January 14th: Chocca Mocca Dark Chocolate Espresso

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

I had never heard of the Chocca Mocca brand before, but I found this bar accommodating part of the confectionery shelf in my local Waitrose. Given my love for chocolate and coffee combinations I simply couldn't turn down the opportunity to try this combination of 'dark chocolate and real coffee nibs'. I have recently tried some absolutely outstanding chocolate coffee combinations, so I was intrigued to see if this could at least compete.

The bar was a pretty huge 72.0g - given that it was a dark chocolate bar, as you can imagine this was a very plentiful serving,  I didn't manage to consume the bar all in one go. I really liked the look of the packaging - it was very simplistic, but at the same time very classy. The white exterior paper wrapper looked very sleek and well designed, the inner gold foil was tightly wrapped and kept the product looking in pristine condition. The chocolate itself was presented well - each block was a nice size and had a intricate bit of design work integrated to the top of each piece. The chocolate smelt very appetising - some strong cocoa and coffee scents were ever present upon opening the foil layer.

The dark chocolate was of a 58% cocoa recipe and really provided a fantastically balanced taste. Given the extra bitterness from the coffee nibs this wasn't a bar that needed an extremely intense chocolate - the chocolate implemented here was a near perfect strength. It had quite a striking cocoa impact initially, though the taste mellowed to a more subdued smooth taste with an element of sweetness in its long sustained aftertaste. The real shining star of the bar were the coffee nibs. Not only did they add a wonderful extra burst of fresh coffee to the taste, but they also added an element of interest to the texture with their crunchy nature. The balance between the chocolate and coffee flavours was very much to my liking - it made for an incredibly rich and satisfying chocolate.

Overall I was really quite surprised by this bar, it was a real bolt out the blue and provided a highly enjoyable bar of chocolate. This product reminded me of the Cadbury Bournville Deeply Dark, another one of my favourite chocolate coffee combinations. This bar combined a good quality dark chocolate and wonderfully flavouresome coffee element to great effect, ultimately delivering a highly luxurious offering. If you ever chance upon one of these bars it is highly worth trying - I would really recommend this to chocolate coffee fans. 

8.4 out of 10

January 13th: Ritter Sport Alpine / Diet / Organic Milk Chocolate

Dean-German-Grocery recently sent me across a huge package, included in which were three different types of Ritter Sport Milk Chocolate. I often refer to Ritter Sport Milk Chocolate as a great 'flavour carrier' (see Ritter Sport Yogurt, Cornflakes etc), and am generally of the thought that it does a good job complimenting an additional filling. However, I must admit that as a separate entity I have not always been impressed, and have also previously labelled it as a 'no frills', 'basic' milk chocolate. Having never tasted it completely solus, tasting and comparing three different variants of Ritter Sport's Milk Chocolate range seemed like the best thing to do.

Today I tried the Alpine Milk Chocolate, Organic Milk Chocolate and the Diet Milk Chocolate variants:

Alpine Milk Chocolate:

Alpine - Kcal 538 Fat 31.4g Fat(sats) 20.8g Carbs 55.6g (per 100.0g)

This Alpine Milk Chocolate variant was formed of 30% cocoa and 23% milk min solids. Both the outer packaging and chocolate were the lightest in colour out of the range. The wrapper was a beautiful looking sky blue colour, whilst the chocolate a pale brown. The bar had a predominantly dairy led smell - it wasn't the strongest, though it had the slightest hint of vanilla in its aroma.

This was by far the most creamy out of the selection. The creamy taste was very evident as soon as the bar entered the mouth - the flavours did show signs of progression throughout the melt of the piece, with a mild nutty element intermittently coming to the fore. The aftertaste also had a slight yoghurty tang to it, which reminded me to a degree of Hershey's milk chocolate. The texture was well delivered with a smooth, thick melt.

Overall this was a reasonably good standard milk chocolate, though the taste just didn't seem to want to commit to one defining element. This resulted in a product that had elements of being a more nutty, yoghurty led chocolate, but ended up being a pretty middle of the road milk chocolate with just minor hints of both.

7.7 out of 10

Organic Milk Chocolate:

Organic - Kcal 357 Fat 22.8g Fat(sats) 14.7g Carbs 33.2g (per 65.0g)

This Organic Milk Chocolate came in a smaller size to the other 100.0g bars, and followed the same premise as the rest of the Ritter Sport Organic range, coming in a 65.0g size. As with the rest of the range I liked the two tone blue colour scheme, whilst the pictures communicated the contents of the bar well. The bar didn't smell all that different to the Alpine Milk Chocolate, with a predominantly dairy led aroma.

