April 7th: Milka Amavel Mousse au Cappuccino

Kcal 550 Fat 35.0g Carbs 52.5g (per 1oo.0g)

Chances are you have flicked to the score already - if you haven't let me spoil it for you now ... this bar was absolutely first-class! To be honest I didn't really expect anything different - the previous Milka Amavel bars that Dean-German-Grocery have sent me have all been fantastic. This Milka Amavel Mousse au Cappuccino was really something special though, and was formed of 'Alpine Milk Chocolate with a coffee and cream mousse filling'.

As with the other bars from the range this came in a 160.0g size that I savoured from beginning to end. The packaging was all rather splendid, with the coffee flavour well communicated through the simple addition of some coffee bean and cappuccino illustrations. The bar itself was also wonderfully presented. It had a simply seductive, alluring smell that emanated rich scents of coffee and cream as soon as I opened the branded foil layer. As ever the pieces were well sized, and the mousse filling looked particularly appetising with its whipped appeal.

Sometimes I feel that Milka Alpine Milk can be a touch too sweet, though the rich coffee flavours really complimented the chocolate well. The textures of both the outer chocolate and mousse were both sublime. The outer chocolate melted at a delightful rate, slowly revealing the softer, yet still quite dense mousse filling. The slow melt allowed the flavours of both different components to express themselves with the creamy, sweet chocolate transitioning almost perfectly into the fuller bodied, coffee taste. The coffee flavours were balanced perfectly to my reckoning with them more complimenting the sweet chocolate rather than dominating it. This marriage made in heaven made for an incredibly moreish taste that I simply couldn't get enough of. I devoured the bar in three sittings, though even that commanded real self-control.

Overall the folks at Milka can really be proud of this bar - its simply magnificent. I would go as far as saying this is one of my bars of the year so far, if the milk chocolate was a little less sweet I could really have seen it challenging some of the bars slightly rated above it. If your a Milka, coffee, or just good chocolate fan I strongly suggest this be a bar you invest in at some point. This bar has quickly established itself as a firm favourite of mine - I really recommend it.

9.1 out of 10

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

April 6th: Cadbury Bournville Orange / Old Jamaica (UK)

I have to admit I wasn't overly excited when Cadbury announced that they were launching two new variants under the Bournville brand. Frankly I think Cadbury Bournville is far from being good quality dark chocolate - you only have to take a quick look at my review (HERE) to see how little I rate it.

Despite this I saw both these 'new' 180.0g bars on offer in Tesco (2 for £2!!), so I thought I would do the honourable thing for my readership and give them a review. Below are my thoughts on both the flavours:

 

Cadbury Bournville Orange:

Kcal 485 Fat 25.1g Fat(sats) 15.4g Carbs 60.8g

When I first saw this 'Orange' variant I assumed that the orange element would be implemented using the same 'orange chips' used in the old Dairy Milk with Orange bar. One look at the wrapper and it was confirmed I was entirely WRONG! This bar actually contained 'real orange pieces' .... a whole 12% in fact!

The use of the orange colouring for the wrapper was obvious, yet well implemented. I also thought that the orange pieces looked very plentiful and well distributed throughout the Cadbury branded blocks. The orange element was also very evident from the smell which had a very enticing fruity edge to its subtle cocoa hints. Despite eating this bar over the course of three days the aroma didn't seem to get any weaker, and nicely set the mood each time I reached for a piece.

Again I was hardly impressed by the standard of the dark chocolate ... however, in the presence of other ingredients its lack of flavour mattered less. The chocolate did establish a weak, unsweetened cocoa flavour base to each block, however it was the orange that really made this bar shine. The orange pieces had a fantastic juicy nature to them, which not only provided a fantastic change up in textures, but also a very nice burst of zesty orange flavours. The taste was long lasting which certainly made for a fulfilling chocolate.

Overall I was extremely impressed with this bar. It was certainly a case of the fantastic orange element making up for the lacking flavour of the chocolate, however I guessed it could be argued that a stronger tasting chocolate could take something away from the orange pieces. This is genuinely one of the better chocolate orange combinations I have tried, and is well worth checking out if your a fan of that combination.

