April 23rd: Cadbury Energy Scroggin

Kcal 233 Fat 13.9g Fat(sats) 6.6g Carbs 24.1g

Little over a week ago I had an underwhelming experience with the Cadbury Energy bar. I thought it was a chocolate that frankly didn't know what it wanted to be; it seemed to be stuck at the junction between wanting to be a dark chocolate or a milk chocolate. Despite this I was actually quite looking forward to trying todays bar - the Cadbury Energy Scroggin which was again another bar provided to me by Shopenzed. Scroggin is the Australian/New Zealand word for trail mix, and generally involves a fruit and nut combination (more HERE!). This bar today came described as 'Rich chocolate packed with raisins and almonds'.

Although available in a larger size I was quite happy sampling this 50.0g snack bar. The wrapper looked very similar to the Cadbury Energy bar with its red colouring but of course included the added extra 'Scroggin' branding and fruit and nut pictures. When I opened the bar I was disappointed to find that it was inconveniently split into two really quite large chunks (see above!). I would have much preferred it to have followed suite with most other bars with it being split into smaller pieces, though I must say that both the fruit and nut ingredients looked well portioned. As well as adding aesthetic benefits the added elements also contributed nicely to the smell. The aroma had a very fruity nature about it and it certainly heightened my anticipation.

It would have been ridiculous to expect anything more from the chocolate itself and it of course delivered the same experience I had with the standard Energy bar. The 40% recipe again seemed to lack direction and delivered neither a creamy or cocoa rich taste - again I will reiterate that it was not a bad chocolate, but just one that needed to be more decisive in its flavours. In isolation the chocolate was again unspectacular, however the additional almonds and raisins certainly brought an added interest. Both were plentiful in number and certainly made a great impression on the taste. The almonds brought some delicious savoury roasted notes to the taste, whilst the fruit added a wonderful contrasting sweetness. The addition of these elements added another dimension to the Energy chocolate and made for a more satisfying snack.

Overall having been a little disappointed with the original Cadbury Energy I was quite impressed with the way that the simple additions of both the fruit and nut made for a far more flavoursome experience. I understand that the Energy recipe is quite old and traditional, though my opinion is that it needs a little refinement. Forgetting the average nature of the chocolate the raisins and almonds were as good as any fruit and nut combination we have here in the UK and certainly made this bar a little bit more exciting. If your a fruit and nut fan this is probably a bar worth you at least trying.

7.8 out of 10

April 23rd: Dove Desserts Tiramisu

Kcal 200 Fat 11.0g Fat(sats) 7.0g Carbs 24.0g (per 40.0g - 5 pieces)

November last year I took my first look at the Dove Desserts range with my review of the Banana Foster variant. Well thanks once again to *IShop4YouII* I today got to try yet another from the selection in the form of the 'Tiramisu' offering. Considering I am quite the fan of a Tiramisu dessert I was rather looking forward to the prospect of 'caramel infused with a luscious taste of Tiramisu, surrounded by Dove dark chocolate'.

As with the Banana Foster variant I received these in a 165.0g pack. I thought the presentation was all rather good, though I was surprised that the outer packaging looked nearly exactly the same as the other variants from the range - there seemed to be no real effort on display to really distinguish it. The pieces themselves looked relatively appetising, with the inner caramel appearing plentiful in its portioning. Once released from their foil wrappers the chocolates had a really quite distinct sweet, coffee aroma. Personally I thought it smelt a little artificial and could relate to Gigi's reckoning that it was very similar to the powder you get in instant mix cafe latte sachets.

Much as I found when I tried the solus Dove Dark Chocolate bar I really quite enjoyed the dark chocolate when it was tasted in isolation from the inner caramel. Its flavours were not overly cocoa rich, though its unsweetened taste was friendly, welcoming and thoroughly deserving of a better caramel filling than the one that was delivered. Frankly I thought the Tiramisu flavoured caramel was really rather poor. Much like its smell suggested it was very artificial tasting. The coffee element was very one dimensional, and just tasted exceedingly sweet and chemically derived. What I found most disappointing about the Tiramisu caramel was the flavour influences that I was expecting, yet were frankly missing! Where were the liqueur, Mascarpone and Sponge Cake elements? Sadly they just weren't there.

