March 11th: Cadbury Dairy Milk Golden Crisp

Kcal 245 Fat 11.6g Carbs 31.7g

At last I have finally found a source of goods from Ireland!! Enter my new friends at the 'The Irish Shop'!! They are a UK based firm who funnily enough import goods from Ireland - Be sure to check out their shop if any of my reviews tickle your fancy. Phil from the 'The Irish Shop' has very kindly sent me some Cadbury Dairy Milk flavours that are unique to Ireland - the first of which I tried today ... the 'Golden Crisp'. This bar was formed of 'Milk Chocolate with Golden Honeycombed Granules'.

I sampled this product in a 49.0g bar, which I ate in one wonderfully adequate sitting. Just like the standard Irish Cadbury Dairy Milk I reviewed last year the product came in the wonderfully retro looking combination of a paper wrapper with a foil sheath. It looked awesome, I just wish they still made them like this in the UK. The chocolate itself also looked appetising - it was the usual branded eight block format and had the golden coloured honeycomb dispersed well throughout. Opening the foil layer revealed the utterly delightful Cadbury Dairy Milk aroma, it smelt rich, milky and insanely chocolaty ... not many smells can touch it for enticement.

If you have read my review of the Irish Cadbury Dairy Milk you will be aware that the viscosity of the Irish Dairy Milk melt is a lot thicker; I found this yet again with this bar. The taste of the chocolate was maybe the slightest bit creamier along with the denser texture, though admittedly the discrepancy between the milky, creamy sweet flavours was again not all that great. Comparisons aside, I will have to reiterate my love for Dairy Milk chocolate yet again ... for the price it is just utterly superb. The 'Golden Honeycomb' in this bar proved to be a fantastic enhancement, and rather than adding just a cheap tasting burst of sugar, it really brought some substantial syrupy, honey flavours. What was more surprising was that the honeycomb not only added flavour, but also a fantastic crunchiness that didn't detract from the smooth, thick melting chocolate.

Overall this was a bar that combined a great quality chocolate with a wonderful honeycomb element that added to both taste and texture. Having not reviewed the Cadbury Dairy Milk 'with Crunchie Bits', I can't offer a comparison just yet ... but lets just say the bar has been set extremely high by this Irish offering. If your a fan of Dairy Milk and honey this is a product you simply have to try. I can't wait to dip in to the rest of the Irish Dairy Milk range now to see what more they have to offer ... more soon!!

8.9 out of 10

Want to try the Cadbury Dairy Milk Golden Crisp for yourself? Head over to 'The Irish Shop'

March 10th: See's Candy Chocolate Assortment Part 2

Carrying on from where I left off yesterday, today sees me review the last of See's Candies Chocolate Assortment:

Butterscotch Square:

Unlike its 'Buttercream' counterpart the butterscotch delivered far more in terms of actual flavours. The outer milk chocolate was yet again not to my liking, however the inner filling had a far more agreeable smokier fudge like taste. The milk chocolate still made the overall taste overly sweet, but the extra depth of flavour brought by the butterscotch meant this was somewhat forgivable. Standard.

Vanilla Nut Cream: 

Thankfully the milk chocolate was portioned rather thinly, which meant the vanilla cream had a large say in the taste. The centre was very pleasant indeed with strong floral tones of vanilla essence established early. The walnuts added a nice nuttiness to the aftertaste, whilst also adding interest in the texture. Good.

Milk Almonds: 
As you can see from the cross-section picture the almonds took a large portion of the total piece. They had a very fresh nature about them, and delivered well in both terms of flavours and textures. The almonds were hard and crunchy, and when bitten into delivered some fine roasted, buttery flavours. On the whole these contrasted nicely with the intermittent sweetness from the milk chocolate. Good.

Dark Almonds: 
Similarly to the Milk Almonds piece above this was again largely dominated by the nut pieces. The nuts delivered the same fine attributes, just placed in a dark chocolate context. Personally I preferred the dark chocolate, though its stronger flavours did detract somewhat from the roasted flavours of the nuts. Good.

Scotchmallow:
Frankly this piece was in a world of its own. It not only looked fantastic, but it tasted delicious as well. The outer dark chocolate substantiated a fine unsweetened cocoa context before the sweet honey flavours from the foam like mallow came through in the taste. Just to really top things off the stunningly flavoured caramel sitting at the bottom brought the buttery, sweet, salty flavours with its chewy long lasting texture. The best in the selection by far. Superb.