8.4 out of 10 

 

Cadbury Bournville Old Jamaica (UK):
Kcal 465 Fat 23.4g Fat(sats) 14.3g Carbs 59.6g

Why have I put UK in the title!? Because I have reviewed the Aussie version of the Cadbury Old Jamaica before thats why!! Review HERE! Looking at the wrapper there were a few fundamental differences. The first was the truly horrible choice of violet colour for the packaging of this UK version!? Seriously what hell!? Secondly the words 'Rum flavouring' ... indeed our bar doesn't actually contain any rum. Lastly the level of cocoa implemented in our bar was stated as 39%, compared to the 'Old Gold' chocolate in the Aussie version which had 45% cocoa. 

I have already mentioned my disliking for the wrapper, however I thought the bar itself looked pretty good with the raisins dispersed generously and consistently throughout. Despite the lack of real rum the smell was largely dominated by it, though there was also a curious offish dairy hint evident as well.  

Just as I expected this was a bar thats flavours were firmly rooted in the rum flavouring and raisins. Just as with the other Orange variant I found the cocoa flavours really quite weak and just lacking the depth of flavour I wanted. Fortunately the raisin and rum elements duly made up for this and both added the expected sugary, alcohol flavours to taste. The combination of both was truly delicious, the raisins in particular seemed to bring strong bursts of flavour when their chewy textures were bitten into. The resulting taste provided a really quite rich and satisfying chocolate. 

Overall it has been a long time since I had the Aussie version, but I can say that our UK version is pretty much on a par with it. The Bournville chocolate was again lacking flavour, however just as with the 'Orange' variant the added interest from the extra raisin and rum ingredients made this less important, and allowed the flavour theme of the bar too come through in the taste more. No doubt the reintroduction of this bar to the UK will be making some old school Cadbury fans very happy, I bet this bar gathers a fair share of new fans as well.

7.5 out of 10

April 6th: Fannie May Pixies

Kcal 200 Fat 12.0g Fat(sats) 4.0g Carbs 24.0g

A few days ago I took my first look at the Fannie May range in the form of the Fannie May Trinidad. Dipping into my *IShop4YouII* box of treats once again, I decided to give these Fannie May Pixies their chance to shine on the ChocolateMission rating system. These Pixies were very similar in proposition to the Nestle Turtles I reviewed in July last year - so similar in fact they were identical :D and were comprised of 'pecans in caramel and milk chocolate'.

Fannie May must love their 42.5g serving sizes, as just like the Trinidad these Pixies came in exactly the same size. Hosted in a familiar white style packaging, I thought the presentation was all rather good. The pack consisted of three individual pieces that were protected by a cardboard sleeve. When cross-sectioned the caramel appeared plentiful, though the lacking of pecans was somewhat evident from this point on. The smell was not the most forthcoming though when searched for had quite a distinct buttery aroma.

Aesthetically I thought the thickness of the milk chocolate was lacking, though when it came to the taste it certainly didn't fail in exerting its influence. The chocolate was well substantiated in the taste early on, and the sweet cocoa flavours were immediate from the outset. The milk chocolate had a reasonably nice melt and transitioned into the caramel layer very smoothly. I was somewhat taken aback by the soft nature of the caramel - I was expecting it to be far more viscous than it was ... it was probably just a bit firmer than the stuff you get in Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramel. In regards to flavours it was not the best tasting caramel ever, but it still delivered some fine sweet, buttery, burnt sugar type notes. As I suspected by looking at the product the pecans really lacked relevance in the taste, though this was mainly due to their ungenerous portioning rather than the nuts themselves lacking flavour. Where present they presented some very welcome earthy, salty notes that made it more of a shame they were lacking in presence.

Overall these were a solid, yet unspectacular product from Fannie May. The milk chocolate was very promising indeed, and It has certainly set my expectations high for other milk chocolate products from their range. Unfortunately due to the not overly incredible caramel, and lacking of pecan nuts this product wasn't as good as it really should have been. If you enjoy your milk chocolate, nuts and caramel combinations these Pixies could well be worth a look at. At the same time though I wouldn't say you should really go out your way to try them.

