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Kcal 494 Fat 27.7g Fat(sats) 17.5g Carbs 54.7g (per 100.0g)As I told you guys all last Saturday, the reviews are really starting to mount up in terms of my backlog, so this week you are getting another bonus Saturday review. Over the past month or so packages have been flying in from all corners of the globe: from the US, Canada, Germany and most recently from New Zealand. It has been a while since I last reviewed something sent to me by friends from ShopenZed (a Southern Hemisphere sourcing food exporter - Website HERE), but since last year a number of new products have appeared on their market. The main contributor to all this new product development is Cadbury, and today I bring you the first of many upcoming reviews - the Cadbury Old Gold Toffee Crunch.
This bar came in a 200.0g format and came described as 'Old Gold Dark chocolate with toffee crunch pieces'. Given the large size of the bar, I shared it along with some work colleagues who were very excited to try an exotic Cadbury chocolate they had never seen before. I think one of the main drivers of the excitement was the outer cardboard box, which got many complimentary mentions for it's very premium look. The gold colours and sophisticated looking fonts struck a note with a number of my colleagues, and brought about comments like 'this looks very posh for a Cadburys product' etc. Maintaining the high quality from the exterior packaging, the inner chocolate was similarly pleasant on the eye, with the toffee pieces visually dispersed well throughout the very dark looking chocolate.
Up until breaking the chocolate in to pieces I can't say that I detected any forthcoming aromas, though upon doing so an enticing array of chocolate and sweet caramel scents overcame my senses. In terms of foretelling the taste these smells did a pretty decent job, and thankfully I can say that the Australian Old Gold dark chocolate was superior to our UK Cadbury Bournville. Long time ChocolateMission readers will be aware that I am no fan of Bournville chocolate, as I think it is bland in taste and has a poor lazy melt. in comparison I found the Old Gold to be more forthcoming with it's cocoa flavours, and I thought it had more depth with a pleasant coffee like note in it's aftertaste. Just as many mass produced dark chocolates are, this was more of a mass consumer friendly unsweetened chocolate as opposed to a full bodied dark chocolate experience. What with this being the case, I have to say it wasn't the finest of dark chocolates I have ever tasted, but it nicely complimented the toffee crunch element. Speaking of the toffee pieces, I waited until the chocolate had melted away before crunching down on them once they were left on my tongue. As soon as they were chewed on, a plethora of sweet caramel flavours were detectable, and they contrasted very nicely with the more bitter notes left by the melted chocolate. On the whole this was a richer flavour experience than your average milk chocolate, and I would say a decent sized serving (30-40g) was a more than satisfying amount.
Overall I wouldn't like to give the impression that this Old Gold is high quality dark chocolate (it isn't!), but compared to some other mass produced dark chocolates it certainly puts up a good case as being one of the better I have tried. If I was to eat this Old Gold chocolate in isolation from any flavour enhancing ingredient, I'm not sure I would have been quite so complimentary, but paired with this Toffee Crunch element it was certainly a good combination. The contrast of the unsweetened chocolate and the very sweet tasting toffee pieces worked very well, and the balance it created was probably far superior to what would have been had the toffee been paired with a sweeter chocolate like Dairy Milk. As I said in my opening paragraph this is only one of the many new Cadbury products to hit the market in Australia and New Zealand, and thanks to Shopenzed you will see many of them appearing here on the site in the near future. This Cadbury Old Gold Toffee Crunch was a great start - I hope the rest are just as good.
8.3 out of 10
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23 comments:
This looks really nice, and the packaging is very Lindt -esque isn't it! :) I think I'd enjoy this bar very much.
I have to admire Cadbury for bringing such a wide variety of new products to the table in this country and abroad - some have been more successful than others but at least theyve bothered. The likes of Nestle and Mars really need to pull their fingers out!
Sounds nice. I've always wanted a bit more variety with 'plain' chocolate, but I've never been a big fan of Bournville. Tesco do some nice dark chocolates in their own brand range such as fruit and nut. The combination I'd really like them to do is dark chocolate with caramel.
Cadbury doesn't even come in to my thinking when I fancy some dark chocolate. Bournville really does suck big time.
I'm looking forward to seeing what new Cadburys bars they have brought out there. I still find it hard to comprehend that Cadbury make chocolate outside of the UK.
It was only a few weeks back that I thought they were just a UK based company.
This isn't the sort of chocolate I would go for at all but I do love the package.
It does look a little too posh to be Cadbury lol. I don't think they normally look tacky but this looks more like a Lindt chocolate.
Dx
I don't mind Bournville at all so I think I would like Old Gold. I'm not really in to really strong dark chocolate, so ones this sort of strength are about perfect for me.
Nice review Jim. I prefer you reviewing stuff on Saturdays :-)
Cool its good news to hear that you have a few things to review from New Zealand.
I don't ever see or hear about anything they have over there, so it will be cool to see what they have to offer.
I don't like dark chocolate of any kind no matter who makes it. The only one I have ever tried and thought was ok was a bit I tried from Thorntons. Apart from that I just stay well away from the stuff :D I bet I would like the toffee if it was in milk or white chocolate.