Milk Butterchew:
What a puzzling piece to rate! The outer milk chocolate was again sickeningly sweet, but the chewy caramel centre was wonderful. As you will be able to see above the milk chocolate was quite thinly portioned, which left a big centre of chewy caramel to savour in the mouth. Much as with the other hard caramels in the selection it delivered some fine contrasting sweet and salty flavours that were very enjoyable indeed - if only it was coated in dark chocolate. Good.

Cocoanut:
This piece was comprised of a milk chocolate coating and coconut buttercream centre. As you will likely have been able to guess by now the flavours were very sweet indeed with the combination of the milk chocolate and buttercream type centre. Like some of the other flavoured buttercreams though this one was partially bettered due to the added coconut element. The coconut brought additional milky influences, whilst adding a nice roughness to the texture. Standard. 

Marzipan:
The dark chocolate and almond marzipan was a really finely executed combination. The dark chocolate provided the nice initial unsweetened cocoa flavours, and melted at a nice rate to reveal the dense marzipan. Surprisingly the marzipan was very reserved in its sweetness, and had a very progressive taste. It started off with hints of flour and dough, though once warmed released some enjoyable butter and almond influences that made for a nice long lasting taste. Very Good.

Milk Walnut:
Its worth noting that all the walnut containing pieces in See's Candies contain 'English Walnuts' ... a bit random I thought - I never knew we were known for our walnuts!? Like the Milk/Dark Almonds pieces the proportion of nuts to chocolate was thankfully quite high. The walnuts didn't offer quite as much to the taste as the almonds, though they still brought some nice tasting salty, earthy elements to proceedings. The additional flavours however were quite short lived which was somewhat disappointing. Standard.

Mocha:
The final one! This Mocha piece was formed of coffee buttercream wrapped in milk chocolate. This was another that included chocolate sprinkles on top, which surprisingly really added interest in the texture. This was another I was really looking forward to, however was left disappointed. The milk chocolate yet again managed to completely dominate the taste and overpowered the quite enjoyable coffee flavours from very early on in the taste. Poor.

So...

Overall I have found it really quite hard gathering all my thoughts on See's Candy together. On one hand I saw brilliance in the Scotchmallow and Dark Nougat pieces ... but on the other hand the milk chocolate was consistently detrimental, whilst the buttercreams were often quite poor. It was surprising to find such a wide variance in quality, though I stand firm in my opinion that the milk chocolate needs some serious refinement. At times it tasted like the awfully cheap, sugary milk chocolate you get with cheap holiday products e.g. Easter Eggs. In my opinion the milk chocolate produced some consistently poor pieces. As I have said though, at the other end of the spectrum there were some truly wonderful chocolates - the Scotchmallow was a particular stand out and I would recommend this to any chocolate lover. If your going to be gifting Easter Candy, I would recommend picking a custom mix with some of the pieces I have highlighted over the last few days. In between some not so great milk chocolates there are some real diamonds to be had.

7.2 out of 10  

March 9th: See's Candy Chocolate Assortment Part 1

For Nutritional Information on See's Candy Please SEE HERE

It has been a busy few weeks on ChocolateMission, though sandwiched in between everything I was recently offered the chance to sample some of See's Candies 'famous old time candies'. My contact at See's Jonathan informs me that they have several Easter Candy varieties and assortments currently available - so if your interested in gifting chocolate this Easter you might want to have a wander over to their site. 

For the next two days on ChocolateMission I will be giving you all my lowdown on See's 'Chocolate Assortment', which was formed of a selection of 21 different chocolates (Yes I know there are 23 in my photo above but randomly there were two that got doubled up!!). 

Now before I get into the nitty gritty of each individual piece let me give you my views on the presentation etc. In regards to the packaging I thought the product was presented very well indeed. The box weighed in at a huge 454.0g and came nicely wrapped in both paper wrapping and a stylish, retro looking cardboard box. Inside the chocolates were well protected by thing layers of bubble wrap and individual paper wrappers. My only disappointment in regards to packaging came in the lack of 'menu' i.e. there was no telling what piece was what!? This particularly annoyed me, though I guess is a problem that could be very easily be solved. 