7.5 out of 10

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April 5th: Oreo Original / Strawberry Mini Chocolate Bars

J-List have just sent me over another batch of the latest products that they have added to their massive range of Japanese snack products. A few weeks ago I reviewed some standard Oreo cookies from Japan, and came to the conclusion that they only slightly differed to the UK and US offerings. Today however, I tried what seems to be an exclusive to Japan product range extension - these Oreo Mini Chocolate Bars.

As you can see below I received both Original and Strawberry variants. Both came in foil bags, in which 12 pieces were contained within. As always with Japanese products the packaging was as ever vibrant, and very striking with their bold lettering and use of bright colours. Below are my thoughts on each variant:

Oreo Original Mini Chocolate Bars:

Kcal 49 Fat 2.9g Carbs 5.2g (per 9.0g piece)

Although I couldn't read any of the on-pack description I would more than expect it to say something along the lines of 'mini milk chocolate bites with rice cereal and cookie pieces'.

Releasing the pieces from their mini foil wrappers they emanated a sweet, chocolaty, cereal rooted aroma. This immediately set a realistic expectancy for the taste as it was these main elements that came to the fore.

Each piece was a nice size to put in the mouth whole - they were certainly smaller than I expected. The outer layer of solid chocolate was particularly thin, and soon revealed a lighter textured centre. The chocolate substantiated a very enjoyable creamy, cocoa flavour base, though its light texture meant that its melt was quite thin and short lived. The rice cereal and cookies pieces did bring some very welcome sweet biscuit, salty flavour elements to the taste though again these were very short lived in what was very 'a gone before you know it' chocolate bite.

7.3 out of 10

Oreo Strawberry Mini Chocolate Bars:

Kcal 49 Fat 2.8g Carbs 5.3g (per 8.9g piece)

As you can imagine this offered a vastly similar experience to the Original variant, though there were of course some pretty obvious differences.

Aesthetically some small specs of dried frozen strawberry could be seen amongst the centre of each chocolate. The strawberry element was very much evident in the aroma of each piece, which was noticeably fruity and heightened in terms of its sweetness.

The milk chocolate in this variant offered the same creamy, but short taste. The strawberry element was very forthcoming in its flavours and established some very pleasant bursts of tarty, berry flavours when bitten into. Although this extra flavour dimension was enjoyable at first I felt that in the aftertaste the strawberry left quite an artificial sweet flavour in the mouth, which obviously didn't reflect favourably on the added element.

7.0 out of 10

Overall these were some interesting mini chocolates from the Oreo brand, however I can't help but feel they could have been done that bit better. Both variants (especially the Originals!!) tasted pretty good, it was just the aftertaste and subsequent hunger fufilment where both variants were lacking. I think if your an Oreo fan you would get a lot of satisfaction out of these, though if it is a true chocolate hit your after you might be left a little unfulfilled.

Head to J-List to find these Oreo Mini Chocolates, and many more Japanese Snacks!

April 5th: Ferrero Yogurette

Kcal 69 Fat 4.4g Carbs 6.7g (per 12.5g piece)

Considering my mild allergy to strawberries as a child, I was a bit cautious when I saw these in the latest package sent to me by Dean-German-Grocery. However, having looked at the rather minimal strawberry content included in the product (lower than 5.5%) I decided to chance it ... I am still here writing so I can confirm there were no ill effects :) Formed of 'milk chocolate filled with strawberry flavoured yogurt' - these sounded a very similar proposition to the Milka Strawberry Yogurt bar I reviewed earlier last month.

These came in a rather unique fashion - in the form of ten 12.5g stick pieces. The outer cardboard packaging was pleasant on the eye. The Ferrero branding was very reserved, with a great impetuous placed on the strawberry flavour theme. The chocolate sticks themselves were nicely presented with each contained within a foil/paper wrapper. The stick shape also proved relatively handy, in that it was a manageable amount to eat. Although the pieces were not sealed completely shut, they still retained some enjoyable fruity, dairy scents. It was notable that they avoided the artificial smell of other strawberry products I have reviewed before.

