November 14th: Galaxy Smooth Dark

Kcal 521 Fat 33.6g Fat(sats) 28.0g Carbs 48.0g (per 100.0g)

Having tried the US equivalent Dove Dark Chocolate last month, I thought it best I get a wriggle on and get round to trying the UK Galaxy version. The bar described itself as 'deeply smooth, intensely delicious and not at all bitter' ... confidence for you eh!?? I will be the judge of all that thank you Mars :)

The bar came in a 125g serving, which when related to the £1 I paid for the bar, was actually quite plentiful. The bar was pretty well presented, the packaging was coloured with appropriate darker shades of brown, and even included two layers of foil. The chocolate itself had a pleasant looking wavy shaped design implemented on each piece, much the same as the milk chocolate variation. As well as being well presented  the bar had a nice aroma, it had forthcoming cocoa scents that certainly had a good degree of appeal. 

When looking at the back of wrapper I was surprised to see the bar contained 50% cocoa solids, to be honest I was expecting more of a milder formulation like the Bournville 39%. What was more surprising was that this actually translated into the way the bar tasted. The bar had a strong cocoa base flavour that grew in its intensity as the melt progressed. Although the cocoa flavours became greater and greater in their concentration, as the on-pack description suggested the taste never became bitter, and was nicely balanced by a nice creamy element. The bar tasted great, but what impressed me most was that the bar retained the gloriously smooth texture of the milk chocolate variant. The melt was nicely paced and amazingly silky feeling in the mouth. The richness of the cocoa flavours meant that a 50g or so serving of this was both plentiful and satisfying. 

Overall I am really rather angry with myself for taking so long to review this bar ... it was actually a really good standard dark chocolate. I often describe popular brands dark chocolate variants as 'mass consumer friendly' ... in that they generally aren't intensified in their cocoa content at all, just merely unsweetened versions of their original milk chocolate variants (its not always a bad thing!!! see Mars / Snickers / KitKat for examples!!). Anyway, this term couldn't be more untrue of this bar ... the cocoa flavours were amplified, yet nicely balanced with a nice milky undertone that culminated in a delicious dark chocolate that had a fantastically smooth texture. I would highly recommend this Galaxy variant, especially if your looking to ease yourself into dark chocolate. An excellent choice for dark chocolate beginners, especially for the bargain price of £1!!  

8.8 out of 10

November 14th: Ritter Sport Whole Almonds

Kcal 557 Fat 36.8g Fat(sats) 17.9g Carbs 45.4g (per 100.0g)

Having exhausted all the Ritter Sport Whole Hazelnuts variants (see Dark, Milk & White), I today turned my attention to the Ritter Sport Whole Almonds variant. Unlike the hazelnut variants, this bar only comes in the one chocolate format - milk chocolate. I have seen this variant available in the UK, but today's bar was again provided to me by Dean-German-Grocery.

This was yet another from the 100.0g bar range, like the hazelnut variants this bar comprised of 23% nuts .... all the way from California so the packaging told me! As you can see above the packaging was a distinctive green colour and had some relevant whole almonds pictured on the front. The bar appeared just as presented on the front of pack, with almonds plentifully portioned across its entirety. Their whole nature meant the pieces didn't break off cleanly, though I guess this was to be expected from such a nut heavy chocolate. The smell of the bar was noticeably lacklustre, there was no indication of the almonds whatsoever, the usual dairy scents of the milk chocolate also seemed somewhat toned down.

From the very first piece this bar reminded me of the Ritter Sport Peanut bar, which you may remember wasn't my favourite Ritter Sport variant. The milk chocolate fulfilled its usual duties of providing a relatively average milky tasting chocolate. It normally works so well for Ritter Sport bars as it normally accompanies some big hitting added flavours (see Praline, Yogurt etc!), unfortunately as with the Ritter Sport Peanut bar the added flavours from the almonds were somewhat lacking. The almonds were no where near as flavoursome as the hazelnuts variants. Despite their whole nature they were largely flavourless, only adding the most minor of incremental buttery elements to the taste. I was also somewhat disappointed with the texture of almonds, they had an almost squeaky and soft feel when bitten into ... they certainly didn't have the desired crunch. The lack of real hard hitting flavours from the almonds meant that in comparison to other whole nut products this wasn't the most satisfying, saying that 50.0g still provided a moderately fulfilling snack.