To save this review being as long as my University dissertation I have decided to split it over two days - with the eventual score in tomorrows post. Below are my thoughts on the first 11 pieces from the selection:

 

Milk Buttercream:
This piece seemed like a sensible place to start given that looking at the See's Candy website, the 'Buttercreams' seemed to be deemed a speciality of the brand. To be honest I really didn't think much to this piece. It had a pleasant distinction in the texture of the outer chocolate and inner stodgy truffle centre, however the overall taste was frighteningly sweet. The initial flavours were predominantly milky and creamy, though these soon found themselves lost in what was a sickeningly sweet culminating taste. Not a great start. Poor.

Mayfair:  
This piece was comprised of buttercream with cherries and walnuts, coated in milk chocolate. Again the eventual sweetness was quite overbearing, though the introduction of the cherries and walnuts did somewhat curb the sugar dominance. The walnuts added a nice crunch to the texture, and combined well with the tart red berry flavours of the cherries to bring added interest in the taste. Standard. 

Rum Nougat:
As I mentioned above this was one of two pieces that I got two of - I guess I was lucky in this sense as it was actually one of the best as well! Combining raisin nougat, cherries, walnuts and rum all coated in milk chocolate, this was one of the more unique choices in the selection. The raisin nougat was particularly pleasant and combined well with the cherries and walnuts to provide a nice fruity, nutty background taste buzz. The rum element was not excessive, but highly detectable and brought a sophisticated, counter-balance to the sweet tasting milk chocolate. One of my favourites. Very Good.

Strawberry Cream:   
Described as strawberry buttercream with strawberries I was somewhat reticent to trying this one, so I split it with a friend and they offered their views as well. Both of us thought that the piece was again very sweet, though personally I didn't think it suffered as much as others due to the fact that strawberries are generally sweet anyway. In between the sugary flavours there were strong, zesty red berry tones that ultimately made for a relatively refreshing taste. Standard. 

Dark Nougat:
Combining honey nougat, vanilla, almonds and coconut coated in dark chocolate this one sounded right up my alley ... and it was. This was one of favourites of the entire box and I could instantly tell I was going to like it from the smooth melting of the outer dark chocolate. The inner fillings beautifully complimented each other with the honey tinted nougat and almonds providing a wonderful contrast in salty, floral tones. The aftertaste left a lovely lingering coconut, vanilla essence lick in the mouth, I just wish there had been more of these in the box. Superb.

Milk Pattie:
This was a pretty simple piece incorporating a vanilla caramel centre and milk chocolate coating. Again the milky, creamy flavours of the outer chocolate got annoyingly sweeter as the melt progressed, however I was impressed by the inner caramel. Combining all the good elements a good caramel should do - butter, sugar and salt with just a touch of vanilla it had a nice taste in the mouth. Although somewhat lacking in an aftertaste it was still overall quite pleasant. Good.

 

Caramel:
Despite just being dubbed Caramel on the website this piece incorporated a hard caramel centre, almond and a milk chocolate coating. This piece had a distinctly nutty smell, and this corresponded with the taste where the almonds were largely dominant. See's might want to rethink the the name of this piece as the hard caramel took more of a backseat to the savoury tasting almonds. The nuts were fresh tasting and full of flavour, thankfully abiding the sweetness of the milk chocolate. Good.

Almond Square:

Following much the same idea as the piece above, this was slightly varied in that the outer milk chocolate was replaced by a dark chocolate base. Unfortunately the dark chocolate was very flimsy in its portioning, and was too thin to really provide a substantial influence on the taste. Despite this the caramel in this piece established its buttery flavours a little more forcefully against the almond pieces. Another nice piece, though had the dark chocolate been better portioned it would have been better. Good.

Milk Bordeaux:

Another See's Candy speciality the Bordeaux was formed of brown sugar butter cream coated in milk chocolate. I enjoyed the distinction in textures between the crunchy pieces placed on top and chocolate and creme layers, however I found the taste too one dimensional and not to my liking. Unsurprisingly the sugary nature of the inner filling made this piece way too sweet for my liking. The flavour progression was very poor indeed and struggled to provide more than just a very sugar based taste. Poor.

Dark Pattie:   

This piece obviously incorporated the same vanilla caramel as the Milk Pattie, just in a dark chocolate coating. The dark chocolate had a delightful melt, and its unsweetened nature established some delicious cocoa flavours before the chewy caramel centre introduced itself to the taste. In comparison the milk chocolate piece I preferred this one, as the more sophisticated flavours from the dark chocolate complimented the good quality caramel very nicely indeed. Very Good.

