March 18th: Hotel Chocolat The Cocoa Pod Egg

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

Having seen my way through the first of my Hotel Chocolat Easter 2009 offerings last week in the form of the 'Egg Sandwich' I this week have been tackling the prospect of this 'Cocoa Pod Egg'. This was a product that constituted of a 150.0g hollow dark chocolate egg, with a selection of dark chocolate pralines to accompany (60.0g).

The presentation of the product on the whole was stunning. Both the egg and chocolates were presented in a nicely decorated cardboard box, that had large transparent windows on both sides so that the contents could easily be viewed. Below are my thoughts on both the egg and the praline selection:

Dark Chocolate Egg:

Although not actually coated by any sort of foil layer or wrapping within the box, the dark chocolate egg maintained a truly immaculate look. As you can see above there were some stunning cocoa pod patterns woven into the chocolate that combined with its gleaming, smooth surface made it look an entirely appetising prospect - I almost felt guilty breaking it up!

The egg was formed of the 74% Hotel Chocolat recipe, one that I have really developed a taste for. Despite the lack of wrapping the chocolate maintained a magnificent aroma, that became very active as I broke the egg into pieces. Strong cocoa scents quickly emanated from the chocolate, leaving very little to the imagination for its dark sensuous taste.

I really liked the thickness of the egg as it meant that even really small pieces exerted a great deal of flavour in the mouth. The 74% chocolate retained its usual flavour development, with the initial flavours in the mouth substantiating a firm basis of cocoa with a slightly milky undertone to avoid any bitterness. The rich cocoa flavours then developed with the smooth, thick melting transcendence into its liquid form; with elements of coffee and hints of red berry coming and going before a delightful vanilla note finished the aftertaste. Simply put ... Superb!

Serious Dark Pralines:

Accompanying the fantastic dark chocolate egg were these dark chocolate pralines. In the selection of six were two of each of the Chilli (left), Valencia orange (darker coloured) and Gianduja (cross-sectioned) variants. The pack came neatly displayed with the chocolates sitting in a plastic tray within.

Opening the pack I was instantly met with quite a strong hazelnut smell - there was no doubting that these were gonna deliver some fine praline flavours.

I am going to get my minor criticism out the way; you may be able to see above that two of the three variants contained a 'dusted' coating. Personally I found that these coatings quickly dried the mouth, leaving a none to pleasant feel. The minimal dusting of sugar on the Valencia Orange was far preferable in my opinion. Sitting below all of these coatings were thick layers of 74% dark chocolate, you only need to read my description of the egg above to ascertain how highly I rate that. Just as the smell suggested the large majority of the overall taste was led by the praline centres.

The Gianduja variant was very hazelnut focused, and the thick paste like centre delivered creamy, nutty flavours in abundance. A really rich, finely flavoured chocolate praline. Superb.

The Chilli praline delivered the same hazelnut flavours, though the aftertaste contained a ferocious chili kick ... it was seriously spicy! For those that don't like spicy food it might be too much, but conversely for people like me who enjoy that sort of thing it was highly enjoyable. Very Good.

The Valencia Orange had a fantastic zesty nature about it. The orange flavours intertwined with the creamy hazelnut were absolutely stunning and incredibly refreshing. It was another truly satisfying truffle. Superb.

Overall I am sure you have been able to gather that I pretty much savoured every last bit of this product. I wasn't expecting anything less from the dark chocolate egg; the 74% chocolate was as good as ever and just bursting with rich, yet friendly cocoa flavours. The praline selection was also a very welcome addition, and mixed a variety of flavours within a dark chocolate praline context that really worked extremely well. If your buying chocolate this Easter for a dark chocolate fan that likes praline I think you needn't look elsewhere. This is a wonderfully presented product and yet another instance of Hotel Chocolat bringing quality in abundance.

9.0 out of 10

March 17th: Milka Strawberry Yogurt

Kcal 565 Fat 35.5g Fat(sats) 20.0g Carbs 52.5g (per 100.0g)

Packaged in along with the latest Milka 'Winter Varieties' that I have been sampling over the last couple of weeks, Dean-German-Grocery also sent me this 'Strawberry Yogurt', which also just so happens to be another a new addition to the Milka range. Described as 'Alpine Milk chocolate filled with yogurt milk creme with strawberry', the first thing I looked at was the actual % of real strawberry ... get this ... 0.18% ... suffice to say even though I had a mild strawberry allergy as a child I felt very safe eating this bar.

I received this bar yet again in a 100.0g form that I ended up eating over about three sittings. The packaging was as suitable as ever, communicating the flavour well with the addition of some strawberry fruits and red colouring. The bar looked pretty appetising - the creme appeared plentiful sandwiched in between the chocolate layers, whilst some tiny red specs of strawberry could be seen throughout. I wasn't so impressed with the smell of the product - It was certainly very poignant, and struck me as soon as I opened the resealable fold. It was forthcoming, yet not all that enticing - it smelt artificial and not what I would really describe as fruity ... just cheap if anything.

