July 6th: Hotel Chocolat 72% Chilli & Orange

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

Today im reviewing the first of four flavoured bars from current Chocolate Mission leading manufacturer Hotel Chocolat. I must once again express my thanks to Maxine who was kind of to send me the 'Peepster Box' which contained the four different flavoured slabs - today I sampled the Chilli & Orange flavour.

The Peepster Box includes 4 different flavoured offerings all of which are indivdually cellophane wapped. The presentation of the box is nice though I couldnt help but feel the plastic wrappers were a bit of a step down from the boxed presentation of the house slabs I had previously reviewed. The chocolate once again came in the famous Hotel Chocolat presentation of slabs...again no doubting their chicness but they seriously arent the most practical way of eating chocolate. This particular flavour came split into two 62.5g slabs - for reasons I will go into they wernt quite the fully satisfying offering of the house slabs but eaten individually they were still extremely fulfilling.

The Chilli & Orange flavour was contained within 72% dark chocolate. Opening the wrapper the strength of the chocolate was quite evident, the slabs had a strong cocoa aroma that smelt delicious....what was slightly puzzling was the lack of orange or chilli....if it was a blind test based on smell I wouldnt of said the bar was enhanced by any flavours.

Though slightly weaker in cocoa than the 85% bar the dark chocolate retained much of the richness of flavour. It wasnt quite as strong and the aftertaste was slightly weaker, though it retained a very similar deep but slightly sweet vanilla noted taste. The chocolate had an extremely smooth texture much like the 85% and literally melted on the tongue into a thick but silky syrup like form. The texture of the bar was further enhanced by the chilli element which added an interesting warmth to the aftertaste - the chilli didnt seem to add anything of note to the taste but it certainly provided an distinct aspect to the texture. Like many of the other chocolate orange bars I have reviewed the flavour of the orange in this offering was achieved using orange oil and not orange pieces. The orange flavour itself was suprisingly anonymous in this bar which initially suprised me...I thought that maybe the flavour would develop as I ate more of the bar but unfortunately this was not the case - I even double checked the wrapper to make sure I had picked the right slabs out the box...to be honest I was disappointed.

Overall its hard scoring this bar as although its a great tasting chocolate offering it just fails to deliver the flavour it promises. The dark chocolate is glorious in its own right but if your paying up to £3.50 for a particular flavour you expect it to really be quite evident...the orange flavour in this bar was hardly detectable. As I have said its hard criticising this bar as the dark chocolate although not quite as rich and flavoursome as the 85% was still divine and the chilli certainly added a nice warmth to the texture...unfortunately the lack of orange really held back the score of this bar. If your a fan of dark chocolate and chilli this will float your boat - but if your looking for a chocolate orange flavour hit theres genuinely better there...to be honest your better off buying a Terry's Chocolate Orange and still having £3.10 in your pocket. Delicious yet disappointing.

7.9 out of 10

July 6th: Rolo

Kcal 247 Fat 10.4g Fat(sats) 6.7g Carbs 36.7g (per tube)

Rolos have been around since 1938 and are now producded by Neslte in all areas across the globe but for the US...where no suprises the Hershey Company hold the licence....do they even exist in the US?

A Rolo consists of a toffee centre and milk chocolate coating, and are most commonly found in 52.0g roll tubes like the one I consumed for the purpose of this review. In this roll there were 12 individual chocolates. If the marketing slogan is to be believed 11 are meant to be consumed by oneself and the last Rolo for the person you love :) haha well I deem it important to love yourself so I ate all 12 lol :D I couldnt stop eating these once I had opened them and the whole roll was gone within 20 minutes woops :P Very moreish but still quite filling at the same time.

The Rolos came packaged in a fairly nice looking and convenient roll packet. They definately benefitted from the foil layer that covered them as it meant they were tightly packed and released a nice sweet smell as the packet was unravelled. I liked the design of the Rolos themselves they had a nice shape and were just the right mouthful size. Simply put they combine a nice look with a functional design - not too many products can claim to do that now.

Personally I think theres only one way to eat a Rolo - letting it slowly melt on the tongue. The milk chocolate coating was almost identical in taste to all other Nestle milk chocolate products...sweet and not the strongest in taste but with a nice milky root flavour....its not going to win any awards for divine chocolate but its fair tasting. The chocolate melted at a nice rate in the mouth eventually revealing the toffee centre. The toffee centre was thicker than I was expecting and provided a nice texture that was quite resiliant. Sucking on the toffe centre released the flavour slowly - it tasted sweet though not overly so and it had a long honey like taste rather than an overly sugarly based one. The textures of the soft chocolate and silky toffee made for a delightful combination and allowed the flavours to be released slowly but in a manner in which they could be savoured.

