March 26th: Cinnabon Cinnamon Cream Pecan Cluster

Kcal 180 Fat 7.0g Fat(sats) 4.5g Carbs 30.0g

Dipping again into my latest package from the kind people at CandyPirate, I today tried out this Cinnabon Cinnamon Cream Pecan Cluster. As it was produced by the same company as the GooGoo Cluster (Standard Candy Company!) I was expecting good things, and the description of the product certainly didn't fail to raise my anticipation further ... 'cinnamon cream topped with glaze pecans and toffee bits, covered in white chocolate'.

This product came in a slightly smaller size than the GooGoo and weighed in at 43.0g. Aesthetically all was really rather good - the outer packaging displayed a realistic illustration of the cluster, whilst the choice of fonts gave it a nice stylish look. The piece itself looked very appetising with all the different elements visible when cross-sectioned; its snow white complexion was a bit of a pain to photograph as you can see above. When I opened the plastic packed I was immediately treated to a nice variety of sweet spicy cinnamon aromas - it certainly set the mood nicely for the taste.

Before consuming this product I was a little worried that some of the elements might get lost in what was a very 'busy' set of ingredients. This however wasn't the case as each element added not only some unique flavours, but also a lovely bit of variety in the textures displayed. As you can imagine the white chocolate was very milk based in its taste, and contributed a nice smooth thick melting outer layer to the other constituents. Sitting within the outer coating were the pecan and fudge pieces - the pecans bought some welcome buttery, nut flavours whilst the fudge added further interest with its crumbly texture and toffee notes. Sat in the middle of the cluster was the real star of the show - the cinnamon cream. Frankly it was more of a caramel then a cream though who cares ... it substantiated a sweet yet spicy cinnamon flavour hit that created a real impression in the mouth with its chewy texture. Its flavours were long and well balanced, which ultimately made for both a delicious and fulfilling taste.

Overall this was a product that is well worthy of a rare ChocolateMission 9.0 out of 10 rating. This Cinnamon Cream Pecan Cluster provided a wonderfully enjoyably product that was both unique and diverse in its flavour range. I honestly can't recall ever having eaten anything quite like it before and was really very impressed. Frankly if you don't like cinnamon then this is a review you could have stopped reading about three paragraphs ago. If like me though you are very open to this wonderful ingredient then I simply urge you to try one of these.

9.0 out of 10

Want to try the Cinnabon Cinnamon Cream Pecan Cluster for yourself!? Head to CandyPirate

March 26th: York Sugar Free Peppermint Patties

Kcal 80 Fat 3.5g Fat(sats) 2.0g Carbs 28.0g (per 36.0g - 3 pieces)

To say my experiences with the Hershey's Sugar Free range has had its ups and downs would be slightly understating matters. The Reese's and Hershey's with Caramel were both notably awful, though the original Hershey's Chocolates were a bit more to my liking. Today I sampled the fourth out of the range *IShop4YouII* sent me - the York Sugar Free Peppermint Patties. These were formed of dark chocolate filled with a peppermint creme.

These Peppermint Patties came in a bag that weighed 85.0g, which contained about 8 pieces. It is worth looking at the very low nutritional values - these are definitely an option you should take note of if your on a diet and in need of a chocolaty hit. In regards to presentation the outer packaging looked little different to the standard York Peppermint Pattie. The pieces themselves were contained within neat looking foil packages, that kept the chocolates smelling fantastically fresh with their strong minty aromas. The chocolates varied little aesthetically to the standard York Peppermint Pattie. Aside from the obvious size difference, the only other thing of note was the fact that the centres appeared less viscous.

