August 17th: Cadbury KOKO

Kcal 75 Fat 5.3g Fat(sats) 2.9g Carbs 6.2g (per truffle)

Last week Phil and Susanne brought to my attention that Cadbury had announced that they would be bringing a new product to market titled KOKO. According to a Cadbury spokesperson KOKO is a product marketed at the woman's sector of the market, so I don't suppose anyone at Cadbury will really give a monkeys what I write about it given I am completely the wrong demographic. Regardless, I couldn't help feeling a tingle of excitement when I saw these sitting on the shelf of my local Sainsbury's - everyone loves a new product afterall don't they!

On a special introductory offer, £2.99 of my hard earned pounds bought me 200.0g of 'milk chocoalte truffles encased in milk chocolate'. I would say inside there were about twenty chocolates, all of which were wrapped in brown foil wrappers with the words KOKO branded across each in a stylish golden font. In regards to presentation I must say as I was really impressed despite obviously being completely the other end of the spectrum in terms of target market. The outer cardboard box was nicely designed and patterned nicely with a mixutre of pink, brown and beige colours. I also thought the inner wrappers were equally as impressive, not only maintaining the stylish look but maintaining the chocolates in ammaculate condition with a nice bit of dual foil layering.

As soon as I opened the wrappers it was immediatedly apparent that these were going to be straight up Cadbury chocolate - nothing more, nothing less. The usual milk based dairy scents were highly reminiscent of usual favourites such as plain Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cadbury Freddos etc ... this was of course by no means a bad thing. Although this is to be confirmed by any credible source I believe Cadbury have two types of milk chocolate that they use across their portfolio - Dairy Milk and another ever so slightly different recipe they use for Freddos and similar products. In my opinion there is one very minor diferrence between the two, with the latter being a touch more sugar rooted in taste and a just a touch less creamy - these KOKO truffles inhibited exactly that. The taste experience was consistent throughout, with the outer chocolate and inner filling not differing in any manner. I guess this may sound a little unexciting but I happened to think it worked nicely, with the two contrasting textures of the harder outer chocolate and smoother inner filling complimenting the flow of the creamy chocolaty flavours superbly. Each chocolate didn't particularly last that long in the mouth due to the softness of the centres, but eating three of these truffles in a sitting felt like an indulgent treat and certainly went a long way to satisfying a well needed chocolate hit.

Overall these wern't exactly a product that hit me for six but at the same time I couldn't help but fall for their wonderful yet pretty simple Cadbury appeal. I don't know what it is about Cadbury milk chocolate but for me it just seems to have a wonderful appeal and for a mass produced confection it simply has to be up there as one of the best tasting. I guess a slight disappointment with this product is that I think it was produced with Cadbury's secondary recipe rather than their glorious Dairy Milk. Truth be told I percieve very little difference between the two and frankly I am sure that most normal people wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyway so it is understandable why they have done it. KOKO obviously isn't the most revolutionary of products ever, but it is still a tasty set of truffles nonetheless. If your a fan of Cadbury milk chocolate this is simply a no brainer, you should give these a try soon -for £2.99 you can't really complain.

8.2 out of 10

August 16th: '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' - Edition 10

It has been another really hectic week on the site with a record number of people visiting - lets take a look at what we got up to:


The ChocolateMission Omnibus:

The week started off with my reviewing Willie Harcourt-Cooze's Delectable Cocoa Bars which you may remember from the series in which he starred on Channel 4. Personally I thought his bars were of a fair standard, but were by no means the best chocolate bars in the world such as he claims. Seemingly not many had actually tried Willie's bars with a lot of people mentioning the high price as the reason why. Those that had tried the chocolates, like CM reader Alun, had also come to similar conclusions than my own.

Later on in the week I got stuck into my first Schogetten bar, before trying my luck with Sarotti's Sao Thome dark chocolate. Both these chocolates split opinion so it will be interesting to see what the other bars from both these ranges offer.