Overall despite the attempts of the fair quality dark chocolate I was left resoundingly disappointed with this Dove flavour variant. I guess delivering a Tiramisu flavour variation was always going to be ambitious - to be honest Mars got nowhere near it here. As I have explained above so many of the key Tiramisu flavours were absent here, leaving just a rather fake and sickly tasting coffee tainted caramel sitting in a okish dark chocolate coating. Unless your really intrigued by these and just can't resist trying a 'Tiramisu' flavoured chocolate I really wouldn't recommend this product.

6.8 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.

April 22nd: Junior Caramels / Mints

I mentioned in my review yesterday that Yankee Soda & Candy had sent me a whole host of new items to review in celebration of them opening their new online store (See HERE!). Over the past few weeks I have been tucking into these Junior Caramels & Mints, which believe me has taken a while since they came in rather large 149.0g/156.0g packs. I hadn't heard of the Junior brand before, though a quick look at their packaging revealed that they were 'manufactured in the US for Tootsie Roll Ltd'. Speaking of the packaging I have to admit I wasn't all that impressed. The actual aesthetics of both products was pretty standard, though I wasn't all that enamoured by the way the chocolates loosely rolled around inside their cardboard boxes ... would it really have hurt to have them kept in plastic/foil bags?

Below are my thoughts on the two different variants I tried:

Junior Caramels:

Kcal 190 Fat 6.0g Fat(sats) 2.5g Carbs 33.0g (per 42.0g - 13 pieces)

When I first saw these I immediately thought straight back to my review of the Hershey's Milk Duds. These were entirely the same proposition, though these caramel centres were actually coated in real milk chocolate rather the fake Hershey's stuff.

Due to the cardboard packaging the aromas that emanated from the box were mild to say the least and did very little to excite.

Placing the first piece in my mouth I was surprised at the texture as it was a lot softer than I was expecting. In my opinion the softer texture worked and gave the piece a nice chewiness that meant each one lasted longer in the mouth. Unfortunately the flavours of the milk chocolate were far from spectacular and had a somewhat lazy dried milk taste that did little apart from substantiate an unexciting sweetness. Thankfully the caramel centres were a little better and brought some buttery toffee flavours that made the whole experience a lot more positive.

Overall these weren't the best caramel product I have had but they were a little better than the comparator Hershey's Milk Duds. The milk chocolate coating was a little devoid of flavour, which ultimately meant they weren't the most substantial of snacks. This coupled with the quite mediocre nature of the presentation and subsequent effect on the aroma has brought down their score quite a bit.

6.6 out of 10

Junior Mints:

Kcal 170 Fat 3.0g Fat(sats) 2.5g Carbs 35.0g (per 40.0g - 16 pieces)

These were the second I sampled out of the two and were probably the variant I was more looking forward to trying. The packaging stated that these Junior Mints constituted of 'semi-sweet chocolate coated mint centres'.

Just as with the Caramel variant the product lacked a telling aroma due to the nature of the packaging - I found this even more surprising given they were mint flavoured.

In truth the semi-sweet chocolate didn't do much for me either. Apart from delivering some very mild cocoa base flavours to each mouthful the actual impact of the chocolate was pretty minimal. Despite the disappointing chocolate coating the mint centres were truly wonderful, and were so very moreish. The peppermint flavours were cool, fresh and most importantly balanced nicely in their sweetness which is a hard thing to do with sugar based fondants. On the other hand though these Junior Mints were a little disappointing in their texture as they were so soft they lasted only seconds in the mouth.

Overall just as with the Caramel variant these were a nice tasting product, but just with a few flaws. The mint element was well executed and particularly enjoyable, however the chocolate, presentation and aroma were again disappointments. Despite the lowish score these are still a product I am sure chocolate mint fans could get some pleasure from and I would hesistently recommend them on this basis.

6.6 out of 10

April 22nd: Weight Watchers Double Chocolate Mousse Chocolates

Kcal 160 Fat 10.0g Fat(sats) 6.0g Carbs 24.0g (per 40.0g - 3 pieces)

At the start of the year I was looking at the lighter options available to us all on the chocolate market (See HERE) - subsequently *IShop4YouII* thought I might want to check out these Weight Watchers chocolates (produced by Whitman's Candies!), and included them in my latest sampling package from the US. Billed as 'dark chocolates with double chocolate mousse centres' and containing only 53 calories (one WW's point) per piece I was interested to see how they would fair.

