November 9th: Milka Alpine Milk Cream

Kcal 575 Fat 38.5g Carbs 52.5g (per 100.0g)

Those of you may recall I reviewed the Milka Chocolate Cream bar a few months ago. Despite it not being my favourite variant of Milka, I was looking forward to trying this bar, which was again sent to me by those wonderful people at Dean-German-Grocery. This variant combined the standard 'Alpine Milk chocolate with a smooth milk cream filling'.

The bar came in the standard 100.0g, which provided two very sufficient 50.0g servings. The product came in the standard Milka packaging, though the bar itself varied slightly in its appearance to the norm with cow patterns replacing the standard Milka logos. That extra bit of detail, coupled with the distinctness of the layering, made it really stand out as a very well presented bar. The chocolate emanated a very strong dairy smell that was very evident and forthcoming as soon as I opened the wrapping ... very nice indeed.

When I reviewed the Chocolate Cream, I remember the chocolate cream filling being at detriment to the Alpine Milk chocolate ... the milk cream filling in this bar did quite the opposite. The Alpine Milk was implemented with just about the right thickness. It was amazingly smooth in its melt, yet thick enough to establish a firm flavour base before the milk cream filling joined the party. How can I describe the milk cream filling without using the word creamy!??? Hmmm well I cant because that is exactly how it tasted - it was like double cream but in a more solid fashion - almost like an exceedingly milky white chocolate ... just without all the sugar. As with the outer chocolate, it had a substantial constituents that was just ever so slightly softer in its texture. I feared before tasting this bar that the filling might lack flavour, but in reality it was stunningly executed with both a strong and lasting taste.

Overall this bar is up there with the Milka Caramel in terms of being my favourite Milka offering. It combined the already fantastic Alpine Milk chocolate with a simply dreamy milk cream filling that culminated in one fantastically creamy experience. As I said above the cream filling was more like a fantastically flavoured white chocolate, not only adding that extra dimension of dairy flavours but also accentuating the cocoa flavours of the Alpine Milk even more. A simple must-try for Milka fans, a really highly recommended bar.

8.7 out of 10

Fancy trying the Milka Alpine Milk Cream for yourself!? Fancy any another Ritter Sport / Milka / Lindt / Storck or German Grocery ... head over to Dean-German-Grocery!!

November 9th: Lindt Kristallzauber

Kcal 586 Fat 42.0g Carbs 48.0g (per 100.0g)

What a lovely name eh? Lindt Kristallzauber .... translated into English ... Lindt Crystal Magic!! These mini chocolates formed yet another part of the Lindt Chrismas range that Dean-German-Grocery recently sent me to sample. The front of pack described them as 'Caramel infused in tender alpine milk chocolate' and 'as delicate as a snowflake' ... how very cute ;)

These came in an 80g bag that I will admit I ate all in one greedy serving - woops :) The outer-packaging took the form of a foil paper bag, which had highly decorative snowflake patterns and golden coloured writing. Indeed it looked fabulous to look at, but as you can see above was a right pain to photograph. Each of the mini chocolates came in wonderful little foil packages, and had delightful patterns imprinted into their surfaces. Each of the chocolates had a nice sweet dairy aroma, though due to their size it wasn't as if I hung around smelling them for any great deal of time.

As well as looking like miniature Lindors, these shared many of the same characteristics in their taste and textures. The outer alpine milk chocolate had quite a mild milky flavour that was largely dominated by the inner smoother centre that was far more strongly flavoured. The filling had an extremely silky feel in the mouth, and released a truly wonderful buttery, caramel taste. The lasting taste in the mouth was an enjoyable vanilla note, though much like Lindor truffles, the speed of the melt meant the flavours were gone all too quickly - hence why I found myself tucking away 80.0g in no time whatsoever.

Overall these are yet another great tasting product from Lindt, though the size of the pieces make for a tad of an underwhelming experience. As I have described above the actual taste was fantastic - with milky, caramel flavours aplenty ... it was just the fact that they didn't last long at all which was disappointing. In a way these chocolates seemed more of a tease, rather than a product that delivered 100%. Still, as a gift I am sure these would go down a storm - they look good and taste good ... both characteristics of which I'm sure are pretty high in peoples criteria for chocolate gifts this Christmas.

8.0 out 10

Fancy gifting this Lindt Kristallzauber this Xmas!? Fancy any another Ritter Sport / Milka / Lindt / Storck or German Grocery ... head over to Dean-German-Grocery!!

November 8th: Ritter Sport Schokowurfel

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

I am a huge fan of the Ritter Sport brand, so when sent this Ritter Sport collection box by Dean-German-Gorcery I was pretty damn excited to see what pleasures lay within. The box came with five 8g portions of six different flavour variants, all of which came in cubes about 1.5 times the size of a block from a 100.0g bar. The flavours were well varied and provided a nice assortment of flavours: Crocant, Caramel Crisp, Creme Coco, Edelnugat and two new flavours .. Mandel Split & Cappuccino.