This was the richest bar in terms of both cocoa content (35%) and resultingly the taste. The impetuous of the cocoa seemed elevated in the scheme of the taste, with the chocolate having a more crisp, clean taste in comparison to the other two. The aftertaste was noted nicely with vanilla, which left a nice well rounded flavour in the mouth. The small nature of the blocks meant the melt was over a bit too quickly for my liking, though it was still of an equal smoothness to the other variants.

Overall this was my favourite out of the lot, as it delivered by far the most satisfying and focused set of flavours. The increased cocoa content of the bar made for a superior, richer flavoured chocolate. It still didn't have a uniqueness in its flavours in comparison to say Dairy Milk, Galaxy or Hotel Chocolat etc, but it was still an enjoyable milk chocolate nonetheless.

7.9 out of 10

Diet Milk Chocolate:
Diet - Kcal 445 Fat 31.4g Fat(sats) 19.2g Carbs 45.3g (per 100.0g)

I must admit this 'diet milk chocolate' fascinated me most out of the three. I did some research prior to eating this and found out it contained a sugar substitute called 'Maltitol', an ingredient which constituted 35% of the bar. Both the packaging and format of this variant was very much the same as the standard range. It came in a 100.0g serving, with the only differentiators in terms of looks coming in the 'Diet' branding on the wrapper, and a slightly flatter looking surface to the chocolate. The bar had a slightly odd burnt like smell, it wasn't exactly off putting, though it was hardly that enticing either.

This was certainly the most uniquely flavoured out of the three, but unfortunately it wasn't entirely to my liking. The taste started off quite standard with a pleasant enough milk centric set of flavours. As the melt progressed the bar developed a smokey background taste, that took most of the attention away from the mostly enjoyable creamy flavours that had been initially substantiated. Unfortunately this smokey taste seemed completely out of context with the bar, and left a horrible aftertaste. This was no doubt the influence of the sugar substitute.

Overall I thought this was a really substandard milk chocolate. I understand the replacement of the sugar with the Malitol has its health benefits, but having tasted this variant I would never out of choice choose this chocolate over the other two variants. I understand that for people who are sensitive to sugar (diabetics etc!) then bars like this are a necessity and not a matter of choice, for those people I would recommend this bar as an adequate option.

6.4 out of 10

Overall having tried all three variants, I have come to the conclusion that two were slightly better than average milk chocolate options. The Alpine Milk Chocolate and Organic Milk Chocolate bars delivered fairly enjoyable and satisfying chocolates, though their tastes never reached a level of real uniqueness or prestige. I have already said all I have to say about the Diet Milk Chocolate - for the people who don't have the choice of all three variants and are limited due to dietary reasons, it is a fair standard milk chocolate. On a level playing field though, in comparison to the other variants, its slightly odd tasting smokey taste was really not preferable. Despite none of these reaching the higher levels of the milk chocolate sector, this is a range of fair standard milk chocolate bars.

January 12th: Lindt Mexican Spice Magic Chilli

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

Having very much enjoyed the simply superb Lindt Excellence Chilli at the back end of last year, I was pretty excited when I received this Lindt Mexican Spice Magic Chilli bar from Dean-German-Grocery. Formed of 'dark chocolate flavoured with chilli, vanilla and cinnamon', this sounded not only like a bar that was packed full of flavour, but also a pretty unique proposition.

The product came in a 100.0g bar that I ate over the standard two 50.0g servings. This particular bar didn't seem to belong to any sub-sector of the Lindt product range - it had no Excellence branding etc. Despite this I still thought the packaging and product were well presented. The packaging was decorated with stylish looking gold font printed on a red and white background, the Mexican cultural theme was also incorporated well through the on-pack images. The chocolate was kept in pristine condition in a foil layer. Not only did this maintain the fantastically fragrant spicy, chocolaty smell but it also kept the actual chocolate clean and unblemished in its appearance.

My only concern before tasting this bar was that some of the added ingredients might dominate the others. Thankfully this wasn't the case - at different stages throughout the melt each of the vanilla, cinnamon and chilli elements came to the fore of the taste. This was a chocolate that showed real flavour progression; upon first entering the mouth the chocolate established a cocoa driven chocolaty base flavour that had strong notes of vanilla. As the smooth, thick melt progressed the chilli grew in significance adding a nice warmth to the melt - it really gave the bar an additional interest to its texture. The cinnamon was heavily detectable in the aftertaste. The chocolate wasn't overly strong, but the spicy cinnamon left a longing flavour in the mouth which made this a quite fulfilling chocolate. This was certainly a chocolate that was interchangeable in its taste - by and large though it was a very enjoyable experience.