I received these in a 92.0g bag that contained about 12 chocolates. The packaging was all rather sound looking. The gold colouring was a little garish, though I appreciated the fact that the chocolates were kept nicely fresh within individual foil wrappers. In terms of size the chocolates were pretty big, and looked reasonably appetising out their wrappers. In addition to looking like a sound proposition the chocolates also smelt reasonably pleasant, and emanated some subtle sweet chocolate like scents.

Chances are you have peeked at the score already, and I can tell you that things completely nose-dived from this point onwards. After placing the first piece in my mouth I was utterly astounded at the lack of flavour that I could detect. The piece melted into a thin liquid that tasted rather like extremely weak water based hot cocoa ... the water: cocoa ratio being 99:1. Where the dark chocolate was completely feeble in its flavours, the inner 'mousse' was utterly horrid. It took the form of a syrup type substance that had a terrible fake sweet taste to it. It tasted really quite repulsive with its curiously bitter, starchy aftertaste - frankly after the third piece I spared myself the prospect of the rest.

Overall these were one of the worst tasting products I have tried whilst reviewing on this site. In terms of taste these were utterly horrible in every way ... how Whitman's can claim these can be associated with the word chocolate I really do not know. Even if you are trying to stick to a diet, I would seriously urge you to avoid these at all costs - please save yourself the punishment. Had it not been for the misleading look and smell of the product we could have been looking at a new all time low on the ChocolateMission rating system ... I hope this provides some perspective!?

3.8 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.

April 21st: Hersheys Almond Joy

Kcal 220 Fat 13.0g Fat(sats) 8.0g Carbs 26.0g

A few days ago when I wrote my review on the Hersheys Almond Joy Cookies, I remarked that I hadn't actually yet give the original Almond Joy bar a review. Well Yankee Soda & Candy noted this and were kind enough to send across an Almond Joy aswell as some other goodies that will be appearing soon. Yankee Soda & Candy have recently expanded from their Ebay shop and have set up their own website which is well worth paying a visit HERE.

Todays product came described as 'coconut and almonds, dipped in milk chocolate' and as you have probably realised already this is the US equivalent to our UK Bounty bar. The packaging looked all rather good with the cool blue colour cutting a nice look - I also liked the subltey of the Hershey branding that wasn't plastered all over the packaging. As you can see above the bar itself looked pretty appetising with the coconut filling especially looking very enticing. Having been contained within a foil wrapper the product also maintained a very forthcoming aroma that released a strong set of nutty, sweet scents that I found particularly enticing.

I am a big fan of Bounty bars but I found this bar to actually be better. The milk chocolate was nothing too special in its taste, though it still substantiated a nice degree of chocolaty flavours in the mouth with its smooth melting texture. Below this milk chocolate layer sat the quite terrific coconut centre, which differed slightly to the filling in our Bounty. The Almond Joy centre had more of a dense moistness to it, whilst its flavours were slightly fresher tasting in its nut flavours than the sweeter sugar based Bounty bar. The almond pieces on top of each piece nicely brought some additional buttery nut flavour elments that further added levels of interest to the taste.

Overall I found this to be a highly enjoyable product, and despite coconut not being one of my favourite flavours I would say this was one of the best bars I have tried this year. As I said above I would even rate this bar higher than the Bounty bar in the UK. The nuttier focus of the filling flavours, and the additional almond pieces just made it the more attractive proposition, and  just added some extra elements to the overall taste. If you are a fan of coconut products then this is a bar I would highly recommend - if the Bounty bar is one that you particularly enjoy I really urge you to give this one a try.

8.7 out of 10

VISIT THE ALL NEW YANKEE SODA & CANDY WEBSITE .... CLICK HERE

April 21st: Cloetta Plopp

Kcal 162 Fat 8.3g Carbs 20.0g

The person who came up with the name for this product must of been having a giggle. I thought it actually might mean something in Swedish (where the bar is manufactured), though passing 'Plopp' through Google translator gives an exact translation ... 'Plopp' ... hmmm!? To be honest I was more giving this bar a review for its novelty factor - I have read on various websites that the milk chocolate with toffee filling isn't actually all that good ... oh well, only one way to find out.

The bar came in a small 33.0g serving that split into four different blocks. Name aside, the presentation was pretty good. The wrapper ensured a nice freshness to the product, whilst the bar itself was carefully protected by a cardboard sleeve. Whats more the actual chocolate pieces were branded with the Cloetta logo, which is a thing I always like to see. The bar looked pretty appetising, though the same cannot be said for the smell, which had a dominant floral aspect to it. The aroma was rather puzzling to be honest ... if I was to liken it to anything it would have to be hand soap!