Overall Rolos are a great tasting affordable product that have mass appeal. The milk chocolate is not the greatest quality and can be found in most Nestle products...the real defining aspect are the toffee centres which are deliciously tasty and have a great texture that make for a longing taste and lasting enjoyable experience. There's probably a good chance that you have already tried these but for those that havent I strongly suggest you do....a classic product that is nicely crafted and kind on the pocket - what more can you ask for.

8.4 out of 10

July 5th: Terry's Chocolate Orange Milk

Kcal 210 Fat 12.0g Carbs 23.0g

I dont quite know why its taken me so long to get round to reviewing one of Britain's most iconic brands of chocolate...but by popular request today I went about putting that right and sampled the most famous milk chocolate and orange combination out there...yes...Terry's Chocolate Orange.

Terry's Chocolate Orange tends to really come into its own around Christmas time but during the rest of the year its also pretty readily avalible. Im basing todays review on the 40g bar which split into 6 segments...it equated to 40.0g and did a perfectly good job of setting aside my hunger at the time...by the sixth segment I felt like I had my fill of the flavour.

I was genuiney very impressed by the look of the bar. The packaging was a fair in design though hardly original and almost identical from Mcvities Jaffa Cakes (Take a look above and try tell me otherwise!!!!!). The bar itself looked great - the segment design not only looked class and unique but was a nice way to split it into sizeable mouth size pieces - good work here by Kraft.

As soon as I opened the wrapper and segmented the bar a fruity sweet orangey smell was extremely evident - it smelt refreshing and pretty appertising though a tiny bit artifical. The back of pack had a pretty bold statement in that it claimed the bar was flavoured with 'Real Orange'....in actual fact just like the Montezuma's "Orangutang" I reviewed the other day the flavour was achieved using 'orange oil'....so not real orange really.

Although solid milk chocolate the inside of the bar seemed to have a slightly softer texture. Each segment was shaped perfectly to slowly melt on the tongue and really helped achieve a nice smooth and consistant taste. The orange flavour of the bar was strong but never overbearing...it gave each segment a nice refreshing taste that for my liking was just the right strength and and concentration. The milk chocolate as I said was glorious in texture though lacked a real difinitive cocoa flavour that would have really made this bar standout. The taste of the chocolate was very sweet and by the fifth segment its flavour was starting to become overly so and and verging on sickly.

Overall this bar is a genuinely a great tasting one in moderation. This bar has scored higher than the Montezuma's "Orangutang" and costs a fraction of the price at 40p compared to £1.20 for the Montezuma's. Its orange flavour was among the best I have tried on Chocolate Mission along with the Lindor Orange. The chocolate was a bit on the sweet side and lacking in cocoa strength though the orange flavour more than made up for this as its fresh fruityness was by far and away the dominating flavour. Terry' Chocolate Orange is a brand that will stay with us a long time..its affordable, unique, great looking chocolate...a sure fire winner if your a fan of chocolate orange.

8.3 out of 10

July 5th: Tracker Chocolate Chip

Kcal 178 Fat 8.7g Carbs 21.5g

Though cereal bars have only really come into the mainstream in the last five years the Tracker bar has been around since...well...what seems like forever. I can remember having these in my lunchbox back when I was a wee nipper. Upon the request of Chocolate Mission readers I put my 10 year abstinence with the Tracker aside and tucked into one today.

The Tracker is a cereal bar that claims to combine 'Crunch, Goo & Chew'...hmmm not the best slogan ever. Its also avalible in a plain nut variant though for the purpose of Chocolate Mission I thought best to review the 'Chocolate Chip' version; its main ingredients are crisped rice, wholegrains (oats, bran etc), peanuts & chocolate chips - all fused together by syrup.

The bar came in a 37.0g serving which proved a pretty adequete mid morning snack; though it did the job in this instance I think if you wanted anything more out of the bar it might fall a little short in this respect due to the light texture of the bar.

'Tracker' is a Mars brand which explains the nice wrapper and general appearance of the bar...no money skimped in this area. The front of pack looked stylish and the aesthetic appeal of the bar was good...the whole peanuts and chocolate chips showcased the quality ingredients and really gave a good idea of the contents of the bar without having to peer over the ingredients list. Unfortuately, though nice in looks it was a little flawed in design...biting into the bar chocolate chips and peanuts went flying everywhere...it was a tad annoying that it crumbled everywhere and this isnt a bar I suggest you eat on the move.

Peanuts accounted for 10% of the bar ingredients but 100% of the aroma!! It smelt awesome! The smell was very evident as soon as I opened the bar and its roasted nutty smell soon made itself very palpable.

