May 17th: Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Gemstones

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

Summer is nearly upon us, and there seemed no better way to warm up for my Hotel Chocolat Summer 2010 reviews, than by checking out one of the few remaining products I am yet to try from their standard range. After receiving e-mails from ChocolateMission readers Rachel & Chloe, I let their requests be known to my contacts at Hotel Chocolat, who were more than happy to send me some samples for a review. The product requested for a run through the ChocolateMission rating system were these Chocolate Gemstones, which Hotel Chocolat describe as 'individual little white and dark chocolate drops, which are fused together to create rather beautiful glossy gems of marbled chocolate' - no understating there then :D

The Chocolate Gemstones came in a 150.0g bag that I shared amongst my ever willing taste testing family. As I have mentioned above, Hotel Chocolat describe these as 'beautiful', and I can do little but agree. As commented on in previous reviews, I wouldn't say that the transparent film packaging looks all that prestigious, but what it did allow was visibility of the splendid looking inner pieces. One thing I do hope is that my photograph above has done these justice, as up close the sparkling marble effect created by the blended dark and white chocolate looked nothing short of magnifecent. Putting aesthetic observations aside, a thing of real note was the lack aromas emanating from the packet. Aside from a very minor hint of sweetness, these offered little in the way of true smells, which is not something I would usually attribute to Hotel Chocolat products.

Nowadays, whenever I review something from Hotel Chocolat I often have to remind myself (and my family!!) that I have ti judge the taste based on the average chocolate offering, and not on what I have come to expect from Hotel Chocolat. Despite this grounding context, I unfortunately have to report that these Gemstones didn't deliver anywhere near expectations, and they proved to be really disappointing. The main problem cited by all four of us that tasted them, was that they were really, really poor at generating a substantial volume of flavour. My own conclusion was that this issue was driven predominantly by the outer coating, which seemed to have a glazing agent like finish, despite nothing of the sort being stated in the ingredients. This glossy outer layer gave the Gemstones a waxy feel in the mouth, and made the melt initially feel really laboured and unlike any Hotel Chocolat chocolate I have ever had. Once the melt was underway it was extremely fast paced, which meant there were only suggestions of cream and cocoa offered taste wise before each mouthful sizzled out. To be frank it took a really large handful of these Gemstones to be eaten at any one time for a meaningful flavour impact to be created. In turn this made them feel very unsubstantial - my sister even exclaimed they seemed like a 'waste of calories'.

Overall simple maths would tell you that Hotel Chocolat white chocolate + Hotel Chocolat dark chocolate = Hotel Chocolat amazingness, but this unfortunately just wasn't the case with these Gemstones. Thinking about it now, Hotel Chocolat chocolate doesn't strike me as the sort of thing that would be best suited for this type of product. One thing we all know is that Hotel Chocolat chocolate is usually bursting full of wonderful flavours - this product format just simply didn't let them come to light, and put to waste all the potential of the chocolate they were formed with. As I have written above, a lot of the blame has to lie with odd outer texture which each and every piece had. Yes the glossy finish made them look good, however it spoilt them in regards to balance of taste and texture, as the melt began laboured with very little on offer in terms of flavours, but then suddenly quickened, melting away entirely before the true taste could be substantiated. Hotel Chocolat produce so many other outstanding chocolates in a whole variety of different formats. This sadly was just not one of them, and I would strongly suggest you are better off looking elsewhere in their range.

5.8 out of 10

Looking for the latest Hotel Chocolat Chocolates? Click HERE

May 16th: Cadbury Crunchie Rocks

Kcal 235 Fat 10.5g Fat(sats) 6.4g Carbs 32.7g (per 1/3 bag)

Just last week Cadbury sent out a press release which announced the launch of three new products for the UK market (See HERE). The first two were inevitable new pack sizes for existing products which we have been expecting for some time - the Cadbury Wispa Duo and the smaller 39.0g sized pouches of Cadbury Nibbles. The third product talked about in the announcement however, was an entirely new one called Cadbury Crunchie Rocks, which were described as 'Crunchie honeycomb pieces, with golden cornflakes, tumbled in Cadbury milk chocolate'. Only a few days after reading that article, I found them on sale in my local Co-operative store for the pricey sum of £2.00 - I guess that is what you have to expect buying things from a convenience store in central London.

