August 12th: Nestle 100 Grand

Kcal 190 Fat 8.0g Fat(sats) 5.0g Carbs 30.0g

The 100 Grand was a bar that I had been wanting to try for ages, thanks to my pals over at Sweet Mayhem today this became a reality. The '100 Grand' is a bar produced by Nestle in the United States and is formed of caramel, milk chocolate and crisped rice.

The bar came in a 42.5g serving which provided a suitably sized snack. It came in a pretty standard wrapper that was relatively plain in its appearance; it had a more classic design rather than a flamboyant dynamic one. The product was split into two seperate finger shapes as you can see in the above picture. Similar to the wrapper, the bars looked nothing out of the ordinary and were relatively simple and practical in design. The crisped rice gave the milk chocolate a textured look but that aside there was little decoration. The finger pieces had a pleasant enough sweet chocolaty smell that had the smallest savournyess from the rice crispy pieces.

The Nestle 100 Grand offered a largely similar proposition to the standard Nestle Crunch bars I reviewed a while ago - though thankfully the 100 Grand had a little bit more going for it due to the presence of the caramel. The milk chocolate coating was milky and sweet in its flavour and had a resonably nice smooth melting rate. Letting the milk chocolate simply melt away allowed the rice crispy pieces to release their biscuity flavour - what I did like about the rice crispy pieces was that they retained a relative crunchyness to the bite even when moistened by the melting chocolate. The malty biscuit flavour was quite subtle but could be distinguished from the chocolate nonetheless. The middle parts of both the fingers contained the caramel centres which delivered in terms of giving the bar that little something extra that both the Nestle Crunch bars lacked. The flavour and texture of the caramel was not the best, it had a grainy toffee like feel to it and a sweet but subtle taste; it was not the best caramel implementation I have experienced but the bar benefitted from it nevertheless.

Overall a pretty fair bar from Nestle, but one that never did anyhing that really excited me. Appearancewise it looked nice and it certainly did a job subsiding my afternoon stomach rumbing. Tastewise it was pleasant enough but nothing more; the texture of the crisp rice and chewy caramel was enjoyable, though the grainy feel of the latter was slightly sloppy. If your a fan of the Nestle Crunch this is a bar you should really think of checking out...it's extremely similar to the Nestle Crunch milk chocolate with just that little bit more with the inclusion of the caramel element. Nice enough ,but just a little average and never going to set anyones world alight.

7.3 out of 10

Want to try the Nestle 100 Grand for yourself? Head over to Sweet Mayhem for this bar and many more sweet goods.

August 11th: Hotel Chocolat Milk & White Fusion

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

Sunday night at Jim's house for the last few months seems to have officially become 'Hotel Chocolat' night...hey im not complaining, I have loved every minute of it and this week was no different.

This week I tried the 'Milk and White Fusion' - 'A swirling interplay of house milk and white chocolates'. The two 62.5g slabs looked stunning...quite how they got the swirl pattern into the chocolate I do not know - it looked mightily impressive anyway. Taking the slabs out of their plastic packaging they smelt delicious - a lovely fresh sweet milky smell emerged which just heightened my all ready sky high anticipation.

The taste didn't let down the magnificent presentation, this really was an amazing combination that worked on so many levels. The bar was designed perfectly - one end milk chocolate, the other white chocolate and the middle, a wonderfully swirled combination. The milk chocolate was of the 40% house recipe, which had a wonderful creamy cocoa flavour. As with the original bar it was delightfully textured and melted like butter on the tongue. The other side of the bar was comprised of the house white chocolate (28% cocoa 31% milk solids)...like found in last weeks White Praline bar. Again it was quite possibly the milkiest and most creamy of white chocolate I have ever tasted. It was sweet and heavily noted with vanilla and was just so incredibly moreish. Texturewise once melted it wasn't quite as thick as the milk chocolate, which was the slightest of disappointments. Separately both chocolate types where outstanding, but when mixed this bar really came into it's own. The fuller bodied cocoa taste of the milk chocolate, and creamy vanilla elements of the white combined for a simply outstanding synergy of flavours...the middle swirled parts of the bar were really to be savoured.

Overall this is yet another tremendous offering from Hotel Chocolat. There is no simpler way of putting this but the combination of the two types of chocolate was wonderfully executed - to near perfection. The bar not only looked fantastic but it's design was actually functional aswell. The ends of the slabs allowed the separate milk and white chocolates to be tasted in isolation, which gave the chance to appreciate both their different offerings in flavour...both were unique and simply exquisite. The middle of the slab with the fusion of both the chocolates simply provided a delightful experience...it had the creamiest and smoothest of flavours and had a texture that literally carassesed the mouth like silk...just heavenly!! I highly recommend this bar...as combinations go there really aren't many better.

9.2 out of 10

August 10th: M&Ms M-Azing Crunchy

Kcal 230 Fat 12.0g Fat(sats) 7.0g Carbs 27.0g

This was one of those bars that had been hanging around my brimming box of chocolates to be reviewed for a good few months. Quite why until today I neglected this bar I don't know - it even promised to be amazing!! Well..sort of!? That is what I think the name of the bar was trying to get at anyway...spelling at Mars obviously isn't top of their priorities.