The presentation of the selection was fantastic. The box itself was well presented (though I managed to dent the corner DOH!!) and had a premium looking design. Each of cube pieces came in colour coded, thick wrappers that kept each looking impeccable as well as fresh.

Below are my tasting notes for each variant:

Mandel Split - Green wrapper - milky smell with a mild nutty edge. Dairy flavours of the outer chocolate further accentuated by the creaminess of the milk creme centre. The almond pieces contained in the milk creme provided a nice contrastive crunchy element to the texture and also gave a nice nutty finish to the taste. Very Good.

Creme Coco - White wrapper - very sweet coconut scent very evident. Very nice contrast of textures between the smooth melting chocolate and inner roughness of the coconut. Highly reminiscent of Bounty, I want to try the larger version now. Good.

Crocant - Red wrapper - milky smell with a hazelnut hint. Nice use of smooth and crunchy textures with milk chocolate and small nut pieces. The nuts pieces were a little small and failed to establish a large impact on the taste, though the milk chocolate was still enjoyable. Standard.

Caramel Crisp - Orange wrapper - not much of an aroma aside from the standard sweetness from the chocolate. Absolutely superbly flavoured - very unique caramel that had an extremely buttery, honey like taste. Fantastic texture that seemed a cross between hard honeycomb and soft creme. Ritter please launch this in a bigger bar NOW!!! Excellent.

Cappuccino - Brown wrapper - usual sweet dairy scents with just an added touch of coffee. The centre was wonderfully flavoured, with a very forthcoming, but friendly coffee element combining nicely with the milk chocolate to deliver more of a mocha type taste. The lightness of the centre meant the flavours didn't last all that long, though was still highly enjoyable. Very Good.

Edelnugat - Blue Wrapper - milky smell with a hint of hazelnut. The textures were very smooth but the milk flavours of the Alpine Milk chocolate were distorted by a slightly tangy, soured flavoured hazelnut centre - not completely to my taste. Standard.

Overall it is quite rare coming across a selection box where there are no real stinkers. There were definitely flavours are favoured over others (Caramel Crisp!!!), but really each of them were of a pretty good quality and nicely diversed. If you are yet to venture in to the Ritter Sport brand this could be a great place for you to start. Not all of the flavours are available in the bigger sized 100.0g bars, but these certainly will go along way to setting your expectations of the brand. A great selection box, and one that is worthy of gracing anyones household this Christmas, whether it be to gift or to just share with the family.

8.4 out of 10

Fancy trying the Ritter Sport Schokowurfel for yourself!? Fancy any another Ritter Sport / Milka / Lindt / Storck or German Grocery ... head over to Dean-German-Grocery!!

November 8th: Whoppers Reese's Peanut Butter

Kcal 190 Fat 8.0g Fat(sats) 7.0g Carbs 25.0g (per 39.0g - 17 pieces)

It is very rarely you don't see a Hershey's product nowadays without their being a Reese's spin off ... not that I am complaining Reese's products are by and large really rather good. Saying that, given the quality of the 'Original Whoppers' I did fear for these. I was praying that this variant wouldn't be quite so dire when offered the chance to try them by **I SHOP 4 YOU II**. The product followed much the same premise as the originals, just with a peanut butter flavoured layer replacing the milk chocolate.

These came in a slightly smaller 113.0g box than the 'Original Whoppers', which I ate over the course of two pretty unfulfilling sittings. The outer packaging incorporated the orange Reese's theme well, however the Whoppers themselves were still loose within the box which again I thought was rather clumsy. Again, much like their original counterparts the Reese's Whoppers lacked a definitive smell, offering nothing more than the faintest of sweet scents. Reese's products normally have such a defining nutty smell, the complete lack of aroma was not only disappointing but more surprising.

The textures of the product were very similar to the 'Original Whoppers', though thankfully the peanut butter outer layer made for a marginally improved taste. The outer coating had the same horrible texture, which again failed to deliver flavour until the melt was quite progressed. As I referred to in the previous review it was almost like the coating had a horrible second skin, that needed to be worn away before the flavour was delivered. When the peanut butter did release its flavours, it had a relatively pleasant creamy taste that was far superior to the milk chocolate of the originals. The peanut aspect delivered a longer lasting set of flavours, though as I have referred to already the product was largely unfulfilling. The malt centres had exactly the same taste as the originals, and reminded me of a bit of a cross between Maltesers and the centre of the Nestle Violet Crumble. They tasted fair, but lacked the melt in the mouth texture quality of Maltesers.

Overall although the peanut butter coating was superior to that of the milk chocolate in the original variant, these were still a pretty poor product. The textures again just all felt so wrong ... the coating had a lazy melt and the centres were really lacking in quality in comparison to Maltesers. The peanut butter flavouring did have some appeal, and provided a longer lasting, superior nutty set of flavours relative to the original milk chocolate. I wouldn't massively recommend these unless your a real fan of Reese's products ... even then I would just suggest you go for something else from the Reese's range.

