January 23rd: Munchies Munchies

Kcal 504 Fat 25.3g Fat(sats) 16.4g Carbs 64.7g (per 100.0g)

I am trying very hard not to start off with a rant but I just can't quite help myself - who the hell came up with the name for this product?!! I'm sorry, but to put it extremely mildly the marketing team behind 'Munchies Munchies' hardly struck gold with that name - its terrible. Having not particularly enjoyed my last pack of Munchies I have been pretty reticent to trying these; when I saw them on offer in Tesco for 89p though I hardly felt like I could put them off any longer. These 'Munchies Munchies' came billed as 'milk chocolates with soft caramel and crisp biscuit centres'.

I bought these in a 150.0g pouch that contained several miniature pieces about two thirds the size of the standard Munchies cubes. The outer packaging was presented well enough. Branding aside I thought the pouch made use of a nice contrast of red and orange colours and the pictures exhibited the product well. I was less impressed with the look of the pieces themselves - like I found with the standard Munchies the chocolate had a very dusty looking surface, they simply just didn't look fresh. Opening the pouch I was met with a very sweet smell. The aroma did have hints of cocoa and caramel that gave it a relative appeal unlike its aesthetic appearance. 

In comparison to the standard Munchies I found these smaller sized pieces preferable for two main reasons. Firstly I liked the dome shape - the pieces fitted nicely in the mouth which meant they could either be eaten singly or a few at time with relative ease and comfort. Secondly I thought the smaller pieces were superior as the caramel content was lowered whilst the biscuit piece remained the same size, this thankfully gave it more prevalence in the overall taste. Given that both the chocolate and caramel were as disappointing as in the standard Munchies, the greater presence of the biscuit was highly preferable. Unfortunately the chocolate was grainy and lacking flavour, whilst the caramel was only a little better with its overly sweetened, sugar rooted taste. The lack of meaningful flavours from the pieces meant these were a largely unfulfilling experience.

Overall even though I would say these were preferable to the standard Munchies, I still think they are far from being a good product. The chocolate was of a similar poor quality and the only reason I perceived the caramel as more bearable was because there was simply less of it. The biscuit pieces were as enjoyable as ever, but this was of little relevance given the poorness of the other elements. This seems to be just another mindless brand extension, and a product of little thought - you need only look as far as the name for evidence. Although slightly superior to the original Munchies - I personally still wouldn't recommend either. 

6.1 out of 10   

January 22nd: Ritter Sport 71% Fine Extra Dark Chocolate

Kcal 558 Fat 44.6g Fat(sats) 28.5g Carbs 31.0g (per 100.0g)

A couple of weeks ago in my review of the Ritter Sport Organic 60% Dark, I mentioned that Dean-German-Grocery had sent me this 71% Fine Extra Dark bar. I decided not to do a direct comparison of the two bars as I thought they would have had very different crafting and recipe properties. I am guessing ... well hoping, that from the title you have managed to gather this was in fact a dark chocolate variant which contained 71% cocoa solids min.

This bar was delivered in the standard 100.0g size, and provided me with two very fulfilling servings. I was a little surprised at the choice of colour for the packaging, the quite vivid pink colour was personally not a colour I would have chosen to represent the strongest bar in the Ritter Sport range ...what the hell at least it stood out. The chocolate itself was beautifully presented, the surface had a nice shine to it, and the Ritter Sport logos looked extremely well cut into the surface. The presentation wasn't let down by the smell, the bar released some fantastically rich smelling cocoa scents upon opening the wrapper.

My preconception that this bar would be quite different to the Ritter Sport Organic 60% bar proved a bit inaccurate. I perceived only a slight variation in the overall taste, with this bar having a slightly more intense cocoa edge. Despite being described as 'Extra Dark', the creamy background was still present, and provided the same pleasant complimentary base tones to the forthcoming cocoa flavours. The texture was wonderfully smooth, and melted at a nice rate, with the taste growing in intensity as the chocolate developed in its melt. The aftertaste was firmer in comparison to the Organic bar, and had less impetuous placed on the vanilla flavour, and more on the cocoa. It left an even greater impression in the mouth, and just made the bar that little bit richer.