From the very first piece I placed in my mouth I had mixed emotions in regards to the taste. The chocolate severely lacked relevance, and offered only the slightest indication of its usual creamy, nut noted flavours due to the filling dominating the taste completely. The inner creme was hardly ill flavoured, just it would have been nice for the chocolate to have had more of a prevalence. Regarding the filling, it thankfully tasted a little bit better than both the smell and 0.18% strawberry content suggested. It was dairy led in its milky flavours with a pleasant tangyness in its aftertaste. The taste was incredibly sweet, but also surprisingly fruity, with the small specs of strawberry actually adding bursts of tart, zingy, red fruit flavours to the creme. Despite the really quite fast melt I couldn't eat more than a few blocks of this at a time as the taste was really quite overbearing in its sugary flavours.

Overall this is one of those Milka offerings that I would say is a real 'love it or hate it' bar. Personally I just didn't get on with the dominance of the very sweet, creme centre. The taste was fruitier than I was expecting, but for my liking it still relied to heavily on its sweet flavours with no regard paid to letting the chocolate really establish itself in the taste. This isn't what I would necessarily describe as a bad bar whatsoever, I am sure there are plenty of people that would get some real pleasure from it. Personally not for me, but worth trying if you like the sound of it.

7.1 out of 10

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

March 16th: Kit Kat Maccha Tiramisu

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

ChocolateMission truly has now gone fully global - with J-List (a company based in Japan) being the latest company offering me the chance of some samples. I will be providing impartial reviews of the products that they send to me, if you so wish to make your way to their website to try the products for yourself I suggest you click one of the many banners now included on the site. By the look of their frequently changing stock it looks like we are certainly in for some interesting reviews.

Kicking off my first J-List review I today sampled this Kit Kat Maccha Tiramisu. It seems that Nestle just love trying all sorts of different flavour variants of Kit Kat in Japan, I just wish they had the same attitude here in the UK. This Maccha Tiramisu variant is a seasonal variety and promised to incorporate both green tea and tiramisu flavours ... I told you we were in for some interesting combinations!

I received a large pack of single stick pieces that in terms of size were no different to the standard Kit Kats we get here in the UK. Although individually they didn't make for the most substantial of snacks they looked interesting and were kept within individual foil wrappers. Aesthetically they were striking to say the least - as you can see above they had a light pastel green colour that I thought looked pretty distinctive. As well as being visually striking they also emanated a very enticing aroma that had strong dairy connotations with elements of cheesecake and cream ... it smelt fantastic.

As with every Kit Kat the outer coating, crisp wafer centre and creme filling all made for a wonderful array of textures. The outer coating had a very white chocolate like sweet taste with elements of vanilla and cream very much the dominant flavours. As the melt progressed ever so slight notes of green tea came through in the taste, giving it the most minor of delicate herby notes. The crisp wafer brought the usual malty flavours, whilst the inner creme further supplemented the creamy, milk flavours of the outer coating bringing a delicious tangy yogurt aftertaste. I am not sure what constitutes a tiramisu in Japan as there were obvious elements missing (liqueur, mascarpone etc), however the culmination of all the aforementioned made for an enjoyable, distinct taste.

Overall despite the lacking of some traditional tiramisu flavours, this was a product that delivered a very pleasant and unique flavour experience. The green tea element was subtle, yet still highly detectable amongst all the predominantly cream flavours. In my opinion this was the best way to implement such a flavour as too much of an emphasis on such a flavour would probably have resulted in an odd bitterness. Luckily this Kit Kat variant avoided this, and provided a very pleasant offering. If you are a Kit Kat fan and love experimenting with weird and unique flavours this would be a product I recommend. More coming from J-List very soon.

8.0 out of 10

Fancy trying the Kit Kat Maccha Tiramisu for yourself!? Why not head to J-List by click HERE

March 15th: Reese's Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar

Kcal 200 Fat 12.0g Fat(sats) 6.0g Carbs 23.0g (per 40.0g - 4 pieces)

*IShop4YouII* were once again the providers for this review today - the Reese's Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar. Now I am sure you are all aware Reese's products traditionally come in a 'cup' form, though at the back end of last year Hershey's saw fit to produce this bar version. The ingredients read reasonably well - this looks like one of the few products that Hershey's haven't taken the cocoa butter out of recently.