As you will be able to see above from the cross-section, the milk chocolate layer was relatively thin in comparison to the yogurt filling. Unfortunately I wasn't that greater fan of the outer chocolate - it had a somewhat lazy, waxy melt and just lacked the depth of cocoa flavours that I was really wanting from it. This is a common problem that I find with Ferrero products - their milk chocolate often just lacks the impetuous in its flavours. Conversely the inner strawberry yogurt was very pleasant indeed. In comparison to the chocolate it had a denser texture, which meant its flavours could be savoured for longer in the mouth. The yogurt filling's flavours were nicely progressive and brought some delicious creamy elements, before exerting a welcome tangy soured note. Despite the minimal portioning the strawberry was very much present in the taste, and complimented the creamy taste of the yogurt well with its tarty, berry flavours. Single pieces alone were by no means enough to give any real satisfaction, though three did nicely for an afternoon snack.

Overall I would say these Ferrero Yogurette were ever so slightly superior to the Milka Strawberry Yogurt, and this was largely due to the really balanced taste of the yogurt filling. The milk chocolate was really unspectacular, though the filling combined some creamy, fruity influences to deliver really quite an enjoyable product. This was not Ferrero's finest hour by any stretch of the imagination, though I would still recommend these for Ferreo and strawberry fans alike.

7.9 out of 10

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

April 4th: Cinnabon Cinnamon Mousse Pecan Cluster

Kcal 180 Fat 7.0g Fat(sats) 5.0g Carbs 31.0g

Following my review of the Cinnabon Cinnamon Cream Pecan Cluster a few week ago, CandyPirate told me they sold out within a day. Indeed, it seems the product certainly enticed a lot of you - which led to CandyPirate sending me across this 'Mousse' variant from the range. This product varied slightly from the 'Cream Cluster' in that the white chocolate was replaced with dark chocolate, and the cinnamon cream caramel was replaced by a cinnamon mousse.

Just as with the 'Cream Cluster' this Mousse offering came in a 43.0g size that again proved a substantial snack. Although a little bemused by the 'Mousse' description I again thought that the presentation was all very impressive. The outer wrapper differed slightly from the aforementioned with a peach coloured theme which I thought was a nice colour selection. The cluster again looked very appetising indeed with the filling appearing very viscous for what came described as mousse. The aroma was again of particular enticement and had displayed a wonderful array of spicy, sweet cinnamon scents ... wonderful!

The packaging failed to note the percentage of cocoa in the dark chocolate coating, however I can confirm that it was really not that intense. For my liking I would have preferred a stronger flavoured, more intricate tasting chocolate though the coating still managed to substantiate some enjoyable unsweetened cocoa flavours. Just as I expected from the look of it the 'cinnamon mousse' had more of a dense, viscous texture. It was very tasty, but I would more describe it as a cinnamon nougat than a mousse; its sweet, yet spicy flavours lingered long in the mouth just like the cinnamon caramel in the 'Cream Cluster'. Just to top off both these delicious components were the pecan and toffee pieces. In the cluster I tried for this review a very large proportion of the topping were toffee pieces, which certainly added some very welcome buttery fudge flavours. The pecans were not as detectable, however they did add some noticeable savoury notes to the sweet taste.

Overall this was again another hugely enjoyable product from the Cinnabon range. I have rated it just a smidge below the 'Cream Cluster' as I thought the dark chocolate could have been just a little bit stronger and prominent in the taste. This is a very, very minor criticism as the resulting taste was still wonderfully balanced and full of spicy cinnamon goodness. Another small consideration is that the product description does need a little bit of refining as the filling is not at all mousse like. If you liked the sound of the Cinnabon Cinnamon Cream Pecan Cluster then I see little reason why you wouldn't enjoy this variant as well. This is another highly recommended product.