Overall this was a good standard dark chocolate, though like its Organic 60% Dark counterpart just slightly lacked the definition in its flavours to really challenge the upper tier of the dark chocolate ranks. Despite its strongly concentrated 71% formulation, its intensity didn't mirror this; the cocoa flavours were forthcoming but were largely controlled and rounded by the strong creamy undertone. I ever so slightly preferred this bar to the Organic 60% Dark as the aftertaste was a little longer lasting, though to be honest there was very little difference between the two.

8.5 out of 10

Fancy trying the Ritter Sport 71% Fine Dark Chocolate for yourself!? Fancy any another Ritter Sport / Milka / Lindt / Storck or German Grocery ... head over to Dean-German-Grocery!!

January 21st: Marks & Spencer Millionaire Shortbread

Kcal 450 Fat 18.3g Fat(sats) 5.9g Carbs 66.9 (per 100.0g) 

It seems lately that I have been on a one man mission to save Marks & Spencer from the credit crunch. In the last few weeks I have been finding myself all too often in my local M&S food hall, not only checking out their divine selection of sandwiches, but also their confectionery range. Today I picked out this 'Millionaire Shortbread' bar, which was comprised of 'all butter shortbread covered in a layer of caramel and milk chocolate'. One look at the nutritional information all but confirmed this was a bar of pure indulgence. 

The product came in a huge 65.0g serving that provided a really fulfilling snack. The packaging was pretty no frills, with the bar only protected by a transparent plastic wrapping. Although this was a little basic looking, the bar itself looked fantastic. The shortbread was golden, the caramel thick and the chocolate unblemished and smooth looking - it looked magnificent. The bar smelt hugely enticing. As soon as I opened the plastic packaging I was presented with some buttery, biscuity sweet smells that were extremely alluring.

This thankfully wasn't a product purely about its looks and smell - it tasted just as good as well. The shortbread was divine and had a full flavoured, butter led taste that was complimented superbly by the sweetness of the brown sugar. Above the shortbread sat the caramel layer, which added a wonderful set of fudge like flavours. The caramel also added a hint of saltiness, that really contrasted well with the overriding sweetness to the taste. The milk chocolate formed the upper part of the bar and was of a reasonably good quality. It didn't really stand out in and amongst the caramel and shortbread, though it still brought a chocolaty context to the overall taste. The combination of all three layers certainly made for a very sweet taste, though it was incredibly moreish. Saying that the 65.0g certainly pushed the boundaries of what I could consume in one sitting.  

Overall this is one of those products that if you ate everyday you would soon become tired of it. Eaten as the occasional treat though, this is truly a luxurious tasting product that I would highly recommend. The blend of the caramel and shortbread was simply superb, and combined the sweet, buttery flavours of each with a fantastic salty moreishness. The chocolate could have been more prominent , though it still provided a reasonable influence to the overall taste. I found this to be both a really enjoyable, as well as a very satisfying bar. 

8.6 out of 10   

January 20th: Conscious Chocolate Nicely Nutty

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

My reviews of the Conscious range have seen me try some pretty tasty bars, with the Choca Mocha Magic a clear shinning star so far. Today I tried another variant from the 'sugar free, pesticide free, gluten free, raw and handmade' chocolate range - the 'Nicely Nutty'. This bar contained four different types of nuts - cashews, brazil, walnut and hazelnuts. Never before had I tried a bar that had dared to mix all four, so this was always going to be an interesting prospect.

I needn't tell you about my displeasure regarding the outer packaging - according to Emily at Conscious it is currently under redesign. The chocolate itself was relatively impressive looking, the nuts pieces although small appeared generously portioned throughout the bar. Again due to the soft nature of the chocolate, the product was messy to handle - this definitely isn't a range of chocolates you want to be eating on the move. Once again the smell of the bar was a real sell point for me. When the foil packaging was unwrapped a fantastic mixture of nutty, cocoa aromas were released - it smelt very tempting.