The M&Ms 'M-Azing Crunchy' bar came in a 43g serving size and incorporated 'mini Crunchy M&Ms in a solid milk chocolate bar'. The bar came in a paper sleeved outer wrapper with the chocolate itself wrapped in silver foil. I liked the appearance of the bar, it was split up into eight blocks with pictures of the M&Ms characters moulded into the surface. The bar managed to maintain a smooth surface area despite the inclusion of the mini 'Crunchy M&Ms' - the M&Ms added a nice bit of colour to the mix aswell - the bar didn't look at all bad. When released from the foil and sectioned the chocolate emanated a sweet smell...nothing special but it did smell far more appetising than standard M&Ms.

I have been eating some pretty high standard milk chocolate recently and unfortunately this bar just didn't fall into this category. It had a poor texture that seemed to clump in my mouth rather than melt, and did not have the smoothness that I have experienced with other milk chocolate....im not just talking about the more premium priced milk chocolate offerings either...this lacked the texture qualities of more mass produced bars like Dairy Milk and Galaxy. Unfortunately what the chocolate lacked in texture it did not make up for in taste - it had a poor sugary taste that lacked any real cocoa quality...it was just overly sweet and cheap tasting. The mini 'Crunchy' M&Ms gave a nice simultaneous flavour hit of rice and textured crispness, though due to their light nature they were often overpowered by the clumpy dominating chocolate.

Overall a pretty poor offering from Mars in a bar that really shouldn't have been too hard to pull off. Standard Mars milk chocolate (like used in Mars / Snickers bars etc) normally has a pleasant milky flavour that although is hardly groundbreaking is of a fair standard nonetheless. Unfortunately Mars saw it fit here to use a substandard milk chocolate that was poor in its grainy texture and its overly sugary taste...the mini 'Crunchy M&Ms' were fair game but they were predominantly overrun by the ever-present chocolate. This is a bar I really wouldn't recommend unless your a big M&Ms fan...this wasn't one I enjoyed.

6.0 out of 10

August 9th: Cadbury Wunderbar (Can)

Kcal 310 Fat 18.0g Fat(sats) 8.0g Carbs 33.0g

Until today if you had asked me what a 'Wunderbar' was I would most likely have gone a slight shade of red and said that it was an item of ladies underwear. The Cadbury Wunderbar seems to be a product that is very little known outside of its country of manufacture, which is in actual fact Canada.

The bar incorporated a scrumptious sounding 'peanut butter centre with a caramel and chocolate coating', and came in an extremely large and satisfying 58g serving. It was packaged in a pretty standard looking wrapper that incorporated a typical Cadbury purple colour code scheme. The bar itself looked almost identical to a Cadbury Starbar though the peanut butter centre had a nice moist look to it, the bar also appeared a tad larger. Splitting the bar down the middle revealed a delightful sweet nutty smell...it smelt absolutely delicious; I simply couldn't wait to dig in.

Biting into the bar revealed a vast array of textures and flavours... so many infact that im going to find it hard detailing them all. The chocolate coating was just the right thickness and provided both a nice cracking sensation when bitten into, and also a nice melt when left on the tongue. The chocolate didn't quite have the flavour depth of Dairy Milk though it was of a good standard nonetheless. Tastewise it didn't have the strongest of cocoa strengths, but it had pleasant creamyness that allowed the rest of the other ingredients to express themselves. The caramel layer was a genius inclusion...it had a delightful sweetness and chewy texture that really complimented the peanut centre. The centre was a mixture of peanut butter and peanut pieces, which made for a wonderfully moist but crunchy texture. Flavourwise it wasn't quite as creamy and flavoursome as Reese's peanut butter but it was still very tasty and had a nice strong smooth nutty flavour. The addition of the peanut pieces added yet another variation in the texture and made the bar all the more substanstial. Looking at the nutritional values this isn't a bar for a person on a diet, just look at the fat content! Disregarding that, if your're after a truly satisfying and substantial chocolate bar you will be hard pressed to find better.

Overall this is a really good standard bar from Cadbury - so much so that I am really surprised at its lack of distribution outside of Canada. None of the layers to the bar are individually executed to the highest standard, though the way they are integrated together truly makes for a high quality amalgamation of different flavours. The sheer array of textures and flavours is outstanding - from the smooth creamy chocolate, sweet caramel and moist crunchy nutty centre, each bite was interesting and full of flavour - a real delight to eat. It's almost selfish of the Canadians to be keeping this bar all to themselves :) if your lucky enough to come across a 'Wunderbar' I would highly recommend you give it a try.

8.8 out of 10

August 8th: Marks & Spencer Swiss Milk Chocolate

Kcal 30 Fat 2.0g Fat(sats) 1.2g Carbs 2.7g (per disc)

Own Label (Grocery Store brand) chocolate till today had been an area I'd simply stayed cleared of. Working in the marketing industry I am pretty fascinated by brands, so these own label offerings generally just don't seem to make it on to my radar. Well today this was all change as due to the volume of requests I have been receiving to review some Marks & Spencer chocolate I could gloss over this area of the market no more.

For my readers outside the UK let me give you a quick low-down on M&S: it's a British food and clothing retailer with 600 domestic stores, and is generally perceived by most consumers as a more up market brand in comparison to our major multiples Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda etc.

Today I sampled some of their Milk Swiss Chocolate that came in a 115g tube which contained twenty disc shaped chocolates. On pack they were described as 'Extra fine Swiss milk chocolate discs with ground hazelnuts'. The ingredients read pretty cleanly: 'Sugar, cocoa butter, dried whole milk, cocoa mass...ground hazelnuts (1.2%)', the cocoa and milk solids were at a reasonably high level - 35% and 21% - this all seemed pretty premium sounding to me.