Milk Molasses Chips:

Combining mollases honeycomb crisp in milk chocolate this was one of the pieces I was most looking forward to. It proved however to be somewhat of a disappointment, with the milk chocolate dominating the taste entirely. The honeycomb element seemed all but lost in the sweetness of the milk chocolate - in truth it offered nothing aside from a curious foamy texture. Yet another piece that was dominated by an overly sugar based milk chocolate. Poor.

Phew .... eleven down the rest to come tomorrow!! Be sure to check out the site tomorrow for the rest of the selection and of course the all important ChocolateMission scoring chart!

March 8th: Hershey's Kisses Pumpkin Spice

Kcal 220 Fat 13.0g Fat(sats) 5.0g Carbs ??? (per 9 pieces)

It has taken me while to get hold of these limited edition Hershey's Kisses Pumpkin Spice, but thanks to *ISHOP4YOUII* I have finally been able to cast my eye over them. I understand that pumpkin is a far more commonly eaten food in the US than here in the UK - to be honest I only ever see pumpkins around Halloween time this side of the pond, so I was expecting these to bring something completely new to the table.

Liz at *ISHOP4YOUII* kindly sent me about 18 pieces, which I ate sporadically over a few days. The pieces looked nice good - the wrappers reminded me of the caramel Kisses I reviewed last year, it was only when taken out of their foil that their distinct look was evident. The distinction between the outer orange and cream coloured centres looked both unique and appetising - it certainly made for an impressive look. As well as appearing aesthetically striking the Kisses had a really distinct smell - it was a tempting concoction of all-spice and dairy elements.

Hershey's Kisses can be hit and miss but I have to say I really enjoyed these. The taste comprised of a number of different flavours, all which came to the fore at different times. The outer orangey layer had a predominantly sweet taste, though there were strong indications of nutmeg and cinnamon consistently adding interest. These were best simply placed in the mouth and left to melt, and the transition of the outer pumpkin and spice layer to the inner creme layers was relatively pleasant, if a little fast at times. The inner creme was more milk led in its flavours and made for a pleasant creamy centre. One criticism would be be that due to the fast melt the flavours were not well sustained and didn't leave the longest impression, a few pieces at a time still provided a relatively satisfying snack though.

Overall these have to be one of my favourite Hershey's Kisses I have tried. The combination of the creamy, spicy flavours made for both a unique and enjoyable taste. As I have said I am not all that experienced with pumpkin flavours, but the sweet, cinnamon and nutmeg elements made each piece thoroughly enjoyable. I understand these are unfortunately a limited edition, so I am guessing stocks of these are probably running low. If you can get hold of some these are very much recommended.

8.0 out of 10

*** EU & UK Readers Attention*** Ever been been browsing Chocolate Mission or any other Candy Site and felt frustrated not being able to get hold of an American bar/item!??? .... well feel frustrated no more!!! 'I SHOP 4 YOU II'!! is a great service that provides a unique "one stop shop" international shopping experience!!! Visit the Ebay shop - if they dont have the item you want instock simply give them a message - there is no harm in asking. This service comes with a Chocolate Mission Seal of Approval!! It is a genuinely great, fast and friendly service... Just say you came from Chocolate Mission.

March 7th: EASTER 2009 Mini Eggs Superpost Part 2

Having brought you Part 1 of my Easter 2009 Mini Eggs superposts last week, I have expanded my research further afield thanks to a little helping hand from my best buddies at Dean-German-Grocery. Just as I did last week I will offer my concise views on the following products:

Lindt Lindor Dark Chocolate Egg:

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

These bigger Lindt Lindor Dark Chocolate Eggs have been gracing the shelves of my local Tesco since January, and I have not let them slip by without passing my eye over one. This egg was basically just a larger form of the mini Lindor eggs you will see below, and came in a 28.0g serving. It looked fantastic, and actually split quite easily with little force, which allowed it to be consumed in a nice four mouthfuls. When unwrapped the cocoa soon made its presence felt with a forthcoming smell that certainly proved very enticing.

There was no doubting that this was one fabulous tasting egg. The Lindor filling was its usual luxurious smoothness, I swear not another truffle on the market can touch it for its silky feel in the mouth. As expected The cocoa flavours were more pronounced than with Lindt milk chocolate and certainly made for an extremely tasty experience. Unfortunately the only slight downfall came in the longevity of the flavours, which is always a problem with the fast melting texture.