Having savoured the fantastic smell for a decent amount of time I decided to tuck into the bar, and was immediately struck by the strong nutty flavours. As I have aforementioned the nut pieces were small, but very well portioned. It was near impossible to tell what type of nuts the actual pieces contained by their aesthetics looks, though in the context of the taste they were very distinguishable indeed. Each of the blocks were awash with woody flavours from the hazelnuts, buttery flavours of the cashews, earthy flavours of the brazils and salty flavoured walnuts. My only slight criticism of the nut pieces were that as they were so small they did tend to get stuck in between my teeth. This was only a minor issue though, and on the whole the nuts combined fantastically with the balanced unsweetened cocoa flavours in what was a long lasting, enjoyable taste.

Overall this was one of the finest tasting chocolate and nut combinations I have tasted. In previous reviews I have alluded to the fact that I believe nuts are best implemented in a wholenut form (ala Ritter Sport Milk Whole Hazelnuts), well this bar completely blew that theory out the water. Even though the nut pieces were very finally chopped they delivered a wonderful strong set of distinct nutty flavours. The chocolate was as usual very tasty, if a little messy, and carried the nuts very well. This is yet another bar from the Conscious range I would really recommend.

8.3 out of 10

January 19th: 100 Calories Hershey's / York / Reese's

Once Geraldine at Yankee Soda & Candy heard I was looking at some 'light choices' on the chocolate market she thought she better send me some samples of these 100 calorie bars that she is currently stocking. Geraldine was kind enough to send me three different variants - Hershey's, Reese's and York. Below are my concise thoughts on each of these 'two fingered crispy wafer bars':

100 Calories Hershey's Bar:

Kcal 100 Fat 5.0g Fat(sats) 3.5g Carbs 12.0g

Out of the three this was the variant that excited me the least. This was a straight up milk chocolate covered wafer, with a milk chocolate filling. Out the three it was definitely the least striking in its general appearance - it lacked the distinct smell of both the others, though still had a relatively pleasant sweet, cocoa led aroma.

The taste of this variant struck me immediately as very Kit Kat like, though the flavours of the wafer were not quite as lasting. This did give the cocoa flavours of the chocolate more of a prominence in the taste, though these flavours were not all that sustaining and were quickly gone from the mouth. The inner milk chocolate filling had a nice moistness against the crispness of the wafer, though it wasn't differentiated in terms of taste from the outer coating.

Overall a fair standard milk chocolate option that would certainly suffice for people who are not a fan of the other mint or peanut variants available.

7.0 out of 10

100 Calories York Bar:

Kcal 100 Fat 6.0g Fat(sats) 4.0g Carbs 11.0g

This variant was formed of a dark chocolate coating with a mint creme filled wafer. It was ever so slightly more appealing in regards to its presentation to the standard Hershey's bar as the mint content of the product immediately stamped its authority with its lovely fresh scents.

The dark chocolate of course did not have many attributes of dark chocolate whatsoever - as with every mass consumer 'dark chocolate' it was more along the lines of unsweetened milk chocolate. I would have liked to have seen the cocoa amplified in its prominence, though the coating still did its job of providing adequate chocolate base flavours. The real ray of light with this variant was the delightful peppermint filling, which provided a delightful set of cool, minty flavours within the sweet, crisp wafer.

Overall this was my favourite out of the selection. The dynamic combination of the unsweetened chocolate and the really forthcoming mint flavours made for the taste that sustained the longest presence in the mouth out of the three.

7.5 out of 10

100 Calories Reese's Bar:

Kcal 100 Fat 6.0g Fat(sats) 2.5g Carbs 11.0g

This last variant was formed of a milk chocolate coating with a peanut butter filled wafer. Allot like most Reese's products both the fingers had a somewhat greasy coating, and melted very fast in my hands. Despite this being a slight annoyance, there was no denying the wonderful enticement that was brought on by the wonderful peanut scents that emanated from the product.

It was a bit same old story here with Reese's. The milk chocolate was quite frankly poor - the extra greasiness meant that the milky, cocoa flavours lasted for an even shorter time in the mouth, which given the size of the product really wasn't a good thing. The saving grace of course came in the form of the peanut butter filling, which was delightful by all accounts. Creamy, salty, sweet and nutty are four words that best describe Reese's peanut butter - outstanding stuff.

Overall I slightly favoured this bar over the Hershey's variant as the nutty flavours made it a slightly more interesting product. Probably not the flavour you should look at if your wanting a specific chocolate hit from your 100 calories though.