The product itself was presented nicely - i wasn't quite sure of the cardboard tube format at first, aesthetically it wasn't terribly impressive but it did a job protecting the discs inside. The discs were foil wrapped in plain blue wrappers which kept them relatively fresh looking; they had a nice pattern displayed on the surface which added nicely to their relatively plain look. The discs didn't offer the strongest of aromas - a faint chocolaty smell but nothing overly enticing.

One thing I immediately found quite puzzling with these discs when I came to eat them were their size. They were to large to place in the mouth to eat whole (comfortably!!), yet to flimsy to really break into smaller pieces - this was a slight annoyance. Despite my issue with the size, the disc shape really helped deliver a delightful melt on the tongue. The large surface area allowed the chocolate to have an immediate flavour intensity and nice longevity of melt. The chocolate had a nice cocoa flavour with a nice milky smoothness - the aftertaste was noted with the slightest of nuttyness from the hazelnut that added a nice dimension to the overall taste. Due to the milkyness and smoothness of taste these were not the richest or most satisfying of chocolates, though one or two with a mid-morning coffee seemed a perfect situation for these to be consumed.

Overall although not the most unique tasting on the market these are a better than average milk chocolate. The quality of ingredients is reasonably good and the additional element of the ground hazelnuts made for an more compelling overall taste. I wouldn't necessarily recommend these as a product to enjoy on mass i.e. eat a tube at a time - as I wouldn't say it would be the most exciting of experiences, although as I said above, these are a great choice of product to eat one or two at a time for a quick chocolate fix.

7.7 out of 10

August 8th: Nestle Milkybar White Moments

Kcal 500 Fat 22.1 Fat(sats) 14.0g Carbs 70.0g (per 100.0g)

Long-time Chocolate Mission readers will be aware that I am a big fan of Milkybar products...from the 'Chunky' bar,the Easter 'Shaker Egg' and even the traditional 'Buttons'; I have enjoyed them all, with each of them scoring at least 8 out of 10. Today I sampled the latest addition to the Milkybar portfolio, the Milkybar 'White Moments' which were described on pack as 'delicious, creamy white chocolate wrapped in a crispy sugar shell'.... a product very similar in proposition to the quite frankly awful M&Ms 'Pirate Pearls'... could these do any better on the Chocolate Mission rating system?

The 'White Moments' came in a 175g grab pouch which I ate over the course of four occaisions. The 'Moments' themselves were slightly larger in size than Galaxy Minstrels and had a sound if uninspiring look. The pouch was nicely presented with a handy reseal able sticky tab included. Despite being concealed in a fresh style package the 'Moments' had only a very insignificant subtle milky aroma...I can only theorise the smell wasn't as strong as with other Milkybar products as the chocolate was being contained within the sugary shells.

The sugary shells delivered on the promised crispness to each bite and gave an expected sweetness. Due to the largish size of the 'Moments', simply sucking on one in the mouth felt like sucking on a sugar cube, ruling this eating method completely out of the question. This meant that each one had to be bitten into which did not play favourably for the chocolate. All too often white chocolate is produced with excessive sugar making the taste unbearably sickly (see Cadbury Dream!!)...this is something that Milkybar generally avoids as the high milk content makes for a creamyness that normally dominates the taste. Unfortunately the sugary shells just added to the sweetness of the original Milkybar chocolate and masked the normally delicious creamyness, making for an extremely sweet taste that sooner became more sickly than it did satisfying.

Overall im starting to believe that sugar shelled white chocolate is simply something that can't be pulled off. Milkybar is among my favourite white chocolate, but when placed in this format it could not avoid the inevitable, and when the additional sugar from the shells was added to the mix these 'Moments' fell down the all too familiar trap of being overly sweet in their flavour. To be honest I was more disappointed than I was suprised at these 'White Moments', and because of that I wouldn't overly recommend them. In my opinion these are a pretty poor line extension for Milkybar, and though I can see their appeal to a younger consumer with a pallette more accustom to sweeter tastes, I think your better off seeking out another product from the range if your after a dose of Milkybar.

6.7 out of 10

August 7th: Kshocolat Honeycomb & Vanilla

Kcal 530 Fat 30.5g Fat(sats) 19.2g Carbs 57.5g

Today saw me venture into my Kshocolat bag of goodies for the second time sampling the Honeycomb and Vanilla variant. Unlike the last Kshocolat product I reviewed (72% bar), this bar was made of milk chocolate (31% cooca 17% milk solids) and included honeycomb pieces and vanilla flavouring.

Similar to the 72% offering the bar was presented nicely. I cant say I cared much for the card sleeve - it was rather dull colourwise, but the bar itself was impeccably designed and had the same finely crafted cocoa pod pattern on each block. The bar had a pretty distinct aroma - it smelt sweet and floral; admittedly at first I wasn't overly convinced by it - though the more I ate the bar the more I understood the smell with the taste I experienced.

The milk chocolate became ever increasingly intense in its flavour as it slowly melted on the tongue. The melt was nice and formed a smooth taste which allowed for this slow release of flavour. The chocolate had quite a sharp cocoa edge, for milk chocolate it really wasn't the creamiest of tastes...this wasn't necessarily a bad thing - it tasted pleasant and certainly unique. Each block had its fair share of honeycomb pieces which were formed of 80% honey and 20% milk solids. Each small piece had a crystallised like texture which provided a nice variation against the smooth milk chocolate. Like the aroma suggested the honey had quite a flowery flavour... im no expert but it did remind me vaguely of elderflower - it had a heavy presence in what was a quite a strong aftertaste. The aftertaste of the chocolate was also heavily influenced by the vanillla flavour - it had a bourbon flavour that just didn't sit well with me. It tasted somewhat artifical and left an acrid flavour in my mouth for a long time after finishing the bar. Truth be told it was really quite unpleasant.