The bar came in a 120.0g format that was split up into several quite large sized blocks. Taking note of the rather high nutritional values, thankfully these blocks proved to be rather fulfilling - three at a time provided a more than adequate snack. Despite lacking the usual 'Cups' appeal, the product was presented reasonably well. The usual orange theme was implemented on the wrapper, with each of the blocks nicely decorated with a Reese's logo. When cross-sectioned I was surprised at the thickness of the chocolate in relation to the peanut butter filling. As ever I couldn't help but be taken in by the wonderfully nutty aromas that were radiated from the bar.

As noted above the milk chocolate was implemented a lot thicker in this bar than most other Reese's products, and this definitely came through in the taste. I am normally very critical of Reese's milk chocolate as I normally find it bland and waxy in texture - there weren't such problems here. The chocolate had a slower melt than normal, which allowed it to substantiate some stronger milky, cocoa flavours; the taste was quite sweet but it suited the bar well. With the chocolate having a greater presence the peanut butter filling was a little lacking in terms of its volume in each block. Don't get me wrong I was pleased that the chocolate was better substantiated in the taste, though I couldn't help but want more from the peanut butter. All the usual creamy, nutty, salty flavours of the Reese's peanut butter were present ... but just didn't get to stamp their usual authority on the taste.

Overall there is no doubting this is a nice addition to the Reese's range, but whether or not you will prefer it to the standard Reese's peanut butter Cups will largely be down to personal preference. If you prefer greater emphasis on the peanut butter like myself then I would suggest you stick with the standard cups, or better yet the Big Cups. If you want more in terms of a chocolaty hit from your Reese's products then I suggest you get hold of one of these.

7.9 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 14th: Milka Vanilla Pudding Sled Fun

Kcal 585 Fat 40.0g Fat(sats) 22.5g Carbs 51.0g (per 100.0g)

Rounding up my reviews of Milka's Limited Edition Winter Varieties I today tried the 'Vanilla Pudding - Sled Fun' bar, yet another bar sent to me by Dean-German-Grocery. This is a bit of a cheeky one by Milka as I have previously seen a vanilla pudding flavour reviewed by Terry over at 'The Chocolate Review' - so unlike the product claimed this wasn't an entirely new variant. Not to be in the least be perturbed by this I particularly liked the sound of this bar, which came described as 'Alpine Milk Chocolate filled with vanilla flavoured milk cream' ... yum!

The packaging was all standard Milka - the resealable nature of the 100.0g pack proved yet again quite useful as this bar took me about four sittings to eat in its entirety. The vanilla pudding flavour was well communicated on the front of pack, with what looked like a Creme Caramel ... one of my favourite desserts! Out the pack the bar looked very appetising, with the filling cutting a particularly plentiful and tempting look with its yellow colouring. The aroma of the bar was also very enticing, and combined some delightful nutty scents with a very sweet smelling vanilla essence influence.

Milka bars are commonly known for their sweet taste, and this offering did little to show evidence agaisnt this. The Alpine Milk chocolate was as nicely flavoured as ever with some fine cream, cocoa influences dominating the overall taste. The slight hazelnut note was also still present, though had less significance due to the filling quickly establishing its flavour base. Much like the outer chocolate the filling was fantastically smooth in its melt, which made for a delightful set of textures. Flavour wise it was undoubtedly pleasant, but took the word sweet to its extremes. The vanilla cream was very creamy and reminded me a lot of very sweet flavoured custard - as I said it was wonderfully enjoyable, but never something that you would want to consume in vast quantities, which thus made it a little unsatisfying.

Overall this was one of those tricky bars to rate as the product was on the whole very tasty, yet at the same really quite unfulfilling. Milka Alpine Milk chocolate is always a safe bet, and a great flavour carrier for additional fillings. However, both the product's main strength and main weakness came in the form of its vanilla pudding filling, which was great tasting but at the same time just incredibly sweet. For fans of sweet flavoured chocolate then this is a bar I would recommend, for those the other end of the spectrum I guess this is one to avoid.

7.8 out of 10

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

March 13th: Emerald Chocolate Caramels

Kcal 190 Fat 8.5g Fat(sats) 5.5g Fat(trans) 3.0g Carbs 28.0g (per 43.0g - 5 pieces)

These were another product sent to me by the delightful fellas at 'The Irish Shop', and although never having heard of the manufacture Oatfield before I was very open to trying these 'Chocolate Caramels'. These didn't carry an on pack description though this bothered me less than the quite worrying 3.0g of trans fat stated in each serving ... to be honest I don't think I have ever seen a product have such a high amount. Despite my initial predisposition I still decided to give these chocolate coated caramels a try.

I received a 96.0g bag, which contained about 15 or so pieces. The presentation cut quite a classic look, the outer packaging and individual wrappers communicated their Irish heritage well with their dark green colour scheme, the additional gold element added to what was a relatively sophisticated look. The chocolates were about the size of the comparable Cadbury Eclairs, though obviously differed in that these were chocolate coated rather than the chocolate filled. I was a little bemused by the smell of the product - it radiated scents that I would neither describe as cocoa led or caramel ... it was more of a burnt , treacle like aroma that was pleasant but just not entirely fitting.

