August 7th: Dove Cinnamon & Orange

Kcal 208 Fat 12.0g Carbs 22.5g

Once again I have to start off yet again by thanking ChocolateMission reader Alan who so kindly sent me this for a review. Whilst scouring his local pound shop Alan found this Dove (Galaxy) bar which had made its way all the way from Poland. With a little help from Google Translate I finally determined that this was a 'cinnamon & orange' flavoured milk chocolate product. Remembering back to my reviews during Christmas I remember this combination being particularly popular in the sample boxes that were sent my way from Germany. With the Milka and Lindt bars springing to mind as fine examples, I was hoping this bar could show similar results.

The product came in a 40.0g size much like the standard Galaxy bars we get here in the UK. One area that this product particularly impressed me was the packaging. It was formed of the same material as UK Cadbury bars use nowadays - the matted material with the foil innards. I felt it gave the bar a very suave look and was only further impressed when I saw the actual chocolate. The blocks were split into well sized chunks and had a small truffle like layer running through the middle. Whilst I thought this looked appetising I was not quite as impressed by the aroma which had a quite odd floral sweet smell - it really wasn't what I was expecting.

Lets not mess around here ... by Galaxy (Dove) usual high standards the taste was pretty poor. The outer chocolate was pretty in-line with what you would expect from the brand and supplied the usual smooth tasting creamy chocolate experience that can be found with most Galaxy bars. As soon as my the centre filling came in to play though a rather different story began to be told. At first it wasn't all that bad ... well for the first few seconds anyway. The orange element was the first to come into play and as I said it initially wasn't so bad as it provided a strong juicy orange influence. Once the taste calmed down a little it got a whole lot weirder as the orange creme soon became so sickeningly sweet it was as if I could taste the raw sugar. This sugar based taste was only trumped by the musty cinnamon flavours that lingered in the aftertaste. The cinnamon just didn't seem quite right and neither brought the spiciness or the distinctiveness that I desired. It almost seemed as if the cinnamon was an after thought and not carefully implemented into the product. The taste neither left me feeling satisfied or particularly wanting more - I would much rather have snacked on something else.

Overall this simply wasn't up to the usual high standards from the Galaxy/Dove brand. Personally I don't think half as much care was taken in forming this bar as the combination just didn't seem to work and I think that it is plain to see for anyone trying it. As expected the actual milk chocolate was pretty good and what you would expect from a product from this brand. The true failing though came in the implementation of the orange and cinnamon into the filling. The orange was ridiculously sweet, whilst the cinnamon was pretty much non-descript. Having said that I did like the idea of the softer liquid filling and would like to see this implemented across other bars from this range in the future. In regards to this particular product though I would best advise you to try it with low expectations.

6.7 out of 10

August 6th: Lindt Thyme & Orange Fantasy

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

According to Wiki the herb Thyme is used in a wide range of different countries as a basic ingredient. From French, Greek, Lebanese to Persian cuisine ... you name it ... they use it. Chocolate flavoured with Thyme though was a completely new concept to me and I hadn't see it attempted by any manufacture. That was all until today of course, when I tried the Lindt Thyme & Orange Fantasy bar thanks once again to Dean-German-Grocery. Promising simply 'dark chocolate with orange and thyme' I hadn't a clue what to really expect, though on reflection I guess this was only ever going to turn out one way.

This bar was the first from the Lindt 'Chocolat Provence' range I had tried and it came in a standard 100.0g format. I wasn't overly taken in by the appearance of the packaging as I thought it all looked a bit '80s bathroom wallpaper' - take a look for yourself above. The illustrations where pleasant on the eye but just not entirely fitting for this sort of product. Aside from my reservations about the outer wrapper I was more impressed with the usual branded Lindt foil wrapper and the clean cut nature of the dark chocolate that was sealed below. Due to the oddity of the flavour combination I must admit I was a little wary that this might all end tears. The smell didn't go any way to abiding these fears as the herby scents in between the orange and cocoa made for an unsettling insight in to what was to come.

In true football language the taste was a story of two halves - the first half being a 5-0 drubbing and the second half being a respectable 0-0 draw. This was a chocolate that didn't wait around to impose itself and from the outset the added flavours were all but evident. Placing the dark chocolate in the mouth I was straight away struck by what was a pretty benign herb influence. I was getting some pleasant enough chocolaty cocoa flavours but at the same time I was getting a barrage of slightly spicy herb elements that just seemed completely out of context. The addition of the thyme just simply didn't work and it wasn't until the orange kicked in later during the melt that I started to feel comfortable with what was in my mouth. Although the mixture of the dark chocolate and orange was pretty ok it still didn't make up for the puzzling taste that came before it. Thinking about it now I think the word 'uncomfortable' is the best way to describe the experience - it was like putting salt in your tea instead of sugar ... frankly I just didn't like it and struggled to eat more than a few blocks.

Overall I think I have been pretty generous giving this a 4.0 in the taste test - I guess I was a little swayed by the fact that the dark chocolate and orange elements were actually pretty good. I don't know who in their right mind thought adding thyme to chocolate would work but it just simply didn't and I am surprised it got past testing at Lindt. Personally I just can't see thyme ever being implemented into chocolate successfully - I think some ingredients are just best left to seasoning my Sunday Lamb roast rather than my dessert. I guess if you want to experience this for yourself as far I know this is the only thyme infused chocolate on the market. My advice, and its one I think you should take notice of, is that you stay well clear ... Lindt do so many better things than this.

5.3 out of 10

Head to Dean-German-Grocery to get all your German Candy and Chocolate

August 5th: Green & Black's Espresso

Kcal 549 Fat 41.6g Carbs 33.8g (per 100.0g)

When I saw Dom's review (HERE) of this bar on Chocablog last month I literally ran out to my local Waitrose to get hold of it. I tend to stick mostly away from the Green & Black's brand as for some reason it really just doesn't have the appeal of say a comparable Lindt bar. When Dom described this as a 'strong black coffee in bar form' I simply couldn't resist the prospect and had to give it a try for myself. Described as 'dark chocolate infused with strong Arabica coffee' I really like the sound of it and was hoping that it could at least meet the standards of the superb Milka Amavel Mousse au Cappuccino or the similarly good Concious Chocolate Choca Mocha Magic.