7.3 out of 10

With all of these bars only weighing in at 19.0g each I was hardly expecting much, but these delivered some quite tasty snacks for 100 calorie options. They were never going to hit the heights of more traditional bigger chocolate options, though for those watching their weight but not wanting to eradicate their favourite treats from their diets completely, these are a great range of bars, and are ones I would recommend.

Fancy trying the 100 Calorie bars for yourself? Head over to Yankee Soda & Candy

January 19th: Thorntons Dark Chocolate Bar

Kcal 261 Fat 18.7g Fat(sats) 11.7g Carbs 19.7g

I find Thornton's brand activity in the last few years a bit puzzling to say the least. What I once perceived as really quite a prestigious brand, now in my eyes has the same commonality as any other mass consumer brand. If you look around, pretty much everywhere stocks Thornton's chocolate - from supermarkets, convenience stores, Woolworths .... I have even seen some of their goods in petrol stations. This is a stark contrast to the level exclusivity the brand used to hold by only selling its goods exclusively in its own shops. Despite my reservations of the brand strategy, I will admit they make some damn fine chocolate - today I tried their 60% dark chocolate.

The bar came in a 50.0g serving size, at a relatively inexpensive 59p. The wrapper of the chocolate was ok - it had a good design that gave it a premium look. However, as you can see by the picture above of the chocolate, it didn't do the greatest of jobs keeping the product fresh. The chocolate had a blemished, dusty looking surface - the appearance turned out to be very indicative of the textures to come. I wasn't all that impressed by the smell of the chocolate either - it was predominantly quite sweet smelling, but there was a background hint of a sour dairy scent ... it didn't smell all that appetising.  

I won't skirt around the issue - I thought this was one of the poorest dark chocolates I have ever tasted, neither the taste or the texture were of a good quality. From a 60% cocoa solids chocolate I was really expecting more in terms of flavour depth. From the initial moment the chocolate entered my mouth, to the time it had fully melted away, the flavour progression was near non-existent. The taste started off as what I would describe as musty, it had a really padded out feel to its cocoa flavours - they were neither striking or imposing, just weak and very uninspiring. The poorness of the taste was only outdone by the poorness of the texture. As the melt progressed the chocolate cloyed and clumped - it just felt like a really poor quality chocolate. This was a really unsatisfying bar, it was a struggle to eat the whole 50.0g, but this was more down to the lack of quality rather than its fulfillment credentials.

Overall as I have already referred to, this bar was one of the poorest dark chocolates I have had. For a 60% recipe it really lacked flavour, the cocoa was very understated and just completely lacked the strength in taste I was hoping for. The awful texture only reaffirmed my conclusions that this was a really poor quality chocolate - its melt was both grainy and lazy. To be honest I have very few nice things to say about this bar. It wasn't quite Cadbury Bournville bad, but it was pretty close - this isn't a dark chocolate I would recommend.

6.0 out of 10     

January 18th: Eat Natural Almonds Apricots & Yoghurt

Kcal 228 Fat 12.4g Fat(sats) 8.2g Carbs 26.4g

Though this bar doesn't actually contain any cocoa, I simply cant turn down a request, and my recent pledge to look at 'lighter choices' on the confectionery market has led me in the direction of the Eat Natural brand. Eat Natural products contain no added preservatives, and only contain 'the best, wholesome ingredients'. Today I decided to start my look at the range with the Almonds, Apricots and Yogurt variant, a bar that I have tried a few times before.

The bar came in a 50.0g size that looked a lot larger than the fulfillment it actually provided. I thought the bar looked quite enticing - the wrapper nicely conveyed the natural aspects of the bar, whilst its largely transparent nature showed off the magnificent fruit and nut pieces that sat under the yogurt coating. The product had a reasonably enjoyable aroma, it was largely dominated by the sweet scents of the coating, though minor fruity, nut scents could be detected.  