8.9 out of 10

Want to try the Cinnabon Cinnamon Mousse Pecan Cluster for yourself!? Head to CandyPirate for more American Candy & Goods

April 4th: Wonka Tinglerz

Kcal 200 Fat 11.0g Fat(sats) 7.0g Carbs 26.0g (per 40.0g)

Long time readers will be aware that 'Popping Candy has never been a favourite of mine - you only have to take a look at the scores for the Pop Rocks or Cadbury Elves to see how little I enjoyed them. Nonetheless, *IShop4YouII* included a pack of these Wonka Tinglerz in my latest package - suffice to say I wasn't holding out that greater hope for these. Produced by Nestle these were on-pack described as 'Poppin'tinglin, chocolate candy'.

These came in a 113.0g packet that I ate with the assistance of a few surprisingly willing helpers. The packaging was of a foil nature - as well as looking relatively pleasant it also kept the contents appearing reasonably fresh. I wasn't all that taken in by the presentation of the candy pieces themselves, they ranged in size quite ridiculously with some pieces the size of Maltesers, whilst others being no bigger than specs of dust. The smell that emanated from the packet wasn't all that bad - it was very similar to hot chocolate powder in that it was a mixture of cocoa and sugary, sweet smells.

So where do we start? These were not the most attractive product to eat and basically involved pouring a handful of odd looking shaped pieces and sticking them in the mouth. In comparison to the Pop Rocks and Cadbury Elves I didn't feel the popping sensation was quite as obnoxious, as the popping generally took place on the tongue rather than the back of the throat - I still largely failed to see its appeal though. In regards to taste it was really composed of a very sugar based milk chocolate, with a cereal like twist. I could detect predominantly corn and rice type flavours mixed in with the sugary sweet chocolate ... though all these flavours were extremely short lived in what was a really nonsustaining taste. These were one of those candys that if you really wished (and I didn't!!), you could seriously just demolish a pack in one sitting with very little thought or eventual satisfaction.

Overall these proved yet again to be another popping candy product that really failed to capture my imagination. Some of my fellow tasters actually quite liked them, and duly finished the packet in minutes - though myself I just wasn't taken in by either the popping candy texture or rather mild flavours I was getting from the chocolate. If it is popping candy your after I suggest you better look at the Pop Rocks bars, as these Wonka Tinglerz just didn't strike any real chords with me.

5.8 out of 10

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April 3rd: Cadbury Pinky

Kcal 158 Fat 3.2g Fat(sats) 2.0g Carbs 30.3g

Before I kick off todays review I must first introduce ChocolateMission's newest friends over at Shopenzed. Shopenzed are a company based in New Zealand who supply and distribute NZ products worldwide. If you guys are enticed by any of the goodies that I will be reviewing over the coming weeks I suggest you pay a visit to their site, or get in contact with Lesley, the very friendly and helpful owner.

My first review from the batch of goods Shopenzed sent me is the Cadbury Pinky bar. This product would have fitted in very nicely in my reviews at the start of the year when I was looking for some lighter choices on the chocolate market. Containing only 148 calories, and formed of 'marshmallow and caramel covered in Dairy Milk chocolate' I was intrigued to see what it could offer.

Despite the low number of calories the bar was still a very sizeable product and weighed in at 40.0g. As you can see above the packaging and presentation of the bar were kept firmly with the name in mind, with the pink colours providing an interesting and unique look. As you can imagine the scents that emanated from the bar were very sweet, which gave a good insight into the taste.

The Dairy Milk chocolate that coated the bar was surprisingly thick in its portioning, which allowed it to substantiate the usual cream based taste to each bite. There did seem to be some difference between the NZ Dairy Milk and the UK stuff, as the chocolate here had less of a milk emphasis and was far sweeter. To be honest I don't know how much this was effected by the rest of the ingredients as the marshmallow was obviously very sugar based. In my opinion the sugaryness of the mallow was a bit monotonous and its foamy texture soaked up the caramel making it a bit anonymous in the taste. The mallow did seem to have the smallest of strawberry fruitiness to it, though it was very faint and at times completely undetectable.