Despite the small annoyance of the bar falling to pieces it had a nice array of textures. The top of the bar encoportated the chocolate chips which though lacking a real strong taste melted nicely in the mouth and gave the each bite a nice cocoa undertone. The chocolate chips slighlty moistened what would have been a dry bar without them as the saltyness of the nuts dried the other layers. The peanuts themselves were crunchy and fresh in texture...they contrasted nicely with the gooey mixture of the cereals and syrup base. The peanuts also provided the strongest of the flavours...buttery and slightly smokey with a hint of salt...very tasty. The base of the bar was formed by the chewy cereal and syrup layer and formed the main constituants of the bar. Unfortunately its flavour was pretty mundane and if anything just diluted the flavours of the nuts and chocolate chips with its quite boring subtle malt flavour.

Overall its pretty obvious why this product seems to have stuck around for so long...its because its a pretty high quality one. The bar encorporates some intresting textures and flavour though slightly lets itself down by having its weakest tasting layer being the most generously portioned. The chocolate chips are relatively weak in flavour though do add a nice background cocoa flavour and nice slight moistness to the texture. If your a fan of nuts then I could see this bar being one you really enjoy...if its a chocolate hit your after your probably best looking somewhere else - but if its a nice tasting cereal bar with a hint of chocolate you could do a lot worse.

7.3 out of 10

July 4th: Kinder Chocolate / Maxi

Kcal 117 Fat 7.1g Carbs 11.0g (per 21.0g)

This review has been one of the most requested for a long time now...its seems theres a whole lot of love out there for this Kinder snack bar. To be honest I was a little confused with the branding of this product...it seems to randomly appear under two different names...'Kinder Chocolate' & 'Kinder Maxi'....anyone know why!?

Lets get this out the way from the start...this is a small small bar....its tiny at a 21.0g...why oh why is this not bigger...it hardly even scratched the surface of my hunger...I know the bar even calls itself a 'snack bar' but for me it didnt even suffice in that respect.

Kinder products are always presented nicely and this one was no different. The bar was wrapped in a colourful plastic wrapper with an extra foil layer for freshness. The bar itself was obviously pretty small, though had a nice shimmering surface and was sectioned nicely. The chocolate was crisp to break up and had a crumbly cream white filling that looked exceedingly tasty. Despite the foil wrapping the bar lacked any sort of strong aroma, it offered little more than a sweet smell that was only detectable if smelt up close.

The bar itself had an odd claim on the front of the wrapper 'more milk, less cocoa' ..... ooooook fair enough more milk...great - but less cocoa!? Not cool!? Why even say that! Surely that needs changing to 'more milk, less sugar'.... that would a) appeal to parents more (surley the target of the brand) & b) sound more appealing to the rest of us.....oh hell im only in marketing what do I know :D :D

Looking at the ingredients the bar contained 33% milk solids with 18% cocoa solids...this made for a really distinct taste that was thankfully stronger than experienced with the Kinder Suprise egg where the same chocolate and milk flavoured layers were just too thin to really give a meaningful taste. The actual cocoa outside layer was still very thinly portioned and didnt provide too much to the overall taste. The middle creamy white filling was the main driver of the flavour and no suprises in that it had a distinct creamy milkyness with a slight hint of vanilla....it was pretty sweet but very tasty. Despite the lack of flavour depth in the chocolate layer its texture was nice and smooth, providing a nice contrast with the mild roughness of the creamy centre.

Overall although only 1.0g bigger than the Kinder Suprise Egg the blocked shaped form really comes as a benefit to this bar. The actual chocolate layer lacks flavour and thats no suprise due to the products lack of cocoa...what does make the flavour of this bar really stand out though is the smoothness and creamy nature of the middle milk layer; its sweet but ever so moreish...a taste that you will really want to savour. If your a fan of Milka or other creamier chocolate brands theres no doubt you will love this bar...just make sure you buy a few!! Note to Ferrero - make your bars bigger please!!!

7.0 out of 10

July 4th: Trader Joe's Swiss Milk Chocolate

Kcal 230 Fat 15.0g Fat(sats) 9.0g (per 42.0g)

I've been saving this bar for ages now, ever since Esther sent me the package full of Trader Joe's products a couple of months ago I'd been waiting for the right time to review this bar....with this weeks latest wave of milk chocolate bar reviews (see Hotel Chocolat 40%, Milka Alpine & Lindt Excellence Milk) I thought that there was no time like the present and it would be great to benchmark this bar agaisnt the rest.

As with all Trader Joe's products there was a real feel good feeling on the on package blurb...the bars ingredients were all fair trade and of course as with all TJ's stuff contained no artifical colours or flavours. The wrapper was nice and colourful in appearance and also included an inside foil layer. The bar itself was not branded though as you can see above was sectioned nicely and had a pattern etched into the surface that was pleasant on the eye. The bar came in 100g form which I ate across two sittings...for reasons I will go into it didnt fully satisfy me in both instances.