6.0 out of 10

*** EU & UK Readers Attention*** Ever been been browsing Chocolate Mission or any other Candy Site and felt frustrated not being able to get hold of an American bar/item!??? .... well feel frustrated no more!!! 'I SHOP 4 YOU II'!! is a great service that provides a unique "one stop shop" international shopping experience!!! Visit the Ebay shop - if they dont have the item you want instock simply give them a message - there is no harm in asking. This service comes with a Chocolate Mission Seal of Approval!! It is a genuinely great, fast and friendly service... Just say you came from Chocolate Mission.

November 7th: Dove Caramel

Kcal 200 Fat 11.0g Fat(sats) 7.0g Carbs 24.0g (per 5 pieces)

Despite coming to the consensus that Dove chocolate wasn't quite on par with of our UK Galaxy, I was pretty curious to what sort of standard this Dove Caramel would deliver. The UK equivalent - Galaxy Caramel is currently placed at number two in the Chocolate Mission ranks, thanks to **I SHOP 4 YOU II** I today got the chance to do the comparison.

I sampled the Dove Caramel in the form of five separate tablet pieces, which equated to a pretty satisfying 43.0g. These Dove caramel pieces were presented in the same fashion as the Dove Desserts Banana Foster I sampled a week or so ago, and came as individual chocolates. The foil wrappers were a nice gold colour and kept a relative freshness to the product. The chocolates pieces looked rather good as well, each had the Dove logo inscribed into the surface and the caramel had a particularly enticing glistening appeal. As aforementioned the chocolates were kept very fresh, and this showed with the pleasant sweet, cocoa smells released once out of their foil wrappers.

In line with what I have generally found with Dove chocolate, in comparison to Galaxy, the taste wasn't quite as creamy. The melt was still delightfully smooth, though as I have referred to before it lacked the richness and creamy thickness of its UK equivalent. Despite the chocolate being not quite being on the same level, the caramel was largely of the same quality. It had a wonderful taste that had a strong buttery flavour, very enjoyable indeed. Its texture was also luxuriously soft, with even a slight chewiness making the flavour last that little bit longer. The aftertaste was noticeably influenced by the slight burnt sugar flavour of the caramel, and left a lasting impression.

Overall due to the milk chocolate not being of the same quality, this Dove Caramel wasn't quite the same standard as the UK Galaxy Caramel bar. However this was still a very enjoyable product, and is definitely the best offering I have tasted from the Dove range. These reminded me of the Dove Caramel Waves I reviewed a while back, another Mars product that wasn't quite of the same standard of the UK Galaxy, but still very good. In a market that is littered with chocolate and caramel alternatives, this I would say is one of the better ones.

8.4 out of 10

*** EU & UK Readers Attention*** Ever been been browsing Chocolate Mission or any other Candy Site and felt frustrated not being able to get hold of an American bar/item!??? .... well feel frustrated no more!!! 'I SHOP 4 YOU II'!! is a great service that provides a unique "one stop shop" international shopping experience!!! Visit the Ebay shop - if they dont have the item you want instock simply give them a message - there is no harm in asking. This service comes with a Chocolate Mission Seal of Approval!! It is a genuinely great, fast and friendly service... Just say you came from Chocolate Mission.

November 7th: Galaxy Mistletoe Kisses

Kcal 209 Fat 11.5g Carbs 23.9g

Galaxy's seasonal offering, the 'Mistletoe Kisses' have hit the shelves once again - I say that like they were gone for long :) If you look hard enough these are available almost all year round ... I even remember seeing a pack in a newsagents in July - they must have been old huh!? These 'Mistletoe Kisses' were described on pack as 'three Galaxy chocolate pieces with an indulgent mousse & caramel centre' ... to me they sounded pretty promising. 

What the design lacked in practicality, it made up for in individualism. Indeed these were a right pain in the backside to eat ... completely down right awkward if you ask me. However, I don't quite know what it was but the pieces had a nice distinctive look that appealed to me. The chocolate had a nice gleaming surface, and the inner mousse and caramel fillings looked plentiful and very appetising. The outer packaging wasn't half bad either, it had a nice matted, sparkly finish and foil innards that did well locking in the pleasant sweet chocolaty scents.

I ate each of the pieces in two bites, which allowed me to taste both the mousse and caramel fillings in isolation as well as in tandem. The outer chocolate that covered the pieces was the standard Galaxy milk chocolate, and it was of course both fantastically silky smooth in its melt and devilishly creamy. The mousse filling was quite light in terms of its viscosity. Although this was a nice variation to the outer chocolate in terms of texture, it varied very little in-terms of its taste ... it was very hard to determine what it did in actual fact add in this department. The Galaxy Caramel bar has held down the number two spot on ChocolateMission for a long time now, and this reminded me exactly why. The caramel was exquisite - amazingly chewy and soft, with a 'to-die-for' sweet buttery taste with the tiniest hint of salt ... absolutely fabulous. The three pieces were gone all too fast for my liking. Despite leaving a sweet, chocolaty flavour in the mouth, I think a pack of four pieces would have been far more sufficient. 