I was a little surprised to find that I would most likely would have struggled to distinguish these and the originals in a blind taste test. Obviously as previously mentioned the limper texture of the Sugar Free variant would ultimately have given it away, however in regards to flavours I would say they were pretty indistinguishable. The dark chocolate was not the most flavoursome, though was still able to establish some mild cocoa flavours in the mouth before the real ferocity of the peppermint centres told. Much like I found with the original Peppermint Pattie, I really enjoyed the mint filling. It was extremely sweet, though really had a nice level of peppermint flavouring, which ultimately made it very refreshing and cool in its taste. These were an incredibly moreish product, however given the 'laxative effects' warning on the back I was again cautious about eating that many at a time.

Overall these delivered a far better experience than the some of the other variants from the Sugar Free range. The dark chocolate could again have been implemented far thicker in order to substantiate a greater cocoa presence, though I guess it just isn't regarded as that important due to the product focus being on the mint filling. Personally I would still choose the original York Peppermint Pattie over this one, however if your eating a restricted diet these are very much worth contemplating.

7.2 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 25th: Kit Kat Sweet Potato

Kcal 114 Fat 6.6g Carbs 12.8g (per 20.5g - 2 fingers)

You could probably have guessed that this was another Kit Kat variant sent to me by the wonderful people at J-List. I am a huge fan of sweet potatoes, though despite there name I must say I haven't ever thought of using them in a sweet food context and have always used them for savoury dishes. As we all know though the Japanese sure like to mix things up and I was more than willing to see what they could make of a sweet potato flavoured Kit Kat.

The on-pack writing as you may have gathered was of course all in Japanese - this didn't stop me from matching up some the numbers though - this came in a 41.0g pack that was split into two separate foil sealed double fingers. Although I couldn't read any of the writing I thought the product was wonderfully presented with the fingers not only contained within their foil packets, but also a nice little cardboard package. The fingers themselves were a pastel yellow colour, though a darker brown coloured creme could be seen running through the middle of the wafers. I really liked the smell of the product - it had a pleasant sweet smelling biscuit like aroma that caught my attention instantly.

I really didn't know what to expect from a sweet potato flavoured product but thankfully it was rather good. The outer coating had a white chocolate like appeal with a very tasty milky, vanilla like taste. This creamy coating was complimented nicely by the standard malt flavours from the wafer that of course delivered the usual pleasant crunchiness. Sitting inside the wafer it was the creme that delivered the really unique flavours of the product. The most apparent flavours it initially brought were elements of sesame and salt with just the slightest of sweet potato starchiness. The aftertaste seemed noted with a twist of black pepper, which actually was a lot more appealing than it sounds. It left a lingering spice note that was nicely extinguished by the remnants of the creamy coating. I ate the whole four fingers in the same sitting and was still left feeling a little hungry, however there was no doubting the tastiness of the product.

Overall this surprisingly wasn't just a gimmicky description and it actually delivered a very lively and exciting set of flavours. I was admittedly sceptical that this would be the case but this Kit Kat combined a wonderfully friendly outer coating with the wafer and slightly spiced sweet potato creme really rather well. I think you have to be the adventurous type if your going to enjoy this particular product, it isn't your standard Kit Kat I tell you now. If you like trying things that are a little different then this would be a product I highly recommend, another good score for the Kit Kat range.

8.0 out of 10

Want to try this Kit Kat Sweet Potato for yourself? Head to J-List to find this product and many more crazy Japanese Candy and Chocolates

March 24th: EASTER 2009 Mini Eggs Superpost Part 3

The products featured in today's Superpost Part 3 are all items that have been requested to be reviewed by Chocolate Mission readers. As with the previous Superposts (which you can see HERE!), I will offer my brief thoughts on the product and of course give it a score on the ChocolateMission scoring system:

Nestle Milkybar Mini Eggs: 

Kcal 500 Fat 23.3g Fat(sats) 14.2g Carbs 68.4g (per 100.0g)

I must say I was pretty reticent to trying these having really not enjoyed the Nestle Milkybar White Moments (Review HERE). Described as 'white chocolate mini eggs in a crisp sugar shell' they appeared to be an none to dissimilar proposition - thankfully I was wrong.