On Friday I tried a rather odd product from Niederegger in the form of their 'Marzipan Potatoes'. Readers such as Alan and David thought similarly to myself in that the concept was completely out of left field, but thankfully Susanne was on hand to provide us with a quite reasonable explanation as to why these are quite the novelty in Germany - check out the review HERE to see why.


News from the Chocolate Market:

* This article was actually pointed out last week by Phil but it mysteriously disappeared before he could send the link. Susanne was on hand though to point me in the right direction on Monday to this press announcement .... Cadbury have launched a new product named KOKO - a truffle based Dairy Milk product aimed at the womans market. I have already managed to get hold of them myself so expect a review tomorrow. See HERE

* Nestle have recorded a first half rise of 4.3% USG (underlying sales growth ... in English SALES!) within the confectionery portfolio ... I wonder what will happen in Q3 with the introduction of Kit Kat Caramel Chunky? See HERE

* The FSA (Food Standards Agency) have issued a warning to foods manufactures about the level of saturated fat contained in our foods. See HERE

* I announced last week that Thorntons were moving their business abroad (again!) ... there is more on this move HERE


Posts from other Blogs I enjoyed this week:

* GiGi Reviews - Brought back many memories of Root Beer Floats at Disney theme parks that I used to have as a nipper with her review of Dryers/Edy's new ice cream. See HERE

* Japanese Snack Reviews - These Lotte Chocolate Coated Caramel Macadamias really caught my eye and got me back in the mood for tasting some more far east goods. See HERE

* CandyBlog - Should we really be encouraging children to put Lego blocks in their mouths? I'm not sure but Cybele thought these Chuao Chocolate Blocks from Legoland were damn tasty. See HERE

* Impulsive Buy - These review had me really intrigued!? Why on earth would Burger King be involved in making French Toast flavoured snacks!? By the looks of it they shouldn't have bothered. See HERE

* Unreserved Seating - This is a new site set up that tracks one mans travelling round various football grounds here in the UK ... hey who knows if his team performs a minor miracle and gets into Europe he could check out some stadiums abroad. Genuinely a great idea for a site and well worth checking out to see the wonderful views of our football grounds from a fans perspective. See HERE


### Jim's Corner & question of the week ###

Yes indeed a new small section for me to let some steam off my chest. It has been a great week for the site with a wave of new contributors regularly adding their thoughts to the reviews. This is something I always welcome as it is great to hear from the people that read ... whether you agree or don't feel free to leave me a comment by clicking the small little box under the score graph.

It has been a busy week for myself at work so apologies if I have been late replying to your comments. Unfortunately comment moderation will have to stay on for the minute as there is still a lingering nuisance attempting to contribute where not welcome.

I must give an additional thanks to Susie from Germany this week who was kind enough to send me some pictures of a German confectionery fixture (shelves!) from her local supermarket. It was really interesting to see the amount of variety they have out there, so much so I might do a comparison post with our UK shelves to show the huge difference ... that's if there is demand for that sort of thing!? Which leads me nicely to question of the week ...

'Would you like to see some special feature posts on this website? If so what sort of things would you like to see? I could do interviews with relevant industry people? Manufacture features e.g. small independent companies? Cross cultural confectionery market comparisons? The possibilities are endless ..... or simply I could just stick to reviews?

Right best round off this week - look out for my review of the Cadbury KOKO published Monday as well as some more reviews from the Schogetten range. Good luck to our lads playing the final Ashes test starting on the 20th! Fingers crossed it goes to day 5 as I have tickets!

Best Wishes and have great weeks!