Overall this was a hard bar to rate tastewise. Initially I enjoyed the flavours of the bar, the milk chocolate was rich and nicely textured, and the honeycomb pieces added a distinct if slightly unusual foral element...at this point I had the taste down as a 7. Unfortunately the aftertaste of the bar simply spoilt the whole experience. As described above the vanilla flavour was bitter and despite the sweetness of honeycomb it simply wasn't subsided...it really spoilt for me what was a fairly nice bar of milk chocolate. It's not often that the taste of a bar drags the score of a product down, but unfortunately this was the case with the Honeycomb and Vanilla bar - disappointing.

6.9 out of 10

August 6th: Dove Caramel Waves

Kcal 482 Fat 24.2g Fat(sats) 14.2g Carbs 60.5g

Before I rattle on with todays review I must thank eagle-eyed Zeddy who spotted these in his local discounter 'B&M Bargains', and was kind enough to send a pack along for me to review! It was only last week I was discussing with frequent Chocolate Mission contributor Justin the differences (if any!?) between Dove chocolate and its branding equivalent here in the UK - Galaxy...thanks to Zeddy I could make this comparison today.

As far as I could decipher these Dove Caramel Waves were producded in the Netherlands and seem to be distributed throughout Austria and Belguim. The Caramel Waves were slightly larger than 'mini egg' type equivalents we have here in the UK and each simply contained a plentiful helping of caramel encased in a thick milk chocolate shell....imagine the Galaxy temptations egg I reviewed at easter but with each being about a quarter of the size. Each 'Wave' made for a very substantial mouthful and for my liking could probably have done with being just a little bit smaller, as this would have made them more comfortable to eat. The waves came in a 180g pack of sixteen...six of which I ate this evening: this provided me with a very sensible and satisfying portion.

The Waves outer packaging looked nice and had the design of a standard Galaxy product with the only obvious difference being the rebranding of the Dove logo. The 'Waves' themselves were nicely presented, though the foil wrappers did prove to be slightly loose, and thus did not keep the freshest of chocolates; they had a slightly dusty surface and the aroma wasn't quite the usual fresh smelling milkyness as found with the 'Temptations egg' or original Galaxy Caramel bar - they just had a less fragrant sweet smell.

Tastewise the Waves were slightly different to their Galaxy cousins. The milk chocolate seemed slightly less sweet, still extremely creamy, but with more of an cocoa sharpness to their taste - it was equally just as tasty as Galaxy milk chocolate but certainly different in its flavour compisition. The caramel centre was more plentiful than in a standard Galaxy Caramel block though it still had the same luxurious smoothness. The flavour of the caramel was still wonderfully balanced...very sweet but with a delicious salty hint in its aftertaste that made it so incredibly moreish. Personally I found the proportioning of caramel to milk chocolate better than the 'Temptations egg' but not quite as balanced as in the Galaxy Caramel bar...I just feel the slightly smaller blocks in the bar form make for an easier mouthful than the rather largish nature of the Waves.

Overall if your lucky enough to happen across a pack of these I simply urge you to buy them - they are excellent chocolate caramels and well worthy of a purchase. If you find normal Galaxy chocolate overly sweet these will go some way to helping this problem, as despite containing the usual creamyness of Galaxy, the Dove chocolate seemed to have a slighty more purposeful cocoa flavour with less of an initial sweetness. The caramel was simply delicious as with every Mars product...very sweet but wonderfully smooth - extremely enjoyable. For fans of caramel and milk chocolate combinations these are a simple must have purchase. So today the question has been answered: is there any difference between Dove and Galaxy chocolate?? In my opinion a slight variation in taste...but same magnificent quality, especially for the price.

8.6 out of 10

August 5th: Zagnut

Kcal 230 Fat 10.0g Fat(sats) 5.0g Carbs 31.0g

My interest in this bar derived from its recent appearance in the Hollywood blockbuster 'Hancock' featuring Will Smith. In the film it was depicted as bar that could literally 'knock you off your feet' - thanks to the kind people at 'Sweet Mayhem' I was given the oppertunity to test this for myself.

The Zagnut bar is another part of the ever expanding Hershey portfolio after its acquisition in 1996. The bar is comprised of a peanut butter flavoured centre with a outside coating of crunchy toasted coconut - so what the devil is it doing on Chocolate Mission you ask? Well whilst not containing chocolate, the bar does contain a small amount of cocoa....so why the hell not!??

The bar came in a plentiful 49g serving which was pretty sufficent at satisfying my hunger - it seemed just about the right serving size for the flavours it provided. The bar came in a pretty retro looking wrapper...to be frank I had no real affection or disposition towards it. The bar itself looked intresting in appearance, the toasted outer coconut gave the bar a nice golden look and the inner peanut butter centre looked appertising...one thing that was slightly flawed with the design of the bar was the sticky coating that was used to make the toasted coconut covering stick; it meant the bar was messy to eat and it left a heavy residue on the wrapper. The bar had a nice nutty aroma when opened - it had a pronounced peanut smell with a coconut hint....nice, but nothing too unexpected or anything that heightened my anticipation.

