely delicious.

When I was first reading about this bar on the internet I was expecting a pure peanut butter centre but when I recieved the bar I realised it was actually a peanut butter flavoured nougat...this slightly worried me as I feared for a bland tasting nougat...luckily my fears were soon put to rest as this was thankfully not the case. The nougat centre mixed a strong peanut butter flavour with a nice firm texture...what really made the nougat extra tasty though were the whole peanuts which were generously dispersed throughout. They had a fresh crunch and slightly salty flavour which made for a substantial tasty centre that was crammed with flavour.

Overall Im a big fan of peanut butter and this is genuinely a very good peanut butter flavoured bar. The combination of chewy and crunchy textures in the nougat makes for an extremely tasty and interesting centre filling. The chocolate coating is slightly lacklusture due to its small proportioning though this can be forgiven. Another thing that did slightly disappoint me was the lack of a caramel layer...unfortunately this element has been removed from this bar...I believe the extra sweetness from the caramel would provide a great combination of flavours agaisnt the slightly salted peanut elements. At the end of the day, although it could be made slightly better with a few slight adaptations this is a great tasting bar that I would recommend to Snickers, peanut butter or limited edition addicts like myself - this a bar I will be definately having again.

8.4 out of 10

June 6th: Cadbury Cherry Ripe (Aus)

Kcal 260 Fat 13.9g Fat(sats) 10.9g Carbs 30.4g


Earlier this week I made the revelation that the UK's classic Jameson Ruffle Rasberry was actually manufactured by a subsidary of Cadbury....well it appears Cadbury have shared this recipe concept abroad - more specfically with the guys 'down under' in Australia who have formulated a bar called the 'Cherry Ripe'.

The bars' on pack description states that it is comprised of 'Ripe juicy cherries and coconut in Old Gold rich dark chocolate'. As I said above the bar follows much the same formulation of the Ruffle bar but with a few fairly obvious variations. The first obvious variation comes in the substitution of rapsberry for cherry, the other is that the bar comes in larger 55g serving...this was a very substanstial bar and one that very much settled my hunger.

The bar came in a nice red foil wrapper - unfortunately this did not ensure much of a freshness to the appearance of the bar..as you will see above the chocolate showed slight 'blooming' and had a slightly off-putting white speckled coating. The bar also offered very little in the way of aroma - a slight hint of sweet cherry but this was very faint and without me actively searching for it would not have been detectable.

This bar had a nice initial texture with the outside chocolate providing a pleasant crispness upon biting into it. Unfortunately when letting the chocolate melt in my mouth I found that rather than smoothly melt it formed into clumps which I wasnt particularly partial to. Aswell as having a poor texture the chocolate didnt add much in terms of flavour - it took very much a back seat to the centre filling and provided little more than a slight mild cocoa note.

The mix of coconut and glace cherries provided both a chewy but crunchy texture. As you can see above the centre filling was artificially coloured red...fortunately this didnt correspond to the taste and both the coconut and cherry elements had a distinguished fresh taste. The coconut element provided a nice milky note which nicely mixed with the fruity sweet glace cherry to form a nice blend of flavours.

Overall this bar very much follows the story of the Jameson Ruffle Rapberry. The chocolate here is unquestionably quite poor...especially by Cadburys standards..it was lacking in flavor definition and had a particularly poor lumpy texture. Luckily the bar is saved by the centre filling having a nice fruity and fresh taste. The mix of cherrys and coconut is one that works - the chewy and crunchy textures provide a nice background to the mixing of the milky sweet flavours. With more attention paid to enhancing the chocolate element this bar could potentially be very good as the formulation and proportioning of the centre filling is spot on for the ingredients used. I would recommend this bar to fans of the Ruffle Raspberry or Bounty ranges...if you like the sound of the combination of cherrys and coconut its a pretty safe bet you will enjoy this bar.

7.1 out of 10

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June 5th: Ferrero Rocher

Kcal 292 Fat 20.2g Fat(sats) 6.6g Carbs 22.4g ( per 50.0g)

I much prefer writing reviews for products I have liked and luckily today i get that luxury again....some might say "Monsieur, with this Rocher review, you're really spoiling us".....you will only get that if you live in the UK...a corny ad many moons ago.

Ferrero rather pompously describe 'Rocher' as 'whole hazelnut in milk chocolate and nut croquante'....what the hells is croquante?? Let me clear things up Rocher consist of a whole roasted hazelnut encased in a thin wafer shell filled with nutella/hazelnut cream and covered in milk chocolate and chopped hazelnuts. Despite the over complicated on pack description I cannot lay fault to any other aspect of the Rocher's appearance...it looks fantastic and is presented amazingly. Everything from the gold foil wrapper to the chocolates themselves look the part - simple but stylish.

Beside from looking the part these also smelt hugely enticing....a very strong nutty smell was very apparent as soon as the chocolates were released from their golden wrappers... enormously appetite whetting.

As I have described above each chocolate has several layers to its consituants. The chocolate and chopped nuts coating provided an initial nice crispness to the chocolate. The next wafer layer for my liking was a tad insubstantial and light though still retained a nice crunch. The truffle centre was very smooth in texture and the whole hazelnut had a nice crunchy freshness...the number of different textures in this small chocolate is really quite remarkable and each of them brings a distinct unqiue texture characteristic.

Its pretty safe to say if you dont like nuts..you simpy arent going to like 'Rocher'. Each 'Rocher' is 30% compromised of hazelnuts so its not suprising the dominant flavour is a nutty one. The nut element actually has more prominance in the number of layers than the milk chocolate...theres chopped nuts in the coating, ground nuts in the truffle and of course the whole nut in the middle. The nut taste was distinctly fresh and with this forthcoming in flavour with a slight woody note. The milk chocolate element also tasted classy - it had a smooth milky taste that was neither too strong or weak in flavour...just right with the dominance of the nut flavour. The only sightly disappointing element was the wafer - like most Ferrero products it lacked subsitnance and flavour...very non descript and was very much like the wafer in the Kinder Bueno.

Overall theres nothing to say other than these are fantastic looking and tasting chocolates. They ooze class in every which way...the packaging, the smell and thankfully the way they taste. This might sound silly but its nice to find a chocolate that contains nuts and that actually has a strong nutty flavour....just too many bars and chocolates nowadays play host to non-flavoursome nuts...Ferrero Rocher are the opposite...30% nuts...100% taste. I would recommend these to anyone without a nut allergy :D :D :D haha no being serious I would recommend these to any truffles or nuts fans - very close to a top five place.

8.7 out of 10

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