Thankfully the product didn't taste of soap, but I dare say the chocolate may have faired better if it actually had. The chocolate had a surprising array of erratic sweet flavours that ranged from over powering vanilla to brown sugar. It definitely wasn't that pleasant and lacked the chocolaty impetuous I was hoping it would deliver. This was all a bit of shame as the toffee lying at the centre of the chocolate was actually rather good. It seemed a sort of hybrid between caramel and fudge, and although itself quite sickeningly sweet it delivered some quite pleasurable honey like flavours. The texture of the centres was also quite delicately delivered with a soft velvety feel in the mouth. Additionally it must be noted that the 33.0g really didn't go all that way to curing my afternoon munchies, although I would have been cautious to consuming anymore as the back of my throat was beginning to burn with the overload of sugar.

Overall the novelty factor of this product quickly wore off as soon as I placed the chocolate in my mouth. Indeed the product has a funny name and was presented quite nicely ... it even did a rather good job of its toffee filling. Unfortunately however, Plopp did fail to deliver a respectable milk chocolate, and also failed in providing a fulfilling snack. Unless your buying this product as a joke for someone I really wouldn't recommend it - frankly its just a bit s***!

5.4 out of 10

April 20th: Cadbury Clusters

Kcal 175 Fat 8.2g Fat(sats) 5.1g Carbs 23.2g (per 37.0g)

When I first saw these announced a few weeks back (see HERE) I must admit I was really looking forward to seeing what Cadbury were going to deliver. These Cadbury Clusters are one of three new Cadbury snacking products, with Cadbury Raisins and Cadbury Peanuts being the other two (reviews coming soon!). On the packaging they came described as 'crunchy flakes and raisins tumbled in Cadbury milk chocolate'. 

I am aware that these are available in larger sized bags, though for the purpose of this review I picked up a 37.0g for the pricely sum of 65p. I liked the presentation of the outer wrapper which incorporated the same matted foil material that the standard Cadbury chocolate bar range is currently using. I personally thought that the red colour scheme worked well and I must admit it did make the product stand out on the shelf. What I didn't like about the presentation however was the product itself. The actual clusters were a lot smaller than I envisaged and the surface of all of them had a dusty appearance which suggested they weren't all that fresh. Despite the rough round the edges look the clusters had an enticing aroma that had a nice fruitiness about its chocolaty smell. 

The first thing I noticed when tasting these was that the chocolate seemed a little sweeter than traditional Cadbury milk chocolate. After looking at the ingredients list I decided to give myself a pat on the back as it stated that the chocolate only contained 14% cocoa and not the usual 20% that Dairy Milk contains. The chocolate was still pretty good but just didn't have the usual creaminess and relied a bit more on its sugary sweetness. The cereal element constituted of cornflakes, which whilst providing a nice crispy texture to proceedings failed to really bring a great deal to the taste aside from a mild saltiness. Although the cereal was disappointing the raisins brought a nice sweet fruit element to the taste and certainly brought a bit of interest. I ate the 37.0g bag in a single sitting; it wasn't the most fulfilling product ever but it did an adequate job in this regard. 

Overall these didn't really live up to my expectations though I guess this could be Cadbury suffering by their own normal high standards. At the heart of the matter the product was just a little unexciting. The chocolate was of a fair standard but lacked the usual Dairy Milk sparkle, the cereal was pretty bland and the raisins whilst quite flavoursome, were at the end of the day just raisins!! One thing that is bugging me is who are Cadbury trying to aim these at? With over 8.0g of fat they are hardly the healthiest product going .... with these your looking at the same nutritional intake that you do with a standard pack of Walkers crisps. So if it isn't the healthy part of the market they are going for, what part is it? These are hardly a ghastly product, yet at the same time are pretty mediocre and nothing too much to get excited about.

6.8 out of 10

 

April 20th: Hershey's Cookies Reese's

Kcal 140 Fat 7.0g Fat(sats) 2.5g Carbs 18.0g (per 28.0g - 2 cookies)

Liz at *IShop4YouII* thought these cookies were a product I simply had to try given my love for almost anything gracing Reese's peanut butter. Hey, I was never going to argue with that - these sounded very tempting indeed and came billed as 'crunchy chocolate cookies layered with real milk chocolate and filled with Reese's peanut butter creme'! One thing that I did notice was that these contained only 140 calories for two cookies, which to me sounded pretty good.