Jim

August 15th: Milka Marzipan-Creme

Kcal 510 Fat 31.5g Carbs 50.0g (per 100.0g)

Once again I have to start off yet another review by issuing my thanks to reader Lottie who made another contribution to the ChocolateMission cause by kindly donating this bar for me to review. Dean-German-Grocery normally supply me my fill of Milka products though this just so happened to be one of the very few that they hadn't sent me yet. This bar was formed of 'semi-sweet Alpine milk chocolate with a both a marzipan and cocoa creme filling'. The only instance where I had tried a marzipan based Milka product before was in one of the Milka Easter egg products; looking back on that review I wasn't particularly complimentary of it - I hoped for better things today.

Like so many Milka products that have gone before this was yet another from the 100.0g range and was split into several bite sized blocks. The outer packaging implemented the standard Milka design theme with the marzipan flavour communicated through the red secondary colour and almond nut pictures. As you may be able to tell from my photo above the bar I ate did suffer from some slight melting issues in the post but I still thought the actual construction of the bar was well executed with just about the right amount of marzipan in each block. In regards to the aroma of the chocolate it was all relatively appealing and was a fusion of nice chocolaty and nut based smells.

When it comes to marzipan I seem to like very few brands outside of the Niederegger and Zentis portfolios. Generally I find other brands to be rather generic with a lot of them providing the same sort sugary, dry experience and thats not even going into the standard of the chocolate that generally accompanies them (even the Niederegger chocolate isn't great!). With this in mind on the whole I guess I was more impressed rather than disappointed with what this Milka bar had to offer. The dark chocolate that coated the marzipan of course wasn't really that dark at all - it was just the standard Alpine Milk chocolate with a much lower level of sweetness. This might sound like a criticism but I thought it was actually pretty damn tasty. Milka Alpine Milk chocolate tends to be a tiny bit of the sweet side for me, so I really enjoyed the creamy taste without harshness of the sugar. The hazelnut noted aftertaste of the chocolate also nicely led into the almond flavours of the inner marzipan which in regards to quality I have to say wasn't anywhere near Niederegger or Zentis standards ... but that is not to say it wasn't passable. Compared to the aforementioned brands it was a little on the dry and crumbly side and lacked a little in terms of focus on its almond flavours. I think it is worth bearing in mind that these are indeed high standards and I enjoyed this bar enough to eat it across three different sittings.

Overall one way to look at this review would be to conclude that this was neither the best Milka or marzipan bar I have ever tried. More positively though it could be viewed in the light that it was still pretty damn tasty and was a bar that provided me a great deal of satisfaction. As I mentioned above the problem with most marzipan products is that a lot of the time the chocolate that accompanies it is more often than not pretty poor. On the contrary the semi-sweet Alpine Milk chocolate that coated this bar was pretty damn enjoyable and I must say that I even might prefer to the standard Alpine Milk chocolate that is implemented on 99% of Milka products. If your looking for great tasting marzipan your probably best looking elsewhere - if its a bit of a change up from your usual Milka bar though you could do a lot worse than this.

7.9 out of 10

August 14th: Niederegger Marzipan Potatoes

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

Dean-German-Grocery seem pretty content with giving me the opportunity to review a Niederegger product a week at present and I for one am not complaining. I stand firm in the belief that they make some of the best marzipan around and given the fact I am not that greater fan of the stuff it must obviously be of a pretty good quality considering I am never one to turn them down. I noted last week in my review of the Niederegger Marzipan Ginger that Niederegger produce their products in all different formats. Ranging from standard bars, loaves and fingers they seemingly do it all; as I was too find out today they also do 'Potatoes' ... what on earth!?

These were a pretty unusual product and came in a 100.0g pack that included twelve pieces. They were simply balls of marzipan with a light dusting of cocoa which made them look startlingly like smallish, round new potatoes. I guess the idea was that this would have some sort of novelty appeal but to be honest it was just a little lost on me. Why on earth would you want to make a marzipan confection look like a potato - I thought they didn't look appetising at all. Despite being almost afraid to taste these my confidence was somewhat restored when I peeled back the plastic seal and was met with a nice wave of familiar sweet nutty smells.