Overall just as I expected this was a chocolate that was crammed full of flavour, the taste of the bar never seemed to stand still and was ever developing. Whilst this was largely satisfying and in a way exciting, I must admit I do have a slight preference for the more focused taste of the Lindt Excellence Chilli. Saying that I think this would be the perfect bar for someone who wants to experience the warmth of chilli in chocolate, but not necessarilly the taste - the vanilla and cinnamon made this a far friendlier tasting bar than most others with chilli implemented. This was yet another good quality, unique product from Lindt - recommended!

8.3 out of 10

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

January 11th: Marks & Spencer Milk Chocolate Fudge

Kcal 220 Fat 10.8g Fat(sats) 7.4g Carbs 29.6g 

The market has been crying out for this bar, and I just can't quite believe Marks & Spencer are the first to deliver it. When I reviewed the Cadbury Fudge the main conclusion that I came to was that it was a great tasting bar, just it needed to be at least twice the size. I think this is a pretty general consensus, but Cadbury are yet to act on this .... enter Marks & Spencer!! This milk chocolate fudge bar was in essence a larger version of the Cadbury Fudge, and was billed as a 'milk chocolate bar with fudge centre'.

Although weighing in at another 20.0g larger than the 25.0g Cadbury Fudge, this bar still didn't prove to be the most substantial of products. I liked the decoration of the wrapper - it was simple in design, yet I thought the yellow and brown colours and clear font communicated the contents well. The bar itself looked absolutely fantastic - if you look at the cross-section above you will be able to see the fudge was a lovely golden colour, whilst the chocolate had a nice looking rippled effect throughout. I was pleasantly surprised by the aroma - as I opened the wrapper I was met with some fantastic sweet, caramel like scents that I found very tempting. 

This bar wasn't complex in its flavours, but they did deliver a very enjoyable overall taste. The 30% cocoa mins outer milk chocolate was reasonably thick and established a pleasant milky, chocolaty base flavour to the bar. One of the most enjoyable aspects was the way the smooth milk chocolate melted to reveal the contrastive texture of the fudge centre. The fudge had a firm feel, though was actually quite light interms of its density. The taste of the fudge was delightful, it was dominated by strong butter and cream flavours that quickly established themelves. The only disappointing thing about this bar really was the longevity of the flavours - they simply just didn't last long enough and failed to leave a lasting impression in the mouth. 

Overall the execution of this bar was relativelly well done, and if it had just been that little more fulfilling it would have been a well rounded product. The milk chocolate was of a fair standard, it wasn't the most flavoursome chocolate ever, but it substantiated an enjoyable milky base flavour. I really enjoyed the fudge centre - it provided a satisfying array of buttery, sweet flavours, that if only were more wholly satisfying would have been truly excellent. If you enjoy the Cadbury Fudge but always wish it was larger, then this is a product I whole heartidly recommend. 

7.8 out of 10 

January 10th: Tunnock's Milk Chocolate Tea Cake

Kcal 106 Fat 4.6g Fat(sats) 2.5g Carbs 14.9g

I said that during January I would be looking at some lighter choices available on the confectionery market, so today I finally saw fit to give one of the most requested products ever its review - the Tunnock's Milk Chocolate Tea Cake. For readers outside of the UK let me fill you in ... these Tea Cakes are traditionally served with tea or coffee (hence the name duh!!), and are formed of shortbread biscuit bases, with marshmallow fillings, all of which are coated in a layer of chocolate. They are also available in a dark chocolate form, though today I tried the milk chocolate version.

Tea Cakes are a pretty common staple food in our house, but in the name of fairness this review was formed on the view of a single 24.0g piece. I have always been a proponent of Tunnock's packaging - it looks classical, and has huge retro appeal. The foil packages that covered the Tea Cakes looked great, but unfortunately offered little in they way of protection. I can imagine transporting these any distance as a snack could be quite a messy experience. I personally think the Tea Cake pieces themselves also looked rather appetising. When cross-sectioned all three layers were very distinct, with the marshmallow element looking particularly enticing. I wasn't all that taken by the smell of the product, it was extremely sweet smelling, and had little influence from the cocoa.