Overall this was one of the more lacklustre Ritter Sport variants I have reviewed, solely due to the poorness of the almonds. The milk chocolate as ever delivered a smooth, milky base chocolaty context, though the bar was severely let down by the disappointing almond nuts. Both their taste and texture were lacklustre, they paled in comparison to the the far more flavoursome and fresh tasting hazelnuts variants. Personally I really wouldn't recommend this bar, as there are far better in the Ritter Sport range. Possibly one for really big almond fans, but I think even they will be left disappointed.

6.8 out of 10

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

November 13th: Lindt Christmas Magic Selection

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

Today sees me review my first selection box of chocolates. I have made a slight adaptation to the scoring criteria: replacing the sustenance score, with a score for selection (variety etc), for the obvious reason that selection boxes are more about consuming in smaller quantities but with a wider choice. This Lindt Christmas Magic Selection was sent to me by Dean-German-Grocery and forms part of the Lindt Christmas range.

In typical Lindt fashion, both the box and chocolates contained within looked fantastic. The box had a nice selection of colours and golden font. The chocolates themselves were presented in a golden coloured tray. Each of the chocolates were formed well, in particular the bell and star shapes which had some very intricate detail. The chocolates had a very pleasant aroma that had buttery, cocoa and dairy notes - yum! Below are my tasting notes for each piece, each of the different pieces were rated on a system that went from awful, poor, standard, good, very good and excellent.

Star - This piece was best enjoyed by biting off the strongly flavoured milk chocolate on top and enjoying it separately from the superb white chocolate. The base had a delicious milky, vanilla taste that included small pieces of crunchy coconut. Very good.

Diamond - Had a delightful creamy praline taste. It had a vastly softer texture, almost like fudge. The flavours didn't last that long in the mouth, however the hazelnut praline taste was outstanding. Very good.

Dusted Ball - This was a Marc de Champagne truffle, that included the same luxurious filling than the Lindt Marc de Champagne truffles I reviewed last week. Full of flavour and silky smooth. Excellent.

Cone - These milk chocolate praline pieces came presented in nice mini silver wrappers that made them look absolutely superb. Their taste was far milkier than the rest of the chocolates, though the nutty praline did come through in the end. Very moreish, but the flavours didn't last all that long. Good.

Bell - A fantastic layered chocolate that included layers of outer milk chocolate, cream filling with crunchy nut pieces and a nice layer of lighter praline above. The contrast of the smooth fillings, with the crunchy small nutty pieces was very enjoyable. best of the lot. Excellent.

Overall this was a fantastic selection, and I enjoyed each of the five different offerings. The smallest of grumbles would be that the one I favoured the least (cone shape), was portioned three times, and the others only two. That aside, each and every piece had a fantastic taste, and the variety in textures was simply superb. If your going to be gifting a selection box this Christmas you could go very little wrong here.

9.0 out of 10

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

November 12th: Cadbury Roses

Kcal 490 Fat 22.0f Fat(sats) 12.3g Carbs 66.3g (per 100.0g)

These have been a fixture in my families household at Christmas since I can remember. A 2kg lasts us the best part of December. To be honest, apart from them we normally have very little other chocolate round the house ... well until this year of course :) Cadbury Roses come billed as 'an assortment of chocolates' .... let elaborate on this one

Now I know Cadbury Roses come in many different shapes and sizes, but in the interest of fairness to the selection box scoring system, I have decided to score the range on its 80.0g box. This smaller box size provided a 'best of' look at the range and included seven different variants. I honestly can't remember the packaging for Roses being different to what it is today, I swear it hasn't changed. Anyway, I personally don't think the outer packaging looks the most appetising.I like the light blue on purple colour scheme purely for its classic appeal, but something is at the back of mind telling me it is beginning to look outdated and a bit 90s. No such problems with the pieces themselves - each came in vivid and fresh keeping wrappers, and were all shaped and crafted in to detailed looking individual shapes.