Overall this was a bar that was dominated by the marshmallow element which unfortunately lacked a truly telling flavour base. The outer chocolate was of a good standard though the marshmallow quickly dominated proceedings making the taste incredibly sweet and one dimensional. I guess those looking for a lighter chocolate option could do little wrong at least trying one of these. The chocolate hit is there, but just a little short lived - I guess for just 158 calories you can't argue too much. This was certainly not the greatest Cadbury product I have ever reviewed but there will be more from my NZ selection coming soon!

6.1 out of 10

April 3rd: Fannie May Trinidad

Kcal 200 Fat 13.0g Fat(sats) 9.0g Carbs 22.0g

I had been hoping to try some Fannie May products for a long time, and thanks to *IShop4YouII* I have finally got my wish. My first look at their range saw me sample their Trinidad offering - a single piece chocolate which was formed of a 'chocolate buttercream center in a pastel coating with toasted coconut'. For those that aren't aware Fannie May are a US based company from Chicago - in recent times ownership has gone to and fro several companies ... if you interested in reading further Click HERE.

I am aware these Trinidad chocolates also come in smaller selection boxes, however I received a 42.5g single piece. The outer packaging had a nice aesthetic appeal, it was simple yet classy and struck me as a more premium style brand. The chocolate itself was really quite sizable, although it was not the easiest product to eat I thought it looked appetising with its thick coating and whipped chocolate centre. As well as appearing physically imposing the product didn't fail to raise my expectations further with its smell. A wonderful array of sweet, vanilla essence aromas made themselves known as soon as the packet was opened.

All signs before tasting the product were good, and thankfully the quality was maintained. The outer pastel coating had a chocolate like texture and melted at a nice rate. According to the description the coating was supposed to contain toasted coconut, however in truth I really didn't get much of a coconut influence. The flavours seemed predominantly cream and milk based - they substantiated a very pleasant initial flavour set. The real treat to this product was the chocolate butter cream centre that was simply luxurious in every sense. It had a unique, dense, smooth truffle like texture ... it was superb. Contained within this distinct texture were some moist, fudge brownie like flavours that provided a really rich taste. I ate this Trinidad chocolate all in one sitting, it certainly made for a substantial snack ... and an enjoyable one at that.

Overall I must say I am very impressed with Fannie May's first showing - this product combined some delightful textures with some seriously rich flavours, and provided a very satisfying experience. The pastel coating could possibly do with a little tweak in its coconut content, which seemed a little lost in the grand scheme of the taste. One thing that doesn't need changing though is the rich butttercream centre, which was truly fantastic. If you like the sound of this one it could be well worth you getting hold of.

8.2 out of 10

Fancy importing some of your favourite goods from the US? I recommend you try ISHOP4YOUII - a friendly, family owned busines. You want it?... They can get it! E-mails welcome.

April 2nd: Hershey's Almond Joy Dipped Cookies

Kcal 300 Fat 17.0g Fat(sats) 9.0g Carbs 34.0g (per pack - 4 cookies)

The CandyPirate goodies just keep on coming. Today I bring you my review of the Hershey's Almond Joy Dipped Cookies, a product that came described as 'chocolate cookie bases with coconut creme and almond pieces, dipped in milk chocolate' ... quite the proposition I am sure you will agree. For those that don't know the Almond Joy is the US equivalent of the UK's Bounty bar, for some reason I am yet to get around to reviewing one, though I am hoping CandyPirate can help me out with that soon enough.

I received these cookies in a pack of four that I ate over two separate sittings. I thought the presentation of the product on the whole was very good, with the outer packaging communicating the contents well with a nice and realistic picture. The cookies looked especially appetising when bitten into - as you can see above all of the constituents were highly visible. Another very noticeable thing was their smell; as soon as the packet was opened a lovely waft of coconut greeted me which was certainly enticing.

