Indeed today I bring you my thoughts regarding the Almond and Hazelnut & Currant flavours, both varieties of which I bought in their 100.0g forms. As you will see below, both bars I bought today were kitted out in the new style Green & Black's wrappers. Saying that you would have been hard pushed to tell that about the Almond variant, which looked unfortunately similar to the old style packaging with it's use of a ghastly brown colour. On a more positive note both chocolates looked very generously portioned in regards to their fruit and nut constituents. The Hazelnut & Currant bar especially stood out with it's vast quantities of light coloured nuts evident throughout the dark chocolate.
So how did did they taste?
Kcal 578 Fat 42.2g Carbs 37.7g (per 100.0g)Green & Black's Almond - 'Milk chocolate with whole roasted almonds'. This bar proved a little difficult and messy to break into small pieces, though this was understandable given the large volume of chunky nuts (25% stated on the wrapper). Taste wise I found the 37% milk chocolate was fair in terms of flavour strength, however on the whole it was pretty unremarkable. I have commented in previous reviews about the lack of distinguishable or unique taste attributes that G&B milk chocolate has, this was all too apparent once again but luckily the almond nuts were at hand to add a much needed flavour dimension. The almond nuts were buttery in taste and provided just a little more excitement to sweeter, milkier cocoa flavours established by the chocolate. My only gripe with the almond nuts were that they weren't particularly crunchy, and at times I had parts of their outer skin getting caught in my teeth. Overall whilst this was passable, this wasn't a particularly great nut flavored chocolate and I know there are certainly better options out there.
6.8 out of 10
Kcal 558 Fat 36.7g Carbs 40.3g (per 100.0g)Green & Black's Hazelnut & Currant - 'Dark chocolate with hazelnuts and currants'. Out of the two flavours I was trying out today this was admittedly the one I was more looking forward to trying out. Like the Almond flavour above this bar was similarly hard to break in to smaller blocks what with the considerable presence of the currants (12%) and hazelnuts (12%). Previous reviews have shown that I have tended to score G&B's dark chocolates higher than their milk chocolates but this 60% recipe managed to buck that trend. In contrast to the milk chocolate above, the taste was understandably less sweet with the cocoa more forthcoming in early stages of the flavour development. As the chocolate progressed in melt the taste seem to take more of a citrusy, acidic flavour edge which wasn't particularly to my liking. Had the chopped hazelnuts and sweetness of the currants come through a bit more strongly in taste, I'm sure they would have balanced this acidity. Despite their considerable portioning both the hazelnuts and currants came across as quite underpowered as both struggled to cut through the more dominant chocolate. Overall this chocolate may have looked and sounded the more appealing but it simply didn't reach standards I wanted it to in the taste test. I wouldn't buy this flavour again.
6.4 out of 10
So there you have it ChocolateMission fans - all Green & Black's flavours covered off with two more uninspiring varieties. Neither of these bars were the greatest, but at least I can know say I have full round perspective of what G&B have to offer.
Posts
35 comments:
Oh no I would have thought both of these would have scored better than they have done. I don't think I have ever tried either of them before, but then again it's been ages since I last had anything from green and blacks. Thanks for the review anyway, its good to know to avoid them.
Good idea putting both reviews in one Jim.
Where is the competition today though lol? You have been treating us recently I thought you were going to keep the free choc coming our way.
I don't want green and blacks anyway lol.
I really don't Green and Black's anymore. I used to think it was a really nice brand of chocolate but nowadays it doesn't come across to me as being any more prestigious as either cadburys or galaxy.
I wouldn't ever think it was nice enough to give away as a present, and I would rather have dairy milk for myself. I don't get the time I should be buying it if you get what I mean?
Rxxx
I like the pics Jim v nice.
I have tried the almond one before and I agree that the nuts aren't as nice as they should be. The bar I had the almonds were also lacking in number so I felt ripped off.
I wont be trying the other one now. It sounds just as disappointing tbh.
Oh dear I just bought a few of those G and B mini selections as early xmas presents.
I just checked and they have both of these chocolates in them :( I hope people dont think I am giving them rubbish chocolate now. I may have to rethink who I give them to. Thanks for the review.
Jim have you managed to buy the new Galaxy orange choc yet? Im desperately trying to find it (my g/f saw you mention it the other day and wont stop nagging). If anyone knows where I can buy it please say I will be checking back later. Thanks for the reviews lol I wont be buying her green and blacks now lol.
These people have always been a rip off. They are just dressed up Cadburys chocolate.
I think we should all support british chocolate as much as we can but its increasingly hard to do when there are better alternatives like lindt around.
I have eaten both of these in some form before now and I would give them slightly better ratings than you have Jim. They aren't great but I think they could scrape 7s.
Nice reviews Jim I will have to avoid these now.
I cant even remember the last time I saw or heard anything about green and blacks. I don't understand why they have never done any advertising on them. It's a decent enough brand, but it comes across as old and boring I think.