One of the things that I noticed universally with all the milk chocolates from the selection, were that their chocolate wasn't quite of Dairy Milk standard. The chocolate had more a sugary taste, with the milk elements still highly detectable, just not quite as prevalent. Below are my tasting notes for each chocolate:

Orange Creme - Orange Foil Cube - This variant had a nice milky, sweet smell and was shaped nicely in a bite sized piece. The shape allowed for a wonderful melt, the chocolate flavour was well established by the time the sweet, fruity fondant was revealed. The orange flavour was very evident and was a nice fit with the milk chocolate. Very Good.

Country Fudge - Brown Finger - A sweet, caramel type smell was relatively forthcoming. The piece was nicely sized and provided a good fit in the mouth. The chocolate layer was very thin meaning the chocolate didn't impose itself too much on the overall taste. The dense fudge centre softened somewhat once warmed in the mouth and had some nice buttery, honey type flavours. The usual dryness that is so typical with fudge was avoided. Though I was disappointed with its lack of flavour progression, I still very much enjoyed this piece. Very Good.

Brazilian Darkness - Red/Gold Cube - This was the only dark chocolate piece out of the selection. The enhanced cocoa content was detectable in the smell, the aroma was not half as sweet as the rest of the range. Again, the piece was a nice size and shape. The dark chocolate was more like unsweetened milk chocolate - it was ok, though far from high standard dark. The toffee centre was nicely flavoured with a delicious butter taste that had detectable notes of hazelnut. I am glad they have done away with the annoying small nut pieces that used to ruin the texture of these pieces!! Good.

Strawberry Dream - Pink Dome - Jim aren't you allergic to strawberry??? err yeah!! I risked it thinking that there wouldn't actually be any real strawberry content ... I was correct! The smell was extremely sweet with some artificial fruity smells. The chocolate was extremely thin and melted in an instant revealing the fondant centre. The fondant was way over portioned meaning the overall taste was horribly sweet ... cue throat burn!! Poor.

Hazel Whirl - Purple/Orange Dome - Sweet, milky smell. Possibly a little to large in its shape ... could have done with being a tad smaller to fit nicely in the mouth in one go. The chocolate was pretty nicely flavoured with the standard milky sweetness. The chocolate melted at a reasonably nice rate revealing the whole hazelnut. The hazelnut was crunchy and forthcoming in its nutty, woody flavours. Very Good.

Hazel in Caramel - Purple Finger - Sweet, milky smell. Was a bit long in its size, again could have been a bit smaller. The outer milk chocolate seemed less sweet in this version, though this was actually to my taste. The caramel was stunningly flavoured - buttery, sweet with a nice burnt sugar aftertaste - gorgeous! The hazelnut was hugely effected by the caramel ... in a bad way! Its taste was lifeless and its texture was soft and mulchy. Good.

Caramel - Light Blue Cube - Like the Brazillian, perfect size and shape for a bite size piece. The chocolate could/should have been thicker but was just about enough to provide a cocoa base flavour at the start of the taste. The toffee centre was fantastically flavoured, sweet and buttery with the occasional hint of saltiness. The taste was long, it was very enjoyable sucking on the toffee until it melted. The best of the lot. Excellent.

Overall there is no denying that Cadbury Roses are a fantastic selection of chocolates, and are well worthy of all their acclaim. The selection is wide and offers a diverse range of differing tastes and textures. Though the selection is wide, there is maybe a little too much emphasis on nut variants. This is all dandy for a person like me who enjoys nuts, though for someone that doesn't their choices maybe a little limited. My personal favourite was the Caramel piece aka the inside-out Cadbury Eclair. The selection box isn't without its dud (see Strawberry Dream!!), though many selections aren't ... I guess they have to cater for all tastes. I don't need to recommend these, it would be naive of me to think that you all haven't had some sort of experience with Cadbury Roses already.