The first thing I noticed about these cookies was that their outer milk chocolate coating was very quick to melt (in my hands!!), and had a little bit of a greasy feel. This was all soon forgotten as I tasted the cookies where I was met with a truly wonderful amount of varying flavours. The outer milk chocolate set a pleasant sweet chocolaty context to the taste with its fast, yet thick melt, whilst sitting at the base of each cookie was a crunchy biscuit that added a nice cereal based wheat taste. The really special part of this product though was the coconut creme that sat on top of the biscuit. It was lighter than I was expecting but it certainly didn't fail in establishing some wonderful nutty, milky flavours. The added almonds added a nice variance in these nut flavours with some more buttery notes coming through in the aftertaste. Two of these cookies made for an enjoyable and fulfilling snack to tie over my mid-afternoon munchies.

Overall I keep saying that I am not much of a cookie/biscuit fan, though products like this are certainly changing my opinion very quickly. All the different elements contributed to what was overall a fantastic cookie product. The resulting taste was full of creamy coconut flavours, whilst also delivering that ever so important chocolate hit. Looking at the nutritional information these probably aren't a product for the diet conscious, however if this is no concern of yours then I strongly suggest you give these a try.

8.4 out of 10

Want to try these Hershey's Almond Joy Dipped Cookies for yourself!? Head to Candy Pirate for all your American Candy & Foods needs!

April 2nd: Hershey's Sugar Free Special Dark Chocolate

Kcal 150 Fat 13.0g Fat(sats) 8.0g Carbs 24.0g (per 40.0g - 5 pieces)

Thanks to *IShop4YouII* I have been able to take a full spectrum look at the Hershey's Sugar Free range, with me today lastly reviewing the Hershey's Sugar Free Special Dark Chocolate. Similarly to the others this product contained the usual Malitol sugar substitute - to be honest I was expecting this to have less of an impact on things considering that this was a dark chocolate - sugar should theoretically have had less relevance anyway.

As with the others from the range I received these in a 85.0g bag that contained about 12 pieces. The presentation was all round pretty solid - the Sugar Free nature of the product wasn't overstated, and the usual Hershey's theme was implemented accordingly. The chocolates themselves looked very similar to the standard Hershey's Sugar Free Chocolates, though obviously were darker in their appearance. Although kept within foil wrappers the pieces had quite a placid smell, they certainly weren't as strong smelling as other dark chocolate alternatives.

I am not going to waste my time skirting round the issue here - these were pretty poor quality dark chocolates. Although they had a reasonably good melt and texture, the flavours that were released were too subtle and just did not contain any sort of substance. With dark chocolate you normally expect to be imposed with some stronger cocoa flavours in comparison to milk chocolate. These however just tasted like the Hershey's Sugar Free Milk Chocolates without the sweet milky influences. To be honest nothing more can be said than they really just lacked flavour - from the beginning to the end of taste no flavour elements really established a firm presence. If I was to liken it to anything I would say it was similar to mixing cocoa powder with water ... it was like a very weak hot chocolate - devoid of both charm and of course flavour.

Overall like many of the others from the Hershey's Sugar Free range these really failed to get up to a reasonable standard. Although having a reasonable texture and melt in the mouth, they lacked one fundamental thing and that was an imposing set of flavours. Maybe this was due to the lack of sugar? Or maybe this was just down to the poor quality cocoa? Whatever I really suggest this is another from this range you give a miss!

5.8 out of 10

Fancy importing some of your favourite goods from the US? I recommend you try ISHOP4YOUII - a friendly, family owned busines. You want it?... They can get it! E-mails welcome.

April 1st: Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramello (Ireland)

Kcal 230 Fat 11.9g Carbs 27.5g

My research in finding the greatest Cadbury Caramel bar took another step forward today, with *The Irish Shop* kindly providing me with Ireland's take on one of my all time favourites. So far I have reviewed the UK's Cadbury Caramel (9.4), the US's Cadbury Caramello (8.1), the Australian Cadbury Caramello (8.5) and Canada's Cadbury Caramilk (8.4). Today's Irish version sounded very familiar in both name and description - 'Cadbury Dairy Milk Caramello - milk chocolate with a soft caramel filling'.