Feeling a little more at ease due to the enticing scents I of course got well and truly stuck in. It will come as no surprise to you that the marzipan was of the usual awesomely high standard I am used to. I have described the taste enough times but I can seemingly never get enough of the doughy, almond flavours that subside the forthcoming sweetness so well. The culmination of the different influences result in a sweet and nutty bread like taste that is as satisfying as it is moreish. One aspect of these 'Potatoes' that I wasn't so sure of (aside from the looks!) was the cocoa dusting that lined each piece. Apart from making them look awful the powder added nothing to the flavour of any note and just seemed to suck some of the moisture out of each piece. I managed to eat four of these in a single sitting which I thought complimented a mid-morning coffee perfectly.

Overall I just simply don't know what Niederegger were thinking when they came up with the idea of taking some of the best marzipan in the world and making it look totally inedible. The marzipan itself here was of the usual incredible standards but the cocoa dusting was just a total disaster which ever way you look at it. It was not only detrimental to the texture as it dried it out slightly but even more inexcusably it made the product look totally unappetising. As I said above maybe, just maybe someone, somewhere may see the novelty of marzipan that looks like a potato. This concept was totally lost on me though - if your going to go Niederegger your best off sticking to another part of their range.

6.9 out of 10

Head to Dean-German-Grocery to buy all your German Chocolate - Click HERE

August 13th: Sarotti No. 1 Sao Thome

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

Sarotti's No. 1 range hardly got off to the greatest starts on ChocolateMission when I reviewed the 'Mexico Chilli' variant back in January. Dean-German-Grocery however saw fit to kindly send me another from the No. 1 product line in the form of this 'Sao Thome' bar. As the packaging was all in German I don't actually know the significance of the Sao Thome name to the bar!? What I could determine was that this was a '75% cacoa bittersweet chocolate with caramelised cocoa kernel splinters'.

Unfortunately the bar didn't care to share its nutritional information which would have been handy given that it was 100.0g in size. This Sao Thome variant looked much the same as the Mexico Chilli bar, though the front of pack displayed a very out of focus shot of some crumbled cocoa beans. Despite there being a slight blooming effect evident on the surface of the chocolate I didn't see fit to reflect that in the presentation score as with most of the bars from Germany it had clocked up several miles making its way to me for a review. Despite the not so fresh aesthetic appeal the smell that emanated from the chocolate was relatively forthcoming and offered some fair honey and cocoa scents.

Although this bar was stronger than the Mexico Chilli variant it shared many of the same problems. The taste was ridiculously slow to get started, and it seemed like the chocolate was in my mouth for an age before the flavours really started to make an impact. The initial melt itself wasn't too much of a problem as it was relatively thick and smooth. At the point where the cocoa kernel splinters were revealed however the texture had a rougher grainy nature. Mid-melt the flavours were subdued, yet pleasant enough and were predominantly cocoa led but with an ever present touch of sugar that added sweetness. When it came to the aftertaste the cocoa kernel pieces took over and when crunched released an unforgiving burnt charcoal like influence that left a bitter aftertaste in the mouth. Frankly the cocoa kernel splinters really didn't do it for me and in my opinion made the product less enjoyable as they negated both taste and texture.

Overall this wasn't one my favourite products ever and will most likely never bother having again. The dark chocolate was slow out the blocks in terms of its flavours, which although was forgivable was definitely frustrating. As I have noted already the real problem I had with this chocolate was the inclusion of the cocoa kernel pieces, which I felt didn't enhance the product in any manner. This is not a bar I will be recommending purely on the basis that I know there are better dark chocolate options out there. If your looking for a decent German dark chocolate in my mind you have to look no further than Lindt.