The initial bite into the bar revealed a very crunchy powdery coating of the toasted coconut - once bitten through a moistened but crispy peanut butter layer was revealed. The bars variation of crispyness and moistened centre provided a nice array of textures - the only aspect I didn't enjoy was the powdery nature of the toasted coconut, it slightly irritated the back of my throat. The taste of this bar was very sweet and it obviously contained a high level of sugar - saying this though the peanut butter centre was the dominant aspect of the bar and provided a strong peanut base flavour that had a deliciously balanced salty aftertaste...not quite the creamyness of Reese's but enjoyable nonetheless. The coconut coating was not massivelly present in flavour though was a substantial part of a long aftertaste - this was probably due to the small bits of coconut which were left in the mouth. The taste of the coconut was buttery and milky though really should have been stronger. Despite this its presence didn't detriment the bar in any manner and the initial texture it provided warranted its inclusion.

Overall the Zagnut is a bar that offers a combination of ingredients that provide a pleasant tasting offering. The peanut butter is a of a good standard and the coconut although should be more forthcoming still does provide a nice enough aftertaste. The texture of the bar is like not many others - a crisp coating is complimented by a nice moist centre. It's certainly not the most practical of combinations as it makes for a slightly messy eating experience but it does have some contrastive appeal. The Zagnut is certainly not a 'must try' but for fans of peanut butter this is certainly a bar you would enjoy and well worth trying for yourself.

7.7 out of 10

Head to Sweet Mayhem to find the Zagnut and many other US Candy right here in the UK

August 4th: Lindt Swiss Classic Double Milk

Kcal 532 Fat 41.0g Fat(sats) 25.9 Carbs 50.3g (per 100.0g)

My initial thought when I saw this bar was that it looked like a posher, more adult form of the Kinder Maxi - it was an assumption that proved not far off the mark. The front of pack promised 'Swiss double milk chocolate with a smooth milk filling' and was said to be made with the finest Swiss ingredients...there was only one way to find out :)

Like the rest of the Swiss Classics range this bar came in a 125g serving with a very appealing, premiuim looking wrapper. The bar also came foil wrapped which maintained the bars very tempting sweet smell....it had a delightful creamyness to its aroma that had a suprisingly strong caramel like tone - very alluring indeed. The bar itself looked as amazing as the packaging suggested - the white filling literally gleamed in-between the milk chocolate, the detail of the Lindt logo on each block looked impressively detailed; in its presentation the bar struck all the right notes.

I chilled the bar in the fridge for a few hours before eating it, this gave the middle filling a bit more of a solidity meaning its flavour lasted that litte bit longer. The milk chocolate was as smooth as any Lindt milk chocolate I have tasted. Its flavour was milky though had a nice cocoa root base flavour to it - sweet as always but not overly so; just great tasting, smooth milk chocolate. The middle milk filling was slightly lighter in its texture compared to the milk chocolate - it was buttery and more truffle like. Flavourwise it was not vastly different to the milk chocolate....just even milkier and creamier in its taste. Due to the filling being sandwhiched between two layers of milk chocolate it was hard to really seperate its taste - it was more that it added an extra level of creamyness and smoothness to the overall taste rather than adding a whole new flavour element.

Overall this is another luxurious offering from Lindt - I beggining to lose count the amount of times have I said that now!? The product is stunningly presented and the milk chocolate is of a very high standard . The chocolate is sweet and maybe not for the more mature tastesbuds, but its still deliciously creamy and has a brilliantly smooth taste. The additional milk filling further added to the smoothness of the taste and its extra creamy flavour just made it incredibly moreish. The only slight issue with the bar was that because of its moreish nature and light smoothness it was not the richest of experiences...it was a good thing it came in a 125g bar - I managed most of it in one sitting. This is definately a bar for the fans of Kinder chocolate - it's an incredibly smooth milk chocolate experience and one I would really recommend you try for yourself.

8.6 out of 10

August 3rd: Hotel Chocolat Praline White

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

This weeks Hotel Chocolat review comes in the form of the 'Praline White' - a combination of white chocolate swirled with hazelnut praline. The front of pack stated that the Praline White 'melts like butter on the tongue thanks to a dash of pure hazelnut paste'....all this sounded pretty good to me.

As you can see above this particular variant came in two 65g slabs - both provided adequete seperate servings, though on both occasions I was left wanting so much more for reasons I will go into. The presentation of the slabs was nice - the swirl pattern seperated the two different aspects of the white chocolate and hazelnut meaning some bites were full flavour white chocolate, some full flavour hazelnut praline - whilst the middle provided a mixture of the two...this was an interesting way of designing the bar. Opening the plastic package a quite frankly gorgeous dairy smell emerged...upon closer inspection it also had a slightly woody nutty scent...this bar smelt heavenly.

When breaking the slab into pieces I noticed the texture of the bar was slightly different to standard Hotel Chocolat slabs....it was softer and did not break away cleanly. When I placed the first piece in my mouth I realised the wonder this did for the melting point....the piece just melted ever so softly into a sinfully smooth but ever so exquisite double cream like texture...it felt like a thicker lindor truffle centre...just wonderful.

The white chocolate simply tasted divine. It had a full on cream flavour that was so amazingly milky - it was just so smooth and balanced in its intensity of sweetness. The white chocolate was superb, but the real champion of this slab was no doubt the hazelnut praline... it was absolutely heavenly...some might say the stuff of the gods haha! The praline tasted very similar to that of the creme centre of a Kinder Bueno...a delicious combination of milkyness and flavoursome hazelnut that was just so incredibly moreish. Each end of the slab contained the seperate components in isolation which was pleasant enough, though when both of the elements were mixed in the centre of the slab the flavours seamlessly combined making an even creamier offering with the nicest of nutty aftertastes.