Looking at the back of pack the bar stated it had 33% cocoa solids and 22% milk solids...these are both relatively higher than most mass confection bars but still paled in comparison to the Hotel Chocolat bar.

Dividing the bar into its sections it had a nice fresh crisp cracking sound which is always nice. When smelt up close the bar had a cocoa scent that had a small note of nut - it wasnt overly impressive but was pleasant none the less.

After the first few blocks it was quite evident the bar had a nice fresh texture. Like when splitting it by hand, when bit into the chocolate had a fresh crispness and once left to melt on my tongue it melted at a nice rate. On the wrapper the bar described itself as richy, creamy milk chocolate...in truth....rich - no .... creamy - sort of. The initial flavour really wasnt that strong and it wasnt until the bar had fully melted in the mouth before it released its smooth sweet cocoa flavour. The taste was neither strong enough to be described as rich and wasn't overly creamy due to the aftertaste being slightly smokey and caramel tasting. With the smoothness of the texture and the lack of real hard hitting flavours the bar seemed to just pass me by a little.

Overall the taste of this bar was a bit of a let down. In comparison to the other milk chocolate bars I have reviewed recently its favour just seemed to lack real depth and lacked the richness of flavour in comparison to the Lindt, Hotel Chocolat etc bars. This may be slightly harsh as its not as if its a bad bar: it looked good and its taste certainly was no where near unpleasant...it just lacked the depth when compared to the real standard setters I've tried recently. This is by no means a bad milk chocolate bar...its not as if your going to throw it back in someones face if they give it to you as a gift...its just at the end of the day theres better tastier milk chocolate offerings out there.

7.1 out of 10

July 3rd: Reese's Peanut Butter Fudge Egg

Kcal 180 Fat 11.0g Fat(sats) 3.0g Carbs 17.0g

Todays review again comes courtesy of the team at CandyPirate who yet again provided me with another offering from the extensive Reese's range.

The Reese's Peanut Butter Fudge Egg came in a 34.0g one piece serving. Despite its thickness the egg did seem relatively small in size - I feel like it could have been made a little bigger. Despite its smaller size it still looked and smelt dreamy once cross sectioned...no second guesses what it smelt like...a deep roasted nut smell just literally left my mouth watering. The packaging was nicely presented and included a cardboard sleeve to ensure extra protection..what was lacking was the paper cup that you find with the standard Reese's range...of course this wasnt even really an issue but personally I just feel like its a nice touch.

Now anyone whos read any of my Reese's reviews before will be aware of my constant disappointment at the quality of the chocolate used in the range - in all honestly it really wasnt that much better here with the added fudge element. The chocolate as you can see above was proportioned pretty thickly, despite this though it still lacked a real standout flavour. The fudge taste wasnt all that evident apart from adding a slightly longer more sugary aftertaste, the chocolate still simply didnt do enough for me...its texture wasnt bad and it had a relatively smooth texture...its just its flavour was still little more than I can describe as milky tasting...it just lacked real flavour depth.

Overall as with every Reese's product its the same old story. The chocolate was largely disappointing - and here the fudge element was all but lost but for a slightly sugary fudge noted aftertaste...luckily the peanut butter element was as ever just delicious. It smelt divine, its texture combined both smooth and rough superbly and its taste was just absolutely sublime. Its rich, creamy , buttery, nutty goodness all round...and I just couldnt get enough of it...unfortunately I really didnt due to its rather small size lol! If you love the Reese's range this is another product you will get on with...no doubt there are better Reese's products out there but this is worth trying at least once.

8.2 out of 10

Want to try the Reese's Peanut Butter Fudge Egg yourself head to CandyPirate to find this and more American Candy & Foods

July 3rd: Cadbury Snack Raisin Cereal Bar

Kcal 150 Fat 5.4g Carbs 23.2g

Little over a week ago I hadnt even heard of the Cadbury Snack range until I stumbled across the 'Cadbury Snack Shortcake' - today I found a further two products in the range so today im bringing you my review of the 'Raisin Cereal Bar'.

This cereal bar came in a 35g serving - I ate it around 11am and it was a more than adequete at fufilling my mid morning munchies! The bar encorporated oats, bran flakes, raisins, crispies and honey in a bed of Cadbury's milk chocolate. It look relatively nice appearancewise - the wrapper had a nice vibrant look and its foil constituants ensured a pristine, nice sweet smelling bar. The aroma was strongly honey rooted though did have a minor milky cocoa element to it.