6.3 out of 10

Want to try this bar for yourself? Find this bar and many more German Snacks & Groceries at Dean-German-Grocery

August 12th: Berggold Streusel Kugeln

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

Today saw another ChocolateMission first with me trying out my first ever Berggold product which again came to me direct from Germany thanks to Dean-German-Grocery. If their website is to be believed Berggold were first founded in 1876 - that sounded like a bloody long time to be making chocolates to me so I hoping that these would prove to be rather good. I am not entirely sure what the direct translation for Streusel Kugeln is, but Dean-German-Grocery had these billed as 'chocolate flavoured rum balls'. Generally I find liqueur flavoured chocolates to be a bit hit or miss so I had my fingers crossed that I would like these.

I received these chocolates in a 200.0g pack that included about twenty or so individual pieces. The packaging was a little on the basic side with the chocolates left to randomly roll round in the gold coloured plastic tray. Although they were only protected by a single plastic film layer this still managed to maintain a quite strong, curious sweet floral like smell that became quite apparent when the packet was opened. I guess on the whole I wasn't altogether that enthused by either the presentation of the outer packaging or the smell but I thought the look of the actual chocolates themselves was a little more exciting with the outer chocolate sprinkles nicely hiding the inner contents of each piece.

As you can tell up to this point I was intrigued to what lay below the outer shell of these chocolates - having now eaten them I probably would have been better off keeping my curiosity as I wasn't all that impressed. As you will see from the pictures above each chocolate had a coating of chocolate sprinkles. Although I was none to impressed by the quality of the chocolate flavour hit the sprinkles delivered there was just something about the sugary, crunchiness that brought back some nice nostalgic memories of having them on ice cream when I was younger. Where on the one hand the chocolate sprinkles were enjoyable to some extent, what lay below was simply pretty bad. The centre of each piece was formed of a sugar based fondant that contributed only a raw burst of sickly, sugary flavours. When in the mouth the taste was majoritly dominated by the sugar, though the aftertaste was noted with an odd fruity, rum tinge that seemed out of context given their lateness to the party. I have to say I got nowhere near finishing my pack of these - a few was enough before I decided I had better products in need of reviewing and I left them to be devoured by the rest of my family.

Overall most products at least manage to scrap a score of 7.0 on this site so if your hitting the lower 5.0s like this Berggold offering you know it has to be one I didn't like. My enjoyment of this product started and ended with the chocolate sprinkles; indeed they are a bit of a trashy ingredient but for me they had a nostalgic appeal despite their sickly nature. Personally I found the dry nature of the inner texture and shockingly sweet, monotonous taste just a bit on the boring side. It wasn't that these tasted all that terrible, it was just that given the amount of different products I get to try they were probably nearer the lower end of the scale in terms of chocolates that I actually enjoyed. I guess the truly telling thing was that after one I wasn't really wanting to have another and was yearning for something that was going to deliver me a true chocolate fix. Even for those that enjoy their rum flavoured chocolates I wouldn't recommend these as I think there are better options out there for you (Look HERE).

5.2 out of 10

Head to Dean-German-Grocery for all your German Chocolate & Candy Needs

August 11th: Trumpf Schogetten Cappuccino

Kcal 561 Fat 36.0g Carbs 55.0g (per 100.0g)

I have to start off todays review by sending a big muchos gracias in the direction of ChocolateMission reader Lottie who recently very generously sent me a few Schogetten bars to get stuck into. Chocolate that originates from Germany is very well represented on this site thanks by and large to Dean-German-Grocery. For whatever reason though Trumpf's Schogetten range is one that I have never got around to taking a look at ... until now of course. Lottie sent me three bars from their range and I decided to first get stuck into this Cappuccino flavoured bar. Billed as 'milk chocolate filled with a cappuccino flavoured creme' it appealed to me and I was hoping that it would be equally as good as the Ritter Sport Cappuccino bar.

The product originated from Saarlouis, Germany and came in a 100.0g size. I thought the presentation was all rather fair - it wasn't exactly the most eye catching, nor was it bad in anyway shape or form. One thing that I did like about the bar was how each of the individual blocks were already separated inside- even if it did catch me out at first sending bits of chocolate all over the place! Doh! When I was finished flinging the blocks across the room I took a smell of the bar and found that it emanated a rather mild instant coffee like smell.

