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The ChocolateMission Omnibus
You lot demanded more UK products ... I delivered more UK products! I kicked off things this week with my review of the re-released Mars Treets which have just made a comeback on our shelves. Personally I thought they were better than M&M's Peanuts but you may want to challenge that view by heading on over to the review HERE.
On Tuesday I bought you guys the first ever review of the Kit Kat Caramel Chunky that Nestle have just replaced our UK Peanut Butter Chunky with. My conclusion was that it was a pretty bad decision and I laminated Nestle for their use of a caramel creme rather than a normal goeey caramel. Once you try it for yourselves be sure to let me know what you think of it HERE.
Unfortunately things didn't get much better in the week and I ended up having the displeasure of trying two orange flavoured chocolate bars. The first was the Lindt Thyme & Orange Fantasy which was an awfully weird mixture of herbs, chocolate and fruit. Next was a bar that reader Alan sent me to try the Dove Cinnamon and Orange ... this wasn't much better.
News from the Chocolate Market:
* Fancy paying £961.48 for a single chocolate bar? Well Cadburys have produced a bar that costs exactly that to celebrate the relaunch of the Wispa Gold. See HERE
* Thorntons are going to try and expand their business in to Europe - See HERE
* After Cadbury announced their spectacular financial results last week the Independent took a look at how they have achieved them. See Here
Posts from other Blogs I enjoyed this week:
* CandyPirate - Not so much a post but more a stock alert! These guys have managed to track down some limited edition M&M's Coconut! Head on over if you like your M&M's. See HERE
* CandyBlog - Cybele got stuck into some of the UK's finest Terry's Chocolate Orange by trying out the Toffee Crunch variant. See HERE
* ImpulsiveBuy - These Nature Valley Nut Clusters strike me as a snack that I won't be able to put down once I open ... they look remarkably similar to our Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Clusters. See HERE
* GiGi Reviews - Followed the yellow brick road to Ben & Jerry's latest limited edition flavours ... boy does this one look good! Lucky Americans eh!? See HERE
* ChocoaBlog - Simon continued looking through Thorntons' award winning range. More of my own reviews of these bars coming very soon. See HERE
Question of the Week:
'If you could change/add one thing to this website what would it be?'
Please be as honest as you want ... any feedback is good feedback
Posts
24 comments:
The site's ace the only thing I can think of is to add another chart to the leaderboards bit for how filling the chocs are, I know you give them a rating on that anyway, so then if you're looking for inspiration for something light or you fancy choosing something substantial then you could check the leaderboard for ideas.
The site's ace the only thing I can think of is to add another chart to the leaderboards bit for how filling the chocs are, I know you give them a rating on that anyway, so then if you're looking for inspiration for something light or you fancy choosing something substantial then you could check the leaderboard for ideas.
I LOVE your site and wouldn't change a thing. I only discovered it last week but I am utterly hooked. I could search your previous reviews for hours. Keep up the good work
I was going to say make your charts a bit clearer but you seem to be doing that better lately. Why are some different sizes? Thanks Vivian
The only thing I can think of is that my comments don't always appear on the site straight away. Sometimes they do - sometimes they don't. That is a little annoying.
Thanks for the shout out Jim!
HI Jim,
Thanks for endeavouring with such a fabulous site I know I haven't been contributing much over the last week or so but I was away on holiday in France.
Having got back I have just about managed to catch up with all the reviews. I am very surprised at how much you didn't like the new Kit Kat, I will have to eat one myself and see if I think it is just as bad.
Hand on heart I don't think you have to make any changes to the site apart from maybe updating your leaderboards more often ;)
Keep up the good work and thanks
Alun
£961.48 for chocolate?! I should cuckoo.
For charity I suppose, I shouldn't moo too much. But blimey.
I hate to sound sucky, but I have thought about it and honestly there's nothing I would change/add to your site. It is crafted to perfection!
Thankyou Jim for giving us nice, casual entertainment in an increasingly sinister and bitter world :)
I wouldn't change a thing Jim I don't think! lol I love the site and reading your reviews! :)
Lottie is right this site rocks => =>
I echo what the others have said. Love the site, it's much better than many similar sites I've been on as it's dedicated to it's subject. The regular updates make for interesting reading on a daily basis, there's not much more I could ask for.
A bit of news I noticed not mentioned and that seems to have disappeared from the Talking Retail site was a new product from Cadbury called Koko, supposedly some sort of truffle product aimed at women. I saw it the other day but it now seems to have been removed. If you type cadbury into google news it's at the bottom but the link is dead. Weird.
No changes - I think the site is awesome just as it is!
£900 for a chocolate bar sounds a little one the expensive side to me :)
Jim I have been racking my brain for suggestions but your site is just great the way it is. I don't want you to change anything, just more keep the great work up. I hope you understand how much we all appreciate it.
I love the site too having been a fan for yonks :o) perhaps one suggestion I may have is to make a review requests page/service more obvious, or pending requests list visible ... that's the only thing that springs to mind.
I'd like to see more chocolates reviewed that are available in the UK, most seem to involve ordering online and having to pay extra postage etc. With the economic climate being as it is, I just can't afford treats posted from another country!
It seems a little silly advising you what to do Jim as your doing such a fine job. I think all the comments people have left so far are testamant to that fact. If I was to suggest anything - maybe you could review some chocolate biscuits or cakes? Like the Mars/Cadbury Mini Rolls etc? Just a thought.