8.4 out of 10

November 12th: Milka Amavel Mousse Creme Caramel

Kcal 555 Fat 35.0g Carbs 53.0g (per 100.0g)

After reviewing the Milka Amavel Mousse au Chocolat to huge success (8.7 out of 10!!), I was hugely looking forward to this 'Creme Caramel' flavour variation that Dean-German-Grocery kindly sent my way. Comprising again of the standard 'Alpine Milk chocolate' the bar included a Creme Caramel mousse filling which formed 33% of the total constituents.

The bar came in the same 160.0g size as the Mousse au Chocolat, and in the same ten mousse containing 'pod' design. I was disappointed to an extent with the appearance of the product - mainly due to the on-pack picture, which displayed the 'Creme Caramel' mousse as golden coloured. As you can see above when cross-sectioned the filling was actually far darker. To be honest I think a lighter coloured filling would have looked far more interesting, it was just a bit of a let down that the bar looked much the same as the Mousse au Chocolat variant. Though the bar was a slightly lacking in its aesthetics, it smelt absolutely stunning. It had a sweet, brown sugar like appeal. It reminded more of the smell of the top of a Creme brulee rather than a Creme Caramel ... whatever it smelt massively enticing.

It came as no surprise that the 'Alpine Milk' provided a delicious milky base flavour for the filling. Both the melt and texture were smooth, and as normal its flavour was very creamy with the slightest of hazelnut notes in the aftertaste - yum!! The 'Alpine Milk' certainly provided a very enjoyable background set of flavours, but the real deal sealer was the Creme Caramel mousse, which was simply delicious. The texture was much the same as Mousse au Chocolat, and had a dense but soft feel. Despite being similar in texture, it varied largely in its flavour delivery. The filling had a surprisingly rich set of flavours that went beyond just being a sweetened version of the Mousse au Chocolate. There were elements of brown sugar, syrup, vanilla and buttery notes that made for an extremely moreish, long lasting taste. Such was the appeal of the bar I ate the 160.0g over only two sittings, Yes it could have been more fulfilling, but there was no doubting this was one extremely enjoyable bar.

Overall this was a very satisfying product that I very much enjoyed. The 'Alpine Milk' provided the perfect compliment to the filling. Its full bodied milky appeal was strongly flavoured, though never over powering and allowed the flavours of the 'Creme Caramel' to express themselves. The 'Creme Caramel' mousse was simply stunning. It would have been all to easy for Milka to just sweeten the Mousse au Chocolat filling, but this offering had distinct creamy, buttery vanilla elements that made it hugely appealing. I highly recommend this bar to anyone who likes the sound of it. I was half expecting the 'Creme Caramel' flavour to be a bit of a gimmick, but this couldn't have been further from the truth - a brilliantly constructed bar.

8.8 out of 10

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

November 12th: Lindt Champagne Truffles

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

Having barely survived Lindt's last foray into the world of liqueur chocolates (see Lindt Christmas Punch), I was mildly cautious at trying these 'Marc de Champagne Truffel' (aka Champagne Truffles), which again were provided to me by those kind folk at Dean-German-Grocery.

I received these truffles in a rather nice looking pack of 2 that weighed in at surprising 50.0g. Once again it was high marks for Lindt in their presentation, it was again simply superb. The outer packaging gave the product a real premium look, which was not to be let down by the truffles themselves which also were not only stunningly presented in golden foil wrappers, but also were brilliantly crafted in hollow heart shapes that had particularly lavish looking truffle centres. This brilliant presentation combined with the delicious milky smell that emanated from the truffles meant that all early signs were looking good - time to dig in.