Taking the bar out the wrapper it was quickly evident at how thin the chocolate layer was. The on pack description claims it covers half the bar...which it does...just extremely thinly! Not only did this mean its flavour was all but lost in the rest of the denser elements, but due to its thiness the chocolate melted extremely quickly when handling the bar. To be honest I think I ended up with more chocolate on my fingers than in my mouth lol! The other cereal elements in the bar were pretty fair in taste - the crispy cereal was the strongest in flavour which dosent really say much for the rest as its taste was not all that strong itself...slightly malty and sugary. The oats combined with the honey added a nice consistant chewyness to the bar though both remained pretty lifeless in flavour. The raisins implemented in this bar were largely disappointing adding very little flavorwise and a bit of an uncomfortable mushy texture.

Overall this bar was a bit hit and miss across the board. It failed to deliver on the taste front - the chocolate was the tastiest element but severely lacking in portioning...the different cereals were all pretty fair but overly lifeless with none particularly outstanding from the others apart from the rice. The bar had a nice chewyness and due to the dense nature of the ingredients did a nice job of settling my hunger...its just unfortunate that its best element (the milk chocolate) was implemented both not enough and annoyingly in the design of the bar. You could do worse for a mid morning snack but if its a real chocolate hit your after you better look elsewhere - this could be done better!

7.1 out of 10

July 2nd: Lindt Excellence Milk Extra Creamy

Kcal 196 Fat 12.9g Fat(sats) 7.7g Carbs 17.5g (per 35.0g)

After the success of the 70% Lint Excellence bar last week I simply couldnt waite to try the milk chocolate Lindt Excellence. Ive tried some extremely good milk chocolate bars lately including the Milka Alpine, Cadbury Dairy Milk and of course Hotel Chocolat's 40% bar...this had a lot to live up to in an already pretty busy market.

This Lindt Excellence offering came with the promise of being 'Extra Creamy' ... how have they done this I thought? A quick look at the ingredients list told me the bar is formed of 30% Cocoa solids and 20% milk solids....neither really outstandingly high. Further inspection showed the ingredients list containted 'butterfat'....lol im not even too sure what this is to be honest but i going to assume that the combination of that and large levels of cocoa butter were indeed acountable for the ultra smoothness of this bar. Butterfat!?? Anyone??

The bar came in a 35g serving which in truth just didnt feel enough to satisfy my hunger...Im obviosuly quite aware this isnt the usual serving size (around 50g) but im pretty sure even that wouldnt have fully satisfied me completely. The presentation of the bar itself was... well....excellence!! The wrapper looked sophisticated and worthy of a more premiuim brand of chocolate. The bar was coated in a tight layer of foil that not only kept the bar in mint condition but also maintained a nice dairy aroma to the bar....it smelt appertising and looked even better - Lindt always excel in these criteria.

I chilled the bar before eating it and with doing so the bar had a nice crisp crack as I split the pieces. The surface of the chocolate was slightly rippled due to the patternwork though the chocolate was soon as smooth as silk once placed on the tongue. It melted gorgeously on the tongue releasing its ever so creamy slightly vanilla noted taste. The flavour was sweet though not overly so and despite its slightly low cocoa content the cocoa flavour was relatively intense for the duration of the time the chocolate was present in the mouth. The only very slight shortcoming with this bar was the longevity of the taste...the texture was so soft and silky the flavour left the tastebuds all too quickly...probably not the biggest of problems if you have a 100g bar...but the quickness that the flavours disappear is slightly frustrating - especially as it tastes so creamy and delicious.

Overall this is another masterclass in how to create great tasting chocolate by Lindt. I say it everytime I review one of their products but they are still to let me down. Lindt seem to apply a pretty similar formula by producing great looking, smelling and tasting products made with high quality ingredients...this bar is another perfect example of this. The texture of the bar is to die for...its probably one of the smoothest tasting chocolates Ive reviewed; unfortunately the smoothness of the texture slightly comes at detriment to the taste and although the flavours are outstanding they leave the mouth just all too quickly. Theres no doubting this is some very high quality chocolate..definately worthy of a place in the overly cluttered milk chocolate market.

8.6 out of 10

July 2nd: Oh Henry!

Kcal 230 Fat 11.0g Fat(sats) 5.0g Carbs 33.0g

The Oh Henry bar has been manufactured since 1920. In the US the bar is manufactured by Hershey, though for reasons unbeknown to myself Nestle manufacture the Canadian bar. I was sent a sample of today's bar courtesy of the guys at Sweetstall once again - I suggest you head there if you want to try it for yourself.

The Oh Henry bar came in a 51g serving formed by two suprisingly small looking rippled fingers. As you can see above despite their small size they were dense with ingredients...literally crammed full!! The bars encorporated a thick base layer of fudge, a generously proportioned layer of caramel and roasted peanuts...all covered in a coating of milk chocolate. The packaging itself was plain but classic in appearance, as I said above the two bars themseleves were a little meagre looking though generally the product looked pretty sound...if a little unspectacular. Opening the wrapper the product had a very evident nutty smell...very much alike a Snickers but not as strong...really quite tantalizing though.