P.S. This is my first comment ever. I will make sure to leave some feedback more often
Yeah biscuit reviews. Everyone likes a biscuit ya know!!!!!!!!!
And to add a comment to the biscuit request: just yesterday I was thinking that it would be great if you could review the Thornton's Mini Brownies and Mini Caramel Squares which a friend treated me to. Would be interesting to hear your opinion!
Wowzer ... this one needed two parts!!
PART ONE
Lily
Nice idea! I will have to have an extensive look through the archive to see which some out on top but it can be done. Good suggestion!
David
I am really glad you enjoy it. Be sure to check back and leave your comments as and when.
Vivian
I have recently made the charts larger but there are still some older reviews coming trough the backlog so you might still see some older/smaller ones still for the next couple of weeks. This won't be a problem going forward though.
Golden T
I have been having a few issues with one guy that seems intent on posting when he is really not welcome anymore. Unfortunately he has been trying to post again in the last few days again (nutter alert!!) so I have had to stick comment moderation back on ... bassically this means I view everything before it is published on the site. I am sure this must be frustrating for you guys but I will endeavour to publish them ASAP. Apologies for the annoyance but it is much the case of one person spoiling it for the rest of you.
GiGi
No need to thank me whatsoever. I love your site and I have no qualms telling everyone how good it is.
Alun
Kind words indeed! The Kit Kat Caramel wasn't too my taste I am afraid ... who knows you may like it! Let me know what you think. As for updating my leaderboards more often I will try and do this. To be honest they often are the last thing I think of updating.
Lottie
Not willing to pay £900 for a chocolate bar? God some people are tight aren't they ;) Thanks for your nice words about the site. I always look forward to reading your comments they are always delivered with such gusto and wisdom. Keep them coming :D
Alan
Well if I have a thumbs up from you I know I must be doing something right. I managed to pick up that Twix Cappuccino you sent along this weekend! Review coming soon fella. Thanks again for your input.
Anon #2
This is getting a little embarassing now people are going to think I have paid people to write this :) thanks
Phil
Your input is always appreciated aswell so thank you.
Cadbury KoKo eh!? I have seen this done a few times on TalkingRetail now! It is normally when they release the articles to early and they pull them. I wouldn't be surprised to see that article reappear this week. Be sure to let me know when it is back up! Sounds like a new innovative product! Whatever next :o
PART 2
Susanne
This might look like cut and paste but it isn't - I really appreciate your own contribution as well. Please keep it coming. It is always great hearing your own views on all the German products I get my mitts on.
Anon #3
Another one with very kind words. From all the feedback I have had today believe me I am fully aware that people appreciate it.
Heidi
Very good suggestion! A requests page and 'upcoming reviews' list is in the pipeline. Got a busy week ahead so not sure I will be able to do it this week. Bloody good suggestion though - thanks for this and your continued support.
Sakura Moon
This has been mention before so I will take this into consideration. To be honest I think focusing on the UK entirely would be a step back. I have reviewed pretty much every single mainstream bar in the UK and I continue to endeavour to cover everything.
Personally I think reviewing bars from abroad mixs it up a bit. Indeed postage of products from DGG / ISHOP4YOUII/ JLIST can be expensive but I think they are reputable companies. At least with me reviewing their products I can give some sort of inclination of what products are worth the postage.
I hope you continue to read - as you will have seen from my reviews this week. If there is a sniff of anything new on the UK market like Mars Treets / Kit Kat Chunky Caramel I am well and truely all over it.
Additionally if you have anything specific you want reviewed please ask away!
Trevor
A request for Mini Rolls eh? Sounds do-able to me! I will have a look in the Supermarket and see what is on offer. I like the sounds of trying some Cadbury Mini Rolls though YUM!
Thanks for the first comment! Make it a habit.
Anon #4
Funny you should mention biscuits I have just today written a Lebinez review. I will have a look at the biscuit market and maybe do a nice round up post of what is on offer.
Susanne #2
Sounds very do-able to me. I love millionaire shortbread. Consider this placed on the pending requests list. Always great to have suggestions :)
~~~~~~
Woah! Think I need a lie down now!
Thanks for all the comments and overwhelmingly nice feedback.
Jim
Yeah you deffo need to try Thorntons caramel shortcakes, personally they are the BEST I have ever tasted. They were doing an offer on them last week at Sainsbury's for £1 along with the brownies, not sure if they still are.
The Cadbury Koko article is back: http://www.talkingretail.com/products/product-news/12996-koko-by-cadbury-a-wonderful-chocolate-gift.html
Oh I don't mean to stop foreign chocolate entirely! Maybe you could mention pricing and any postage in the reviews, for both British and other chocolates. For instance, a 50p chocolate may not be as good as one that costs £10, but at times they have their value!
Phil
Consider them in my cross hairs! As I said I love Millionair Shortbread so I am ultra keen to try them! See my new requests page on the right hand nav btw ;)
Susanne
I thought it would be back today! Thanks for getting it to my attention! It will be in the round up next Sunday :D
Sakura
I think that is a really sensible suggestion. To be honest I rarely think about price as 99.0% of the time I don't actually pay for the products. I am a lucky boy I guess .. well I have to write reviews for them all so not that lucky!
I will try and putting pricing info in my new reviews! It is funny you should mention price btw ... looks like that topic has kicked off in the feedback left on the review I posted today!
Thanks everyone
Jim
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