The product was presented well and included the usual Milkybar themed branding on pack. The eggs themselves were the smallest of all the eggs I tried this Easter 2009, though this would eventually turn out to be a positive thing. As with most sugar coated products the eggs really lacked any telling aroma, though a mild sweetness was detectable when searched for. 

Unlike the sugar shells on the 'White Moments' the ones implemented on these eggs were noticeably much thinner - and this made for a much more enjoyable product. I got great pleasure from placing a few eggs in my mouth and waiting just a few seconds for the inner chocolate to melt within its crispy shell before crunching. Upon breaking the crispy shells the usual wonderful plethora of creamy, vanilla flavour influences exerted themselves .... yum!

Overall these were as well received as any other Milkybar product I have tried on ChocolateMission and had a very moreish nature about them. The thinner shells meant they avoided being overly sugary like the 'White Moments' and made for a thoroughly enjoyable product. Recommended for white chocolate fans!

8.0 out of 10

Marks & Spencer Speckled Eggs:

Kcal 500 Fat 24.9 Fat(sats) 18.5g Carbs 63.5g (per 100.0g)

My Easter 2009 reviews wouldn't be complete without at least one offering from M&S would it? These eggs came billed as 'Belgian milk chocolate eggs with a decorated candy shell'. 

Frankly I was a little freaked out by the presentation of this product. Now don't get me wrong I don't have a problem with chocolate coming in an egg shape ... that is all pretty evident by the rest of the reviews! But looking at these eggs did make my stomach turn just a little ... they looked a little real for my liking! The Blues ones especially looked quite like small birds eggs ... whats next? Kinder putting fur on the Kinder Bunnies you see below? Anyway ... I personally didn't like it!

Unfortunately for M&S the presentation of the sugar coated shells wasn't the only area I thought let them down. Despite the shells providing a nice crunch to the product I found them to be too thick, which meant it not only took an age for the chocolate to come into the taste, but also meant that a very strong sugar hit had to be experienced. Personally this wasn't too my liking, and ruined the pleasent creamy, milk flavours of the chocolate that lay below.

Overall these were probably one of the poorer products I tried this Easter. The sugar shells here were implemented far too thickly, which meant that too much of the focus was taken away from the milk chocolate. I hope I am not the only one to find the look of these a little worrying as well? Maybe it is just me being too sensitive?

6.2 out of 10

Kinder Easter Bunnies
Kcal 562 Fat 35.3g Carbs 51.4g (per 100.0g)

I know these aren't Mini Eggs but I couldn't possibly let ChocolateMission reader Rose down with her first ever request. I picked up a pack of these Bunnies in my local OneStop for what I thought was quite a pricey sum of £1.19 - pricey considering they only equated to 45.0g worth of chocolate!

I thought the presentation was very good. The bunnies were held within a nice cardboard holder, whilst all three pieces were wrapped in a very colourful foil wrapper. As you will be able to see above the chocolates themselves were nicely moulded into the bunny shape and actually contained quite a lot of detail worked into their surfaces. Although not quite as striking as their appearance they had a reasonably nice smell that had strong dairy connotations.

If you have ever had a Kinder Surprise Egg or Kinder Maxxi before you will know what to expect from these bunnies. The product was formed of two thin layers of both milk and white chocolate, which made for a none to surprising sweet, creamy taste. As it happens the sweet milk based flavours made for a real moreish nature; the only problem with this though was the problem that you get with most Kinder products ... the minimal portioning!

Overall these Kinder Bunnies very much delivered a very familiar story that happens all too often with Kinder products. The product tasted delicious, yet failed to deliver a satisfying experience as it was all too short lived due to the crazy smallness of the product. If your after just a small chocolate treat then these are a nice little option; if your looking for something that is a bit more substantial though you better look elsewhere.

7.0 out of 10  

Well that concludes my Easter 2009 posts this year - I hope you have enjoyed them. If you still want a product reviewed drop it in a comment and I will endeavour to do my best!