Overall I have pretty much run out of words to describe what a great tasting amazingly textured bar this was. It was quite simply the best white chocolate offering I have tasted. For my money its creamy milky sweetness with the stunningly fine hazelnut praline made for a near untouchable synergy of flavours. Due to the nature of the super soft light texture, although the 65g servings were more than adequete they did not quite provide the full round satisfaction of the 85% dark chocolate. If your a white chocolate fan this is seriously a bar you need to try - its unmatched in this category by my reckoning - yet another sensational offering from Hotel Chocolat.

9.3 out of 10

August 2nd: Milka Happy Cows

Kcal 530 Fat 29.5g Fat(sats) 17.5g Carbs 59.0g (per 100.0g)

My world tour of Chocolate has once again swung past Germany with today seeing me try yet another of Kraft's Milka range - the rather oddily named 'Happy Cows'. This bar was formed of a base of Alpine milk chocolate with splodges of white chocolate inserted into the surface...this gave the bar the 'cow' like appearance.

As standard with the Milka range this came in a 100g package - this served me for three sittings...normally I would have consumed 100g in two but due to the taste I chose to eat this over three. I must pass comment on the new 'reclosable' packaging - not only did it serve its purpose keeping the bar fresh but it also handily sealed back up with the ingenuity of the seam of the wrapper being slightly tacky...simple but effective. The design work of the bar itself was certainly unique and despite my small uncertainty at the name of the bar, the splodge theme certainly made it interesting to look at. The bar had a nice aroma that seemed even more dairy based than the original Alpine milk...the cocoa smell didn't quite come through as strongly though it still smelt damn appealing.

The divine texture that im so accustom to expect with Milka was yet again evident from the very first block I placed in my mouth. The milk chocolate melted almost the instant it hit my tongue releasing the milky cocoa nature of the Alpine milk chocolate. The Alpine milk was its usual balanced taste of milkyness and cocoa and the only slight discrepency I noted in this bar was the sweeter aftertaste that misplaced the usual subtle nuttyness. Due to 'splodged nature of the white chocolate it was not present in every block, though even in the ones that it was present it struggled to establish a real flavour apart from adding a sweetness to the aftertaste as noted above. The sweetness unfortunately soon became quite arduous and it slightly spoilt the overall flavour. The added sweetness was solely down to the white chocolate and when I actually tasted it in isolation (after some intricate operation board game like manouevers splitting it from the milk chocolate base haha!) it was very very sweet and tasted somewhat like the Cadbury Dream white chocolate...never a good thing!

Overall despite having a nice base flavour with the Alpine milk chocolate the added white chocolate did little but spoil the subsequent taste. Although largely dominated by the creamy flavours of the milk chocolate the white added an unfortunate sweetness to the aftertaste making this a slightly less attractive option when placed next to an original Alpine Milk bar. The texture, presentation and appearance of the bar are still of a high standard though I will tell you this for nothing - I will not be running to try Milka's white chocolate bar anytime soon. If your after a recommendation from me regarding the Milka range I would point you in the direction of the standard Alpine Milk. Though if you truly believe you can handle the sweetness, then this bar wouldn't be a bad shout either.

7.5 out of 10

August 1st: Kit Kat Custard Pudding

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

Im normally inclined to leave the whole Japanese Kit Kat sector to Terry over at The Chocolate Review, who to date has done a sterling job at sampling all sorts of weired and wacky flavours (see HERE). Despite Terry's dedication to the Japanese Kit Kat cause I simply couldn't resist the temptation of trying a few of the different flavours out for myself via a bit of Ebay wheeling and dealing.

Today I sampled the ever so traditional Japanese themed 'Custard Pudding'* ;) The Kit Kat itself was of a conventional standard form - two coated wafer fingers. Unfortunately it came in a disappointingly small serving size...it was about the equivalent of one and a half standard Kit Kat fingers. This was no Mr T 'real man sized' snack and did very little at satisfying my mid-afternoon stomach rumbling.

The Kit Kat came in a nice sealed glossy package - complete with authentic Japense writing*. The fingers themselves (despite being ridiculously small grrr!) were nicely formed as per your usual Kit Kat, and had the logo finely etched into the surface. The product had a rather striking yellowish colour which fitted relatively well with the flavour context. The foil pack ensured a pleasant freshness and once opened released a particularly fragrant sweet dairy smell - it was very alluring and suprisingly strong relative to the small size of the product.

The fingers split nicely with a satisfying crisp crunch from the wafers. The outer coating was extremely soft in its texture and literally melted instantly in the mouth, revealing the crisp light wafer. Despite the short longevity of the solidity of the coating its flavour was still very strong and impactful. It had a simply luscious milky base flavour, with a very strong vanilla aftertaste that provided a devilishly creamy combination - truth be told it was absolutely gorgeous. The wafer had a nice crispness which contrasted nicely with the super smoothness of the melted coating; its flavour was sweet with a slight saltyness...rather like a rich tea biscuit.

Overall if it not for its size this would be up there with the best of the Kit Kat range....yes even the peanut butter variant!! The 'Custard Pudding' flavour is remarkably well delivered with a strong creamy vanilla taste that I would aliken very much to the cream filling of a custard creme biscuit...sweet indeed but incredibly moreish which is unfortunate given the ridiculous serving size that the product came in. If you ever come across this product (Ebay is a good place to look!!) then I strongly suggest you try it out - Kit Kat fans will simply love this variant...who knew the Japanese were so hot on their custard!?? I certainly didn't!