The outer part of the truffle was formed of a thickish layer of milk chocolate. The smooth, friendly milky flavours reminded of the Lindt Excellence Milk Extra Creamy and provided a luxurious initial taste to the truffle. Contained within the milk chocolate shell was the simply divine champagne truffle filling. Again I must stress to you I am no alcoholic connoisseur, however I really enjoyed the flavours of the truffle centre. The taste was largely dominated by the slight tartness of the champagne which constituted 8% of the filling. The slightly tangy flavour of the champagne was wonderfully incorporated in a sugary fondant type creme. The texture was smooth yet at the same time almost had a slight fizz to it ... you would have to taste it to really ascertain what I am getting at here. Though the milk chocolate flavours were a little short in their longevity, the champagne truffle centre left a longing set of tangy, sweet flavours.

Overall as far as truffles go, these are up there with the best of them. They were presented beautifully and combined a delicious taste with some delightful textures. I am not a big champagne drinker, but I thought the flavouring of the truffle centre was spot-on, and the milk chocolate played the perfect host. I have no problem whole heartidly recommending these for gifting this Christmas - absolutely fantastic truffles, that even look the part as well ... maybe Lindt can produce good liqueur chocolates after all!

8.8 out of 10

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

November 11th: Ritter Sport Dark Whole Hazelnuts

Kcal 559 Fat 38.7g Fat(sats) 17.5g Carbs 44.7g (per 100.0g)

Being a huge fan of both the Ritter Sport Milk and White Chocolate Whole Hazelnut bars, Dean-German-Grocery insisted they send me this Dark Whole Hazelnuts variant. I was never going to be one to complain - formed of 50% cocoa solids plain chocolate and 23% hazelnuts, I saw no reason why this shouldn't a bar I would really enjoy.

The bar came in the standard 100.0g form, which made for two very plentiful servings. The outer-packaging was of standard Ritter quality, and like the Milk and White Whole Hazelnuts variants pictured the bumpy surface of the bar on the front of pack. The chocolate itself looked superb, it had a deep, dark coloured appearance that had contrasting lighter hazelnuts dispersed evenly throughout. As well as looking great, the bar also had a very forthcoming cocoa smell, that raised my expectations even further - it smelt fantastic.

Like the 50% cocoa solids formulation indicated, this was not the most intense dark chocolate I had ever tasted, it was still full of flavour though. The flavours were very forthcoming and strong, yet never bitter, and a nice milky undertone complimented the raw cocoa edge superbly. The melt was a little on the slow side, however was wonderfully thick and highly enjoyable in contrast to the crunchiness of the hazelnut pieces. All too often in dark chocolate and nut combinations, the flavours of the nuts get glossed over by the more intense flavours of the dark chocolate - the nature of the whole hazelnut pieces stopped this from happening here. The hazelnuts had nice earthy, buttery flavours that were by no means belittled by the chocolate, they tasted very fresh indeed. The combination of the rich dark chocolate and full on nut pieces delivered a really long lasting taste that meant this was an extremely fulfilling bar - 50.0g felt like plenty.

Overall it seems that Ritter Sport have pulled off some fantastic hazelnut bars for all three milk, white and dark chocolates. In this bar the danger lay with the dark chocolate dominating the nuts, however this was luckily not the case. The hazelnuts just further added another wonderful nutty context to the full bodied cocoa taste, proving once again that nuts are at their best when implemented whole, and not ground down into small tasteless pieces. Yet another cracker from the Ritter Sport range, and one that I very much recommend - especially to you dark chocolate fans.

8.8 out of 10

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

November 10th: Hotel Chocolat Organic Dark 82%

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

After my recent weeks excursions looking at some of Hotel Chocolat's Halloween and Christmas ranges, I this week continued my look at 'The Purist' range with the 'Organic Dark 82%'. As with the '72% Peppercorn' and '100% organic' bars, this was a product of the Hacienda lara Plantation and was formed using National Arriba cocoa beans. Shall I bore you with more details or just get on with the review? ... lets get on with it :)

I don't have to tell you how much I rate the presentation quality of 'The Purist' range. The slab came beautifully packaged in a cardboard sleeve that as ever included some in-depth detail on the bean to bar (or slab) process . The chocolate itself had the usual Hotel Chocolat logo inscribed, the chocolate actually felt relatively soft in comparison to other bars from the range, handling the bar very briefly even left very evident fingerprints as you can see in the picture above. Once released from its inner foil packet the chocolate smelt absolutely divine, the cocoa smell was extremely forthcoming and really set my expectations high for what was to come. 