March 23rd: Hotel Chocolat Rocky Road To Caramellow

As you can see I have let the pictures doing the talking a bit for this review. Wrapping up my Hotel Chocolat Easter 2009 reviews I today bring you the Hotel Chocolat Rocky Road To Caramellow; a product formed of a thick shelled halved egg and a selection of different filling chocolates. As you may have gathered from the name of the product half the egg had a 'Rocky Road' theme, whilst the other was formed of Hotel Chocolat Caramellow chocolate.

In regards to presentation everything was presented beautifully - I hope my pictures have done it all the justice it deserves. The whole product came in a lovely black box that had some subtle patterns printed into the surface. In the box the two egg halves were sealed within branded foil wraps that kept both freshness and appearance to a great standard throughout the week or so it took me to consume. Sitting inside the egg halves were two additional foil packets that contained the selection chocolates. I will let you judge for yourselves how appetising the pieces looked, but to me I thought it all looked wonderful.

Extra Thick Egg Halves:

As I have mentioned above the two egg halves had Rocky Road and Caramellow themes.

The Rocky Road half was formed of milk chocolate with white chocolate chunks, rice crispies and cookie pieces. Out of the two halves this one looked the best, though I must say just like the Rocky Road slab it looked a little better than it actually tasted. The milk chocolate was still absolutely divine - the 40% recipe never fails to deliver a creamy but full on chocolaty taste. The ever so slight disappointment came in the additional pieces that really just failed to deliver the excitement in the taste that there appearance suggested. The small cookie and rice crispies added a degree of interest to the texture, though couldn't really influence the cream based milk chocolate to any significant degree. Much like I concluded with the slab, the Rocky Road is an exciting looking chocolate but could just do with having more of a distinct impact flavourwise. Good.

The Caramellow slab sits at number in the ChocolateMission leader board - yet again it didn't fail to impress. This half of the egg was formed of two layers of chocolate with the inner layer formed of the 40% recipe, and the outer layer caramel chocolate. The exterior layer retained the same creamy taste as the 40% though had a strong toffee edge to its cocoa flavours. It had elements of honey, salt and butter that made for a truly magnificent, moreish taste. Despite the sweetness it was a wonderfully balanced taste, which combined with the thick melt made for a truly luxurious, satisfying chocolate. Superb.

As if all this wasn't brilliant enough ... as aforementioned contained within these egg halves were some stunning selection chocolates! Below are my brief thoughts on each:

Easter Chick:
This was one of the more puzzling inclusions for me as it was formed of Caramel Chocolate ... just like the Caramellow half of the egg. What more can I say about Hotel Chocolat's Caramel Chocolate? Wonderfully creamy with a strong toffee flavour edge. Superb.

Pod Bunny:

I thought I would get the two 'boring' pieces out the way :) This piece was simply 40% milk chocolate. I would have preferred another double up of one of the other more unique pieces in the selection, but still who's complaining!? A creamy, strong yet delicately flavoured milk chocolate. Very Good.

Pecan Praline:

This was one of my favourite pieces in the selection. Placed on top of the outer milk chocolate was a nice biscuit piece, though sitting below was were the real treat was. Sitting under a very thin wafer layer was a truly wonderful pecan like butter truffle. Despite the praline name the filling was lighter and more buttery than it was nut based. The taste was long and very lasting. Superb.

Fruit & Nut:

I noticed that this chocolate had a slight greasy feel when I handled it. Indeed the dark chocolate was a little fast in its melt, though what lay below truly made up for this. As you can see above the filling constituted of a peanut butter like filling that encapsulated the word dreamy in every sense. Unfortunately I couldn't quite tell where the fruit element was supposed to figure in things, however the peanut butter filling and almond piece on top made this every nut fans dream. Very Good.

Gianduja Diamond:

This was a pretty simple praline chocolate that was formed of an outer layer of 40% milk chocolate and an inner hazelnut praline centre. The flavour development was truly superb with the milk chocolate establishing a thick, cream based taste before the delicious hazelnut flavours were delivered by the praline. Very enjoyable indeed and left a longing nut flavour in the mouth. Very Good.