Though the ingredients were very compact, the flavours were very individual and identifiable. The fudge layer was extremely dense in texture and made for an extremely chewy base. It had a strong buttery taste with a creamy aftertone - a very nice base flavour. The mixed caramel and roasted peanut layer was as equally tasty and combined a chewy crunchy contrast of textures and flavours. The caramel was sweet and chewy whilst the peanuts had a converse crunchy salty flavour...again it was very comparable to that of a Snickers though the caramel was significantly more viscous. The only slight negative I could find with this bar was the quality of the chocolate...compared to the rest of the ingredients it was lacking in a strong flavour and was little more than I can describe as milky. It also lacked distinctive texture...it was thin and flaked off in places...disappointing.

Overall despite its relatively small size, each mouthful of this bar was packed with flavour. The fudge base made for an extremely buttery dense layer and gave the bar a really unique taste that im struggling to aliken to any other. The mixture of the caramel and roasted peanuts is also a good contrast of flavours and textures and is applied well in this bar like in many others. Despite the disappointing chocolate element I would definately recommend this bar to those who like the sound of it - well worth checking out epecially if your a fan of fudge...definately one for you Snickers fans!

7.9 out of 10

Head over to Sweetstall to find the Oh Henry and many more imported Candy items

July 1st: Montezuma's "Orangutang" / "Surf Nut"

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

I realised today looking over my vast collection of bars that I have to review that I had neglected the remaining selection that Montezuma's sent me a few months back...so inorder to make it up to them I decided to bite the bullet and do the only thing I could do ....yep eat two of their bars in one day :D ... its a hard life sometimes!

The first bar I sampled was the "Orangutang" bar which was a mixture of 73% organic dark chocolate & sweet orange oil. Later in the evening I also helped myself to the "Surf Nut" bar which combined 34% milk chocolate with macadamia nuts & coconut. Both bars came in 45g servings and both proved to be more than substantial at fufilling my hunger needs.

The "Orangutang" and "Surf Nut" came presented in the same cardboard box / plastic wrapper presentation style as the other bars in the selection box. The boxes were nicely designed and implemented some nice colours but as with the rest of the selection bars I couldnt help but feel the plastic wrapping was just a bit on the tacky side...the bars themselves were presented nicely seperated in to six blocked chunks; I felt the "Surf Nut" had a more distinctive look as the implementation of the whole nuts gave it a more interesting appearance than the just purely blocked dark chocolate of the "Orangutang".

The "Orangutang" had a very slight fruity orange smell but failed to really register a cocoa scent of note. I would like to think that my dark chocolate palette has become reasonably adept but the intital flavour of this bar registered quite bitter to my tastebuds. I have had far stronger bars than this 73% but the initial bitterness in this bar wasnt the nicest. As the flavour developed it did progress to a pleasant rich flavour that had an ever so slight sweet vanilla aftertaste. The orange taste was refreshing though hardy anything overly special - a pretty standard orange flavour that I feel could have been better implemented with the use of orange pieces rather than the orange oil. The dark chocolate did have a nice smoothness once melted though I think the implementation of the orange pieces could have made for a more intresting contrasting texture.

The "Surf Nut" had a very nice creamy smell though lacked a nutty scent that could have really made it very enticing. The milk chocolate itself was genuinely great tasting and lived up to its aroma with a deliciously milk taste that had an enjoyable sweet aftertaste. This bar was literally crammed full of nuts and was all the better for it - what I also appreciated was the fact that the nuts were nicely dispersed with every block containing either one of the two different types. The macadamia nuts included in this bar were whole nuts and were genuinely the best tasting nuts I have ever had in a chocolate bar - buttery in taste and just absolutely deliciously crunchy and fresh tasting. The coconut was less forthcoming in flavour though added a similar fresh crunchy texture...its taste further extenuated the milkyness of the chocolate whilst adding a nice roasted undertone..it definately merited its inclusion in the bar.

Overall both these bars were pretty tasty though the "Surf Nut" genuinely stood out as one of the best whole nut bars I have tried on Chocolate Mission. I simply couldn't get enough of the macadamia nuts which seriosuly added an absolutely stunning nutty flavour - the coconut element less so but still added to a genuinely great texture. The "Organutang" bar was less spectacular though was a nice solid offering for a dark chocolate orange bar...as I said after the initial bitterness the dark chocolate was great tasting though I just think that the use of orange oil rather than orange pieces was a bit uninspired when considering the array of organic nuts and other fruit pieces that are used in other Montezuma's bars. I genuinely think you would enjoy both these bars if you like the sound of the flavours...I especially recommend the "Surf Nut" which is truly a unique great tasting nutty bar.