Overall there is no doubting these are a damn tasty seasonal treat, though they are not quite without their fault. The Galaxy milk chocolate coating and caramel elements were simply superb, an absolute treat for the taste buds. Personally though I thought that the mousse element was somewhat of a let down. The texture variation was welcome, but Mars could have made the taste a little more unique ... maybe the use of a dark chocolate or vanilla flavoured mousse would have worked a bit better!? Also if Mars are going to make products this tasty why only include the three pieces? It meant that it wasn't the most satisfying of bars, and I was really left wanting more. Putting the small gripes to aside, this was still a very enjoyable product, and one that I would recommend you get stuck into at least once this Christmas. 

8.4 out of 10  

November 6th: Ritter Sport Neapolitan Waffle

Kcal 547 Fat 35.0g Fat(sats) 18.4g Carbs 49.0g (per 100.0g)

Rarely a week goes by lately without me dipping in to the Ritter Sport brand at least once. Sent to me again by the kind folks at Dean-German-Grocery, this 'Neapolitan Waffle' variant was formed of three Neapolitan waffle (aka wafer!) layers (10%), which were separated by two layers of hazelnut creme (35%) and coated with milk chocolate.

I was surprised this bar came in the same size and weight as the other Ritter Sport variants. I based this assumption on the fact the product contained wafers, which normally take up a lot of space but little weight. Anyway, I was wrong and this came in the standard 100.0g form. The outer packaging was coloured largely the same as the 'Peanut' variant, though the clear picture on the front made this variant highly distinguishable. I liked the look of the bar aesthetically, the top of the bar as ever was branded cleanly with the Ritter Sport logo, whilst the layering of the middle waffle and creme layers looked distinct and enticing. The smell of the product was largely hazelnut rooted, which was not surprising considering its large portioning (16% hazelnut mass!!). The strong nutty scents were complimented nicely by some underlying sweet cocoa scents.

The Ritter Sport milk chocolate provided a suitable background milky context for the filling. The melt was smooth as ever and revealed the inner wafer and creme layers at a nice rate. As I always say, the milk chocolate isn't anything to get excited about, but it consistently delivers at providing a nice base taste to the products where it is implemented. At the centre of the bar the wafer and hazelnut creme were placed in five intermittent layers. Despite being able to appreciate products like the Kit Kat, I must admit I am not the biggest wafer fan. I generally find wafers are pretty meaningless and often lack flavour. Thankfully this wasn't the case here. The wafers provided a delicious sweet wheaty element to the taste, and also retained a nice crunchy texture despite the moist creme layers being in constant contact. The hazelnut creme layer reminded me a lot of the Ritter Sport Praline bar and had an absolutely delicious, creamy nutty taste. The wafer element meant that this wasn't quite on the same hunger fulfilment levels of the 'Whole Hazelnut' variants, though 50.0g was satisfactory enough.

Overall the combination of all the layers provided an outstanding convergence of tastes and textures that was highly enjoyable. If I was to a liken this to anything I would say that it was like a superior version of the Kinder Bueno and Kit Kat Senses. I wouldn't say the hazelnut filling is quite on the same level as the Bueno, though there is no doubt in the fact that the chocolate and wafer layers are far, far superior. I wasn't massively excited about trying this variant, but it is definitely one I would have again - recommended.

8.6 out of 10

Fancy trying the Ritter Sport Neapolitaner Waffel for yourself!? Fancy any another Ritter Sport / Milka / Lindt / Storck or German Grocery ... head over to Dean-German-Grocery!!

November 6th: Milka Amavel Mousse au Chocolat

Kcal 560 Fat 36.5g Carbs 51.5 (per 100.0g)

Before Dean-German-Grocery sent this to me I wasn't actually aware that Milka had more lines than just their standard bars. This 'Amavel' range comprises of big Milka Alpine Milk pockets that are filled with various fillings. Dean-German-Grocery have been kind enough to send me across four different flavours, all of which I will be reviewing in the coming weeks. Today I tried the 'Mousse au Chocolat' flavour.

Due to the bar comprising of deeply filled pockets, the design of the bar was distinctly different to the standard Milka range. The bar was about four times the thickness, and was split into ten seperable pods. The pods were a little on the big side for my liking, it might have made more sense to have 12 instead of the 10 ... but that would be being very pedantic. The outer packaging gave the product a very premium look. The hard cardboard box was well designed with a fantastic looking picture and stylish gold font. The bar was wrapped in a layer of silver foil, releasing the bar from this foil revealed the all too familiar sweet dairy scents of the Alpine Milk choolate.

Despite its 160.0g size I ate the bar in only two sittings - five pods at a time. This provided a very satisfying serving, though to be honest you would come to expect that eating 80.0g worth of chocolate - oh blobby blobby!! As I have mentioned above the pods were slightly arkward in their size, however this didn't effect my enjoyment of the product to a massive extent. The distinction between the Alpine Milk coating and Mousse filling was all too obvious, there were distinctive texture and flavour differences. The Alpine Milk was far thicker and dense in comparion to the lighter, whipped filling of the mousse. The milkier flavours of the Alpine Milk were a perfect build up for the more intense and concentrated cocoa taste of the mousse. The two elements really worked perfectly in tandem, delivering a long lasting smooth taste that grew stronger as the melt progressed and the mousse filling revealed.