Macadamia Bite:
This piece had a thick dark chocolate outer layer that substantiated a rich flavour base before the truly wonderful centre. The light filling was very cream based, though had an earthy, nutty hint. The macadamia flavours were really left to linger in the mouth by a truly superb additional macadamia nut that sat on top of the filling. The nut not only delivered flavour but also a wonderful crunch that contrasted well with the smooth filling. Superb.

Caramel Canape:

This was the only piece that I received two of, though I am not complaining whatsoever. Formed of milk chocolate with a caramel chocolate button and florentine piece sat in the middle it truly delivered a wonderful array on flavours. The creamy flavours of the chocolate wonderfully contrasted with the crunchy, sugar based florentine piece - it not only looked great but delivered in terms of taste. Very Good.

Overall this was a truly fantastic product in pretty much every sense. The Rocky Road half of the egg could have done with an ingredient to really give that extra impetuous in its flavours, though that criticism is very minor given the array of different flavoures that this product included. The selection chocolates were both varied and tasty ... you can't really ask for more. If your gifting chocolate this Easter, and want to give a product that really stands out as something special I honestly think that this is the way to go. Hotel Chocolat deliver excellence once again.

9.2 out of 10

March 22nd: Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares 60% Dark / Raspberry / White Mint / Caramel

Ghirardelli is a brand that I hadn't actually dipped into before today, though thanks to my pals at *IShop4YouII* it finally became an eventuality. Before writing these reviews I thought I would do a little background reading on the brand - to my surprise Wiki informed me that Ghirardelli is in fact an American subsidiary of Lindt ... you learn something new everyday huh!? Given that most of my experiences with Lindt chocolate have been remarkably positive so far I was expecting similar things.

*IShop4YouII* were kind enough to send me a load of samples from Ghirardelli's 'Squares' range. Coming in a rather odd 15.1g size, each were presented in immaculate foil wrappers and had the Ghirardelli logo smartly printed into the surface.

Below are my tasting notes regarding each flavour:

Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares 60% Cacao:

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

The aroma carried a slight coffee indication in and amongst the obvious cocoa scents.

The taste was initially quite mild, though built in its intensity over the progression of the melt. The texture was smooth, if a little thin for my preference with dark chocolate. The resulting taste was pleasant, though just lacking in its strength a bit. I felt it was a little to milky for dark chocolate, but was happy with the friendly and lasting aftertaste.

Overall a pretty standard dark chocolate that failed to really deliver anything more than a mildly enjoyable taste. Good, but just nothing special in the dark chocolate world.

7.6 out of 10 

Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares Raspberry:

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

I liked the look of the inner fondant which matched the pink colour of its foil wrapper. Unlike some other berry flavoured chocolates I have tried recently the artificial nature wasn't overly detectable in the smell, with a more pleasurable fruity aroma present.

Again I wasn't overly impressed with the outer dark chocolate, it just failed to create a really significant impression on me. The melt was just as good, with the fondant centre well dispersed. The centre was quite jam like in its flavours - very sweet, but fruity at the same time. 

Overall one of the better red berry chocolates I have tried recently. It may not have been one of my own personal favourite chocolates, but for any raspberry fans this could be a real winner.

7.9 out of 10 

Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares White Mint:

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

This cut a very After Eight like appearance but smelt far more cocoa led in its aromas. I must say the white mint filling looked very appetising indeed.

The nature of the dark chocolate seemed to work better in this piece as it seemed more appropriate with the strong tasting centre. The mild cocoa flavours transitioned nicely in to a wonderfully balanced peppermint fondant - the contrast of the smooth and slightly gooey textures was a real delight. The mint flavours seemed stronger than in After Eights which made for a fresher, more clean cut taste.

Overall my favourite of the lot - a real pleasure. The taste was flavoursome, long lasting and wonderfully balanced in its intensity. Really recommended.