At first glance this formulation may look only slightly different from the current Chocolate Mission leader the Hotel Chocolat 85% Dark Chocolate, however its organic nature meant it lacked the soya lecithin and vanilla ingredients, which did vary its taste slightly. The flavours were by and large very similar, with the cocoa unsurprisingly very prevalent and impactful. The strength of the cocoa intensified as the smooth melt progressed, with subtle notes of dark fruits and coffee intermittently detectable. The variance between this bar and the 85% slab came in the aftertaste of the bar. The vanilla in the 85% really rounds off the taste nicely, providing a minor sweet lingering flavour in the mouth. With the vanilla absent, the cocoa remained the dominant flavour throughout. Though the cocoa flavours were absolutely outstanding and clean tasting, they at times verged on the excessively intense (see 100% organic bar), ideally something would have been included to mellow the aftertaste

Overall this was a chocolate that came extremely close to being of the same standard as the current Chocolate Mission top rated bar, however just lacked the aftertaste to match. The dark chocolate was of a very high quality, combining a rich, full flavoured cocoa intensive taste that grew as the wonderfully smooth melt progressed. As I stated above the only thing this bar was missing was a friendly aftertaste ... a touch of vanilla and this bar would be nearing perfection. Very highly recommended for dark chocolate fans - there are very few better.

9.0 out of 10 

November 10th: Tunnock's Milk Chocolate Caramel Wafer Biscuit

Kcal 134 Fat 5.2g Fat(sats) 3.8g Carbs 20.8g

Having seen Terry review these over at 'The Chocolate Review', I thought I would give the Tunnocks range a well deserved look over. Today I started with the 'Milk Chocolate Caramel Wafer Biscuit', which is exactly what it says on the tin!! I hadn't had one of these for years, though they were a huge childhood favourite of mine, I used to consume them by the truckload when I was a wee nipper. 

The wrapper had a nice retro look, unsurprising really since these have been made since the 1890s!! It had a nice bright foil outer exterior, though had a paper based interior ... this may just be nostalgia but I really liked the format and use of the red and gold colours. The bar itself didn't seem to have changed one bit ... well since I can remember anyway! The chocolate layers appeared thin, though the caramel placed in between the wafer looked plentiful and appetising. The product had quite a weak sweet smell, I guess this wasn't helped by the lack of tightness of the wrapper ... the bar wasn't actually sealed, the paper wrapper was only folded to contain the bar within.

This is going to sound very silly but the bar tasted exactly how it looked. The milk chocolate coating was extremely thin, which meant that the cocoa flavours didn't have much of a say in the overall taste once the caramel and wafer elements came into play. As you all know I am no big fan of wafers, but the caramel placed in between, gave the one in this bar a far more substantial feel than the average. The wheaty flavours of the wafer were further accentuated by the sweetness of the caramel and provided a very biscuity, sweet taste. The chewiness of the caramel and crunchiness of the wafer provided some fantastic contrastive textures. Despite its relatively small size (30.0g), in comparison to some standard chocolate bars this felt like a more fulfilling snack.

Overall after eating this I remember why I used to eat these so often in my youth. There are some areas that could do with a little fine tuning - the chocolate for instance could do with being twice the thickness to give it more of a meaningful contribution to the taste. Saying this, I can see why Tunnock's wouldn't want to play with a recipe that is over 100 years old ... the mixture of the caramel and wafer is fantastic - as the saying goes ... why fix something that ain't broke!! Chances are you have consumed one of these in your lifetime ... if you haven't there are no excuses now!!

7.6 out of 10

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