"Orangutang" 7.7 out of 10
"Surf Nut" 8.6 out of 10

June 30th: Hotel Chocolat 40% Milk Chocolate

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

Again this weeks Hotel Chocolat review comes courtesy of dedicated reader Maxine who included this 40% milk chocolate slab in the box of goodies she so kindly donated to the Chocolate Mission cause.

After last weeks absolute triumph - the 85% dark chocolate bar, to say I was expecting 'good things' from this bar would have been an understatement...it didnt let me down either!

This milk chocolate offering came in much the same form as last weeks dark chocolate variant. The two 60g slabs came beautifully presented in a stylish looking box and inside wrapping...right from the off the beautiful presentation and clean cut shimmering slabs just gave the product the classy look that it deserves - a real cut above the rest in this sense. The on box description described the chocolate as 'made with less sugar and more cocoa for a deep chocolaty taste' - the ingredients list told me the bar contained 40% cocoa solids and 20% milk solids ... though hardly particularly high in either this is higher than you will find in most mass producded milk chocolate.

Again I ate the two slabs at different times - I found one slab to be a nice amount but it wasnt as fufilling as the dark chocolate variant. The slabs had a crisp snap to them when breaking them apart...again I had slight reservations over the slab design...yes it looked nice but it truly was a pain breaking it up into sizeable pieces. The slabs had a nice aroma - alot stronger than most plain milk chocolate bars - it smelt very dairy based with a slight undertone of caramel...very nice indeed.

The on-pack blurb described the bar as having a strong cocoa taste - though the cocoa was more forthcoming than your standard milk chocolate the flavour wasnt quite as deep as I was expecting. The taste was in actual fact very milk based - this combined with the silky smooth texture made for a very flowing moreish flavour that I simply couldnt get enough of. The high levels of cocoa butter ensured the chocolate melted delightfully on the tongue - pure luxury. Every bite of each of the 60g bars seemed like pure indulgence...the flavour wasnt quite as deep and thick textured as the dark variant but it was still very good - superb infact.

Overall this is another great offering from Hotel Chocolat. The chocolate is devilishly creamy and has a texture that is just as silky-smooth as any chocolate out there. It dosent quite have the depth or richness of flavour of the dark 85% bar but this is still chocolate in some of its most divine form. This is definately the best milk chocolate I have tasted and its rating obviously reflects that - simply if you like milk chocolate (and who dosent!?) you need to try this bar.

9.0 out of 10

June 29th: Lily O'Briens Sticky Toffee

Kcal 232 Fat 12.0g Fat(sats) 8.0g (per 47.0g)

Before I go into todays review I just want to quickly acknowledge the mention that this website got in this weekends Guardian newspaper!! Yes indeed ChocolateMission was mentioned in the supplementry 'GUIDE' magazine - now thats recognition for you :D :D anyway enough blowing my own trumpet onto the review :D

The kind people at Lily O'Briens are the latest lovely bunch of people to send some of their range my way and today saw me sampling their 'Sticky Toffee' selection... read on to see how they matched up on the Chocolate Mission rating.

Lily O'Briens describe these as 'sweet smooth caramel encased in milk & dark chocolate'. Looking at the ingredients it looked a pretty clean list..the usual suspects were present..sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass - the milk chocolate contained 30% and dark 55% solids respectively.

The chocolates came in a box of eight which weighed 110g - I ate these in two sittings and found four at a time a perfect amount. My opinion was split on the aesthetic appeal of this product...the packaging I didnt feel looked the greatest - I dont know what it was but to me it just didnt have the classiest of appearances. The box design was ok but the inside plastic bag and gold coloured wrappers just all looked a bit 'Cadbury Roses' to me...by that I mean not really as sophisticated as maybe other crafted chocolates are...they looked more mainstream and less specialised. Out their wrappers the chocolates had a nice dairy creamy aroma with just a little sweet scent that reminded me of honey...the chocolates themselves looked impressive and as you can see in the cross section above had a nice smooth appearance and good use of distinguishable colours for the different elements...the caramel especially had a nice golden appearance.

The chocolate that coated the caramel insides was comprised of both dark and milk chocolate. My method of eating these was biting off the dark chocolate top and eating it, then licking out the caramel centre before munching on the rest of the milk chocolate.

The dark chocolate had a rich taste that I found suprisingly darker and more cocoa rooted than I was expecting. Though strong in flavour it avoided being overly bitter and provided an initial nice deep taste that balanced nicely agaisnt a very sweet centre. The milk chocolate was also equally as good. It reminded me alot of milka chocolate in that it was sweet and milky without the cocoa edge thats more alike Dairy Milk...the taste was smooth and very moreish.