Anyone who has had a Tea Cake before will know that individually none of the different elements are actually that great tasting, it is more the combination of them all that delivers the enjoyable experience. The outer chocolate was extremely thin, however still managed to establish a reasonably strong chocolaty flavour base. If I was to have my own way the chocolate dome would have been far thicker in its presence, as this would not only have made it last longer in the mouth, but also would have delivered a more satisfying chocolate hit. I enjoyed the lightness of the marshmallow layer, it suited the extreme sweetness of its flavours, and avoided them dominating the taste. The most enjoyable element for me was the shortcake base that provided a combination of sweet, malty flavours and brought a degree of saltiness to the taste. Obviously due to the small size of the product it wasn't the most fulfilling snack ever. 

Overall for only 106 calories the Tea Cake is a nice little option for those looking for a 'lighter chocolate product', though in my opinion there are a few little adaptions that need to be made to the classic design. I would love to see a better quality milk chocolate used, and portioned far more generously. The marshmallow and biscuit elements are both delivered well, though personally I would have liked a little more crunchiness to the shortbread. This is a product with a few shortcomings, though I would personally recommend it, as it is an all time classic.

7.1 out of 10

January 9th: Ritter Sport Orange Liqueur Truffle

Kcal 518 Fat 32.4g Fat(sats) 20.7g Carbs 50.4g (per 100.0g)

Rounding off my reviews of the Ritter Sport 'Winter Varieties' range that Dean-German-Grocery sent me, I today tried this Orange Liqueur Truffle variant. This bar followed much the same premise as both the other liqueur 'Winter Varieties', and was formed of 'milk chocolate with a butter truffle filling (32%) flavoured with orange liqueur (5.8%)'. I hadn't tried an orange flavoured Ritter Sport bar before, so I was looking to see how well the brand could pull off this classic combination.

I am sure by now you are all aware that these 'Winter Varieties' come in the standard 100.0g Ritter Sport size. As usual I ate this entire bar over two servings - both of which I found very substantial. Once again I thought the black coloured portion of the wrapper added an aire of sophistication - the orange liqueur theme was also well communicated with appropriate colours and pictures displayed on the front. Having tried all the 'Winter Varieties' now, I can tell you that if you put all three bars side-by-side it would be impossible to tell them apart on their aesthetic appearance (out of wrapper of course!!). One distinguishing feature they all had though were their aromas. This orange variant wasn't the most forthcoming with its fruity smells, though there was element of orange to the prominent dairy smells of the chocolate.

Just as with the William Birne truffle variant, the taste of the outer milk chocolate was affected by the inner filling. Though predominantly delivering all the standard creamy, cocoa driven flavours, the taste was also noted with an orangey hint - this was a nice warm up for the far more intensely flavoured centre. The melt of the outer chocolate revealed the inner filling at a nice rate, allowing the establishment of all the usual milk centric flavours. The filling itself was nicely flavoured and had a nice smooth, soft texture. The orange was the dominant aspect of the taste, establishing a real zesty, juicy flavour base. I wasn't all too sure about the inclusion of the liqueur element - it seemed to take the sweetness out of the orange, to be honest I would rather have just had the flavours of the orange and rid of the liqueur altogether. One redeeming attribute of the liqueur was that it did make for a long sustained aftertaste, it made the bar seem that bit richer.

Overall though not my favourite Ritter Sport variant this was yet another instance of a flavour combination they have soundly delivered on. The chocolate orange mixture wasn't quite the classic combination of say Terry's Chocolate Orange, but it was still nicely flavoured nonetheless. Even after trying this range I am still a little unconvinced in regards to liqueur flavoured chocolate - this variant didn't do too much in the way of changing my mind about that either. If your a fan of chocolate orange chocolates but often find the more mass produced offerings too cheap, then this would be a bar you should seriously consider.

8.0 out of 10

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

January 8th: Fazermint Chocolate Creams

Kcal 35 Fat 3.5g Fat(sats) 2.0g Carbs 13.0g (per piece)

It seems that Dean-German-Grocery don't just stop at German chocolate as today they sent me these Fazermint Chocolate Creams which are a product of Helsinki, Finland. If you want some more information on the Fazer brand take look HERE - I was surprised to read they supposedly have some sort of presence in the UK ... this was the first I had heard of them. These 'Chocolate Creams' were formed of 'chocolate with soft mint centres', and were not to dissimilar in proposition to Nestle After Eight mints .