This bar came in a 100.0g size that was divided into 30 rather small looking blocks. As I have already mentioned I am normally not really not a fan of Green & Black's chocolate and I think this view has developed as a result of the rather bland and unexciting looking packaging. In my opinion the brown background implemented across most of the range just looks rather boring and simply isn't as exciting or premium looking when compared to other chocolate brands that sit alongside it on the confectionery shelf. Although I thought the outer packaging was rather dull I was more impressed by the branded, gold foil wrapper that kept the chocolate in a fine and unblemished condition. I was further encouraged by the smell which emanated from the chocolate which had a strong coffee fragrance - things were looking promising.

I was a little pessimistic at first at the size of the blocks but once I tasted the chocolate I understood why they were so small. This had to be one of the strongest flavoured chocolates I had ever tasted and as a lover of coffee this was one hundred percent a good thing. As soon as the chocolate landed on my tongue the coffee influence exploded into action with a sharp release of bitter, roasted coffee bean flavours. The actual chocolate element to the bar came through very late in the soft melt and didn't go beyond establishing a relatively no frills, unsweetened cocoa lick. The coffee was so strong I think it would be accurate to describe the chocolate as more of an afterthought in the grand scheme of the taste; this was fine with me considering it was actually the coffee part that I was enjoying the most. Due to the sheer strength of the product the small sized blocks made perfect sense and it only took about four, five at a time to really satisfy my sweet fix demand. With most products I like to get a second opinion so I asked a fellow coffee lover what they thought. Their verdict ... 'lovely in terms of coffee but not necessarily a good chocolate' i.e. it wouldn't satisfy a chocolate craving.

Overall I think this bar was perfectly summed up by the above second opinion. In terms of chocolate this bar really wasn't that great - not only did it come through late in the taste but it also wasn't exactly mind blowing when it did eventually appear. In regards to coffee flavours though I really have to hand it to Green & Black's here - they were simply outstanding. The coffee element was strong and not weak and held back in its intensity like too many coffee flavoured products I have tried before. I am pretty much repeating what Dom at Chocablog concluded here word for word but he was bang on the money when he said that for fans of coffee this is really a chocolaty paradise. For those that can't think of anything worse than a coffee flavoured chocolate this bar probably belongs in your nightmares. It doesn't take a genius to work out the sort of people I recommend this bar to.

8.6 out of 10

August 4th: Kit Kat Chunky Caramel (UK)

Kcal 272 Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???

Just a few weeks ago it was brought to my attention by ChocolateMission readers Phil & Susanne that Nestle were ridding of the Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter and replacing it with the Kit Kat Chunky Caramel. Although I was a little disappointed about the loss of the Peanut Butter variant as we have such a lack of peanut butter based chocolates already here in the UK, I was relatively pleased to hear that the 'superb' Caramel would be taking its place. I say 'superb' as it wasn't long ago that I reviewed the Kit Kat Caramel Chunky from Australia which I have to say is still one of my favourite bars I have tried this year (score 9.2 - review See HERE!).

I had high hopes that this bar was going to be more alike the Caramel Chunky from Australia and not like the newly released Kit Kat Caramel multi pack two finger but I was immediately alarmed when I saw the on pack details. Described as 'a wafer finger with a creamy caramel topping coated in milk chocolate' it was obvious that this was going to be a different proposition to the bar from the Southern Hemisphere. It not only differed in composition but also in its weight (50.0g rather than 65.0g) and also rather more oddly in its lack of full on pack nutritional information. Despite the lacking information I thought the new golden foil packaging looked pretty awesome and thought it had great stand out on shelf. On the contrary I must say I wasn't exactly bowled over by the bar when I cross sectioned it. The inner filling looked remarkably like the Peanut Butter variant, with the caramel looking more paste like rather than the more traditional (and better looking) gooey caramels ala Cadbury Caramel.

Putting aside my minor disappointment at the way the bar looked I was soon more encouraged by the smells that I detected once I opened the foil wrapper. The aroma was chocolaty with sweet hints of toffee which certainly did fail to entice me. I won't waste my time describing the outer chocolate and inner wafer as this is something I have covered many times before in my many Kit Kat reviews. In summary the chocolate was fair and substantiated a nice chocolaty taste with each bite and the wafer brought some pleasant biscuity, malt flavours to the party with its superb crunchy texture. With that out the way it is time to get to the important factor and that was of course the inner caramel filling which if I was to also sum up in one word would be classed as disappointing. Just as it looked and was billed on pack it was nothing like the gooey sort of caramel I desired and it had more of a dry, creme like texture. In regards to taste it was unfortunately quite like the Kit Kat Caramel bars we have just released in the supermarkets. It started off by generating a toffee like taste in the mouth but as the flavours progressed they became increasingly sweet up until the point they produced that awful throat burning sensation. My initial displeasure of seeing our UK Caramel Chunky dwarfed by its Australian equivalent was soon all but gone as I struggled to even finish off this bar due to its sugary nature.

Overall on reflection the replacement of the Peanut Butter Chunky with this Caramel Chunky looks to be a pretty damn poor decision due to the poor execution of the caramel. Where were the elements of butter, salt, butterscotch??? ... answer ... nowhere to be seen! The caramel filling was fundamentally just not great. It was more of an overly sweet, sugary paste rather than the gooey, golden layer of amber nectar that I was really hoping for. The decision to replace one of the more unique bars on the UK market, with a bar that is quite frankly poo interms of quality to me appears to be a pretty bad one. Maybe I have been spoilt by trying a better version of the bar we now have gracing our shelves, but in my estimation the Australian variation of the Kit Kat Chunky Caramel is the far, far better out of the two. Probably worth trying if you like your Kit Kats but beware for a major disappointment.