7.7 out of 10

*This is a long shot but if anyone can actually read Japanese and can confirm to me that this is 100% branded as 'Custard Pudding' on the wrapper it would be very much appreciated....it certainly tasted like it anyway :D - Jim

August 1st: Lily O'Briens Organic Dark Chocolate

Kcal 507 Fat 42.1g Fat(sats) 25.1g Carbs 48.6g (per 100.0g)

As you all know for the past month I have been working my way through a load of samples that Lily O'Briens sent me. Up until today all of the bars I had reviewed had been comprised of milk chocolate - well today saw me sampling their 'Organic Dark Chocolate'.

Like all the other bars in the range this came in a 80g serving, packaged using the same dull styled matted wrapping. Once again I would like to stress the poorness at the design of this bar, it was again particularly plain looking and didn't have half the appeal or the attractivness of say the Kshocolat dark bar...the design work (or lack of) just seemed plain lazy. Despite it's poor appearance the bar had a relatively nice smell...it had a dark fresh coffee like aroma that certainly gave me hope that this bar was going to be full of flavour.

The taste didnt let me down, and as the smell suggested this was certainly a rich tasting bar. The bar contained a relatively high 70% cocoa solids and this translated into the taste which was a full on intense dark experience. Each block had an initial burnt harshness to its flavour that really awoke the tastebuds. As the chocolate melted the flavour developed into a more mellow well rounded cocoa taste...never getting to the point I would describe as sweet tasting but just full of flavour like a rich tasting dark coffee. Each block had a slow almost lazy melt on the tongue that eventually formed into a viscous but wonderfully smooth fluid chocolate - it slipped down the throat ever so easily. This made for a long taste that was a truly satisfying richly flavoured experience.

Overall if it not for the lacklusture design work this would be a really well rounded dark chocolate bar. It tasted wonderful and provided a luxurious mature tasting chocolate that had a delightfully smooth texture. 40g of this (half a bar) was more than enough for a fulfilling and enjoyable portion. A mention must also be made to the source of the ingredients...all five of which are free of artifical flavours and colours and which were all organically sourced...im not really into all that spiel but they tasted fresh and of high quality nonetheless. If Lily O'Briens could sort out their sloppy design work they could really have a bar of chocolate here to be proud of. This is not the full well rounded product of the Lindt and Hotel Chocolat equivalent bars but its taste comes relatively close - well worth checking out if your after a good quality dark chocolate.

8.2 out of 10

July 31st: Ritter Sport White Whole Hazelnuts

Kcal 210 Fat 14.0g Fat(sats) 7.0g Carbs 18.0g (per 38.0g)

I really am motoring my way through the Ritter Sport variants at the momment - and im going to tell you this now...this 'White Whole Hazelnut' bar is gonna take some beating for the title of best in the range.

This bar contained 'White Chocolate with whole hazelnuts and crispy rice' and came in a standard Ritter 100g bar. The packaging had a nice distinct look to it with the focal point of the design being a picture of the lumpy hazelnut pieces poking out of the white chocolate...this was at least at little more imaginative and distinctive than the standard colour coding of the rest of the range. The bar itself also looked even more impressive than previous Ritter bars...each block still had the same fine logo design work, though the golden hazelnut pieces further added colour to the bar. Splitting the bar into its sections it had a nice dairy milky smell...yum this bar was certainly shaping up nicely.

Generally I find white chocolate takes longer to melt in the mouth, as the texure tends to normally have a waxier feel...this was not the case here as the chocolate melted delightfully in to a smooth like paste. Each block once melted left a delightful array of nuts and rice crispy pieces, all of which added a nice crunch to the experience. The variation of textures was delightful and made each bite that more interesting.

The different ingredients not only added a lovely contrast of textures but also flavours. The white chocolate was among the best standard I have tasted...yep as good as the Thorntons white chocolate! It was delicately balanced with a milky sweet base flavour that had just the right amount of vanilla to make for a long but deep taste...great stuff. Anyone who follows Chocolate Mission will know that I appreciate a good wholenut, and the hazelnuts implemented in this bar were of a great standard. Their crunchy bitey texture was backed up by a delightful fresh toasted flavour that complimented the soft flavour of the chocolate just superbly. Truth be told the rice element added very little to the flavour - I could at times detect a small hint of malt though largely it was dominated by the milky nut flavours...not at all suprising considering the small portioning of the ingredient...3% compared to 23% hazelnuts!

Overall this bar is my favourite of the Ritter Sport range so far and as I have said, its seriosuly going to take some beating. The flavours and texture are balanced near perfectly - the white chocolate is sweet, smooth milky and the hazelnuts and rice add an extra depth of crunchyness and flavour. This is just an incredibly moreish bar which I must admit I ate all in one sitting...its possibly not the most fulfling bar ever but its still a very satisfying one. For fans of white chocolate this is a must try...its simply delicious and comes with a Chocolate Mission recommendation. Clear some more space in the 'top rated bars' table - this is slotting straight in there!

8.9 out of 10

July 30th: Kshocolat 72% Dark Chocolate

Kcal 508 Fat 38.7g Fat(sats) 24.2g Carb 31.6g

Kshocolate are a relatively new company to the chocolate market having launched in only 2003. Despite their relative infancy their products are avalible in retail stores across the UK, US, Asia, Australasia and throughout Europe - the chocolate itself is actually produced in Glasgow, Scotland. Up until last week I must admit to being rather oblivious to their existance...that was until Kshocolat sent me five bars from their range for me to sample! Today I tried their 72% Dark chocolate bar.