*IShop4YouII* were kind enough to provide me with a 225.0g family sized box that took me a good few weeks to get through. The outer packaging was all pretty fair, it incorporated the famialiar orange Reese's theme and featured a pretty enticing looking picture of the cookies up close. Thankfully they looked just as good in reality as they did on the box. As you will see above the outer biscuit pieces featured the Reese's branding, whilst the inner icing layer appeared plentiful and thick. As ever with Reese's products the smell was very distinctive and immediately forthcoming when I opened the plastic wrapped tray.

So how did they taste? ... pretty damn awesome! The cookies were formed of three notable layers. The biscuit layers were a little lacking in their chocolaty flavours, and rather just substantiated a shortbread like sugary buttery taste. The chocolate hit was unsuprisingly delivered by the milk chocolate layer, which sat between the biscuit and the peanut butter creme. It brought a nice moistness to the dry biscuit, aswell as some milky, cocoa influences. The real defining element to the taste though was the inner peanut butter icing, which immediately added a wonderful contrasting salty, nuttiness to the sweet taste ... simply delicious and just ridiculously moreish.

Overall these provided a fantastic option to snack on during an afternoon and retained all the good attributes of most Reese's products. The biscuit element could potentially be bettered by having a greater chocolaty taste, though to a large degree this was a minor problem as the cookies were all about the peanut butter filling. I have said before I am not the biggest biscuit fan, but I simply just couldn't get enough of these. If your a fan of Reese's products and Oreos then these are simply a match made in heaven.

8.5 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.

April 19th: Meiji Rich Banana Chocolate

Kcal 264 Fat 17.5g Carbs 24.5g (per 45.0g bar)

I guess this is an opportune time to mention the fact that I am no great fan of bananas. As a child I ate them by the dozen, though as I grew up I seemed to take a disliking to their mushy texture. Me disliking has never stopped me before though and of course I am always willing to give anything a try. That is all pretty lucky really considering J-List have been sending me some most obscure (but awesome!) products from Japan. A product that falls into that bracket would be todays review - the Meiji Rich Banana Chocolate.

It would be awesome if products like this counted towards one of our five a day, but I still think we are some way off chocolate ever be considered for that :D The bar came in usual Meiji size in a 45.0g form. The wrapper was made of a foil like material that gave it a nice yellow coloured sparkle. Contained within some similarly coloured proper foil was the bar which had a clean cut look and was a nice relevant cream colour. One thing that was instantly noticeable after opening the bar up was the smell which was extremely potent. It had a strong vanilla dominance and a sweet fruitiness that was ever present; I found it relatively enticing yet not overly so.

I really do need to find myself a Japanese translator as it would have been wonderful to know what Meiji were aiming for, and how they market this product. What I detected myself was that it was a white chocolate with an extremely forthcoming banana element. The initial flavours were very creamy indeed and reminded me very much of a sweet, vanilla noted custard. This was very much to my liking though the banana element for me had both its positive points and its negatives. The banana flavour was extremely dominating and whilst it was actually well delivered and tasted of fresh banana fruit it just became a little monotonous. The taste was good, yet ever so slightly one dimensional and admittedly became a little boring towards the end of the bar.

Overall this was a bar that did well in substantiating the proposed flavour, however came a little unstuck when it came to keeping my interest with its taste. The initial flavours had a custard type appeal and engaged me from the outset. These cream flavours soon took a backseat to the dominant banana element though which whilst they were enjoyable and pleasant soon became just a little boring if anything. If you like bananas then I can see this being a bar that you would thoroughly enjoy. However if like me your not overly in love with the fruit then this is probably a product where you wouldn't necessarily being 'missing out' on anything.

7.7 out of 10

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April 19th: Thorntons Belgian White Chocolate

Kcal 562 Fat 35.0g Fat(sats) 21.2g Carbs 55.3g (per 100.0g)

Continuing my look at the new Thorntons *ahem*'Ritter Sport'*ahem* square bars range I today tried their Belgian White Chocolate offering. Previous experiences with Thorntons' white chocolate proved to be very worthwhile indeed with their 50.0g impulse bar earning a very reputable 8.6 out of 10 on the ever dependable ChocolateMission rating system. 