6.9 out of 10


I tracked this bar down in my local Co-Op ... why not tell me what you think by adding a comment to the review!

August 3rd: Mars Treets

Kcal 185 Fat 9.6g Fat(sats) 3.9g Carbs 19.3g (per 36.0g serving)

I must admit that until I read the article from 'The Grocer' magazine a week or so ago I had no clue whatsoever what Mars Treets were. According to that piece the relaunch of Treets is Mars' attempt to ride the nostalgia wave that seems to be taking over the Confectionery market at present (Cadbury Wispa etc!). Just as with most new products I was scooped to a review by Foodstufffinds who managed to track these down a week or so earlier than I did myself (See Review HERE!). If you are still looking for them yourself I suggest you head to your local Sainsburys where I found them on a £1 promotion.

According to 'The Grocer' article Treets used to come in a few different formats - some with toffee etc! With this in mind I guess I was a little disappointed when I read the on pack description - 'milk chocolate covered peanuts in a crisp brown shell' ... the first thing that sprang to mind was whether these were just going to be M&M's Peanuts in a different bag. The packaging itself was altogether pretty unspectacular. I have no idea what the packaging used to look like but the pouch just struck me as rather plain looking and lacked any sort of retro appeal. The pieces inside looked a tad boring as they were just brown coloured, however I was pleased to see that the majority of the pieces looked larger than M&M's Peanuts. Currently the only size pack Treets are available in are 200.0g pouches - with the help of a few work colleagues we managed to polish off a bag in an afternoon.

As I was sharing I didn't really get a great opportunity to have a smell of the bag though an obvious nut based smell was released when I tore it open. Remembering back to my review of the M&M's Peanuts I can recall that I thought they didn't quite deliver the desired chocolate flavour hit and that the peanuts were not particularly that fresh tasting. I am pleased to say that these Mars Treets went some way to solving these problems as the chocolate was not only implemented thicker but the nuts were also a heck of a lot nicer. As you can see the in the cross-section photo above the chocolate that coated the peanuts was a heck of a lot more substantial which meant that the chocolaty flavours came through more in the initial taste. As the chocolate was thicker the sugary shells didn't dominate as much which was quite the opposite to what I found with the M&M's Peanuts. As I have already mentioned I also found the inner peanuts to my preference and felt that they displayed a greater array of fresh, roasted flavours in comparison to the M&M equivalents. As I shared these I am not sure exactly how many I had - I would hazard a guess that I consumed a quarter of the pack which was a pretty fulfilling amount.

Overall these didn't quite deliver the excitement of many other new products but at the same time I enjoyed them nonetheless. I wouldn't have put it past Mars just to stick some non coloured M&M's in a different branded pouch though I am pleased to say that in comparison these were actually a touch better. The thicker implementation of the chocolate provided a far better chocolaty experience and the nuts just seem to give a lot more in both crunchy textures and flavours. My recommendation regarding these is pretty simple - if you like M&M's Peanuts then you should really try these, if your not a fan then I would stay well away. Innovation isn't exactly a strong point for Mars - these are good but lets hope they can come up with something a bit more exciting soon.

7.6 out of 10

August 2nd: 7Days of Chocolate Reviews - Edition 8

Lets take a trip down memory lane ...


The ChocolateMission Omnibus:

The week started off with my review of Paul.A.Young's Salted Caramel Chocolates that I found to be absolutely superb. Several readers including Alan, Brody, Laura and Rachel asked the question whether these could be mail ordered, which led to Paul's manager James popping in tell us that they indeed could indeed be made to order - further details on the review (See HERE).

Later on in the week I reviewed the final variant from Taste of Natures Cookie Dough Bites range - the Mint flavoured, whilst I also published my review on Ferrero's Duplo bar. I was surprised to learn from Susanne and Chris that I had in fact reviewed the Duplo that is in distribution in Italy and not the German one I thought.

A few days later I reviewed the Hotel Chocolat Mango Strips which were met with a great deal of positivity from Mark and many others who are obviously fans of Hotel Chocolat's chocolate coated fruit collection. I managed to pick up another couple of requests from readers in that review - I will endeavour to get them covered ASAP.


News from the Chocolate Market:

* The recession has even managed to even hit the confectionery market with Mars introducing some price marked pack for their Twix, Bounty, Mars and Snickers bars - 35p sounds good to me. See HERE

* Mars are also launching a new promotion on their bitesize selection packs with a '1 in 10 chance to win a DVD' competition. See HERE

* Nestle are also getting in on the act with a new on pack competition on their Kit Kat range with 35 million music downloads up for grabs. See HERE

* Cadbury have announced their first half results - claiming that overall sales are up 10% ... lord knows what they will deliver in Q3 & Q4 with the upcoming release of the Wispa Gold. See HERE

* Strong contender for article of the week ... 'Blue M&Ms help spinal injuries' :) See HERE

* Burnt Sugar are relaunching their adult confectionery line introducing some new packaging and smaller sized packs. See HERE


Posts from other Blogs I enjoyed this week:

Foodstufffinds - Just as I announced in the last edition of 7Days of Chocolate Reviews, Mars Treets are back and FSF as always managed to hunt them down first. My review will be up on Monday but see the FSF review HERE

Chocablog - Dom had a very justified rant at M&S for producing a blatant imitation product of the Mars bar. As Dom put so elegantly ... 'WHY??' ... come on M&S your better than that! See HERE

GiGi - I have seen some puzzling collaborations in my time ... but Mountain Dew and World of Warcraft!? Someone please explain me the significance of the two - GiGi didn't seem to know either. See HERE

ImpulsiveBuy - Marvo released the first ever Impulsive Buy podcast which is well worth checking out ... starring Marvo himself! See HERE

JapaneseSnackReviews - KitKat seem to be relentless in their innovation in Japan and the latest flavour they have come up with is Mango Purin ... 'Purin' being a milky sort of pudding. Sounds good to me! See HERE


Question of the Week:

'What do you think is the best looking product on the Chocolate Market'

... I don't mean the best tasting .... I mean the best one aesthetically!