Just as they did with previous products like the Nibbles and the Clusters, Cadbury have launched these Crunchie Rocks in a 145.0g pouch, so this gave me opportunity to get some second opinions from some of my work colleagues. Packaging and presentation wise I thought these were a mixed bag - apologies for the awful pun! In terms of the pouch, the presentation is first class. The Golden Crunchie colours and branding are captured superbly and I think the matted pouch material gives the pack great stand out like it does with both the Clusters and the Nibbles. Whilst the packaging gets a thumbs up, I can't say the same about the aesthetics of the product. Just like I observed in my Clusters review, the inner pieces had dirty looking scuffed surfaces that didn't strike as looking all that fresh.

My disappointment at the poor looking chocolates didn't last all that long, as my mind was soon distracted by the gorgeous Cadbury chocolate scents that filled the air as soon as I ripped open the pouch. I have said it many a time before, but I just love the smell of Cadbury chocolate - I just get a comforting familiarity from the sweet dairy chocolate smells. Speaking of familiarity, it was also very much the name of the game when it came to taste, as the Cadbury milk chocolate took the lion share of the focus. The chocolate on offer here was Cadbury's 14% cocoa recipe, and it certainly did the job delivering the milky cocoa flavour hit for each mouthful. As I have previously reported, I think this secondary recipe isn't a million miles off the quality of their Dairy Milk chocolate, however there is a definite difference in the taste with the sugar and cream balance tilting more towards the sweeter side of things. At the heart of each cluster piece the cornflakes and honeycomb bits did a sterling job delivering the promised crisp, crunchy textures. At the point of the pieces being chewed, the Crunchie rocks released short, sharp bursts of sweet honey flavours, though the cornflake cereal created little impact on the taste in comparison. Shared across three of us the 145.0g bag only lasted a matter of minutes, but I felt a decent amount of satisfaction having consumed my fair share.

Overall I don't think Cadbury Crunchie Rocks are going to be shaking up the confectionery landscape anytime soon, but I think they are a relatively nice addition to the Cadbury range. In comparison to the now departed Cadbury Crunchie Nuggets (See HERE), I found them a more satisfying and fulfilling product, which was definitely a result of the cluster like format they came in. The Cadbury Crunchie bar itself is a product I enjoy on a very sporadic basis, but I like the idea of the Crunchie brand being extended in to sharing occasions. I think this new format is a sensible addition for the brand given that the normal bar isn't suitable for anything other than single person consumption - just think about how messy breaking apart a Crunchie is! For that reason, and more importantly because they taste pretty damn good, I give these a ChocolateMission thumbs up. They aren't the most exciting or innovative product we will ever see, but like the Cadbury Nibbles I think they have a purpose - its good to share after all :D

7.8 out of 10

May 15th: '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' - Edition 44

### Jim's Corner ###

Hi All,

Today we have a special edition of '7Days of Chocolate Reviews'. You get an extra special mini rant alongside all your usual chocolate news and posts from others blogs. I would really welcome your comments.

Coming up this week - more Heavenly Cakes, Hotel Chocolat and Zotter to name a few!

Have great weeks.

JIM


News from the chocolate market:

* A company called Paterson's are launching a new line of cookies ... See HERE

* Cadbury are launching three new products ... See HERE ... my Crunchie Rocks review is up tomorrow.

* Naughty Ainsley Harriot and his unhealthy chocolate bars ... who would of thought chocolate could be bad for you ... See HERE

* These new McVities biscuit cereal bars have got my attention ... See HERE

* Victoria Beckham has banned Goldenballs from chocolate ... man up David ... See HERE


Posts from other blogs I enjoyed this week

* GiGi Reviews - Gi tackles the 3 Musketeers Truffle Crisp bars - my review is coming shortly ... See HERE

* Foodstufffinds - Cin has tried the new limited edition caramel flavoured Frijj - its not as good as the Cookie Dough in my opinion ... See HERE

* Impulsive Buy - I don't approve of anyone consuming Haagen-Dazs but this was a nice review of the new Banana Forster flavour ... See HERE

* Jen's Kit Kat Blog - Jen reviews the latest Semi-Sweet flavour Kit Kat from Japan ... See HERE

* Candy Blog - whilst we are on the Kit Kat thing it is very much worth reading Cybele's reviews of a number of flavours I have featured recently. Great pictures and a wonderful read ... SEE HERE


RANT TIME!!!