A fair few readers of commented on how tasty this bar is, so I was genuinely looking forward to trying it for myself. Maybe because of the build up I was really expecting it to have a big X-factor but unfortunately this was the one thing I thought it truly lacked. The chocolate contained 30% cocoa and tasted like a bit of a halfway house between Ritter Sport and Milka. It wasn't as sweet as Milka yet had the same hazelnut hint in its aftertaste. Personally I felt that it was neither scintillating to the taste buds, neither was it anything to be disappointed with. Sitting at the heart of each of the blocks was the cappuccino filling to which I also had rather mixed feelings about. The transition from the slightly rougher texture of the outer chocolate to the smoother inner filling was well managed and melted at a nice pace allowing each different element to establish itself on the taste. In regards to taste my perceptions weren't quite as positive and I was failed to be bowled over by the cappuccino flavours. As I ate more of the bar I did come to enjoy the creamy nature of the mild coffee influence but something in the back of my mind couldn't help but remind me that it tasted rather like the instant cappuccino drink that I get from my work office vending machine. I ate this bar over the course of two separate occasions and felt both times that it provided an adequate snack - nothing more or less.

Overall reading back over the above I can see how this review might be perceived as a bit on the negative side. Truth be told this bar neither struck me as being great or bad ... on the balance of things it was pretty average. For me I think where this bar mostly stumbled was in the strength of its coffee flavours. I am a black coffee man so I am used to far stronger, more full on coffee flavours rather than the creamier mild ones that the filling here delivered. If I was looking for a coffee flavoured chocolate this probably wouldn't be the first bar that would spring to mind in order to get my fix, yet at the same time I wouldn't say that this should be a bar that deserves being dismissed straightaway. If you take your coffee weak and milky this could well be a chocolate that you would enjoy. More Schogetten coming soon!

7.2 out of 10

August 10th: Willie's Delectable Cacoa Rio Caribe Superior / San Martin

Around the same time I started this website a chap by the name of Willie Harcourt-Cooze started his own ChocolateMission of creating the worlds best chocolate (Article HERE). His mission unlike my own was accompanied by a TV series on channel 4 (one of the most popular TV channels here in the UK). The programmes charted Willie's journey from sourcing his cocoa beans, setting up his production in the UK, all the way to the point of producing the bars like I have reviewed today.

Due to the success of the TV series these bars have been a little tricky to get hold of. Luckily for me though ChocolateMission reader Emma was ever so kind in picking these up from Selfridges and sending them to me.

In regards to presentation I thought the bars were relatively well designed. Both came in 80.0g forms with both the variants containing two smaller 40.0g thick square pieces. In regards to the outer packaging both boxes were well decorated with some nice looking fonts and interesting information about how the bars were crafted. Whilst I liked the appearance of the chocolate I have to admit it wasn't the practical to eat. The 40.0g blocks were short and stubby which meant breaking them up without them melting on the hands was a little messy.

Having assessed everything but the taste there was only one question left to answer and that was if Willie had created the best chocolate in the world ...

Willie's Delectable Cacoa Venezuelan 72% Rio Caribe Superior:

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

According to the blurb the cocoa beans used for this bar originate from the finest cocoa regions in Venezuela and are roasted in Willie's chocolate factory in England using 100 year old chocolate making machinery .... wooo! This had to be good right?

From the off I could tell this was going to be a full flavoured chocolate as the fresh smell of the cocoa was immediately evident once the golden foil was opened. This was all but confirmed when I placed the first piece in my mouth as the intense flavours took no time at all to establish themselves. The cocoa flavours were raw and earthy and made a distinct impression in the mouth throughout the duration of the melt. Speaking of the melt I liked the pace and slight bit of grit that could be felt as it transformed into a thick cocoa liquor in the mouth. Going back to the taste the flavours were pleasant yet not all that progressive and I felt that there was a touch of sugar or vanilla needed in the aftertaste to make the lasting impression a little more friendly.