August 1st: Hershey's York Cookies

Kcal 270 Fat 16.0g Fat(sats) 9.0g Carbs 35.0g (per 4 cookies)

Whenever I think of Hershey's I generally straight away think of their more traditional chocolate bar offerings such as their Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, 5th Avenue bar etc! CandyPirate though have recently been sharing with me some of Hershey's more unusual products that they stock - like the Hershey's Brownie and Reese's Brownie etc and today was no different. Forming another part of the Hershey's Cookies range these York Cookies promised 'a chocolate biscuit base with a peppermint fondant filling covered in semi-sweet chocolate' - these sounded like a rival for one of my favourite cookies of all time the Oreo Double Stuffed Mint.

The cookies came in a pack of 4 that weighed in at 56.0g. Despite some slight melting issues (due to be kept in my bag on a hot day!) I thought the presentation was of a pretty good standard and liked the way the usual York brand theme had been incorporated into the cookie product format. To cure the melting issue I stuck these in the fridge which managed to return them to a decent enough state to eat. I thought the cookies looked appetising with the white fondant layer appearing very distinctive when the biscuits were broken in half. This combined with the appetising minty smell that I detected really set my expectations high and at this point I was really expecting these to contend with its Oreo rivals.

I have to say that sticking these in the fridge for an hour or so before consuming was a bit of a master stroke. As mentioned I ate these on a really hot day so the cooled nature of the cookies along with a chilled glass of milk made for an extremely satisfying snack. Despite there being three very distinctive layers (outer chocolate, biscuit and mint fondant) there was never really any chance for eating any of them in isolation from one or other, as there wasn't any chance of breaking the cookies up (ala Oreo cookie) due to the messiness it would have caused. Although there was limited opportunity to do this the taste progressed in three natural steps with the outer semi-sweet chocolate featuring prominently when the cookie was first in the mouth. The flavours were a little understated in terms of cocoa strength but I felt much the same as I did with normal York Peppermint Patties in that the chocolate did its job in terms of providing a chocolaty context that wasn't too sweet. Once the outer chocolate had melted away the biscuit was next to feature in the taste and it brought elements of butter, malt and brown sugar with its crunchy texture. Last but by no means least the peppermint fondant bursted on to the scene with a mixture of fresh tasting sweet mint influences that left a lasting impression in the mouth with its cooling menthol effect. Being the greedy man I am I managed to tuck away four cookies in the one sitting which I think would be a very substantial snack for anyone.

Overall in my estimation these didn't quite overtake the Oreo Double Stuffed Mint as my favourite chocolate mint cookies of all time but they did put a pretty good fight. Being the weirdo I am, I think one of the greatest features of the Oreo biscuit is the way it can be dissected and divided up which on the whole makes it the more fun and interesting out of the two products. In regards to taste though I think that it is a pretty close run thing - I especially liked the way these Hershey's cookies had been dipped in semi-sweet chocolate which established a real chocolate hit from the outset (though not the greatest quality of chocolate ever!). If you are a fan of your mint chocolate cookies I would recommend you try these at some point - these are yet another product to put on your CandyPirate wish list.

8.3 out of 10

Head to Candy Pirate for all your American Candy & Chocolate needs

July 31st: Bourbon Choco-Dutsumi

Kcal 375 Fat 12.8g Carbs 62.7g (per 4 pieces - 92.0g)

Thanks to J-List.com I am continually being introduced to some of the most bizarre products going in their confectionery market. Todays offering looked rather innocent at first glance but once I delved in further and actually looked up what they were on the J-list website I realised they were not a conventional western confection. These Bourbon Choco-Dutsumi came described as sweet rice mochi dumplings filled with milk chocolate ganache. This all sounded rather bizarre to me but as always I was willing to give these a go - it wasn't as if my scepticism hadn't been proved wrong before.

These came in a pack that weighed 184.0g and included eight individual pieces. The packaging as ever for a Japanese product was altogether pretty awesome. The glossy cardboard box featured an appealing looking picture and incorporated a cool opening mechanism which contained 2 separate plastic trays inside. The first thing I noticed when I opened the first plastic packet was the lack of smell that I could, or more aptly put, couldn't detect. This didn't to any degree make me feel any more comfortable with the concept of the product and the appearance of the odd looking sugar dusted jelly like pieces didn't particularly help either.

Picking the first piece up from the plastic tray I was alarmed at the feel of it in my hand. It felt like a mini stress ball and when it was squeezed it soon returned to its original round form within a few unnerving seconds. Having played around with the chocolates for long enough I took the plunge and finally bit into one. Just as expected the outer mochi dumpling had a very odd texture that felt like a firm jelly substance in the mouth. At first I was not completely at one with the feel of it in my mouth, though this anxiety soon disappeared when the flavours came through. The outer rice dumpling had a sweet taste that I would a like to scotch pancakes - slightly eggy but with a nice buttery, sugary taste. At the centre of the rather odd outer portion was a nicely flavoured chocolate ganache centre. It was wonderfully smooth in texture and had a rich and creamy chocolaty taste that complimented the dough like flavours of the mochi extremely well. Although the pieces were not particularly large and could be eaten in two bites, two at a time seemed a reasonable sized snack and their heavy feel made them feel really quite substantial.

Overall these were a pleasant surprise and were a really quite enjoyable snack once I had gotten over the initial odd feel of the outer mochi pancakes. They smelt of nothing, looked and felt a little odd but were actually really quite delicious. As far as Japanese confections go you can't really get any more authentic - mochi filled with chocolate cream might not sound your cup of tea but I would urge you to give these a try before you entirely dismiss them as not for you. It is always nice to come across a product that exceeds my expectations and I must admit that up until tasting these I was completely unconvinced by the product proposition. Although they are not the highest scoring ChocolateMission product reviewed ever I would recommend you give these a try - especially if you like trying more unique offerings from the market.