Overall this was a great first showing from the Milka Amavel range. I live by the motto 'save the best till last', so I reserved the more extravagant and exciting flavours from the range to review in the coming weeks. I guess I thought this bar might be a bit of a gimmick, with no distinction in the flavours of the two different elements of the coating and the filling ... to be honest I couldn't have been more wrong. The combination of the milkier outside Alpine Milk and the fluffier but more cocoa intensive mousse worked fantastically, producing a really moreish taste. If your a Milka fan this is a bar I strongly recommend, it is up there with the best of them. I honestly can't waite to try the rest of the range.

8.7 out of 10

Fancy trying the Milka Amavel Mousse au Chocolat for yourself!? Fancy any another Ritter Sport / Milka / Lindt / Storck or German Grocery ... head over to Dean-German-Grocery!!

November 5th: Milka Christmas Chocolate

Kcal 515 Fat 29.5g Fat(sats) 16.0g Carbs 56.0g (per 100.0g)

Milka aren't a brand that miss out on the Christmas bandwagon. All the way from Germany, Dean-German-Grocery sent me this 'Christmas Chocolate', a bar that included 'alpine milk chocolate, raisins, hazelnuts, orange pieces and hints of coriander and cinnamon'. It is lucky I am digging the whole cinnamon and coriander thing, a lot of the German Christmas themed products seem to include these spices (see Lindt Lindor Noel etc!), especially compared to the bars we get here in the UK.

Breaking Milka normality this 'Christmas Chocolate' came in a 150.0g size. It was contained within the same glossy plastic type packaging, and had an image on the front that pictured all the ingredients in a nice festive context. Aesthetically the bar looked very similar to that of the Milka Raisin and Nut bar, with nut pieces and raisins dispersed evenly and generously throughout. The bar had a very distinct smell, with the spices very evident amongst some citrusy, creamy smells - this is going to sound wired ... but it did indeed smell like Christmas :)

The milk chocolate base provided many of the silky smooth dairy flavours I have come so accustom to with the alpine milk recipe. As the smell of the bar suggested, the taste was influenced noticeably by the cinnamon and coriander spices. The intensity of the spices was just about right, they weren't overly strong or dominant, but still left a lasting meaningful impression. The hazelnut and raisin elements were both as effectively implemented here as in the Milka Raisin and Nut bar. They didn't have quite the same meaningful impact on the taste, though the sweet fruity flavours of the raisins, and woody, buttery flavours of the hazelnuts were still both very evident. The real surprise factor of this bar came from the small orange pieces, which really exerted themselves with short sharp citrus bursts. They gave the bar an amazingly sweet, fruity taste which had a real distinctness. It was a bit sweet to eat in large quantities, but it was highly enjoyable eating a few pieces at a time.

Overall this is far from just being a gimmick offering from Milka, and is actually a very unique tasting chocolate. The taste of the bar is extended that bit further from the Milka Raisin and Nut due to the inclusion of the spices and the orange pieces. However, it must be said this did cause the overall taste to lose a bit of balance, with the extra sugary ingredients making the bar a bit on the sweet side; this was my only slight criticism. When enjoyed in the right manner - a few squares at a time, it was a highly enjoyable chocolate and is a bar that I very much recommend. This is what Christmas is all about.

8.6 out of 10

Fancy trying the Milk Christmas Chocolate for yourself!? Fancy any another Ritter Sport / Milka / Lindt / Storck or German Grocery ... head over to Dean-German-Grocery!!

November 5th: Dove Desserts Bananas Foster

Kcal 200 Fat 11.0g Fat(sats) 8.0g Carbs 24.0g (per 5 pieces)

Having reviewed the standard Dove bars last week and deciding they were not quite the same standard of our UK Galaxy bars, I today turned my attention to one of the unique offerings from the Dove range. These Dove Desserts Bananas Foster came described as 'a delicious blend of caramel, infused with Bananas Foster Dessert, surrounded by Dove milk chocolate'. I personally had never heard of 'Bananas Foster Dessert' - for those in a similar position I can tell you (via Wiki of course) that it is a desert made from bananas and vanilla ice cream, with the sauce made from butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, dark rum and banana liqueur ... that's a lot of flavours - how on earth they could all fit in such a small chocolate?

**I SHOP 4 YOU II** sent me a box of 165g (about 20 pieces!), which I consumed over the course of a night in with a few friends (I know sharing ... whatever next!!). The outer box had a contemporary curved shape and looked reasonably premium. Each chocolate had a nice gold foil wrapper and big inscribed Dove logo ... these were hardly Lindt standard in their presentation, but they were better than your average chocolate. The foil wrappers did wonders for the appearance, though did not do the best of jobs at maintaining a nice fresh smell. The smell of the chocolates was not at all bad, just lacking somewhat with only a minor sweet scent on offer.

