Kcal 240 Fat 11.0g Fat(sats) 6.9g Carbs 33.3g (per 50.0g)With just over a month to go Christmas 2009 reviews are officially go on ChocolateMission this year. A few Christmas products have slipped through the net already and made an appearance but from now until the 25th of December you can expect at least few Christmas themed products a week. Getting us started this year I today bring you my review of Cadbury's latest new product Cadbury Snow Bites which got announced in the press way back in July (HERE). These Snow Bites looked exactly the same in proposition to a Marks & Spencer's product I reviewed last year and came described as 'milk chocolate balls in a crisp sugar shell, dusted with icing sugar'. Could Cadbury trump M&S?
These Snow Bites came in a standard sized 100.0g bag that I found in my local Tesco Superstore. Aesthetically speaking I really liked the look of the outer portion of the bag and thought that Cadbury had done well incorporating a festive looking theme with the very clear Snow Bites branding. What surprised me slightly was the small size of the Cadbury logo and had I not been clued up beforehand it would have all to easy to overlook that this was actually a Cadbury product. Inside the packet it was nice to see that the inner portion of the wrapper was foil based which meant that the pieces were maintained with a great deal of freshness. Unsurprisingly despite the foil fresh seal the chocolates inside lacked an aroma of great note but this has been quite a common thing with a lot of other sugar coated products I have reviewed in the past.
Being a sceptical old so-and-so I thought the outer icing sugar that lined each Snow Bite was merely there for decoration though as soon as I placed the first piece in my mouth I realised that it actually had an important role to play. The icing sugar layer was actually very well implemented and was portioned correctly with just a light sprinkle on the outer shell of each piece. To my surprise the icing sugar brought a wonderful cooling sensation on the tongue which meant that the melt felt all that more exciting in the mouth. Whilst the cooling tingle lasted only a matter of seconds it nicely set up the crunchy texture of the thin crisp sugar shell that lay below which was best enjoyed when sucked on to melt the chocolate inside. The inner chocolate!? ... well it was your standard Cadbury's quality. It wasn't quite Dairy Milk but it was nicely milk rooted in flavour and had a sweet chocolaty taste that had me reaching back into the bag time after time. Despite the bag stating that half (50.0g) at a time constituted a serving I was more than happy just enjoying a few handfuls each sitting.
Overall I didn't think these sounded like the most exciting new product that was ever going to grace the UK but having tasted them I have to say I was pleased with what they delivered. As I have written about above I was really thrilled to see that the icing sugar actually had more of a role in the product than I first thought and it was great that it contributed in terms of the interplay of the textures. The transition of the cooling sensation of the melting icing sugar to the crisp outer sugar shell was simply delightful and the chocolate that lay below was of a slightly better than average quality. Of course it would have been nice if the chocolate had been Dairy Milk but for some reason Cadbury seem to be pulling it's most famous chocolate recipe from most of it's secondary products. On reflection I have to say that these Cadbury Snow Bites were just a little better than the Marks & Spencer's Snowy Balls I reviewed last year. I wouldn't say these are one of Cadbury's greatest products ever but if you see them around this Christmas and fancy some Cadbury themed Christmas cheer they could be worth a look at.
7.9 out of 10
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17 comments:
I have been waiting for this review for like forever it seems. These have been out for months which kind of spoilt the Xmas appeal for me. They brought them out to early.
Me and a friend went through a bag in about 5 minutes. They are just so moreish it is ridiculous. I will be going back for more that is for sure.
Rxxx
I've seen these around but I dunno, they just sound boring. I know, bah humbug! I'm sure I'll give them a try at some point.
Yum I will have to buy a bag of these this weekend. They will make a nice treat for strictly tonight.
Daisyx
I was very pleasantly surprised with these too.. they look great but the fact the icing sugar did play a part and added an extra layer to the shell really made them a much nicer proposition to me than say Mini Eggs! I'm not normally a big fan of sugar shells (apart from say Smarties) but I think the cooling taste is unexpected and quite unique really.
I've noticed Cadvury have shrunk/modified their logo on all their new look wrappers etc over the last year on alot of products making it more descreet (which I personally think looks better as at one point it was often about three times bigger than the title of the prodcut lol)
Sorry if this sounds negative but was anyone else expecting something a little more? Would of hurt Cadbury to come up with something a little more special for Christmas?
i don't think i will bother with these as they don't sound anything special. i am currently hooked on cadbury nibbles. they are so addictive.
These look dangerous. Good thing they have not crossed the path of my hungry mouth.
Mmmm I love the Cadbury Nibbles too! They're hard to find in newsagents, only place I know that sells them is Morrisons.
what has the make a wish foundation got to do with these chocolates? They have their logo on the front.