7.8 out of 10

July 30th: Hotel Chocolat Mango Strips

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

With the help of the kind marketing guys at Hotel Chocolat I am slowly but surely making my way through their range. One of my favourite snacks that I often nibble on during the day is dried fruit, which almost always happens to be dried mango. Normally I just grab a bag from Tesco (the M&S stuff isn't great!) but today I got a whole new preserved mango experience thanks to these Hotel Chocolat Mango Strips. They came described as 'real mango pieces preserved and softened in mango liqueur, sealed in dark chocolate' which really sounded good to me.

These Mango Strips came in the same type of 150.0g cylinder container as the Ginger Strips I reviewed a few months ago. Presentation on the whole was pretty good - nothing about the exterior packaging really struck me as that special but I liked the photos of the mango fruits on the back and thought the photos of the actual product gave a reasonably accurate indication of the product. Opening the top and then the foil seal that lay below I was immediately struck by a waft of fruity, boozie scents that really set the mood for the taste to come. The chocolate covered fruit pieces varied in size considerably but this didn't bother me as it made the product feel altogether more authentic.

I must admit that at first taste I felt slightly let down by the outer chocolate. I am a huge fan of Hotel Chocolat's 72% & 85% recipes and I was disappointed to find that the dark chocolate implemented here was 50% cocoa. Don't get me wrong the chocolate was still very enjoyable; the melt was still absolutely divine and the taste was still impeccably smooth and rich with its cocoa flavours. The melt from the outer chocolate to the solid fruit that lay below was simply out of this world and the softness of the chocolate complimented the denser fruit superbly. The first thing that struck me about the mango below was that the really boozie smell didn't translate into the taste. Personally I thought this was a good thing as the citrusy, juicy flavours of the mango fruit came through superbly with the moist, fleshy texture. My only small gripe with the mango fruit itself was that at times some of the pieces were a little stringy which didn't feel at that great in the mouth. Just a few pieces of this chocolate drenched fruit complimented an after dinner coffee superbly - they possibly aren't the sort of thing you would want to snack on when on the move but for an after dinner occasion they seriously fit the bill.

Overall these Mango Strips get a big thumbs up from me aswell as the rest of my family who also thought they were absolutely delicious. Knowing the quality of Hotel Chocolat's stronger chocolates as I do, a little part of me was yearning for the outer dark chocolate to be of a greater strength. This though has to be a very minor criticism as the combination of the bitter chocolate and sweet fruity mango was simply luxurious and was one that I enjoyed each and every time I reach into the small tub. You can almost always determine whether a product was any good judging by the level of disappointment when its finished. Suffice to say there was mass disappointment when my families stock of Mango Strips ran out. The only question now is whether these count as part of your 'five-a-day?' :) I think probably not but I still whole heartily recommend them.

8.5 out of 10

July 29th: Ferrero Duplo

Kcal 146 Fat 10.0g Carbs 12.0g (per 26.0g stick)

You have to hand it to Ferrero for the sheer number of ways they have managed to combine three core ingredients - milk chocolate, hazelnut and wafer. Dean-German-Grocery have kindly sent me the Kinder Bueno, Giotto, Kusschen, Rocher and todays subject for review the 'Duplo'. The 'Duplo' is formed of a 'milk chocolate covered wafer with a cocoa creme and whole hazelnut centre'. As the rest of the range have been so good my hopes for this product were naturally pretty high.

I was sent a lot of five packets which each weighed a smallish 26.0g each. The packaging was a bit of a hybrid of Kinder Bueno and Ferrero Rocher in that it had a white background and illustrations, yet had the classy golden coloured Ferrero branding. The bars were split into three separate blocks of which you can see a cross-section above. Unfortunately my photography skills didn't manage to capture the whole hazelnut piece but in each there was a nut nestled in the cocoa creme. As pleased as I was with the presentation I was equally happy when I was met with a very familiar nutty Ferrero aroma when I opened the packaging.

As you will have seen in the picture the outer wafer and milk chocolate constituents were very similar to the Kinder Bueno and they delivered exactly the same experience. The milk chocolate was lacking a little bit in its portioning due to the thinness of the layer, though it did have the chocolate flavour hit that I desired. The milky sweet flavours of the chocolate were complimented nicely by the malty flavours of the wafer which also had a nice fresh crunch. The cocoa creme at the centre of each piece only added to the cocoa flavour hit that the outer chocolate brought to the party and had a very soft silky feel in the mouth. As I described above sitting in the cocoa creme in each block was a whole hazelnut and their bursts of nutty woody flavours didn't fail to disappoint. The nut pieces added another flavour dimension to the product and delivered it with a delightful fresh crunchy texture. The overall taste was delicious yet not the longest lasting; having finished one packet it wasn't long before I found myself reaching for another.

Overall I wasn't expecting anything different but I can confirm that the Ferrero Duplo can hang with any other of the milk chocolate, wafer and hazelnut variants in Ferrero's range. Despite sharing a similar problem with most of them in that it wasn't that satisfying as a snack, in regards to taste the bar delivered both a chocolate and nut flavour hit. I thought the textures were both varied and interesting, whilst the presentation on the whole was pretty good. If your a fan of Ferrero then you will know what to expect from this product. I wouldn't necessarily say it was any better or worse than any of the other options from the range but why not try it for yourself and see what you think!?

8.0 out of 10

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

July 28th: The Original Cookie Dough Bites Mint

Kcal 180 Fat 9.0g Fat(sats) 4.5g Carbs 27.0g (per 40.0g)

Today saw me come to the end of my journey looking at Taste of Nature's Cookie Dough Bites range with me finally getting around to trying the very last 'Mint' variant. Whilst I have been reviewing this line of products I have been eating them on their intended consumption occasion - at the cinema. The choice of film today was Public Enemies directed by Michael Mann and I would strongly recommend it if your a fan of the action genre. More importantly back on topic the snack that accompanied the film was formed of 'mint flavoured cookie dough covered in milk chocolate'.