Overall this was a very enjoyable egg, though it really did not provide much in the way of hunger fulfilment or total satisfaction. The 60% dark chocolate recipe established some very fine, notable cocoa flavours, but just lacked the sustainability element with the nature of the quick to melt truffle centre. Very much worth checking out if your a Lindt fan.

7.8 out of 10

Aero Egg:

Kcal 128 Fat 7.5g Fat(sats) 6.8g Carbs 13.8g (per egg)

I cant recall seeing this egg on the market last year, and what with the 'new' logo placed on the wrapper I am assuming this is in fact a piece of innovation from Nestle. This was pretty much what you would expect from the Aero brand - simply an egg formed of milk chocolate with an aerated filling. The presentation was all pretty standard - the egg was contained within a foil package which maintained both the aesthetic and sweet aromatic qualities of the product. I was a little bemused to see Nestle branding on the egg and not Aero, though to be honest I must admit I only made that observation when I was looking over the photo as I wrote this review.

The taste was ... well ... of Aero. Very sweet in its chocolaty flavours, with a little less emphasis on the cocoa than I would have liked. As I have said previously regarding Aero there is little to dislike, though it really just lacks a definitive taste to stand out from the rest of the milk chocolate market. The inner aerated texture did add interest to the piece, though of course this made the egg lack in substantiality.

Overall if your a fan of aerated chocolate I guess there is some enjoyment to be had here if your after a small chocolaty snack. For the rest of you though I wouldn't really recommend this product as it lacks 'bang for your buck' ... i.e. this 24.0g single egg neither brings anything new to the table or any great deal of satisfaction.

6.8 out of 10

Lindt Lindor Mini Eggs:

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

Dean-German-Grocery most kindly sent me a 100.0g full of these assorted Lindt Lindor Mini Eggs. Contained within were several tiny Lindor eggs in milk, dark and white chocolate forms. Presentation was yet again to be marvelled at - the bag was a magnificent gold colour and the eggs themselves were all intricately wrapped in small branded Lindor wrappers. Upon opening the plastic bag the eggs were so tightly wrapped they did not release any aroma of note, though once peeled from their foil wrappers their individual scents were relatively forthcoming.

I must say I really enjoyed all of the three different variants. Each captured the wonderful melting centres of the Lindor format superbly in the sugnature silky smooth texture, though this also proved somewhat problematic as it meant individually the eggs did not leave sustained flavours in the mouth. The dark chocolate eggs were obviously the strongest tasting out of the three, and their richer cocoa flavours meant this was less of an issue in comparison to the milkier white chocolate and the sweeter milk chocolate variants.

Overall these eggs tasted absolutely superb though the extra smooth Lindor truffle format meant they were devilishly moreish. The 100.0g bag I had lasted a matter of minutes shared between three people. For taste I highly recommend, but I warn you these are by no means a fulfilling product.

7.9 out of 10

Kinder Softy Mini Eggs:

Kcal 57 Fat 3.8g Carbs 4.7g (per mini egg)

Your going to have to bear with my poor translating skills here as these were another product sent to me by Dean-German-Grocery, hence the packaging was obviously all in German. These eggs were formed of 'milk chocolate coatings with hazelnut creme filled wafers' - in essence think of a cross between Kinder Surprise and Kinder Bueno in mini egg form. Again I received these in a 100.0g bag and was instantly impressed with the very recognisable Kinder themed presentation. The eggs were smartly decorated in branded gold wrappers and looked wonderfully tempting when cross-sectioned. I must also comment on the very alluring chocolate biscuit like smells that were released when I opened the plastic bag ... they were extremely enticing.

I have to say I really did enjoy these eggs though there were a few slight areas of improvement I could suggest. The outer milk chocolate layer was extremely thin and did not leave much of a lasting impression in the mouth. The small amounts of flavour that were contributed however were fantastic and really made for a delightful diary led sweet taste. The wafers added little in terms of flavour but delivered big in terms of bringing a pleasant crunch to the textures. As with a lot of Kinder products the shining star of these mini eggs were the hazelnut creme fillings ... which were beyond superb. Nutty ... creamy ... buttery and just incredibly moreish.

Overall although lacking in substantiality these eggs really made up for it with their combination of luxurious textures and flavour combinations. As aforementioned the outer chocolate needed to be greater in its proportion, though it must be said that hazelnut cremes do not come better than from Kinder - recommended.