The size of the chocolates meant they were almost perfect for just placing on the tongue whole and letting them melt. The texture and taste of the outer chocolate was as with the standard Dove milk chocolate bar, smooth and creamy but just a little thinner in both it's melt and flavours than the UK Galaxy. This product was all about it's flavoured caramel centre, which was pleasant though hardly groundbreaking. It had an enjoyable chewy, caramel dexterity that lasted just long enough in the mouth to establish a firm flavour base against the chocolate. The centre had a pleasant initial sweet buttery taste that was heavily noted with Banana. As the chocolates matured in their melt the flavours converged somewhat with the banana flavour losing significance - this was disappointing as the flavours were actually quite good. The chocolates didn't leave a long lasting impression in the mouth; understandably we made our way through this box rather sharpish.

Overall these were particularly hard to score as they were a product that had both brilliant and disappointing factors. The milk chocolate was steady and provided a nice coating with it's balanced creamy flavour. The taste of the Bananas Foster centre was to coin a phrase 'a game of two halves' ... the initial sweet, buttery banana flavours were superb, however all to soon lost relevance and strength in the overall taste ... meaning that these were very disappointing in their taste longevity. There are very few banana themed chocolates out there on the market so in regards to banana fans these could be a fairly enjoyable product. For the rest of you though, these are by no means 'a must try' - another fairly average offering from the Dove range.

7.6 out of 10

*** EU & UK Readers Attention*** Ever been been browsing Chocolate Mission or any other Candy Site and felt frustrated not being able to get hold of an American bar/item!??? .... well feel frustrated no more!!! 'I SHOP 4 YOU II'!! is a great service that provides a unique "one stop shop" international shopping experience!!! Visit the Ebay shop - if they dont have the item you want instock simply give them a message - there is no harm in asking. This service comes with a Chocolate Mission Seal of Approval!! It is a genuinely great, fast and friendly service... Just say you came from Chocolate Mission.

November 4th: Lindt Christmas Truffles

Dean-German-Grocery have really spoilt me, sending me a great deal of samples from Lindt's Christmas range. As we have seen already there are some fantastic products this year (see here!), these mini truffles particularly intrigued me.

All three came sized about 30.0g ... think Quality Street Big Ones ... but with a lot more class :) Each of them came stunningly presented in dainty, but classy small boxes. Inside the truffles were protected by plastic film layers. As you can see from the pictures all three truffles looked fantastic. Each had a different nut placed on top, and all of them had detailed and intricate crafting detail. The distinct layering of the fillings further added to what on the whole were some stunningly presented products.

Below are my tasting notes for each - I have done my best translating the names ... any kind people who can confirm/help me out with these please do:

Lindt Christmas Yuletide Truffle:

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

All of these truffles included an amazing amount of layers - this Yuletide truffle in particular which included an outer layer of solid milk chocolate, a layer of lighter whipped milk and white chocolate placed on top, an egg-nogg truffle filling, a vanilla creme filling, all of which was topped off by a sugared hazelnut .... phew!! It smelt fantastic - several creamy, dairy scents released themselves from the plastic wrapping.

I was sad enough to cut each of theses truffles in to four smaller pieces. Each piece provided a delightful set of flavours, that varied largely depending on which constituent was most present. The outer milk chocolate set a lovely context for the inner fillings. It wasn't the strongest in its flavours, but its simple smooth milky taste allowed the overall taste to be expanded by the egg-nog and vanilla creme. The egg-nogg had a wonderful whipped texture and added nutmeg and rum flavours in to the mix. The vanilla creme took a bit of a backseat to the egg-nog, but it noticeably noted the aftertaste. The hazelnut piece topped it off nicely offering a long woody taste. The light nature of the fillings meant this wasn't the most fulfilling chocolate ever, but nevertheless it was highly enjoyable.

Overall a high quality truffle that offered several variable different elements to its taste. I particularly enjoyed the flavours from the egg-nog. Personally I would rather the centre had been completely filled with the egg-nog truffle, rather than shared with the vanilla creme. This was a very minor criticism though - a fantastic truffle.

8.4 out of 10

Lindt Christmas Festive Truffle:Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???

This festive truffle was formed of: an outer layer of milk chocolate, a layer of whipped dark and milk chocolate on top, a filling that constituted of half marzipan and half nut creme, and finally a sugared almond. It had similar appealing creamy scents as the Yuletide variant, though it also had spicy elements to its fragrance, due to the coriander and cinnamon contained in the nut creme.

Once again the outer milk chocolate performed its task of providing an understated coating chocolate well, with its enjoyable, if a little unspectacular milky flavours. As the smell suggested the coriander and cinnamon elements were forthcoming, and could be tasted in nearly all the layers. I thoroughly enjoyed their contribution to the overall taste, the mixture of the creamy fillings and spicy notes was very unique. However it must be said that the strength at which they delivered their flavours came at partial detriment to the other layers - most notably the marzipan that struggled for presence in the taste. The sugared almond placed on top provided a nice buttery nuttiness to the aftertaste. Again this wasn't the most fulfilling of truffles, though it delivered some enjoyable and lasting flavours.