The bar came in a 80g serving which I easily consumed over two sittings. I must admit it wasn't the richest of bars and the 40g servings were not the usual intense fufilling dark chocolate experiences that some other bars have provided. The outer packaging wasn't the most striking - if anything I thought the choice of colours was rather dull...they just didnt really articulate that this was a 'premiuim' bar of chocolate. The dullness of the outer packaging was all but blown away by the beauty of the bar itself. As you will see by the product shot above the bar had superbly engraved cocoa pod pictures carved into the surface...it looked an very impressive bar of chocolate. The bar also had a very appealing smell...it was wrapped tightly in silver foil which made for a very fresh smelling alluring cocoa to exude when unwrapped.

As you can probably guess by the fat content, this bar was crammed full of cocoa butter...37% of the totoal bar to be exact. It made for a wonderfully smooth taste and a chocolate that melted ever so effortlessly on the tongue....this was not a chocolate that required to be chewed - it just simply liquified into a silky smooth pleasant texture.

With this silky smooth texture came a suprisingly soft tasting chocolate. I was expecting an extremely rich cocoa flavour with the 72% solids level, but I found the taste rather reserved and its intensity was not quite the level I was expecting. The flavour of the bar was a pleasant cocoa one...not too bitter but at the same time not too sweet...just a very smooth long tasting cocoa flavour. Due to its slightly reserved nature the bar was not quite the rich dark experience of the Lindt Excellence 70% Dark or the Hotel Chocolat 85%, despite the flavour being a pleasant one I did find it slightly one dimensional...it didn't develop over the course of its time in my mouth and had no other elements to its taste. As I said though the cocoa flavour was pleasant enough and this was a good standard dark chocolate.

Overall this was a nice enough dark chocolate offering, though it didn't quite reach the levels of the finer dark chocolate equivalents from Lindt or Hotel Chocolat. It had a great smooth texture, with a real melt in the mouth luxurious nature to it, and the taste despite not being the most multifaceted was still on the whole enjoyable. This bar could simply just do with having another slight flavour lick to it...if only a very subtle note of vanilla or some sort of nut, it would just make the overall taste that little bit more interesting. If your after a non-offensive, subtle strengthed dark chocolate this would be a good bar for you to check out. If your more looking for a full on dark chocolate with a seriously rich intensive flavour though its probably best you overlook this bar and go for either of the suggested Lindt or Hotel Chocolat alternatives.

7.9 out of 10

July 29th: Skittles Chocolate Mix

Kcal 230 Fat 2.5g Fat(sats) 2.5g Carbs 51.0g

Now I know these aren't strictly chocolate, but what with the inclusion of a whole 2% cocoa solids and reader demand I simply had to get on the case of CandyPirate to send me some of these...as ever the nice guys at CandyPirate duly obliged and sent me a 53g bag for me to sample.

The Skittles Chocolate Mix is formed of an assortment of five different flavours: S'mores, brownie batter, chocolate pudding, chocolate caramel and lastly a rather oddly placed vanilla flavour...I wont even start on why its included in a supposed chocolate mix!!??

The 53g serving provided a nicely sized serving - I definately felt like I had my fill and I was somewhat satisfied with the portion. The packaging of the bag was nice though productwise the flavours could have been slightly more distinguishable in colour...the s'mores and vanilla were at times hard to tell apart, though this was more of a problem with the chocolate caramel and chocolate pudding flavours. Unfortunately these shared the common problem that M&Ms have in the aroma department...they smelt very non descript - not like any chocolate I have had anyway, to be honest they just frankly had an odd sweet smell.

This chocolate mixture had the same sort of texture you get with all Skittles - a pleasant sugary crispy outer shell with a soft chewy centre that released the flavours when chewed. Nothing overly new or out of place here...just simply what you would expect from Skittles.

Just to try out a different way to write up my reviews on taste, below I have simply written my tasting notes that I wrote whilst sampling each of the flavours. I tried eating all the flavours in many different ways: individually, two or more at a time and even mixing the flavours....here is what I noted down for each:

Chocolate Caramel - Nice immersive initial caramel flavour which progressivelly got less palpable the more I chewed on each piece. When eaten more than one at a time the caramel flavour was suprisingly less distinctive.

Vanilla - Very sweet artificial vanilla essence concentrate like taste...extremely sweet and taste quickly became sickly...unfortunately most generously portioned in the packet.

Brownie Batter - Nice doughy cake type flavour hit, Most distinctive in flavour and my favourite of the lot. Strongest aftertaste out of the selection.

Chocolate Pudding - Hardly any hint of cocoa flavour with a taste that can only really be described as sweet tasting. Very non distinctive , bland and entirely forgettable if not for the sickly taste.

S'mores - Very sweet marshmallow like flavour - one of the most distinct of the selection. Slight honey flavoured tinge to the aftertaste...my second favourite.

Overall as you can see from my notes above the flavour range was not all that great. The only memorable aspects of the vanilla and chocolate pudding pieces were really their complete lack of flavour and their fast developing sickly sweet tastes. The chocolate caramels despite having a nice initial caramel flavour soon developed to only further add to the overall monotomous sweet nature of the aforementioned flavours. The only real winners in this mixture were for me the s'mores and more to the point brownie batter flavour....they at least tasted as described with the brownie batter variant especially providing a distinct long lasting taste that actually delivered on what its description detailed. I wouldn't massivelly recommend these to anyone based on their chocolate credentials, but for fans of Skittles these could at least be worth checking out. I can safely say these do not represent chocolate in its greatest glory - probably best avoided if you have little interest in them.

6.8 out of 10

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