8.0 out of 10

Fancy trying the Kinder Softy or Lindt Lindor Mini Eggs for yourself!? Fancy any another Ritter Sport / Milka / Lindt / Storck or German Grocery ... head over to Dean-German-Grocery!!

March 6th: Oreo Old Fashioned Candy Cane Creme

Kcal 150 Fat 7.0 Fat(sats) 2.0g Carbs 21.0g (per 30.0g - 2 cookies)

I remember first seeing these reviewed on GiGi's site way back last year so I guess I am three months late 'coming to the party' with my review. Having seen GiGi's lavish the praise on these I was very excited indeed when I first saw these in my package from *IShop4YouII*. I don't know if they are still being produced though one would guess not given the fact the packaging stated 'Limited Edition'. These special 'Candy Cane' themed Oreos were formed of the usual chocolate outer cookies sandwiching in a double serving of candy cane flavoured creme.

I was lucky enough to receive a 340.0g pack of these that contained a hell of a lot of cookies (hence the rather late review!). The packaging was all pretty awesome looking and the product came presented in a thickish, resealable folding bag that contained the cookies in a plastic tray within. The candy creme theme was well incorporated both on product and on-pack with some intricately implemented designs on both. Visually you could couldn't really see any noticeable differences between the standard Oreo creme and the candy creme of these, however the smell heavily indicated a sweet, minty presence.

As with my previous review of the original Oreo's I was again left wanting more of a chocolate hit from the the outer cookies pieces, though they still provided some pleasant sugary, corn and wheat flavours. Again referring back to my original Oreo's review I found the originals to be a little dry in terms of texture for my liking. With these however I found that the 'double-stuff' helping of the creme definitely made this less of an issue, giving it more of a moistness. As for the candy creme taste it was absolutely delightful. It seemed to take the sugary creamy taste of the original Oreo's that one step further adding a long lasting, fresh peppermint edge to the taste. Both the extra portioning of the creme and extra step in terms of flavour development made two cookies seem all that more substantial.

Overall these were every bit as good as I was hoping for and I must say I found them a superior option in relation to the original Oreo cookie. The sweet peppermint seemed to just further enhance the already fantastic creamy sweet creme and made for a cookie that just seemed to go that little bit further in terms of both interest and overall consumer satisfaction. It is a real shame these are a limited edition, though saying that I have just got my hands on some 'double-stuff' mint flavoured Oreo - if they are any bit as good as these they are sure to be a winner. If you can still find a pack of these I insist you buy some if your a cookie fan.

8.2 out of 10

*** EU & UK Readers Attention*** Ever been been browsing Chocolate Mission or any other Candy Site and felt frustrated not being able to get hold of an American bar/item!??? .... well feel frustrated no more!!! 'I SHOP 4 YOU II'!! is a great service that provides a unique "one stop shop" international shopping experience!!! Visit the Ebay shop - if they dont have the item you want instock simply give them a message - there is no harm in asking. This service comes with a Chocolate Mission Seal of Approval!! It is a genuinely great, fast and friendly service... Just say you came from Chocolate Mission.

March 6th: Lindt Caramel

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

Having very much enjoyed the Lindt Excellence Crunchy Caramel last month I was distinctly looking forward to trying this bar when I saw it in my latest package from Dean-German-Grocery. Formed of milk chocolate filled with caramel and nougat, I was hoping that it might challenge the Cadbury and Galaxy Caramel bars that currently reign supreme near the top of the ChocolateMission leader board.

This bar came in a 100.0g form, which despite the considerable size didn't deliver the most satisfying of snacks. The bar looked very similar to the Lindt Pistache and Lindt Punch products with its filled 'pods' design. Simply it looked fantastic, and when cross-sectioned the caramel in particular looked wonderfully enticing oozing out the branded pockets. The smell was also very notable, with some very forthcoming sweet, dairy and floral influences providing a very tempting proposition.

The milk chocolate was standard Lindt quality i.e. it was absolutely delicious. It had a luxurious smooth, thick melt that nicely allowed the flavours to develop as the chocolate changed form. The creamy flavours grew in intensity, and were well complimented by a strong hazelnut note in the aftertaste. Unfortunately things took a little turn for the worse with the revealing of the caramel. In comparison to other caramel bars it really lacked flavour dexterity, and only went as far as adding a quite harsh sweetness to the already quite sweet milk chocolate. It lacked the prestige in its flavours I was expecting, and was absent of the salty, burnt butter flavours that are normally associated with higher end caramel products. The nougat really struggled to substantiate any impact on the taste and really failed to create an impression on me. The overarching sweetness of the bar made consuming anything more than two blocks at a time not very enjoyable, and thus was not very satisfying.