The chocolates came in 150.0g box that contained about 15 individual pieces. The box had a nice combination of silver and green colours and communicated the relevant information well. Each piece came nicely wrapped in a branded foil wrapper that gave it just an extra touch of class. The chocolates were of a perfect size, and their curved shape not only made them look attractive but meant they also felt nice in the mouth. I thought the chocolates smelt quite appetising - the aroma was a mixture of sweet cocoa and a minty scents.

My main criticism of the Nestle After Eights was that the taste of the chocolate was all too quickly overpowered by the sugary mint fondant - this wasn't such a problem here. Though the pieces were actually quite small in size, the chocolate was actually quite thick. The 47% cocoa min chocolate was not the strongest tasting, though by the time the outer layer had melted the unsweetened cocoa flavours were long established, and provided an adequate chocolaty background flavour. Obviously the really defining and dominant element of the taste were the mint fillings. In contrast to the After Eights the fondant centres were not half as sickly or sweet tasting. The mint filling seemed much more relaxed and nowhere near as imposing - the peppermint flavours were refreshing, cool and very moreish. The texture of the filling was also nice and smooth, I was expecting a more grainy, crystallised feel but this was far preferable. The strength of the flavours meant that four of these proved to be a really quite fulfilling snack.

Overall to be honest these really quite surprised me, and proved to be a highly satisfying chocolate mint combination. I say they surprised me as I was expecting a lower quality version of the Nestle After Eight mints, who I thought up until now owned this section of the market. In my opinion these were actually the superior product out of the two. The flavours of the chocolate were better established with the thicker coatings, whilst the texture and overall taste of the mint fillings were far less intense and subsequently more enjoyable. If your a mint chocolate fan then these are well worth a look at.

7.9 out of 10

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

January 7th: Ritter Sport Organic 60% Dark

Kcal 364 Fat 26.7g Fat(sats) 16.9g Carbs 26.5g (per 65.0g)

I continued my look at the Ritter Sport 'Bio' (Organic!) range today sampling the 60% Dark variant. My original plan was to do this review as a direct comparison with the standard Ritter Sport Dark bar that I also have awaiting review - but after seeing the different levels of cocoa I thought I would leave them separate. As you have almost certainly gathered from the name this was a 60% cocoa solids bar, 50% of which were from 'selected Edelkakao beans'.

Just as with the 'Raisin and Pecan' bar this came in a 65.0g serving size, in the typical square shaped form. The outer packaging cut a more fresh, modern look to the standard range with the two tone purple background colours and relevant images particularly catching on the eye. Again I wasn't to enamoured with the splitting of the bar into 16 smaller blocks - it wasn't quite as detrimental to the bar as with the 'Raisin & Pecan' variant, though it was more the impracticability of having to handle the bar so often. The bar smelt strongly of a mixture of coffee and cocoa. The aroma was really quite pungent, I thought this set the mood nicely for what was to come.

This wasn't a bar that needed its melt progression to be far advanced before its full taste was established. As soon as the chocolate entered the mouth the cocoa flavours were very apparent. The taste of the cocoa was relatively intense, though an ever present creamy undertone avoided the taste from ever becoming bitter. This creamy background, along with the heavily vanilla noted aftertaste made for a chocolate that although strong in its flavours, offered a reasonably friendly dark chocolate experience. The melt of the chocolate also had some fine attributes in that it was well paced, thick and smooth; my only slight reservation was as mentioned earlier the disappointingly small sized blocks. The strong flavours meant I actually found this bar quite rich, I happily ate the 65.0g bar in two separate servings and found both very satisfying.

Overall this wasn't the greatest dark chocolate I have ever tasted but it was still of a pretty good standard. It didn't quite have the range of flavours offered by the higher end dark chocolates (Hotel Chocolat, Lindt etc), but it did offer an enjoyable more everyday type of chocolate. The flavours were strong, yet friendly with the cocoa intensity nicely controlled by the underlying creaminess and vanilla essence in the aftertaste. If your looking to dip your toe into the vast ocean of stronger chocolate formulations this would be a good place to start.

8.4 out of 10

Fancy trying the Ritter Sport Organic 60% Dark for yourself!? Fancy any another Ritter Sport / Milka / Lindt / Storck or German Grocery ... head over to Dean-German-Grocery!!

January 6th: Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Chocolate Peanut Crisp Bar

Kcal 169 Fat 9.0g Fat(sats) 3.5g Carbs 19.0g

Being back at university means that breakfast more often that not is on the run. Kellogg's Crunchy Nut is one of my favourite cereals, so I was pretty happy when I stumbled across this 'Chocolate Peanut Bar' in my local newsagents. Formed of a 'peanut, wheat & oat cereal bar dipped in a smooth milk chocolate layer', it sounded a lot more exciting than most other cereal bars.