My only gripe with the almond nuts were that they weren't particularly crunchy, and at times I had parts of their outer skin getting caught in my teeth
Ooooh how uncooth. lol I do hate it when that happens. LOL it drives me positively nuts.
Neither of these bars were the greatest, but at least I can know say I have full round perspective of what G&B have to offer.
Now you have reviewed them all you can have a medal *places medal on head*
Brill reviews lovely.
6.0s from Jim? Bummer!
We haven't see reviews as downcast as this for a bit now, this was a surprise to see them come on these bars.
Why do you say Green &B isn't a brand that excites you much? Do you have a grudge against them lol?
Hey mate cool post. I haven't bought a bar from these guys for a long time but I remember the last dark chocolate I had was pretty nice (I think my mum used it for some cooking!!).
Are you going to be watching England tonight? Im predicting we batter the frogs in our own backyard. I say its going to be 4-1 England.
I'm not surprised at all seeing these get low ratings off you.
When it comes to buying chocolate that is a bit classier than normal stuff like cadburys I almost always choose to get Lindt now.
The brand I have been buying most at the mo is Milka though. My local shop just started buying loads more of the flavours. The Happy Cows is so so good.
I think I will be leaving both of these well alone now. If I wanted a nutty chocolate I would just buy the galaxy roasted hazelnut. I've tried finding your review of it but I didn't have any luck. It would be interesting to see how you rated it vs these two.
At last!!!! A chocolate I have actually eaten before :-)
Almond - I got hardly any nuts the bar I tried. The chocolate was ok but I dont think I ever finished the bar off. 5/10
I like the wrappers of G&B chocolate, I think they they make them look a lot nicer than they really are.
I do buy the odd chocolate from them time to time, but they aren't a make of chocolate that I think are that special.
@Rachel I agree I would never give it away as a gift for someone. Everyone knows its cheap now.
When was the last time they did something exciting for Green and Blacks? Its like they almost forgotten that they have to make new flavours to keep people interested. All of the other chocolate makers around them keep bringing out new varieties but these guys haven't brought anything out for years now. BORING.
Thanks for the cool reviews. Its nice to know when these things are best off avoided. I was wondering why you posted them at the same time but then I saw the crummy scores lol.
I would rate the fruit and nut one loads higher than you have. Before I got bored of it I used to buy it quite a bit. Its the only dark chocolate with fruit and nut bits you can buy easily.
Unless you go for something uber expensive like hotel chocolate all the other fruit and nut bars come in milk chocolate.
Omg that almond chocolate is so high in fat.
That is why I never buy chocolate with nuts in. They always have so many calories and fat in them. They are so disgusting.
Great review Jim thank you.
I think it is going to be well interesting to see what Kraft end up doing with Green and Blacks in the future.
They haven't got anything in their existing portfolio that is seen as a fancier brand of chocolate so it should be a nice acquisition for them. I hope they do a better job of it than cadbury do lol.
Well done for finally reviewing a British made chocolate for once. It's nice to see everything you review doesn't have to come from Germany or some other obscure place like Japan or something.
I have to admit, I never tried any G&B chocolate and after today (and also the past reviews) I don't think I will change that any time soon. Especially since these two flavours are pretty common (so no novelty bonus to tempt me to give them a try...) and other companies have pulled them off nicely. :-)
The only green and blacks I like is the white chocolate they make. Apart from that their milk choco isnt any better than poeple like cadburys.
I've not ever tasted either of these two but I think you need to give Green and Blaks a bit more credit than you do.
Any chocolate of theirs I have ever had has been nice. It isn't exactly expensive either and it looks twice as nice as any cadbury or supermarket chocolate you can buy.
Its mad you have tried all the flavours now. I've barely had two of their chocolates I think.
The only ones I can remember ever trying are the butterscotch and creamy milk. I wouldn't say either of them were anything that special either. Like you Jim Green and Blacks just seem dull to me.
You have to admit that they have at least made an effort with their wrappers recently. Do you remember they all used to look the same? It was really hard to tell them all apart.
I've tried the almond one and I remember it being very poor, the almonds were all dry and nasty. I can imagine how the hazelnut and current one tastes so I won't even bother trying it.
G&B are a weird brand, some of their bars are nice and some not at all. I really liked the butterscotch flavour, aswell as the caramel which I can no longer find.
G&B have never been a brand I like particularly, like Phil, the of the flavour is ok but others are rather dull and boring and not that great. I'd personlly put Cadburys way above them in most respects. I know they are part of the Cadbury/and now Kraft portflio, I think Cadbury just left them pretty much alone. I wonder if they will remain art of the Kraft portfolio or whether they will try and sell it?
I noticed with interest the other day when i bought a tube of Starburst(Opal Fruits!)that they are no longer a Mars product but a Wrigley one!
Green & Blacks aren't one of my favourite brands either so its only very rarely I buy their chocolate at all.
I do think there white chocolate is nice but all the milk chocolates I have tried from them before have been average at best. I haven't ever been recommended one of their bars by any of my friends or anything.
Why do you have it in for Green and Blacks? I thought you loved Cadburys, you normally can't get enough of anything they make.