Puzzlingly this bar didn't state it's size, though I am sure it was actually smaller than the rest of the Irish Cadbury bars I have tried. I say this as it had a far flatter look about it, with the blocks not appearing half as big as I expected them to be ... they were flatter than even the standard Irish Cadbury Dairy Milk blocks. When cross-sectioned the amount of caramel in each piece was to be honest rather lacking - even the filling that was visible seemed relativley thin. Although much less of a problem, I thought the blue colour coding on the wrapper was an odd choice to indicate the caramel nature of the bar. Despite being wrapped in the aesthetically pleasing gold foil wrapping I must also say that the bar lacked the usual dairy freshness and emphasis in its aroma.

As you will be able to ascertain I wasn't all that impressed with the bar in regards to its physical presence, and I was hoping the taste would make up for it. Luckily for this bar the Dairy Milk flavours were still present and were as good as ever. The rich, creamy, chocolaty flavours were not overly affected by the smaller proportion of chocolate in each block and still proved well substantiated in the taste . I do generally find the texture of the Irish Dairy Milk a little on the thick side, so its marginally thinner implementation here was actually to my liking. The majority of my praise unfortunately ends here though, as the caramel filling in my book was really not up to scratch with the usual Cadbury standard. Much like its appearance suggested it was lacking in volume and subsequently presence in the taste. It was just too thin its texture, and didn't deliver the usual quality sweet, buttery, salty elements that every other Cadbury variation has before ... to be honest it was really disappointing, and deeply unsatisfying.

Overall had it not been for the great standard Dairy Milk chocolate, I dread to think what this bar would have scored based on its caramel alone. There is no simpler way putting it other than the caramel was poor. It lacked presence in the taste and really just failed to stamp its authority on any part of the experience. This is the worst of the Cadbury Caramel variants I have tried and would really suggest you give it a miss. Its been saved in the rating system by having a good standard milk chocolate, but I am majorly disappointed by this bar - I was expecting far more. For the minute the UK's own still reigns supreme.

6.3 out of 10

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March 31st: Oreo (Japan)

Kcal 473 Fat 20.5g Carbs 67.4g (per 95.4g – 9 biscuits)

The goodies from J-List just keep on coming and today I got the chance to sample some Oreo cookies all the way from Japan. Of course this was a review that simply couldn’t be done without a pack of UK Oreos at hand for comparison, which I may add are no different whatsoever to the product available in the US.

J-List were kind enough to send me a pack of 18 cookies, that were then split into two separate foil bags of 9. Of course I couldn’t possibly eat all these cookies by myself so I did the unthinkable and actually shared with a few friends (it was actually quite useful as it allowed me to get their opinions as well!!). Collectively we all liked the presentation, it was all very familiar with its blue and white colour scheme, though we thought the authentic Japanese writing gave it a rather cool look. Aesthetically the cookies appeared no different whatsoever to the UK ones, however it was commented that the Japanese ones smelt more chocolaty with their sweet, biscuity aromas.

The taste comparison was done whilst consuming a nice afternoon cup of tea … I don’t think that could be anymore British sounding if I tried. Anyway, after much dunking, separating of layers and of course deliberation it was generally a shared view that the Japanese Oreos had a little bit more of a cocoa edge to their overall taste. Fundamentally the biscuit elements tasted the same, offering very similar malty, sweet buttery elements to the taste. The slight variation came in the ever so slightly more longing impact of the cocoa in the aftertaste, which in the Japanese cookies seemed to stay in the mouth that little bit longer after consumption. The inner crèmes were pretty much identical in their sweet, milky flavours, though the Japanese crèmes seemed just a tad lighter and moister in texture.

Overall it was a common conclusion that if we were all blindfolded we didn’t think we would easily be able to tell the difference between the Japanese and UK/US Oreos. As I have stated above there were ever so slight differences in the taste of the biscuit and textures of the crème fillings, however these were only truly noticeable as we were very much looking for any discrepancies. If you are interested in Japanese products and would like to try see if there are any differences yourself I suggest you head to J-List. If it is taste alone you are interested in, then you best just stick with what we have here.

7.9 out of 10

Fancy trying Japanese Oreos for yourself? Head to JList for all your Japanese Candy & Goods needs!!