As with every offering from the square bar range this product came in a 90.0g size. The packaging was all rather well put together, I guess it was a little on the plain side though the simpleness of the design gave it both a sophisticated and modern look. The bar itself looked pretty appetising with some nice patterns weaved into the surface of the slightly yellow tinted cream coloured chocolate. One thing that was noticeably below par with this offering was the aroma that it emanated. As well as not being particularly strong, the smell of the bar was not all that pleasant and smelt rather like slightly soured, warm milk. 

Luckily the poor scents radiating from the bar were none to evident in the taste. This was a white chocolate with a progressive set of flavours that developed with the melt. Upon entering the mouth some very crisp and clean dairy, milk flavours were fast substantiated. Once the chocolate had warmed, and started to transform into its thick liquid state the flavours progressed to a richer cream based dimension that had just small hints of sweet honey. The aftertaste of the chocolate had the most delicate of vanilla hints that left a lasting impression in the mouth. I enjoyed this bar over a course of three different sittings, after which all I felt very satisfied with just a 30.0g serving.

Overall this was a very finely flavoured white chocolate that I really enjoyed. The progressive nature of the taste was particularly pleasant, and avoided the all to common pitfall of being overly laden with sugar. This was a very luxurious tasting white chocolate, and would be one that I would definitely have again. If they could sort out the really quite odd smell the bar permeates this could really be a product that Thorntons can be proud of, it is the only thing that really let it down. This is definitely one for you white chocolate fans.

8.3 out of 10 

April 18th: Cadbury Picnic (Aus)

Kcal 245 Fat 13.9g Fat(sats) 5.8g Carbs 25.4g

Way back in February 2008 I reviewed the UK version of the Cadbury Picnic (Review HERE). My view on that bar was that it was a bit hit and miss ... and if anything felt like it was a bit 'jumbled together'. Well my kind friends over at Shopenzed sent across their version of the Cadbury Picnic - this Australian version was formed of 'peanuts, wafer, caramel, rice crispies covered in Cadbury milk chocolate'.

The bar came in a very plentiful size of 46.0g - it certainly made for a very fulfilling snack. I immediately preferred the look of the product to our UK version. The outer wrapper was made of a fantastic foil material that really made the red and yellow colours look particularly vibrant. The bar itself took a more orderly fashion than its UK equivalent - a look at the cross section above will show you that it looked remarkably like a Nestle Lion but just with peanuts incorporated into the outer coating. Aswell as aesthetically the nuts were also very evident in the smell of the product, where their enticing roasted scents added to the already tempting chocolaty smell.

My main complaint with the UK Picnic was that each bite was so inconsistent with what it delivered. I had pretty much the polar opposite experience with this bar, each mouthful was simply delicious. The outer chocolate had a wonderful thickness and made sure that every bite had a resounding chocolaty taste before the other elements came into play. Contained within this chocolate were the rice and peanuts that both added a nice crunch to the smooth texture. The peanuts especially bought some very forthcoming bursts of salty, nutty flavours which combined perfectly with the other sweeter elements. Normally I am not the greatest fan of wafers as I perceive them as being to light and unsubstantial. The caramel however made sure that the wafer had more of a dense, chewy nature, whilst also bringing some buttery, toasted sugar flavours to the mix. The combination of all these different elements was nothing short of superb.

Overall this bar was completely superior to our UK version and made for a thoroughly enjoyable product. With this bar everything seemed so more ordered - each element was correctly distributed throughout the bar which made the experience more consistent and thus more enjoyable. The lacking of raisins really wasn't a sore point for me, the sweet and salty combination of the peanuts and caramel was enough to make this one delicious bar. If your a fan of the Nestle Lion, or other similar products I strongly suggest you get acquainted with one of these - highly recommended.

8.6 out of 10

April 18th: Ghirardelli Milk & Peanut Butter

Kcal 250 Fat 17.0g Fat(sats) 9.0g Carbs 22.0g (per 45.0g serving)

A peanut butter product that isn't Reese's!! whatever next!? knowing my love for all things peanut butter related my pals at *IShop4YouII* thought this would be a great product for me to check out. Having got myself nicely acquainted with some of Ghirardelli's range already this year I must say that I was really looking forward to try this bar, which incorporated 'gourmet peanut butter with crunchy peanuts in milk chocolate'.