I must say that out of all the Cookie Bites variants this was certainly the one that had the most suiting packaging and was the most interesting aesthetically out the packet. The outer cardboard box implemented a relevant green colour theme and communicated a fun and differentiated look compared to the other variants from the range. As with all the other flavours I was a little wary of the inner plastic packet (which I to this day still thinks a little clumsy!) but I did like the uniqueness of the pale green colour of the cookie dough that was contained within the milk chocolate. Just as expected the cookie dough pieces had a slight minty smell when the inner packaging was opened which didn't fail to appeal to me.

The last batch of Cookie Dough Bites I tried the other day (Peanut Butter) were pretty damn awful so these weren't going to have to try that hard to better them. I am glad to say that this was entirely the case and these in actual fact surprisingly ended up being my favourite from the entire lot. Just as I found with all the other milk chocolate variants from the selection the quality of the chocolate wasn't altogether that special yet still managed to provide a worthwhile set of chocolaty flavours with each piece. Unlike the Peanut Butter variant the melt wasn't as fast the sweet, milk based flavours generated by the chocolate lingered just that bit longer in the mouth which made them seem more substantial. The cookie dough at the centre of each piece brought all the sugary, wheaty dough flavours of many other of the variants but just with an added extra hint of peppermint which I thought was near perfectly implemented. The mint flavours were not overly strong yet still managed to generate a decent amount of flavour and left a lasting impression in the mouth providing a cooling sensation which negated the slight dryness of the cookie dough. Suffice to say the 88.0g pack was gobbled up between four of us in no time.

Overall these were far from being my favourite snack of all time but they were still the best of a pretty average product range. These were far superior to the Peanut Butter that I last tried - maybe on reflection the poorness of them made these seem all that bit better. What I can't deny is that these weren't enjoyed by one and all that tried them with everyone seeming coming to the same conclusion as myself ... Taste of Nature's Cookie Dough Bites range aren't in anyway really that special, but when put in the context of the boring cinema snacks we have here in the UK they are certainly worth at least trying once. If you do fancy trying them I would head to CandyPirate. Out of the lot I would suggest these mint flavoured ones - they were my personal favourites.

7.8 out of 10

July 27th: Paul.a.Young's Salted Caramel Chocolates

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

Fresh off the back of his appearance on The Apprentice, about a month or so ago I was approached by one of Paul.a.Young's PR team who invited me to one of his in store exhibitions. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make the day as I just so happened to be sitting my University Finals that week. On a brighter note Paul's team decided to send me some of his famous Salted Caramel chocolates which I had previously heard so much about. Having read some reviews on Chocablog and noted the gold medal award that they won at the Academy of Chocolate awards these Salted Caramel certainly came with a lot of promise ... here is what I thought of them.

Before I get into how they tasted as per usual I would like to pass a few comments on the presentation. Paul's team sent me a pack of nine chocolates which came beautifully presented in a ribboned box. Inside the chocolates were presented in cute purple coloured wrappers and were protected by a small paper layer. I thought that overall the presentation was simplistic in its sophistication and was not over the top or overly elaborate. The chocolates themselves were the size of large thimbles and emanated a genuinely fresh smelling sweet cocoa smell when the box was opened. As instructed by the packaging I stored these in the fridge as soon as I received them, this however didn't stop me digging straight in when they were at room temperature. For reasons that will be come obvious in a minute I would very much recommend you wait until they are nicely chilled.

There are no two ways of describing how these tasted - they were utterly delicious, yet I still thought there was the tiniest room without room for improvement. According to Paul's website the outer chocolate was formed of a Madagascan 62% recipe and much like the smell suggested it tasted wonderfully fresh and forthcoming with its cocoa flavours. As soon as the chocolate hit my tongue the cocoa flavours were evident and substantiated a nice chocolaty base tone to the taste. My only one criticism of these chocolates was that the chocolate itself was just a little too thin and the outer shell could have done with being just a touch thicker to make the chocolaty flavours last longer in the mouth. Minor criticism aside the transition from the smooth, silky melting chocolate to the soft, gooey caramel centre was fantastic yet maybe just a little short lived. The caramel that lay inside the chocolates was the finest I have ever tasted ... it was everything you wanted a caramel to be. It was sugary, sweet, buttery, syrupy, with floral, burnt sugar notes ... sorry for the list but the flavours that this caramel produced were so terrifically variable and explosive. The most important flavour hit was in the aftertaste of the caramel which was of course the promised salt lick. It was utterly marvellous and contrasted so fantastically well with the sweetness produced by the other components of the chocolate. The salt element not only made these delicious but also ever so moreish ... a cheeky chocolate soon turned into three cheeky chocolates.

Overall there is no doubting that Paul has struck gold with this recipe here. This could just be personal preference but if I had my own way the outer chocolate shell would be a touch thicker to make these more substantial. Due to the soft, near liquid like nature of the caramel and thinness of the chocolate these didn't last all that long in the mouth but it wasn't as if they didn't leave a lasting impression. I have said it once already but it is worth saying again ... the inner caramel was the finest I have ever tasted ... and boy have I tried my fill in my time. If you like your caramel chocolates then these are simply a must try. I would whole heartily recommend you visit Paul online or in one of his two stores - Paul has struck gold ... caramel gold!

8.5 out of 10

July 26th: 7Days of Chocolate Reviews - Edition 7

Lets have a look what has gone in the last 7 days of ChocolateMission ...

The ChocolateMission Omnibus:

This week I took a look at two different Lindt summer offerings with the first being the Lindt Carribean Dream and later on Lindt's Tropical Temptation bar. Both managed to score over 8.0 and were met with positive feedback from readers such as Susanne, Brody and Phil who all spelled out their desire to try them.