This bar came in a 35.0g form that given its smallish size did a very good job at curing my morning munchies. The outer wrapping looked good, I liked the similarity the packaging had with the original Crunchy Nut cereal box, the chocolate content was also well communicated pictorially. The bar itself also looked pretty appetising - the honey glaze gave it a nice fresh look and the peanuts appeared very generously portioned. The product also had an enjoyable smell. The aroma was predominantly sweet, but had a nice undertone of nuttiness to it. 

It seems a massive commonality with cereal bars that where chocolate is implemented it is often very minimally portioned; this was the case here once again. As you can see from the picture the 'dipped chocolate' was very lacking in its physical presence, and this unfortunately translated to the taste of the bar. The chocolate only managed to muster a slight milky addition to the taste, it really struggled against the far denser cereal ingredients. Despite the shortcomings of the chocolate, the actual cereal base was very good. The cereal and peanut elements made for a nice mixture of salty, savoury flavours that were fused together fantastically well by the sweet honey glaze. The peanuts in particular made for a long sustaining taste, as aforementioned this bar was very fulfilling given its relatively small size.

Overall this was one of the better cereal bars I have tasted on ChocolateMission, though this wasn't really down to its chocolate content. Once again the actual chocolate of the product was lacklustre, thinking about it now if this bar included a good quality full milk chocolate coating this product could be absolutely superb. As cereal bars go though this is one of my favourites - well worth checking out if your a fan of the category.

7.7 out of 10     

January 5th: Woolworths Dark Chocolate

Kcal 512 Fat 34.0g Fat(sats) 20.1g Carbs 45.5g (per 100.0g)

Today marks a sad day in UK retailing with the closure of Woolworths. I am sure many of you British folk will have very fond memories of popping into Woolies, and spending your pocket money on a CD single and some pick-a-mix. Unfortunately Woolworths is just a victim of the times, what with online shopping/downloading, sadly there just isn't the demand to run a sustainable business model - a real shame. Anyway as a tribute I have today reviewed a bar of their own brand dark chocolate.

I bought this bar in the sales (20% off), which came to a grand total of 75p for 200.0g, exceedingly cheap. I wasn't all taken in by the foil wrapper - I thought the choice of colour was a little odd, and not really suitable for a dark chocolate. The chocolate itself was equally underwhelming. It really lacked a telling aroma, and also was completely devoid of any personality with a completely smooth looking complexion - it just looked insanely boring. 

I was surprised to read the bar actually contained 50% cocoa solids - surprised as it didn't taste like it did whatsoever. The taste was largely one dimensional, and way too sweet for dark chocolate. It had neither the creaminess of milk chocolate, or the strength of cocoa to be classed as dark chocolate - it was just completely devoid of a meaningful taste. Looking at the ingredients list showed this bar contained some funky things I had never even heard of: 'Polglycerol Polyricinoleate'? This emulsifier is supposed to make the chocolate melt better, to be honest it didn't seem to help. The melt was waxy, slow and on the whole just quite lazy. Despite its lack of taste when in the mouth, the chocolate left a sour aftertaste - it reminded me of Cadbury Bournvile, but somehow managed to have even less of an appeal. 

Overall I wish I hadn't done this review, as my last memories of Woolworths are tainted by this truly terrible chocolate. This was frankly awful dark chocolate. It looked boring, lacked flavour and had a poor melt ... I only bothered eating about 30.0g of the 200.0g. I am genuinely sad that Woolworths is now no more, but thank god no one will have to withstand their own brand chocolate for much longer. The question is where are we going to go for cheap chocolate now!?

4.6 out of 10 

January 4th: Marks & Spencer Milk Chocolate Turkish Delight

Kcal 220 Fat 4.7g Fat(sats) 3.0g Carbs 43.5g

My recent success in the Turkish Delight category (Fry's bar) has meant I have been on the look out for different alternatives to try. Whilst shopping in Marks & Spencer (as any student does during the credit crunch lol!), I found this 'Milk Chocolate Turkish Delight' bar. Formed of 'milk chocolate with a rose flavoured turkish delight centre', I thought I could not go wrong giving this bar a try, after all it looked pretty much the same proposition as the Fry's bar. Unfortunately I couldn't have been more wrong - and I found out the hard way.