Overall another hugely enjoyable truffle, though the flavours of the spices may have needed toning down just a touch to give some of other ingredients a greater say in the taste. Like the Yuletide truffle, it probably could have done with going with an either/or approach in regards to the marzipan and nut creme fillings.

8.0 out of 10

Lindt Christmas Walnut Truffle:

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

The final truffle out of the three I sampled was this 'Walnut truffle', which included a coating of outer milk chocolate and a lighter whipped milk and white chocolate on top. The centre comprised of an amazing three different fillings - vanilla creme, nut creme and a layer of marzipan tucked into the centre ... of course all of which was topped off by a grand looking walnut. As with the other two variants the smell of the truffle was very appealing with some very forthcoming creamy, nutty scents.

It was quite amazing really how Lindt tried packing so many layers into this one truffle. Despite the sheer quantity, each was still very distinguishable when I cross-sectioned the product. Though distinguishable visually, when actually eating the product the fillings converged into one. The mixture of the nut and vanilla creme was fantastic and tasted absolutely delicious when enjoyed in tandem with the smooth melt of the outer chocolate. Although the marzipan could be detected with its firmer texture, it remained largely flavourless. The walnut piece on top had a very fresh, earthy flavour. This was my favourite tastewise out of the lot, though the flavours didn't last the longest due to the nature of the light flavours and fillings. 

Overall this was another accomplished truffle that is well worthy of its high score. Although not individually distinct, the fillings were collectively great tasting, providing a very moreish creamy, nutty flavour. As I found in the 'Festive' variant, the marzipan element was relatively lifeless, which had me thinking similar thoughts about whether its presence was actually necessary. On the whole though, another stunningly presented, great tasting truffle.

8.4 out of 10

These were some very high quality truffles that I would highly recommend trying this Christmas if you get the chance. Each had amazing detail, and the presentation was of a very high standard. At times the number of fillings did seem a little to 'busy' for their own good, and maybe could have benefitted from having less ingredients, with more of a focus on one filling in particular. However, largely they were all packed full of flavour, and their stunning presentation in my opinion would make these perfect stocking fillers this Christmas.

Fancy trying the Lindt Christmas Truffles for yourself!? Fancy any another Ritter Sport / Milka / Lindt / Storck or German Grocery ... head over to Dean-German-Grocery!!

November 4th: Lindt Excellence White Coconut Chocolate

Kcal 240 Fat 17.0g Fat(sats) 12.0g Carbs 18.0g (per 40.0g)

Devoted ChocolateMission readers will know that when it comes to white chocolate I am a little bit cautious. It seems to be an art that very few can really pull off, and the quality varies wildly from manufacture to manufacture ... from the horrible Cadbury Dream, the middle of the road Milka white to the outstanding Ritter Sport and Hotel Chocolat offerings. Today, courtesy of Dean-German-Grocery, it was the turn of Lindt to show me what they could do. This was no plain white chocolate bar mind, this one had an extra coconut element to it.

I love the standard of presentation of the Excellence range, every single product from the range has thus far justified the name. None more so than this bar in particular; the cardboard packaging and foil wrapping kept the bar in pristine condition, the bar itself looked great with a fantastic light complexion that was interspersed nicely with white flecks of coconut. The bar also had a great aroma, a very forthcoming dairy, coconut mix quickly emanated from the wrapper further adding to the already superb presentation.

I must admit to not being the biggest fan ever of coconut, though the coconut flavours in this bar were nothing short of brilliant. The coconut added a delicious milky nutty context to the overall taste. The white chocolate was amazingly clean and smooth with no reliance whatsoever on sugar to give flavour, it was simply just wonderfully creamy and moreish. Despite the fantastic synergy of coconut and white chocolate culminating in a fantastic overall taste, there were a few factors that were not quite so great. Firstly the taste didn't last that long in the mouth, once the chocolate had melted the flavours disappeared relatively fast - this wouldn't be quite so much of a problem if the nutritional information didn't point out the fact this was a high fat/calorie laden bar. I'm guessing the bar was so high in fat due to it being rich in cocoa butter. This was obvious by the melt of the chocolate, it was silky smooth, though this was spoilt somewhat by the roughness of the coconut pieces. Although this was obviously to be expected, it didn't help the fact that it offset the texture by making it slightly grainy.

Overall I have gone on about the two minor negatives way too much, so it is worth reiterating how fantastic this bar was presented and tasted. It looked stunning and it's taste didn't let it down. It was fantastically creamy and nutty, definitely among the best white chocolate I have ever tasted, not the richest no - but outstanding in it's flavours nonetheless. Whether you enjoy this bar or not will largely be reliant on your enjoyment of coconut ... a bit like the Ferrero Raffaello. If you enjoy coconut and love your white chocolate this is a 'must try bar' ... for the rest of you I also highly recommend it.

8.7 out of 10

Fancy trying the Lindt Excellence White Coconut Chocolate for yourself!? Fancy any another Ritter Sport / Milka / Lindt / Storck or German Grocery ... head over to Dean-German-Grocery!!