The bag looks cute :) I think I'll give them a try if I can find them. They might appear around here as well, but I'm not sure.
Cadbury stuff used to be something very rare in my country. They have bought Kandia-Excelent a little more than two years ago. But the same stuff kept coming out of the factory, they didn't introduce any Cadbury classic. The packaging got redesigned, it's more practical now, but the Cadbury logo is not present on it. I find it sad that a lot of Kandia flavours are now gone. There were 5 biscuit + filling varieties, now there's only one. The truffle filled Kandia is gone as well. And a few others that don't come to mind right now. Well, at least something new and interesting came out for this Christmas - Kandisse. These are milk chocolates with two layers of filling:
- Nut Fiesta: upper layer is creamy milk chocolate, lower layer is hazelnut cream and tiny pieces of roasted hazelnut;
- Brandy Twist: upper layer is creamy dark chocolate, lower layer is brandy-flavoured cream with caramelized rice in it;
- Caramel Fun: upper layer - creamy milk caramel chocolate, lower layer - caramel cream & pieces of caramel;
- Coco Salsa: upper layer - creamy white chocolate, lower layer - coconut cream & dessicated coconut... in theory :)) in practice, the layers got switched in this one :))
They're fair. Everything that's promised on the box can be detected in the chocolates. The result is not amazing, but I'd have them again at least once, especially since I only got to eat one of each (I bought them on Wednesday evening and my mother dropped by on Friday...)
This autumn was the first time I saw a few Cadbury products (I mean products that actually have the Cadbury logo on them) showing up in supermarkets. I was curious, but I didn't like any of them - I found the fillings were horribly dry. But maybe there's room for more... and hopefully better.
How strange, I tried these for the first time just a couple of hours ago.
I wasn't as enthusiastic as you, I'm afraid, I kind of thought they were like Mini-Eggs with a flour coating. :\
David
I do know what you mean. They have been in the shops for months now. I think they should have waited a bit longer like you say.
Rachel
Glad to hear you enjoyed them. I think they have that 'just one more' appeal to them with the dusting of icing sugar.
Phil
I wouldn't go out your way to get hold of them chap. They aren't anything special! I would definitely prioritise other chocolates over these in the pecking order.
Daisy
Strictly come dancing?? Oh dear oh dear ;)
Alan
The icing sugar was a simple but effective addition in my opinion. It is nice to see them give more attention to the sub brand rather than the Cadbury branding...it is a bit of a break away from the 'Dairy Milk with ...' stuff we were seeing a few years ago.
Lewis
Cadbury aren't known for their adventurous innovation so to be honest I wasn't expecting anything at all. I think they did alrite with these ... at least they were a relatively new idea.
George
Given the choice between these and nibbles I would defo go for the nibbles. The day nibbles come out in smaller packs can't come soon enough.
YY
You have some equally as dangerous goodies in the US for Xmas! I have seen the selection you have :)
Phil
That must be annoying! I see Nibbles everywhere! All the supermarkets + local co-ops seems to have them!
Anon
No idea! Anyone have a clue about the make-a-wish Foundation link up?
Ana
I have never heard of Kandia-Excellent! I will google them now and have a look.
you should try finding some Cadbury goodies in the British import shops! Some of the portfolio is really worth trying! The latest thing everyone is going crazy for are the Cadbury Nibbles (as discusses above!) They are very much worth tracking down.
Rachel #2
Fair dos ... to be honest I wrote this review a good 6 weeks ago and haven't been back since. I think I was just really impressed with the way the icing sugar gave a nice oooling effect to the texture.
Thanks everyone - have good weekends
JIM
Cadbury are one of Make A wish Foundations corporate Supporters: heres a link:
http://www.make-a-wish.org.uk//getinvolved/business/charitypartners/
seems a decent thing for them to support (along with the others supporting them) :)
Alan
Thanks for the heads up Alan - nice bit of research there. Seemingly we can always rely on you to fill in the gaps of knowledge.
It is a great charity for them to support. Nice one Cadbury!
JIM
Got a bag of these tonight, I agree with Rachel's comment about similarities to mini eggs. I liked them but felt the shell reminded me of mini eggs but wasn't as nice or flavoursome. Mmm, not sure really, liked them and wouldn't say no if offered more but probably wouldn't go out and buy them again.
I just tried these and was really disappointed :( rereading the review I now see I expected too much since they weren't Dairy Milk after all, which I bought them to try in the first place. I like the packaging and the sugar dusting is excellent though super sweet. But it was the texture of the chocolate that really put me off, neither creamy nor hard but sort of crunchy at the same time. These would have been nicer a little larger too, maybe Lindor truffle size.
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