Once upon a time brands here in the UK actually stood for something, but increasingly we are seeing them widdle away all their heritage and equity.

A prime example of this would be these Cadbury Jaffa Cakes priced at 45p in my local Tesco - thats bettter than a 50% discount on the equivalent McVities Jaffa Cakes which cost £1.19. Out of curiosity I bought some to see how they compared. The packaging looked ok and Cadbury is a brand I trust - so why not!?

To be honest I wish I hadn't, as what I tasted was as abysmal as it was depressing. The cake bits were flavourless and felt stale in the mouth, whilst the chocolate was nothing like as flavoursome as usual Cadbury standards. Compared to the McVitie's Jaffas the orange filling was not as zingy or impactful ... the whole thing was just sub-standard.

So what on earth are Cadbury doing? What is the point releasing a product that is so obviously below the standard people expect? Not only has this made me rethink buying such Cadbury products in the future, but it has also made me think twice about whether they care about quality as much as they used to. I can understand to an extent getting a quick, cheap win agaisnt a competitor in the market, but is that really worth risking what consumers think about your brand? Its shorttermism to the extreme.

This isn't just an isolated incident, working in FMCG I see this happening all around our UK supermarkets. Another example is Hellmann's Ketchup and Heinz Mayonnaise, both are half of the price of the others core brand offerings, whilst they are also completely inferior.

I could whittle on all day with examples, but it seems pointless as our most loved brands seem content in throwing away years of brand heritage. My advice to consumers is to stick with what you know - half price products may look tempting, but believe me quality is always worth paying that little bit extra for.

It would be great to hear some more opinions on this matter!

Oh and just if if you were wondering here is the score chart ....nice huh!?

May 14th: Zotter Honey Trio

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

Zotter haven't appeared on this website since October 2009, when the Black Cherries with Vanilla registered a rather disappointing score of 6.8 out of of 10 on the ChocolateMission rating system (See HERE). Perhaps it was that score which upset Mr Zotter, but after a little love via Twitter he has finally forgiven me and sent me samples of his latest handscooped bars*. Included in the batch he sent along this Honey Trio bar was the one that chaught the eye of my honey loving father. Given that I was visiting home for the weekend it seemed only rude not to open it up to see if the 'fine bitter chocolate filled with honey, honey jelly and honey crunch' was as good as it sounded.

The 'handscooped' (why is it called that!?) bar came in the usual 70.0g format, which I split with the old man (I hope he doesn't read this!!). I have said this about Zotter products before so excuse for repeating myself, but the point needs reiterating that the packaging and presentation is always first class. Personally I think the wrappers perfectly manage to pull off a funky, yet sophisticated look, and I hope you agree that the outer sleeve looks very cool with the weird looking bees artwork. Inside things got a bit more serious, with the thick golden foil mantaining the bar in perfect condition, and the cross-section revealing a mind boggling four different layers. Once I had finally managed to comprehend how Zotter had crafted four layers in to the thin bar, I next took great delight in the rich cocoa scents that were being offered - YUM!

Up until this point Zotter were really delivering the goods - the look, the smell and the packaging already had big ticks, but it was down to the taste to deliver in the last box. One thing I think Zotter can be relied on to do is deliver the goods with their chocolate, and their 60.0% did little to prove me wrong. Despite the thin outer layer the dark chocolate was extremely flavoursome and brought a strong cocoa flavour hit to the party with it's smooth, rich buttery taste. The chocolate was quite strong and edgy, however the bitterness balance was perfectly managed with the strong sweetness of the honey constituents. Given that all the inner layers were so compact it was impossible to tell which out of the real honey, jelly and crunch elements delivered the delicious tasting sugary, floral honey flavours. Whilst I couldn't pick them out in the taste, what was highly noticeable was the different textures they brought to the party, with each bite a delivering an array of moist, crispy, jelly like sensations. Coming from a guy that eats a lot of chocolate this was an exciting bar to eat - my old man thought it was superb!