8.8 out of 10

Ghirardelli Chocolate Squares Caramel:

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

This was the only milk chocolate square I tried out of the selection today and it just so happened to include one of my favourite fillings.

In my tasting notes I have the word 'American' underlined i.e. it tasted as sweet as it smelt. The textures were very pleasurable, with a soft melting chocolate nicely revealing the inner chewy caramel. The taste of the milk chocolate was very sweet and milky, whilst the caramel delivered a nice buttery impression with just a little salty influence.

Overall this was by all means an enjoyable square, though I was left questioning whether I would enjoy eating a 50.0g serving. The flavours were very forceful in their sweetness, which suggested to me that a whole bar might be slight overkill. Still though, based on this square very enjoyable.

8.1 out of 10

Overall colour me impressed! I must admit I didn't fall all that in love with the standard of the dark chocolate, though when in the presence of additional flavours Ghirardelli seem to be a brand on the right lines. I have started with these small chocolate squares as *IShop4YouII* were kind enough to include some bigger bars from their range in my latest sampling package! From what I have seen here ... bring it on! Some great tasting chocolates. 

*** 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 21st: GooGoo Cluster

Kcal 230 Fat 12.0g Fat(sats) 4.5g Carbs 30.0g

My pals over at CandyPirate have got a whole host of new goodies in from the US and have kindly set me across another sampling package full of their new latest lines. Included in the selection was this 'GooGoo Cluster'. This is a product with a rich heritage, and was first produced in 1912. In fact according to WIKI it was the first ever combination candy i.e. it was the first product ever manufactured that contained several different types of candy in a single bar. This product constituted of 'milk chocolate, peanuts, caramel and marshmallow' ... if you want to read up more on the brand I suggest you go HERE.

CandyPirate were kind enough to send me across a few of these, each of which I consumed in one serving (50.0g). The packaging was pretty fair, I perhaps would have liked a cardboard sleeve included to protect the product however the pieces I had made it to me in very good condition. The product itself cut an appealing look, with the peanuts looking especially well portioned and enticing. The aroma of the product reminded me very much of the Snickers Rockin' Nut Road, in that it had some amazingly fresh nutty scents mixed in amongst some sweet smells from the mallow.

This thankfully wasn't a product all about it's looks - it actually tasted superb as well. The outer milk chocolate was quite thick and substantiated a nice set of initial creamy flavours in the mouth. Sat below the chocolate were layers of both caramel and marshmallow that combined well together to give a fantastic chewy, dense and fulfilling feel to the product. To be honest I was expecting a lighter mallow, however it was a lot more viscous and had a simply delicious coconut edge to its sweet taste. As aforementioned sat on top of the product were a load of peanuts, which subsequently added a wonderful contrastive savoury element to the sweeter ingredients below. They tasted fresh, buttery and left longing roasted nut notes with their long aftertaste.

Overall despite this products age it was a thoroughly enjoyable one from beginning to end. The combination of the ingredients made for a wonderful variety in its flavours, which were all well placed in and amongst some well crafted texture variations. My favourite part to the product were the nuts, however the coconut hinted marshmallow was also a real standout. If you like the sound of this product I strongly suggest you try it out. I simply can't wait to try the rest of variants from the range.

8.5 out of 10

Want to try the GooGoo Cluster for yourself!? Head over to CandyPirate for this and more American Candy & Foods.

March 21st: Hershey's Sugar Free Caramel Filled Chocolates

Kcal 150 Fat 11.0g Fat(sats) 7.0g Carbs 28.0g (per 43.0g - 5 pieces)

These are another variant from the Hershey's Sugar Free range that *IShop4YouII* provided me with, and I have similarly been sampling these for the last week or so in conjunction with the other offerings from the range. I must say these came across as one of the more puzzling products ... how on earth do you make a sugar free caramel? Looking at the back of the pack the words 'Malitol Syrup' seemingly gave me my answer.