Overall despite this bar still having a high quality milk chocolate, the actual caramel constituent was rather disappointing. In my opinion there was nothing particularly wrong with it, just it lacked the scope in its flavours that I was hoping for. I was hoping for an awful lot more from this bar and it frankly didn't live up to my very high expectations. It is not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but put in context there far more accomplished milk chocolate and caramel bars on the market.

7.6 out of 10

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

March 5th: Amano 70% Dark Chocolate Madagascar / Ocumare / Jembrana

At the back end of last year I was contacted by the Amano Artisan Chocolate company who offered me the chance to sample some of the chocolate from their range. Amano are a US based firm and form their bars from only four core ingredients: 'Cocoa Beans, Pure Cane Sugar, Cocoa Butter and Whole Vanilla Beans'. They claim that they import their beans from some of the finest sources from around the world, with Madagascar, Ocumare and Jembrana being the origins of the bars I reviewed today. To find out a load more about Amano you can click HERE or either of the company banners I have placed in this review.

Now lets get on to more important stuff ... the actual chocolate!! I must say I was very impressed with the attention shown to detail in the presentation. Each of the bars came in 52.0g packs that I shared with a few friends to compare tasting notes with. The bars came in delightful glossy boxes that really had a premium product look and feel. Inside the bars were fantastically protected by gold foil layers, which really kept in the fresh smelling cocoa that erupted prior to breaking the foil seals. The aromas from all three bars varied little but were very forthcoming in their dark and tempting sensuous scents. A magnificent touch displayed on all three bars was the very intricate logo inscriptions on each of the blocks - it really gave the feeling that the bars had been carefully handcrafted.

Below are the tasting notes taken for each of the three different variants:

Amano 70% Dark Chocolate Madagascar:

Kcal 290 Fat 24.0g Fat(sats) 14.0g Carbs 28.0g

The flavours from this bar nicely developed as the smooth melt progressed.

The taste nicely took shape with some smooth vanilla and cocoa flavours that grew in their intensity. These more mild flavours transformed into some more earthy, coffee type notes as the chocolate took a more liquid form The longing impression left in the mouth was what I would describe as fudgy.

Overall a mild mannered chocolate that grew in richness as the flavours developed. A nice progressive dark chocolate with a sustained aftertaste.

8.7 out of 10

Amano 70% Dark Chocolate Ocumare:

Kcal 290 Fat 24.0g Fat(sats) 14.0g Carbs 28.0g

This chocolate did not quite share the same slow methodical nature of the first bar, but transformed more radically at the latter stages of the melt.

The initial flavours were similarly milky and cocoa dominated and showed little signs of development until the aftertaste. The flavours left in the mouth were noticeably more acidic - and were described by other co-tasters as leaving a 'red wine' type impression. I must say I found it noticeably more tart myself, it was like a red berry fruit sort of influence.

Overall the slightly soured notes in the aftertaste were not preferred in comparison with the other bars, but hardly ruined the overriding great taste of the chocolate. Still very good but not the best of the three.

8.6 out of 10

Amano 70% Dark Chocolate Jembrana:

Kcal 290 Fat 24.0g Fat(sats) 14.0g Carbs 28.0g

This was the favourite of all three bars tried and was certainly the most distinct in its flavours.

The initial cocoa, milky flavours were again substantiated well, though the milkiness seemed to gain creaminess as the melt progressed. As the chocolate developed from its solid state there was a very striking kick of caramel and honey, which certainly made for a very agreeable, friendly set of flavours. The sweet influence left a very unique floral type impression in the aftertaste, which made the flavours not only very pleasurable but also very satisfying.

Overall this was unanimously decided as the best of what was a great tasting range of dark chocolate bars.

8.9 out of 10

I must say I was quite sceptical at the quality of these bars before trying them, though I have well and duly been proved wrong ... these were exceptional. These reviews may come across as quite pretentious but I can assure you the differences between the bars were highly noticeable. Personally I would recommend any one of these three bars for dark chocolate fans - they each had their own individual merits. However, if I had to choose one it would have to be the Jembrana bar due to its unique combination of sweet but rich flavours. Amano have produced a fine range of chocolate bars here, and if your a dark chocolate fan I would suggest you give them a try.