The caramel on pack is described as smooth but to be honest this couldnt have been further from the truth. Its texture was grainy and thick - a bit like a more fluid fudge...this is not a criticism! I believe the texture cotrasted nicely with the smoothness of both the chocolate elements, it gave a nice distinctive feel in the mouth. Flavourwise the caramel centres were very sweet but balanced nicely with a salty aftertaste; the taste was very different to most caramel and was more buttery than sugary...different but equally as tasty as any caramel out there.

Overall these are a pretty decent first offering from Lily O'Briens and I must admit im impressed. In my opinion the packaging dosent quite match the quality of the product and that slightly lets its appearance rating down. Besides that the combination of different chocolate types and unique tasting buttery caramel filling make for a rich but enjoyable experience. Definately a product for fans of caramel to try - a good score and a Chocolate Mission thumbs up.

8.4 out of 10

June 28th: McVities Jaffa Cakes

Kcal 46 Fat 1.0g Fat(sats) 0.5g Carbs 8.6g (per Cake)

I know...I know....this isnt a chocolate bar...but Jaffa Cakes have been one of the most requested product review requests since starting Chocolate Mission...they do fall roughly into the same category as the Kinder Slice and Oreo Cakesters and it would have been rude to turn all the requests down...besides im rather partial to a Jaffa or two :)

For those who are not in the know (im guessing those outside the UK!!) a Jaffa cake consists of a sponge base with a layer of orange jam...the top of these cakes are then covered in plain chocolate..which account for 20% of the total ingredients. I sampled these in a pack of three - I am a bit of a greedy bear but three simply wasnt enough for me...be warned these are incredibly moreish!!

Everyone has their own way of eating Jaffa cakes but my own favourite method was to eat the three different layers in isolation.

Firstly I ate the sponge layer...it had a nice texture that was neither too light or too dense. It had a nice sweet taste with just a slight vanilla note. Left with the jelly like jam covered in chocolate I then went about nibbling away at the chocolate. In truth its flavour was suprisingly good...slightly more cocoa based than expected and despite the thiness of the proportioning actually quite strong in favour. The orange jam was jelly like in texture and had a sweet fruity taste. I wasnt too suprised looking at the ingredients to find that the flavour is actually achieved through the use of orange juice (12%!) it had a nice fresh taste. I guess eating Jaffa cakes is a little like eating Cadbury Creme Eggs...its really a question about how do you eat yours!??? Please Do tell!!!

Overall theres no doubting that Jaffa Cakes really are a great choice if in need of a snack. They combine three great elements that are not only great fun to eat but are also actually quite high quality. Even the plain chocolate used in these although slightly lacking in quantity, is of a fair standard...its taste is really quite rich and distinct. Personally I think there is slight room for improvement with this product...how about fully chocolate coated Jaffa Cakes!? or Jaffa Cakes with far thicker chocolate!? The opportunities are endless. In truth these arent the most filling of snacks you can have and they are quite dangerous in that if bought in a large pack one sneaky Jaffa Cake can quickly turn into ten lol!! Despite this though they taste pretty damn good...as far as im concerned they come with a Chocolate Mission endorsement!

7.3 out of 10

June 28th: Lindt Lindor Orange Truffles

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

Strike another off the long list of Lindor flavours - the Orange variant is the focus of todays review.

As with the rest of the Lindor range these came individually foil wrapped...that were get this....orange coloured!!! Big suprise there eh! I was lucky enough today to sample four of these...all of which I ate in one sitting....they didnt seem as substantial as some of the other flavours from the range but four was still a nice amount. Removing the truffles from their wrappers they had a very pungent orange smell...not artifical smelling at all - just very fruity and fresh.

Im not going to claim to be able to tell the difference between 60% or 70% dark chocolate but at a guess i would say the 60% was used for the coating in these truffles. The chocolate had a nice texture and melted smoothly in the mouth with a slight sweet aftertaste, unfortunately though I must say it lacked the real flavour depth and richness that I experienced with the Lindt 70% dark chocolate.

The orange element was implemented in the soft centre of the truffles through the use of orange essence oils. This made for a very strong orange flavour that dominated the flavour of the chocolate...though I enjoyed the taste I must admit the sweetness of the flavour by the fourth truffle was quite overbearing and I would have struggled to eat another. The Lindor centre lived up to its credentials and was just as buttery, smooth and luxurious as normal...for texture there really are no better truffles than the Lindor range...not that I have reviewed yet anyway!

Overall these are a nice alternative in the range and definately boast the strongest flavour of the line I have tasted to date yet. The orange flavour is delievered with a fresh sweet fruity taste though I must say some may find the concentration of it slightly on the strong side...admittedly it does dilute the flavour of the dark chocolate a little. If your a fan of chocolate orange theres probably very little better on the market...maybe not the flavour I would buy in huge quantities but one or two at a time are very pleasant.

8.1 out of 10