As previously mentioned this was a bar I'd had a few times before, so I was already quite a fan. The yogurt coating fused the bar well, and delivered a delightful combination of strong milky, vanilla tones. In coherence with its yogurt billing, the coating had a lasting and pleasant tang in its aftertaste. Beneath the coating lay the almonds, apricots, rice ingredients, all of which contributed nicely to the overall taste. The apricots were sweet and fruity and had a pleasant chewiness. The almond pieces were implemented whole, which meant they generated some strong buttery flavours. One thing that was noticeable was that they weren't the most crunchy almonds ever, and added more of an undesirable squeaky texture. The other most noticeable element to the taste was the coconut, which further added a degree of milky nuttiness. The mixture of all these constituents made for a delightful bar, though as I have said considering it size, it wasn't quite as satisfying as I thought it might be. 

Overall this is one of my favourite snack bars, though I must admit it is not without its shortcomings. The yogurt element was nicely flavoured and provided a creamy, but slightly tangy, pleasant coating. The inner apricot and fruit pieces were all bursting with flavour, and really made for a varied and enjoyable overall taste. To be honest looking at the fat content of this bar, it is not particularly what I would consider a lighter option - in actual fact it contains more fat than a lot of bars I have reviewed. Regardless this was a nice change up from a standard chocolate bar, and is certainly worth a try if your a fan of cereal bars. 

7.8 out of 10     

January 17th: Sarotti No.1 Mexico Chilli

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

Every now and again Dean-German-Grocery like to send me some of their own favourite German goods to review along with the other more mainstream Milka and Ritter Sport products they send me. A major favourite with the folks at Dean-German-Grocery is a brand called Sarotti. Sarotti are quite a well known established brand in Germany and are based in Berlin. Today I sampled their 'No.1 Mexico Chilli' bar, a dark chocolate that included 'roughly and finely grounded chilli pods'.

I ate this 100.0g bar in two separate 50.0 servings, which provided me with two adequately fulfilling snacks. The presentation of the product was a bit hit and miss. The outer packaging was well presented, with the product clearly communicated through both the picture and on-pack description. I wasn't all that impressed with the look of the chocolate itself though. Despite being protected within a foil layer, the surface appeared dusty and not very fresh looking, which rather spoilt the quite intricate looking design work. The bar had a relatively strong aroma that made its presence known once the foil seal was broken. The cocoa made the dominant contribution, though there was a slight hint of a spicy undertone.

This was a really hard bar to rate as I felt it did some things really well, and others really poorly. Despite its 66% cocoa solids recipe the chocolate really wasn't that forthcoming in its flavours, and took what seemed like forever to deliver a taste of any real note. It wasn't until the melt was really quite progressed that the real flavours of the cocoa came through. Even then they seemed quite subdued, and not all that imposing, offering little more than a quite mellow, unsweetened chocolaty taste. So what did this bar do well??? ... its implementation of the chilli was really quite well done. In comparison to other chilli bars, the chilli in this bar had a sweeter impact on the taste, and had a longing presence in the mouth. The chilli also saved the rather lazy melt of the chocolate, adding an extra level of interest with its warming effect.

Overall as aforementioned this was certainly a bar with its ups and downs. The dark chocolate simply wasn't the best ... in fact nowhere near the best, and was largely in debt to the chilli element from saving it from real mediocrity. Quite frankly there are better dark chocolate and chilli bars combinations out there. You need only look as far as the Lindt Excellenc Chilli to see how this bar should have been done. This isn't a product I would tell you to go out your way to try, I am hoping for far more from the Sarotti range next time I try one of their products.

7.3 out of 10

Fancy trying the Sarotti No.1 Mexico Chilli for yourself!? Fancy any another Ritter Sport / Milka / Lindt / Storck or German Grocery ... head over to Dean-German-Grocery!!

January 16th: Milka Delicate & Dark Strong Arabica Coffee

Kcal 555 Fat 40.5g Carbs 39.5g (per 100.0g)

My first experience with the Milka Delicate & Dark range hardly got off to a flier with my review of the Black Pepper variant. Luckily Dean-German-Grocery were kind enough to also send along this Strong Arabica Coffee variant in the same package. Comprised of '50% cocoa solids Milka chocolate and ground coffee (2.8%)' this sounded far more to my liking.

The bar came in the same impressive looking packaging, and in a 100.0g bar. The cardboard covering included the usual Milka purple theme, though used a golden font to effectively establish a more premium look. The chocolate itself was wrapped in a gold foil that protected the chocolate well - the surface was unblemished and decorated nicely with a clean cut Milka logo on each piece. The bar had a terrific smell, the coffee was very evident and made its presence instantly known once the foil layer was opened.