The bar came in a large 55.0g, though I must admit I only ate half. The product was reasonably well presented. The pink pastel colour of the wrapper was a bit garish, though the chocolate itself look impressive. The 55.0g was split into two separate pieces that when cross-sectioned really revealed the true wealth of turkish delight that lay below. It looked impressive, but this is where the praise stops in regard to the turkish delight element. The smell for me was a bit lacking, a sweet cocoa scent was mildly detectable, though it needed seeking out and was not forthcoming whatsoever. 

I am sure you will have peeked at the taste score already - so you are going to be aware there was something fundamentally wrong with the flavours of the bar. Before I get into that I must remark on the outer chocolate which was actually superior to that of the limp, thin layer found on the Fry's bar. It was able to substantiate a reasonably full flavoured milky base before the utter terror that was the turkish delight filling. The texture of the turkish delight wasn't bad, it was slightly more solid than jelly, but softer than a fruit gum - just what you would really expect from turkish delight. Now as for the taste, well ... if you have ever been a victim of the practical joke where someone slips washing up liquid into your drink, then just imagine that circumstance ... just minus the laughs. Frankly it tasted awful, it literally tasted as if someone had made a 'Fairy Liquid' flavoured jelly. It was just horrible, possibly one of the worst tasting bars I have had on Chocolate Mission, it was to the degree that I did a very rare thing for bars I review - I didn't finish it.

Overall I don't think there is much I can elaborate on what I have already said. I don't know how this got through the taste tests at Marks & Spencer!? Surely someone along the way would have tasted it and said 'hang around here chaps, this doesn't actually taste all that clever'. Well apparently not, and this soap flavoured bar is currently readily available in all Marks & Spencer shops. With less than 5.0g of fat, this bar falls nicely into 'lighter' alternatives category I am currently scoping out in the Chocolate Market. Trust me on this one though, this bar is not fit as a present for your worst enemy. 

5.5 out of 10

January 3rd: Ritter Sport Williams Birne Truffle

Kcal 513 Fat 31.8g Fat(sats) 20.3g Carbs 51.1g (per 100.0g)

Today sees me review the second of three from Ritter Sport's latest 'Winter Varieties' range, courtesy once again from Dean-German-Grocery. This Wiliams Birne Truffle variant was comprised of 'milk chocolate filled with a pear liqueur truffle'. I had never seen pear used as a flavouring in chocolate before, so I was really curious to see if the combination would work. Doing a little research on the internet I found out that Williams Birne is actually quite a famous brand of pear schnapps (Picture HERE).

As with the rest of the 'Winter' range, this came in the standard 100.0g Ritter Sport bar form. Just like the Jamaican Rum bar, I liked the use of the black colour on the wrapper - it gave the bar a more sophisticated look. The flavour of the bar was well indicated through the pale green secondary colour, as well as the relevant picture displayed on the front. The chocolate wasn't the most impressive looking of the Ritter Sport range, though the bar still showed a clear distinction between the outer chocolate and inner truffle layers. I was really taken in by the smell of this bar - as soon as I opened the wrapper I was met with a barrage of fruity, cocoa scents; it really gave a good indication of what was to come. 

The Ritter Sport milk chocolate once again did a fine job carrying the flavouring of the bar. The outer chocolate delivered a fine milky taste that was executed with its usual smooth melt. The liqueur content of the chocolate was evident from the very first block, although delivered predominantly through the truffle filling, the subtle alcoholic flavours had also spread to the outer chocolate. The liqueur taste was just about the right strength, providing a sound alcoholic context, yet avoided being overly strong. The pear flavour was the real defining flavour of the bar, delivering a wonderfully sweet, fruity taste. I was surprised by the actual real fruit taste it delivered - it was surprisingly fresh, I was expecting something far more artificial. The taste of the pear was very long in its longevity, I could taste its wonderful sweet flavours in my mouth for a long time after finishing the bar. 

Overall despite not being the biggest fan of pears in general, I really got a lot of pleasure from this bar. The chocolate did its usual sterling job of providing a moderate, creamy chocolaty base flavour that allowed the inner truffle to express itself fully. The pear liqueur flavours were wonderfully delivered through a fresh, edgy fruit taste that really left a lasting impression in the mouth. I am not normally one for fruit flavoured liqueurs but this was a chocolate I very much enjoyed. I could see consumers of drinks like Archers and Malibu really enjoying this product.