Tuesday saw me tuck into the latest offering from New Zealand - Whittaker's Zestful Dark Orange which scored a very high 9.0. This one seem to catch the eye of Mark and Lu who made clear their love for dark chocolate and orange combinations.

Later into the week I touched upon the fine skill of breaking up biscuits with my review of the Prinzen Rolle, before I yesterday had the unfortunate experience of trying Otsuka's Calorie Mate Chocolate Blocks ... the latter of which was truly terrible BLEUH!

As noted by an anonymous poster yesterday everything came from far afield this week - I will be sure to bring you all some UK products in the coming days.

News from the Chocolate Market:

* Following on from the article I posted a few weeks ago this press release has some more information on the new products being released by Divine Chocolates in the near future. See HERE

* Cadbury have now got their new fairtrade bars into distribution - don't get too excited everyone it is just the standard Dairy Milk collection with some new wrappers (they look quite cool though!) See HERE

* Nestle have outlined their Xmas plans for this year ... looks like After Eight and Quality Street are the brands getting most the media spend backing. See HERE

* This one was submitted by Susanne and Phil during the week - Nestle UK have announced the launch of the Kit Kat Chunky Caramel ... lets pray it is as good as the one I reviewed from New Zealand. See HERE

* McVities are launching Milk Chocolate & Orange digestives .... mmm yes please! See HERE

* Mars are the latest manufacture to play on everyones nostalgic feelings with the relaunch of 'Treets' ... I can't remember them myself but they sound nicely to me. See HERE

* Heidi recommended I try this brand earlier in the week ... If Al Nassma gets launched here in the UK it will be a lot easier to do so. See HERE

Posts from other Blogs I enjoyed this week:

* TastingChocolates - This is a new site set up by ChocolateMission reader Chris. He is focusing on reviewing finer chocolates from around the globe. I really enjoyed reading his review of the Malagasy Mora Mora bar. See HERE

* ChocaBlog - Simon got stuck in into the Thorntons Milk Chocolate with Tonka Bean bar and gave it a similarly positive review to my own. See HERE

* GiGi Reviews - Tried the awesome looking Dove Peanut Butter Silky Smooth Chocolate. Damn Galaxy chocolate with peanut butter sounds awesome to me. GiGi thought it was relatively good but nothing special. See HERE

* Second Rate Snacks - Rice Krispie Squares vs Marshmallow Squares Crispy Rice ... surely there can only be one winner? See HERE

Question of the Week:

'Where do you buy most your chocolate from?'

... for me it depends on where its coming from ...

Japan - J-List

US - CandyPirate or IShop4YouII

New Zealand / Australia - Shopenzed

Germany / Europe - DeanGermanGrocery

UK - where ever :D

July 25h: Otsuka Calorie Mate Chocolate Block

Kcal 400 Fat 22.4g Carbs 40.0g (per 80.0g)

I have reviewed some pretty weird things in the last two years but hands down this has to be the oddest product of them all. Coming all the way from Japan courtesy of J-List I today got to try a product called 'Calorie Mate' - 'a nutritionally balanced source of the energy needed for daily activities'. According to the on-pack blurb Calorie Mate is 'suited for people on-the-go who need an easy source of energy and nutrition-at breakfast, work, sports, study or any bus time'. Despite my first thoughts being that anyone who didn't have enough time to eat in their lives should have a long hard think about their work-life balance, the whole concept had me a little intrigued.

The total Calorie Mate package weighed in at 80.0g which included two inner packet servings. To say the presentation was unglamourous would be an understatement. As I am sure you can see above the outer packaging simply consisted of a yellow cardboard board box with what looked like some design work constructed using Microsoft Word. The fonts looked uncompelling and basic, whilst the packaging lacked an visuals of what was inside ... utterly dismal. The inner packets were a little more impressive and were made of a nice branded foil material. Half the intrigue of this product was what the actual product was and once I had removed all the layers all was revealed. Inside the foil wrappers were biscuits that looked rather like shortbread fingers. They looked like they should have a sweet, biscuit smell though in reality they had an unfitting savoury wheat smell... a bit like Jacobs crackers!

To me the whole point of this product seemed for it to be a meal replacement one, so in the true spirit of a fair review I replaced my usual lunch time meal with the full Calorie Mate package. It was out with tuna baguette and in with these chocolate flavoured biscuits ... what a mistake this turned out to be. I don't really know where to start with these as they didn't tick any of the boxes of taste, texture or hunger fulfilment. They tasted like cardboard ... something that I not too often snack on :) but I think you get my drift! They biscuits were bland and lifeless in terms of flavour. They looked like shortbread yet had none of the taste. Where as I was expecting a buttery, brown sugar and salt hinted biscuit I simply got a dull, watered down malt taste that had nothing chocolaty about it whatsoever ... it was about as exciting as your nan's 97th birthday party. Perfectly complimenting this wonderful taste (sarcasm to the extreme) ... was the truly wonderfully inviting texture (sarcasm to the extreme x2). They felt truly woeful and were reminiscent of polystyrene with a dry crumbliness that seemed to suck every drop of moisture from my mouth. Just to top this all off despite managing to consumer 400 calories in just four quite small sized biscuits I still felt about as hungry as I did before I had the displeasure of eating them.

Overall to say I wouldn't ever consume these again even if I was paid would be an understatement. I think a score of 2.0 for both taste, texture and sustenance says it all ... they would have had got 1.0 had it not been due to the fact they were actually edible. For starters I don't understand the product ... who on earth would want to consume a meal in the form of four biscuits - even if you wanted to put on weight there are far more enjoyable ways of doing so and if your too busy to eat then why the hell are you reading this website :) Couple my lack of understanding for the product with the fact that they presented badly and tasted woeful pretty much sums up where I am at with my mind with Calorie Mate. Does it have novelty value!? Possibly! Is it worth trying in regards to be a nice snack!? I don't think I need to answer that! You can buy Calorie Mate from J-List here ... why on earth you would want do I do not know!