Thanks for the review. I've only ever tried a bit of the butterscotch bar and it was ok but I've not exactly considered having it again. Their mini bars always catch my eye because they look cute but overall, G&Bs is a brand that doesn't inspire me at all and having read your reviews, it looks like I've been right to avoid them. Out of these 2 bars, I'd be most interested in trying the hazelnut & currant bar based on the ingredients alone but I'll stick to what I know is good if, as you say, there are better bars our there. One positive I guess is that the nuts in both bars aren't chopped up into tiny pieces, I find that annoying to eat.
Hi All,
What with the high quality produce that has been on the site recently there was obviously going to be a day when some poorer scoring products come up. For the record I have no grudge against any supplier and/or brand. I rate these as I see fit.
Nick / Will / Lee - Re: Avoiding products based on my recommendations
I wouldn't like to think people don't buy things based on just my own views. In all instances I encourage you try them for yourself and let me know your own thoughts ... thats unless they are really THAT bad haha.
David - Re: Where is the competition today though lol?
Come on mate give me a break :D Was the Ritter one not sufficent for this week.
Rachel / Anon / Lauren - Re: G&B vs Cadbury / Galaxy / Nestle
The lines are a bit blurred in my opinion. Like some of you are saying I think Green & Blacks is dangerously going towards being just another mass produced chocolate brand. I think the brand equity of the likes of Lindt and Thorntons is much stronger, and they are what they probably percieve as their immediate competitiors. They may need to do something quite radical to turn it around if they dont stop the decline soon.
Golden - Re: Nice Photographs
Thank you for the nice words :D
Kim - Re:'Oh dear I just bought a few of those G and B mini selections as early xmas presents.
I just checked and they have both of these chocolates in them :( I hope people dont think I am giving them rubbish chocolate now.'
They should be grateful just to get anything off you. These chocolates aren't that bad at all. They certainly wont throw them back in your face haha.
Steven - Re: Jim have you managed to buy the new Galaxy orange choc yet?
I have indeed. Review up next week. You might want to try Sainsbury's that is where I bought my bar.
Chris - Re:'I think we should all support british chocolate as much as we can'
I see your point but there is no good saying something is better than it is just because of it's place of origin. That wouldn't be fair on the other products I review.
Katie - Re:'Now you have reviewed them all you can have a medal *places medal on head*
'
I hope it's a chocolate medal :D
Ben / Alex - Re: Do you have a grudge against them lol?
I dont have any grudges against any brand or manufacture :D I wont be saying this again. It's just my opinion.
Nigel - Re: Are you going to be watching England tonight?
I will indeed be putting myself through the torture of an England Friendly international :D I will go for the more conservative 2-1 to England.
Graeme - Re: Wrappers
They certainly improved them from what they were orignally. When they used to be all brown coloured they were awful weren't they.
Phillip - Re: When was the last time they did something exciting for Green and Blacks?
They haven't brought out any innovation for a long while have they. Perhaps this is what is called for to bring some much needed life back to the brand.
Martin - Re: Kraft dealing with G&B
Indeed it will be interesting to see what they do with it. At the minute they have left it in limbo a bit in my opinion. It's fast losing relevance with consumers if the comments today are anything to go by.
Anon - Re: Well done for finally reviewing a British made chocolate for once. It's nice to see everything you review doesn't have to come from Germany or some other obscure place like Japan or something.
Oi I review plenty of British chocolates I will have you know. Hotel Chocolat, Thorntons, Cadbury, Mars .... I could go on if needs be.
Anne - Re: Your comment
I dont want to put you off them but if it is just the finest British chocolates you are after we have better offerings for you to try.
Francesca / Stu - Re: I would have rated them far higher
We are all entitled to our own opinions :D That is the beauty of the site after all. I always encourage people to share their opinions whatever they have to say.
Phil - Re: Your comment
They are a bit hit and miss aren't they. The last time I saw the caramel bar was in Waitrose, that was just a few weeks ago so they should still stock it.
Like you say the almond is best off avoided. It really isn't a good chocolate and there is a far better alternative from Lindt that is just as easy to buy.
Alan - Re: Your comment
That is random - I had no idea Starburst had been sold to them good spot.
I know what you mean about Dairy Milk, its certainly more unique in the experience it delivers. The taste is so much more definiable, I'm glad I'm not the only one who obviously thinks that.
If you offered me a Dairy Milk or some G&B milk chocolate I know which I would choose.
Ria - Re: Your Comment
Oh no another avoider :D You should believe everything I say haha! If you are going to try their range I would suggest you do it in the mini bar format. It's a pretty eay way of seeing how good (ahem or not haha!) their range is. You make a good point about the nuts not being chopped, you may have noticed that is something I often complain about :D
Thanks for the comments today everyone. I do believe that it is a Bits n Bobs post tomorrow so I look forward to your comments on that.
JIM
I found the almond bar quite nice, but like you said, it is nothing remarkable. There is a lot better chocolate out there.
Post a Comment