Overall as you will have noticed this was my favourite out of the two and would probably be the one I would buy again if it came to it. As far as dark chocolate goes this was of a fair to good standard but nothing truly made it stand out from other more well rounded chocolates I have had before. The cocoa strength was there but it didn't show much progression from its initial dark, roasted flavour set and the aftertaste was begging for just a touch of sweetness to make it a more well rounded taste.

8.3 out of 10

Willie's Delectable Cacoa Peruvian 70% San Martin:

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

Selected from the province of San Martin in Peru the cocoa beans used in this bar were also roasted and formed in chocolate in Willie's factories here in the UK. Although both bars looked exactly the same had you blindfolded me I could easily have told them apart due to some quite evident differences.

For starters the smell of this bar was a little less intense and had some sweeter fruitier hints amongst the evident cocoa scents. In regards to taste the flavours were slower to develop and the cocoa was a bit more steady with the taste amplifying as the melt progressed. The taste overall was not quite as strong as the Venezuelan bar had more of murkier dark coffee noted taste that was well established once the melt was in full flow. Noticeably the melt itself lacked the slight grit and grip on the tongue compared to the Rio Cabre and had a softer, smoother feel. One commonality that both bars did share was the lack of thought in the aftertaste. Just like the Rio Cabre the San Martin could also have done with a little X-factor to nicely round off the experience.

Overall I guess a preference between the two will largely be down to personal perceptions - in my case it was the Rio Cabre. The main reason for this was because I liked the way it was exerting in terms of its flavours straight away. The San Martin bar took a little too long 'getting to the point' with its flavours and the lack of texture in the melt meant that its flavours didn't last quite as long. As I have said this would all be down to personal preference and I wouldn't be surprised if most people preferred the smooth tasting and melting San Martin.

7.9 out of 10

Overall I would say Willie hasn't quite created the worlds best chocolate here but he has managed to create some fair standard dark chocolate nonetheless. If you were as intrigued as I was about the programme I would suggest you try these at some point as it was interesting to see what Willie was capable of producing. At the moment I would say Willie isn't quite there in terms of his chocolate ... but I am sure he is far from finished with his journey and his chocolate will most certainly get better with experience.

August 9th: 7Days of Chocolate Reviews - Edition 9

It has been a pretty exciting week on ChocolateMission - lets take a look at what went down ...

The ChocolateMission Omnibus

You lot demanded more UK products ... I delivered more UK products! I kicked off things this week with my review of the re-released Mars Treets which have just made a comeback on our shelves. Personally I thought they were better than M&M's Peanuts but you may want to challenge that view by heading on over to the review HERE.

On Tuesday I bought you guys the first ever review of the Kit Kat Caramel Chunky that Nestle have just replaced our UK Peanut Butter Chunky with. My conclusion was that it was a pretty bad decision and I laminated Nestle for their use of a caramel creme rather than a normal goeey caramel. Once you try it for yourselves be sure to let me know what you think of it HERE.

Unfortunately things didn't get much better in the week and I ended up having the displeasure of trying two orange flavoured chocolate bars. The first was the Lindt Thyme & Orange Fantasy which was an awfully weird mixture of herbs, chocolate and fruit. Next was a bar that reader Alan sent me to try the Dove Cinnamon and Orange ... this wasn't much better.