8.5 out of 10

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

January 2nd: Niederegger Lubeck Marzipan Dark Chocolate Loaf

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

I reviewed the Niederegger Lubeck Marzipan Classic bar last month and really enjoyed it, so I needed little in the way of encouragement to try this 'loaf' variant that I found in my local Tesco. The wrapper didn't actually proclaim the level of marzipan, however it did state that the bar was 45% almonds, which was the most heavilly portioned ingredient. This bar was simply a big loaf of marzipan with an outer dark chocolate layer - given the quality of the marzipan in the Classic bar format I was eagerly anticipating trying this. 

This loaf came in a 75.0g serving that did me well for three servings. The presentation was top class - really up there with the best of them. The bar was first cellophane wrapped, then wrapped in a paper/foil type layer. The outer packaging looked both classy and authentic, but what really struck me was the bar itself. It was beautifully preserved in the wrapper with no signs of any cracking or blemishes on the surface. When cross-sectioned it truly revealed the wealth of the marzipan, it looked absolutely fantastic. Aesthetically it looked brilliant, though the smell wasn't quite as spectacular. The bar offered a minor cocoa scent, though to be honest I was expecting more in the way of a nut centric almond smell.

This is a funny way of putting it, but this bar did all the good things that the Classic bar did, but even better. Conversely it did all the bad things of the Classic bar, and did them even worse. Lets get the bad things out the way - the dark chocolate was simply just not a factor in the overall taste. What with the loaf format, I guess this was to be expected, but the 50% dark chocolate was thinly portioned, and failed to generate much of a flavour base even where most present. Enough of the bad stuff though, because this was simply a fantastic product. The marzipan was simply luxurious - I was expecting with such a thick block that its flavours would be overly sweet - but this just simply wasn't the case. The texture was delightfully moist yet crumbly, and it had a delicious buttery, almond taste. The aftertaste of the marzipan could be well and truly savoured, with the flavours leaving a long lasting impression in the mouth. Although the taste was incredibly moreish, the density of the bar made it very fulfilling.

Overall this is a product I simply cannot recommend enough. Its definitely not perfect - much like I found with the Classic bar the dark chocolate needs a bit of work. On the other hand the quality of the marzipan was simply out of this world. As I said in my review of the Classic bar, I am no real proponent of marzipan, but this was divine. The buttery, almond taste was wonderfully delivered through the thick crumbly centre - it was both moreish and satisfying what more can you ask for!? Christmas may be gone, but even if you aren't a fan of marzipan I urge you to give this a try.

8.7 out of 10  

January 1st: Flyte

Kcal 194 Fat 6.0g Carbs 33.4g (whole 45.0g product)

Its a new year! Happy 2009 ChocolateMission readers!! Now I am sure there are at least a few of you that have vowed to lose a few pounds as part of your New Years resolutions - well ChocolateMission is here to help! During January I am going to be bringing you some reviews of some of the 'lighter' chocolate alternatives out there on todays market. Today I started with the Flyte bar, a product which is manufactured by Mars and consists of a 'chocolate whipped centre wrapped in milk chocolate'. The bar exhibited the slogan 'taste the chocolate, skip some fat'. 

This product came in a 45.0g pack that was split into two smaller 22.5g pieces. I thought the nutritional information was displayed quite misleadingly as it stated it per half bar (22.5g) ... sneaky huh!? I wasn't all that bowled over by the packaging - it looked very similar to the old style Galaxy design. The bar itself was also a bit boring aesthetically, though the rippled effect on top of the chocolate at least added some interest. I was really worried by the smell of the bar - it literally smelt of nothing. Despite being well contained within the wrapper, the chocolate offered only the smallest of sweet scents - it completely failed to heighten my anticipation.

From the very first bite it was pretty obvious what the fat content had been replaced with - sugar!! This bar was exceedingly sweet in every sense - from outer chocolate to inner nougat there was no getting away from the sugar based taste. Looking at the ingredients it was no surprise to see sugar and glucose syrup heading the list. Despite what the slogan of the bar said the chocolate really wasn't that prevalent in the taste of either the outer chocolate or the inner nougat - not surprisingly the actual cocoa content was very limited at 14% min. The product offered a bit of substantiality with the dense nougat, but really its lack of flavours meant that this was a very unfulfilling experience.

Overall I really hope this isn't a sign of things to come in the next month with my exploration of the lighter choices of the chocolate market. To be frank this bar lacked the one thing it promised - a chocolaty flavour hit. Ridding of some of the cocoa content obviously lowered the fat content of the bar, but at the same time it also took away the flavour - rendering this nothing more than a chewy and overly sweet, sugar laden product. Diet or no diet, this would be one I recommend you stay clear of.

5.9 out of 10