Whats with the continual snipeing at cadburys bournville? Is there even any point mentioning it if your just going to be downcast about it.
Some people might actually like it you know.
That is one very cool looking chocolate. I would well want to try that.
That is one very cool looking chocolate. I would well want to try that.
Jim are you going to be writing up about the big chocolate and candy expo they had in American over the last week. I have seen snippets about it on other websites but I haven't seen a proper write up. Being the guru of chocolate you had to have gone right?
The wrapper is fancy pants for cadbury lol.
I really like the sound of this chocolate. I don't like bitter dark chocolate so this sounds like a nice compromise for my tastes.
Booo where is our chocolate news.
I don't think I would bother with a chocolate like this. If I want dark chocoalte I would always pick something made by Lindt or someone more known for their dark chocoalte.
Its great how you get to try all these different chocolates from all over the world, it makes for very interesting reading.
I don't care for this chocolate that much myself, but thats because I don't really like dark chocolate. Its interesting to see they don't use the Bournville brand in other countries I guess it it is because it wouldn't mean much in those countries.
Yummy I like the sound of toffee and dark chocoalte. I still think the nicest toffee chocolate you can get is the one from Thorntons. It comes in a yellow square box, its very good trust me.
Im licking my lips at this. I just read some of your reviews about the whittakers chocolates. They sound pretty amaze.
Tut tut Jim you need to warn us if you are posting another review. I nearly didn't visit today but luckily I did.
I don't really like the look of this if im honest. The only cadbury chocolate I do like is Dairy Milk and I never buy anything else from them.
@Alex I think Jim makes reference to the fact he doesn't like Bournville once in his review. He is allowed an opinion on something, it's hardly like he is telling people not to buy it.
The more I look at the wrapper the more I like it. It is very posh looking for a Cadbury bar.
Cybercandy don't stock any of the bars you review from these guys. I reckon they must buy old stock or something. Or it must get old by the time they get hold of it anyway.
Its great to see all the new chocolates. Thanks for the extra review Jim.
Toffee Choc FTW
lol Alex has given me the courage to confess I used to love Bournville Dark...mind you, it was not the UK version, and I wasn't the only one who preferred it, so I'm guessing the UK vs local recipe is different, just like in many of their bars? Either way, it is always nice to be forewarned.
Saturday/Sunday reviews are nice but if it's either/or vs news, I vote for the news roundup, too.
Alan
I thought you would like the packaging. I agree Cadbury do seem like one of the most active manufactures when it comes to innovation. It does vary by region to region though. Just look at Nestle in the Far East markets.
Phil
I would like to see a really high end manufacture like Hotel Chocolat try out a dark chocolate and soft caramel product. That isn't something I can recall any doing expertly yet (I'm sure I am probably forgetting a blatant example!).
I haven't ever really tried Tescos own brand chocolate. I will resist reviewing them on the site as that would open up another 50 or so chocolates in Tesco alone.
Nick
The same can be said for me. In this country anyway!
Daisy
It looks like you were thinking along the same lines as Alan. I wonder if they meant it to look like Lindt.
David
Yep plenty more to come from New Zealand and Australia in next few weeks. I hope you enjoy the reviews.
Katie
Dark chocolate isn't for everyone. It wasn't all that long ago that I thought I didn't like the stuff. It is still worth trying it every now and then as our tastebuds change as we get older.
Alex
Continual Sniping? I don't see how me mentioning that I don't like it a few times can be deemed as 'continual sniping' ... you should read the review again.
Anon
Agreed - it didn't taste too bad either.
Justin
Nope I didn't go. I wasn't ever going to go to America just for that ... although I wish I could :D There is a great post up on sugarpressure.com There look to be some really exciting products coming out soon.
Emma
It could well be. If you like milder dark chocolates you should try the 50% recipes that the likes of Hotel Chocolat and Lindt offer. I think you might really get on with them.
Steven
Yeah I think you could well be right. Bournville wouldn't mean anything to people in Australia or New Zealand so it makes more sense naming it Old Gold. Essentially they are two different chocolates aswell.
JT
Are you talking about the one LinkedIn up the review :D I have reviewed that one before last year.
Sally
Good to hear you like reading the Whittakers reviews because I got more coming up soon. I hope you enjoy them aswell.
Lauren
Sorry - I just have such a backlog at the moment I need to use up as many reviews as possible! Too much chocolate with too little time.
Golden
Thanks I didn't think I went over the top with my referencing to Bournville either. Maybe he lives there :D
David
I have no idea when Cybercandy buy their stock in. They seems to stock a consistent range from Australia and New Zealand which unfortunately doesn't include this bar.
Thea
Like I said the backlog is getting quite large so I had to get some reviews up on the site.
Re: Bournville - each to their own etc! Just because I don't like it doesn't make it a bad chocolate. Its just my own opinion :D
Next week I doubt there will be a review or a news post up .... it is the first England game of the world cup so I will be preoccupied with that! I have something special planned for that day :D
Thanks everyone - glad you are looking forward to more reviews from Shopeenzed! Some of them coming up are very interesting I promise!
JIM
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