As with the rest of the range these were received in a 85.0g bag that I consumed very rationally over the course of the last week to save me from 'experiencing a laxative effect' ... too much detail. The packaging didn't have the same dull, faded look of the Reese's Sugar Free product yesterday, and actually looked relatively well presented. The chocolates were all contained within foil wrappers that looked not all that dissimilar to the Hershey's Sugar Free Chocolates. When cross-sectioned the inner caramel was alarmingly runny, though this didn't cause too much upset as the pieces were nicely suited to consume whole anyway. Aroma wise the pieces really failed to create an impression on me, they radiated just a minor sweet scent.

Despite being far from the atrocity of yesterdays Reese's Sugar Free showing these were again not all that great. The milk chocolate was the same used in the standard Hershey's Sugar Free Chocolates I reviewed a few weeks ago. It was relatively mild in its flavours, though still had an enjoyable subtle milky sweetness to it. Unfortunately these already quite weak flavours lost the chance of creating a real impression on the taste due to the inner caramel proving really quite dominant in terms of in mouth presence. Although being highly detectable with its fluid like state the caramel failed to create an impact with its flavours. To be honest the caramel felt really quite odd ... it just didn't influence the taste whatsoever and just proved to be a distraction from the fair tasting chocolate.

Overall these proved to be another disappointing showing from the Hershey's Sugar Free range. I asked the question in my opening paragraph ... How do you create a sugar free caramel? ... Based on this evidence you simply don't ... you just create something that looks like caramel and call it that. These were nowhere near as appalling as yesterdays Reese's Sugar Free effort, as at least the milk chocolate tried to bring something to the table. I am still nowhere near recommending these to anyone though.

6.3 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 20th: Kit Kat Milk Chocolate Azuki Bean

Kcal 110 Fat 6.0g Carbs 12.4g (per 20.5 - 2 fingers)

You may recall that I reviewed the Kit Kat White Chocolate Azuki Bar way back last September and being really rather impressed with it. Well when J-List offered me the chance of trying out the milk chocolate version I was never going to say no. Those of you who have never come across Azuki Beans before, I can inform you they are a red coloured legume, and are traditionally used in sweet foods in the Far East.

I received this Kit Kat in a 41.0g pack that was split into two double finger servings. Again I feel the need to pass comment on how well the product was presented in both a cardboard sleeve and foil wrappers. It seems that Nestle in the Far East pay a lot greater attention to presentation than Nestle do in the UK. Despite the on box pictures showing the azuki bean creme as purple, the actual Kit Kats looked no different to the standard milk chocolate ones we get here in the UK. Unlike its aesthetic looks though, the smell really distinguished this bar, and emanated curious fresh cut grass like scents in between the standard sweet biscuit smells.

The outer milk chocolate was really what you would come to expect from Nestle. It was a relatively standard milk chocolate in that it had predominant sweet, milky flavours. The wafer also contributed its standard malty type flavours that were of course delivered with that beautiful resounding crunch in texture. Sitting in the middle of this wafer was were the azuki bean creme lay and it wasn't slow in establishing a firm grip on the overall taste. The creme brought all kinds of different flavour elements - it had interchanging sweet caramel, soy, earthy notes that made for a highly variable and unique taste. The resounding flavours in the aftertaste left a slightly bitter, nutty taste however I must say the range and longevity of flavours made this one of the most fulfilling Kit Kats I have tried yet.

Overall just like the white chocolate version this was a highly enjoyable Kit Kat variant. It is definitely a hit or miss sort bar - the azuki bean creme certainly doesn't hold back at all with its unique flavour qualities. Personally this was a bar that I found satisfying and a little exciting - it is not often you come across such weird and wonderful flavour variants - I always find it nice to try something new. If your a fan of Kit Kats then you should add this to the growing number of flavour variants you simply have to try!

8.2 out of 10

Want to try the Kit Kat Chocolate Azuki Bar for yourself!? Head to J-List to find this and many more Japanese Candies and goods!