This bar came in a 90.0g size that I split into the proposed two 45.0g servings. I continue to be impressed with Ghirardelli's presentation - the outer cardboard box included some nice pictures of the chocolate, as well as using some stylish looking gold coloured fonts. The look of the bar itself didn't let the product down either - it was split into chunky logo inscribed blocks that when cross-sectioned revealed a plentiful portioning of filling in each. The product didn't quite radiate the same level of nuttiness than Reese's offerings, though it was noticeable that the bar didn't have the same greasy feel that you commonly get with the aforementioned products.

This was a bar that grew on me as I ate it, though it certainly had its ups and its down in terms of its tasting experience. I am ever critical about Reese's milk chocolate, and I thought this might be the area where Ghirardelli would really triumph. The outer milk chocolate for me though lacked the real cocoa strength that I was hoping it would have. Despite having a nice thick melt and substantiating a pleasant enough creamy, milky flavour base I would personally have preferred the flavours to have been more cocoa centric. The peanut butter filling was the part of the product that took some getting used to. It terms of initial nut flavour strength it was nowhere near as imposing as Reese's however it did include some crunchy nut pieces that really brought some nutty flavour bursts later on in the taste. To be honest this felt more like a peanut creme rather than peanut butter ... both the taste and texture were smooth, not like the rough, gritty imposing Reese's. The 45.0g servings certainly provided a degree of fulfilment, though the smoothness of the taste meant I probably could have easily eaten more.

Overall I can't say this is a bar that I would naturally pick over most Reese's products, though to be fair it is still an enjoyable offering in its own right. I was a little disappointed with the milk chocolate - it was not poor or anything, it was just that it lacked the desired chocolate hit I was wanting it to give me. The peanut butter centre certainly offered something a little different from Reese's - it was more subtle in its deliverance of its creamy, nut flavours ... whether you prefer that will solely be down to individual taste. If offered this is a bar I would certainly have again; its worthy of its very credible score.

8.0 out of 10

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April 17th: Pocky Kiwi Fruit

Kcal 67 Fat 3.4g Carbs 8.4g (per 12.8g - 5 sticks)

You guys demanded more Pocky reviews ... you get more Pocky reviews :) Thanks to fabulous people at J-List I once again today got the opportunity to test drive one of Glico's latest Pocky flavours this 'Kiwi Fruit' variant. Frankly I cant say I am the greatest fan of Kiwi, however as you will find out when you read on these turned out to be a really pretty awesome product.

When J-List sent these across they were kind enough to send across two boxes of these. I was planning on eating one for the purpose of reviewing and using the other for some form of competition ... unfortunately for you guys I ended up consuming both boxes (sorry!! competition coming soon I promise). Contained within each box were four seperate packets of five sticks which surprisingly supplied a sufficient enough snack.

I thought the presentation of the product was pretty good - the communication of the Kiwi flavour couldn't really be missed on the outer packaging, whilst I thought the green speckled nature of the sticks combined for a unique and colourful look. The uniqueness of the aesthetics were only to be outdone by the really quite formidable distinct smell that emanated from the packets. The smell had a artificial strawberry like nature to it which initially brought some concerns in regards to the taste.

Thankfully there turned out to be nothing whatsoever artificial about the taste - these were certainly one fantastic tasting product. The outer flavoured coating of the biscuit stick had a white chocolate nature about it, in that it delivered some very pleasant creamy, milky yogurt like flavours. The Kiwi element was implemented superbly with the fresh, forthcoming fruity taste seemingly constituting of red berry and citrus lime flavour elements. The biscuit as ever had a tasty shortbread like appeal with its wheaty flavours enhanced perfectly with slight sugar and salt bursts. The forthcoming and lasting fruit flavours made these a surprisingly substantial snack; they were moreish, yet at the same time five sticks seemed like a perfect amount.

Overall I was thoroughly impressed with these despite my initial pessimism that the Kiwi Fruit flavour could really be implemented well into such a small confined product. The fruit element was in fact one of the best fruit flavourings I have come across and was both flavoursome and balanced in its sweet well rounded taste. From what I understand Pocky is a brand that likes experimenting with all sorts of different flavours and have many limited edition variants. If this is the case and your a fan of Pocky I would strongly suggest you try a pack of these before they disappear, these come highly recommended.

8.2 out of 10

Click here for J-List where you can find many more exciting Pocky Flavours