Much like in the Black Pepper variant, the 50% milk chocolate was very flavoursome. It was far less sweet than the typical Milka Alpine Milk, with the cocoa intensity noticeably amplified. Despite the overall taste of the chocolate being stronger it was still relatively friendly, and nowhere near what I would describe as bitter. Although the chocolate was more pronounced than in the standard Milka bars, the coffee was by far the dominant flavour of the bar. As the wonderfully smooth melt of the chocolate progressed the influence of the coffee seemed to grow and grow - it tasted absolutely divine. The coffee wasn't as strong or sharp as the taste of an espresso, though you could almost taste the delicious roasted flavours of the beans. This bar was well on its way to being what I would say was one my favourite chocolate and coffee combinations, however the aftertaste left quite a strong acidic type note in the mouth. It didn't really effect my overall enjoyment of the chocolate, though it was a real shame the taste wasn't rounded off nicely.

Overall this bar was very close indeed to really challenging the upper tier of ChocolateMission, though just fell short due to a minor undesirable aftertaste. I am not sure that most people will prefer the unsweetened chocolate, though I found it largely preferable to the standard Alpine Milk chocolate. Forgetting the slightly acrid aftertaste, the coffee element was absolutely superb and provided a hugely enjoyable strong taste. If you enjoy chocolate of a less sweet nature, and are a fan of coffee this bar will be right up your street.

8.6 out of 10

Fancy trying the Milka Delicate & Dark Strong Arabica Coffee for yourself!? Fancy any another Ritter Sport / Milka / Lindt / Storck or German Grocery ... head over to Dean-German-Grocery!!

January 15th: Lindt Excellence Sea Salt

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

I would love to be sat in the meetings where they dream up these flavours. I mean seriously, who in their right mind would pipe up and say 'I think we should make a chocolate bar with a touch of sea salt'? ... well the answer to that is obviously the people at Lindt. This bar was sent to me by Dean-German-Grocery, and I must say I was massively curious of it. I have tried one bar with 'added salt' before, but that was a rather different proposition, as the salt included in that Hotel Chocolat bar was implemented as means to compliment the caramel. 

This product came in the usual Excellence brand format - in a 100.0g bar. As is the case with most Excellence bars, this provided me with two pretty fulfilling servings. The presentation was of course of a high standard. The packaging was formed of the standard two layers with the stylishly decorated outer cardboard box and an inner foil layer. The bar itself had the usual Lindt branding on each block - the only indication I could see of the salt content were small air pockets that appeared in the chocolate. Unusually for Lindt dark chocolate the bar had quite a dairy led scent, though there was still a hint of cocoa mixed in - it smelt fantastic.

Much like the smell suggested the intensity of the chocolate seemed a lot more toned down than most other Lindt offerings (bear in mind this is straight off the back of reviewing the Lindt 99%!!). Despite this the chocolate was still very full flavoured - and had several key constituents to its overall taste. The taste of the chocolate was bittersweet with the delicious sweet, milky base flavours nicely contrasting with harsher more intense cocoa flavours. The salt constituted 3% of the total bar, this might not sound much but it heavily noted the aftertaste. At first it tasted quite odd, though after a few blocks its taste became really quite welcome - it delivered a indescribable moreishness. In a way it sort of tasted a bit like caramel - just without the buttery sweetness. The inclusion of the salt in my opinion was entirely favourable, I was thinking it might make for a coarse texture, though there were no issues there whatsoever - it melted incredibly smoothly.

Overall to my surprise this bar went far beyond just delivering a gimmicky flavour enhancement, and actually tasted absolutely superb. Personally I would have preferred the dark chocolate a little more intensely flavoured - I would love to see a Lindt 70% bar with a touch of salt. As I have said above the addition of the salt did nothing but add to the taste of the bar. It enhanced the other ingredients of the bar whilst not being at all detrimental to the texture in any manner. I will admit I doubted the potential of this Lindt offering ... but I was very wrong! I really recommend this bar, I am sure it will surprise many a person.

8.8 out of 10 

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

 

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