November 4th: Nestle Princessa Mleczna

Kcal 199 Fat 11.6g Fat(sats) 3.5g Carbs 21.4g

My local Tesco supermarket has recently had a massive influx of Polish foods and goods. Included in the new ranges are quite a wide array of Polish chocolate bars, a few of which I picked up to sample. The packaging was unsurprisingly all in Poilsh, so actually determining what this bar included was a bit of a struggle. After doing some research via wiki I ascertained that this Nestle Princessa Mleczna included 'milk chocolate, with a milk cream filled wafer'. 

In actual physical size, the bar looked incredibly large. Picking it up though, it was that obvious the wafer was the main constituent - it was incredibly light, an unsurprisingly not very fulfilling. The wrapper itself looked pretty good, it had a nice foil glossy look, and the picture on the front actually made the product look pretty appetising. Unlike the wrapper though, the bar looked a bit plain and dull. It was just one long wafer, covered in what looked a pretty minimal layer of milk chocolate. The product didn't offer much in the way of a meaningful aroma, a small sweet smell was detectable, but was far from being anything of note. 

The milk chocolate looked worryingly thin in its appearance, and this sadly translated into the taste. The chocolate offered very little in the manner of a cocoa taste, and its thinness meant it was all but lost in the sweetness of the wafer. The wafer itself was also extremely poor, the milk cream centre added a minor milky context to the taste, however its presence was far more noticeable for giving the wafer an abysmal limp texture. Not only did this make the product completely unfulfilling, but it meant that none of the flavours left a meaningful impression in the mouth.

Overall this was a really quite a poor product, and not the best of starts for this Polish range. The milk chocolate was woefully inadequate and the moistness of cream filling meant that the wafer was on the whole limp and lifeless. This sort of reminded me of a rubbish version of the Nestle Crunch Crisp, it is funny how Nestle don't extend their best practices for products across their company. I understand the company is run regionally, but the sheer variance in quality is huge, and pretty inexcusable when the company already has the knowledge internally on how this product could have been made much better. I would recommend you stay clear of this one.

5.2 out of 10

   

November 3rd: Hotel Chocolat Cool Yule

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

For the last two weeks I have been sampling various parts of the Hotel Chocolat Christmas range, mostly in the form of some of their smaller offerings (Kissing Mistletoe / Little Angels etc!). Well included in my Christmas sampling package was this 'Cool Yule' 500.0g slab - which took the form of 'a background swirl of 30% and 40% milk chocolate, pressed with a white chocolate snowman and sugar snowflakes'. 

This 500.0g slab took me well over a week of constant nibbling (and some sharing!!) to completely finish. The presentation was fantastic, the slab came in a nice looking paper, plastic wrapper that although wasn't the most protective type of packaging still did a relatively good job, and even included a handy resealable flap. As you can see above the slab also looked superb. The swirl effect of the chocolate and the white studded snowflake pieces gave the background an interesting look, whilst the snowman was crafted with a great amount of detail. The slab smelt very enticing with some very familiar Hotel Chocolat dairy, cocoa smells all very evident and forthcoming. What was more impressive was that the smell was still just as strong when opening the packet on the fourth day of nibbling away - it was very impressive how it kept such a fresh appeal. 

Obviously with the slab being so large, different parts of the slab offered varying tastes. Apart from having a slightly milkier taste I couldn't detect too much of a difference between the 30% milk chocolate and the 40%. Both had wonderfully creamy, heavily cocoa rooted tastes that were very enjoyable and devilishly moreish. The white chocolate snowman was a splendid addition, I must admit I was sad enough to break off all the chocolate around it before devouring it. As the snowman was printed onto the milk chocolate background, I largely ate the white chocolate in tandem with the base. The white chocolate gave the milk chocolate an even creamier context and noted the aftertaste with a nice vanilla element - it brought back some good memories of the Milk & White Fusion slab. Another little touch I really enjoyed was that the snowman's scarf had an additional cherry flavouring added to it. The fruity flavour addition was mild, though it gave the slab a little something extra. I enjoyed this slab immensely, however there was one element I think could do with some revision. As I mentioned above the milk chocolate was studded with some white sugary pieces (to give the snowfall effect!!). Personally I would rather these had been left out, as in my opinion they broke up the smoothness of the chocolate and the extra sugar burst they released I felt wasn't all that necessary. I must reiterate this was only the most minor of observations, and it didn't affect my overall high satisfaction with the product whatsoever. 

Overall this was a typical high standard, highly enjoyable Hotel Chocolat product that I enjoyed immensely. This was the first Hotel Chocolat product I have had to consume over more than a few days, and I was quite simply amazed at how fresh the bar kept over the course of a week. The slab maintained all its creamy, cocoa rich flavours, which were delivered with some wonderfully thick, but smooth melt in the mouth textures. Personally I would prefer a few mini slabs like in the Peepster Boxs, rather than a huge 500.0g one, as there is potential for more variety. Despite this, there is no doubting that this is one high quality product that is ideal for gifting this Christmas.

8.7 out of 10