2.8 out of 10

July 24th: The Original Cookie Dough Bites Peanut Butter

Kcal 200 Fat 12.0g Fat(sats) 5.0g Carbs 24.0g (per 40.0g)

Those of you who have been reading the site for the last couple of weeks will be aware that I am currently making my way through Taste of Nature's Cookie Dough Bites range thanks to my pals at CandyPirate. Having tried the Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate and Fudge Brownie flavours already, I today got around to sampling my most eagerly anticipated variant - the Peanut Butter flavoured. I didn't quite know how these two vastly different ingredients would combine but I was certainly willing to see what these 'milk chocolate coated peanut butter flavoured cookie dough bites' could offer.

In line with the rest of the flavours from the range this variant also came in a 88.0 box that contained one single cellophane packet with the pieces enclosed. Presentationwise all was very familiar with the peanut butter flavour communicated through the use of a relevant orange background colour on the packaging. Inside the pieces enclosed within the inner wrapper were noticeably more greasy than the other variants I have tried thus far and there were visible oily marks on the packet innards. I guess this was a bi-product of the peanut content - it is not exactly the first peanut butter confectionery product I have seen this happen to. Although the greasy marks were something I could live with I was more alarmed at the lack nuttiness in the aroma as all I could detect was a slight chocolaty sweet smell.

The thoughts running through my head before I ate these were - are theses going to taste more like peanut butter? Or more like Cookie Dough? Having eaten them I can confirm that this was a pretty redundant pattern of thought. Placing the first few pieces in my mouth the oily texture was all but apparent and noticeably made the melt of the outer chocolate faster. This not only hampered the texture of the melt somewhat but also meant that the flavours of the chocolate in the mouth were not as lasting as with previous variants. Frankly this was the least of this product's problems as the peanut butter cookie dough was pretty abysmal. It neither really tasted of peanuts or cookie dough ... it was almost as if it was just a sugary fondant. This ultimately proved to be a massive problem as the already sweet taste of the chocolate was only further compounded by the sickeningly sweet sugar flavours at the centre of each piece. To say these completely lacked any peanut flavours would be an over reaction - they were there somewhere in the background of the sickly taste - I will say though that these didn't have a cookie dough influence whatsoever. The pack suggested I ate the 88.0g box in two sittings .... I must admit I gave up on these after a few mouthfuls.

Overall this product just goes to prove that if something sounds to good to be true ... it probably is. The combination of peanut butter and cookie dough sounds absolutely sinful. the only really sinful thing about these was how bad they were. It is pretty simple to see where these went wrong - the taste not only lacked of peanut butter but also cookie dough which was obviously never going to a good story for a product billed as peanut butter flavoured cookie dough. Although these were the ones I was most looking forward to trying I still have one flavour left and that review will be coming shortly. In regards to these though I would advise you to leave them well alone and choose either a Reese's product or another from the Taste of Nature range.

4.2 out of 10

Head to Candy Pirate for all your American Candy & Chocolate needs

July 23rd: Lindt Tropical Temptation

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

Following on from my review of the Lindt Carribean Dream the other day I today tried another similarly themed bar named 'Tropical Temptation'. Of course as is normal practice I must thank Dean-German-Grocery for providing me the opportunity to sample this product - my mind boggles sometimes at the thought of what the chocolate store shelves look like in German supermarkets as there just seem to be a never ending amount of different flavours and formats. The added ingredients to todays milk chocolate bar were mango, pineapple and passionfruit which I thought made for a pretty interesting if a little busy sounding mix.

The bar came in a standard 100.0g format that I ate over the course of three sittings with the help of some willing friends. I thought the packaging had nice stand out as the pictures of the fruit immediately grabbed my attention and highlighted the fruity nature of the product with their variance in colours. As always the bar was nicely sealed by a branded silver foil layer which did its usual job of maintaining the aesthetics of the chocolate itself. On pack the wrapper displayed the chocolate to have small bits embedded in it - when I inspected the bar these were very sparse in their integration and when it came to eating it didn't have a notable impact on the texture. Up to this point the product really had been billed up in my mind to provide a big fruit punch and this was only further cemented by the sweet fruity smells that were emitted when I broke the foil seal.

One thing I must say about this bar was that the taste was very consistent despite there being three different fruits involved. Part of me was expecting each of them to come through stronger in certain blocks but what I found was that each block pretty much tasted the same. In terms of cocoa strength the milk chocolate was a little underpowered for me and at times I thought that too much of an emphasis had been placed on the milk flavours making it more of a carrier for the fruit elements involved. Despite this I don't think this chocolate could ever be accused of lacking flavour as the fruit elements certainly built upon the creamy base taste. The first fruit to come to the part was the pineapple which had a constant sweet sugary presence throughout the majority of the taste. As the smooth melt of the chocolate progressed the more distinct flavours of the mango and passionfruit came in to play with their slightly tarter more soured fruit notes. The contrast between the sweet pineapple and slightly more acidic flavours of the mango and passionfruit were on the whole pretty well balanced, though I must say that in the aftertaste of some blocks I did get a slight burning sensation at the back of my throat which put me off consuming this chocolate in any great quantity.

Overall the sheer amount of fruit flavoured chocolates I have tried this Summer has meant that this one has sort of just blurred in my memory. By that I mean that as far as it goes it was a pretty decent chocolate, yet it did nothing to make it really stand out in my mind as something spectacular like say the Hotel Chocolat Tutti Frutti. The milk chocolate was prehaps a little on the weak side for me but on the balance of things I guess the milder cocoa taste allowed the different fruit influences to come into play a little more. The fruits flavours were balanced reasonably well though at times the acidic nature of all them combined did get a little wearing on the throat. If you fancy getting stuck into some fruit flavoured chocolate this summer this is a very decent one to get involved with, but just not the best.

8.4 out of 10

Head to Dean-German-Grocery for all your German Chocolate Needs!