Overall Zotter make some great flavour combinations, and they make some poor ones - but something you can't excuse them of is never being innovative. Like I have previously found, it is because of this brashness why they can't always be relied to deliver consistent high quality, but this bar was up there with the best I have eaten this year. At the heart of each bite the dark chocolate was of a great quality, whilst the inner honey layers were delightfully variable texture wise, and did a splendid job bringing some sweet and tasty honey flavours to the experience. I have previously begged manufactures to bring out a high quality honey based chocolate, and Mr Zotter and co obliged with this terrific chocolate bar. It was well presented, tasted great and was a satisfying - you can't ask for anything more than that now can you!? As I have said above, I don't always think that Zotter get their extravagant flavours on the money, but this more sensible combination would be the perfect chocolate for any honey dark chocolate lover. This Honey Trio comes very highly recommended - it is the best Zotter bar I have eaten yet.

8.8 out of 10


* Before anyone complains that is a joke I am allowed to write what I want - we just hadn't made contact for a while!

May 13th: Heavenly Cakes Chocolate Flapjack

Kcal 496 Fat 32.2g Fat(sats) 19.0g Carbs 49.1g (per 100.0g)

Last week Heavenly Cakes burst onto the ChocolateMission scene with their Millionaire Shortbread scoring an outstanding (and very well deserved!!) 9.1 out of 10 on the scoring system (See HERE). Every day after treating my fellow co-workers to those Shortbreads, they were consistenly nagging me about when I would be next bringing in something from the Heavenly Cakes website. Well they didn't have to wait that long, as earlier this week Nigel & Maeve sent along some 'all butter flapjacks covered with real Belgian milk chocolate'. Once again, these had stiff competition to live up to in the form of the form of Thornton's Mini Caramel Flapjacks - read on to find out if Heavenly Cakes could triumph for a second time!

After receiving almost god like status in my office for bringing in last weeks Millionaire Shortbread (I have never been made so many cups of coffee in my life!), there was no way that I wasn't going to share the 550.0g gift pack of Chocolate Flapjack. As per last weeks review the flapjack slices came presented in much the same manner in the sky blue and pink trimmed boxes, and were contained within a deep-fill silver foil tray. When cut into, the flapjacks revealed themselves to be not quite on the same level of foodpornography as the Millionaire Shortbreads, but the chocolate layer was similarly exceedingly thick and still got many positive comments from my colleagues.

Resisting the urge to bite into my flapjack slice straight away, I first took note of the smells being offered. The aromas I detected were mostly sweet and chocolaty, though there were hints of baked oat biscuits which obviously made sense given the constituents of the base. Having chilled these flapjacks in the fridge for a few hours before eating (highly recommend you do this!), the chocolate seemed a little firmer to the bite than I experienced last week, though it still melted with the same wonderful smooth soft feel once warmed. The more I experience the Heavenly Cakes Belgian chocolate, the more I am coming round to thinking that it is a bit of a half way house between Galaxy and Lindt milk chocolate. It's delicious taste isn't as cream focused as Galaxy, and not as cocoa based as Lindt. It's one self defining attribute is it's very forthcoming vanilla noted finish, which nicely round off the latter stages of the melt with each bite. Sitting below the plentiful chocolate, the flapjack layer was just as plentifully portioned, and was equally just as tasty. The overriding flavours that came out of the viscous, chewy texture were butter, golden syrup and brown sugar. When eaten in large slices the taste of the flapjack base was a little one dimensional, however these were best eaten in smaller bites anyway as the taste was incredibly rich.