What with the lack of product description and startlingly high trans fat content I was quite taken aback by the taste when I first placed one of the pieces in my mouth. The outer chocolate had a slight graininess to its texture, and the reason why was revealed as the melt progressed. Dispersed in both the chocolate and the inner caramel were small pieces of dessicated coconut - for me this brought both its benefits and its drawbacks. I thought it was beneficial in the fact that it added interest to what was a very mild mannered outer chocolate - it certainly brought some extra milky nuttiness to the quite subtle cocoa flavours. Unfortunately I didn't like the texture it added. Given the nature of the product, sucking on the pieces to enjoy the buttery, sweet flavours of the caramel seemed the most appropriate way to eat them. As I said before though the coconut pieces added a slight roughness to the texture, which didn't make this as pleasurable as it should have been. Much like the chocolate the inner caramel was neither that forthcoming in its flavours, which overall didn't make for the most satisfying or fulfilling of products.

Overall I guess I did get some degree of enjoyment out of these 'Chocolate Caramels' as the proposition of the coconut with the milk chocolate and chewy caramel did make for a unique offering. However, there are just a few things that bothered me about this product and I must admit these worries were rooted in the trans fat content. I personally don't think there is an excuse for a product to contain such a high level, especially when the taste was not truly special. The coconut element certainly brought a degree of uniqueness in comparison to Cadbury Eclairs - but for my money I recommend you stick with the Cadbury's and give these a miss ... if only for your health.

5.8 out of 10

Head to the Irish Shop for many more Irish Chocolates / Foods & Goods

March 12th: Hotel Chocolat Fruit & Nut Easter Egg Sandwich

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

Yet again Hotel Chocolat have been kind enough to send me across some samples of their latest seasonal Easter line. Starting with the smallest item in the selection I today took a look at the Hotel Chocolat Fruit & Nut Easter Egg Sandwich. Now I can't say I am the greatest fan ever of egg sandwiches but to be honest this one sounded an awful lot more appetising than your standard egg mayo and cress :) billed as 'slabs of fused dark and milk chocolate studded with dried fruit and nuts' this sounded a very enticing proposition indeed.

The 'Easter Egg Sandwich' came in a 100.0g size that was very conveniently split into two 50.0g halves. Both the packaging and chocolate were very distinct in design. The packaging was especially unique with the outer cardboard intricately folded to contain the plastic tray within. Although it looked nice I was somewhat disappointed with the fact that quite a few of the fruit and nut pieces fell off when I removed the egg from the tray. The lack of fruit and nut influence in the aroma was also slightly disappointing, however the rich smelling cocoa scents didn't fail in raising my anticipation.

The base chocolates used in this product were as expected fantastic. The milk chocolate of the product constituted of both a small portion of both the bases and the whole of the egg shapes. It was formed of Hotel Chocolat's 40% recipe that as ever never failed to substantiate some delicious sweet, creamy chocolate flavours with its utterly sinful thick melt. Despite thoroughly enjoying my reacquiantance with the 40% milk chocolate, I savoured the 74% dark chocolate even more. As ever it was quick to establish its kind yet never overly forceful rich, cocoa flavours with its smooth flowing melt. As much as I enjoyed the chocolate I must admit I felt somewhat a little less impressed with the fruit and nut implementation. Whilst the dried cranberries and raisins managed to establish some fruity, tarty flavoured influences on both chocolates, the nuts really failed to exert themselves. Their finely chopped nature meant that where present in the dark chocolate especially the almond and hazelnut really struggled. The small bitty nature also somewhat disrupted the smoothness of both the chocolates in the mouth. As you will above both egg halves included white chocolate centres that included some additional red berry flavours. I found this to be a very welcome addition as it not only added a further variation in the chocolate, but also a fun 'target' which to break the chocolate off around.

Overall I can't say this was one of my favourite ever Hotel Chocolat offerings, though that being said it was still a very tasty little product that offered plenty of variation. One thing your assured with Hotel Chocolat is the quality of the chocolate - indeed both the milk, dark and even small amount of white chocolate on offer here were tremendous as ever. My quite small disappointment with this product resided with the implementation of the fruit and nut. Being 'studded' into the chocolate meant that some of the pieces fell off in the packaging, and their small chopped nature meant they lacked presence within the dark chocolate. These are one of the cheaper Easter themed products that Hotel Chocolat are doing this Easter - whilst not the best they have to offer its worth checking out if your after high quality chocolate on a budget! More Easter Hotel Chocolat to follow soon!!

8.1 out of 10

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!