News from the Chocolate Market:

* Fancy paying £961.48 for a single chocolate bar? Well Cadburys have produced a bar that costs exactly that to celebrate the relaunch of the Wispa Gold. See HERE

* Thorntons are going to try and expand their business in to Europe - See HERE

* After Cadbury announced their spectacular financial results last week the Independent took a look at how they have achieved them. See Here

Posts from other Blogs I enjoyed this week:

* CandyPirate - Not so much a post but more a stock alert! These guys have managed to track down some limited edition M&M's Coconut! Head on over if you like your M&M's. See HERE

* CandyBlog - Cybele got stuck into some of the UK's finest Terry's Chocolate Orange by trying out the Toffee Crunch variant. See HERE

* ImpulsiveBuy - These Nature Valley Nut Clusters strike me as a snack that I won't be able to put down once I open ... they look remarkably similar to our Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Clusters. See HERE

* GiGi Reviews - Followed the yellow brick road to Ben & Jerry's latest limited edition flavours ... boy does this one look good! Lucky Americans eh!? See HERE

* ChocoaBlog - Simon continued looking through Thorntons' award winning range. More of my own reviews of these bars coming very soon. See HERE

Question of the Week:

'If you could change/add one thing to this website what would it be?'

Please be as honest as you want ... any feedback is good feedback

August 8th: Milka Toffee Ganznuss

Kcal 560 Fat 36.5g Fat(sats) 17.5g Carbs 52.0g (per 100.0g)

When the question 'what product would you most like to see return to the shelves' is asked one of the most commonly mentioned bars is the Cadbury Nuts about Caramel. Unfortunately we are yet to see this bar make its triumphant return, however today I got to try a Milka bar which followed much the same idea. This Milka Toffee Ganznuss came described as 'Alpine milk chocolate with a caramel creme filling with added whole hazelnuts', which didn't sound all too dissimilar from the Milka Caramel bar I reviewed back in October last year. If you read this review and like the sound of this bar then I suggest you head to Dean-German-Grocery who sent me this bar to review today.

As you will be able to tell from the picture above this bar wasn't part of the standard 100.0g range but was a part of the mammoth 300.0g Milka selection. Of course with the amount of chocolate I have to eat to keep up with my review schedule I decided to share this with a group of friends as I never would have been able to get through the entire bar myself. On the whole I was very impressed with the packaging and especially liked the on pack illustrations which depicted an enticing, yet still relatively realistic picture of the inner product. The chocolate inside was divided into well sized blocks that were perfect for eating one at a time. When cross-sectioned the inner layers were clearly visible with the inner creme, caramel and whole hazelnut pieces distinguished and visible in each and every piece. In line with expectations the smell was sweet with a hint of nut - by this point I was expecting this bar to deliver big time.

Thankfully I can report that the chocolate didn't let itself down when it came to the taste test and it was thoroughly enjoyed by most people that tried it. The chocolate that coated the bar really brought no surprises - it was very milk based with its sweet, creamy flavours and had just the slightest note of hazelnut. The real delight of this bar though lay within the inner caramel flavoured creme and caramel layers - they were simply delicious. The inner creme provided the softest, cool textured centre that was deliciously creamy with just the slightest toffee hint. The toffee flavours were of course further enhanced by the actual caramel which really drove home the sweet, buttery flavours that were initially set up by the creme. Sitting at the heart of the caramel almost like an end treat to the melt of the chocolate were the hazelnut pieces. To be honest they were a bit hit or miss - in some blocks the nuts were fresh, crunchy and full of woody nut flavours ... in others they were soft, lacking in flavour and on the whole a bit lacklustre - it was a little bit of a lottery.

Overall as I have mentioned the bar was enjoyed by most that tried it and I for one certainly absolutely loved it. In the blocks where the nuts were of a good quality the taste was simply divine and had a devilish moreishness that kept me coming back for more. As is the case with most Milka products some may find the taste a little on the sweet side but frankly if you buy a milk chocolate caramel bar you would be a bit stupid thinking that this wouldn't be the case. I guess for the time being we won't be seeing the Cadbury Nuts about Caramel. This is of course is a little disappointing but having tried this wonderful Milka offering for the moment I will be more than happy settling for this great substitute. If you like your milk chocolate and caramel combination I would really recommend you try this one.

8.9 out of 10

Head to Dean-German-Grocery for all your German Grocery needs

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