Overall these Heavenly Cakes Chocolate Flapjacks didn't quite reach the same levels on the scoring chart as the Millionaire Shortbreads did last week, though they still went down very well amongst both myself and the ten co-workers I sampled them with. As chocolate flapjacks go these were very good and the quality of the freshly made chocolate and oat and golden syrup fused bases shown through and made for both flavoursome and satisfying flapjack slices. In terms of whether they were nicer than the Thorntons Mini Caramel Flapjacks, me and my fellow taste testers were split down the middle. Personally I think that the Thorntons ones, which use caramel to the fuse the oats rather than golden syrup, offer just a little bit more in terms of flavour in their bases. On the contrary some of my colleagues argued the case that they proffered the nicer, thicker chocolate used on these Heavenly Cakes flapjacks - it really is just a matter of opinion. If we forget comparisons for just one minute and look at the facts, these were some delicious tasting flapjacks, which were highly thought of amongst all eleven people that tried them. I can't see myself buying them instead of the Millionaire Shortbreads, but flapjack fans should sit up and take note of these.

8.2 out of 10

May 12th: Cadbury Huesitos Leche

Kcal 105 Fat 5.1g Carbs 12.6g (per 20.0g bar)

Finishing off my reviews of the products I picked up in Spain, I today bring you my views on this Cadbury Huesitos Leche bar. Rewind your minds back a few days to my review of the original Cadbury Huesitos bar, and you may remember me asking the question - why does this bar exist? The reason I was begging that question was because it was simply just a poorer version of the Cadbury Tokke- a bar I reviewed just a few days earlier - See HERE. Despite not being too impressed with the original bar I was more looking forward to trying this 'Leche' variety - that is 'Milk' to all you non-Spanish lingual readers. On the wrapper it came billed as 'crunchy wafer bars with a milk creme filling, covered in milk chocolate'.

Unlike the original Huesitos, this Leche flavour came in a more sensible double 20.0g finger size. The wrapper wasn't all that different to the standard bar, though the 'Milk' flavour variation was clearly indicated with an on-pack picture displaying a distinctive white creme like substance sitting between the layers of wafer biscuit. Unwrapping the outer foil coating I was met with a mixture of dairy and biscuity smells that became increasingly stronger once I broken one of the fingers in half. Just as promised on the wrapper, it was nice to see that the inner cream layers were white as snow, and they certainly gave the cross-section some real aesthetic interest.

So did the replacement of the chocolate creme with a milk creme layer blow my mind!? ... err no not really :D As I was well expecting the chocolate and wafer constituents didn't vary at all from the original to this Leche bar, and both gave the same contribution to both taste and texture. The outer chocolate was ok in thickness and generated a familiar milky, sweet Cadbury chocolate flavour hit to each bite. The inner wafers were similarly average and were crisp to the bite and added mild notes of malt and wheat. Whereas the chocolate creme in the original Huesitos just went on to further reaffirm the flavours of the outer chocolate, the milk creme in this Leche variant slightly twisted the taste and gave it an additional burst of dairy, cream based flavours. In comparison to the chocolate creme, the taste wasn't necessarily any better or any worse - it was simply just a little different. As I have mentioned already above, it was good that this bar came in a double finger serving size, and unsurprisingly I found it far more satisfying for it being so.

Overall this Huesitos Leche bar has scored better than the original offering, but it could easily be argued that it has just picked up cheap points for being double the size. To be honest I wouldn't be able to pick a favourite out of the two Huesitos bars, as when it comes down to it there is really very little difference between the two. In Europe chocolate wafer bars are ten-a-penny but these are both probably just a bit better than your average offering. If it were up to me I would have improved them by making the outer chocolate thicker - like the proportion you get on a Kit Kat, and I perhaps would have suggested a dash of honey to the wafers to make them more flavoursome. Without wasting anymore words what this all boils down to, is that both the Huesitos bars are pretty average offerings. I wouldn't say either are worth you spending your monies to import, but if you are in Spain anytime soon and fancy a small snack they would do a sound job.

7.2 out of 10

May 11th: Fujiya Country Ma'am Rich Chocolate Cookies

Kcal 49 Fat 2.2g Carbs 6.7g (per cookie)

Today I finish off the latest batch of products sent to me by J-List, with a review of one of the more unusual offerings I have received from them yet. Now, despite having previously come across oddities such as the sweet potatoe and green tea flavoured Kit Kats, these Fujiya Country Ma'am Rich Chocolate Cookies struck me as something really very different. As you can see from the photographs above, Fujiya's Country Ma'am brand is a Japanese interpretation of one the all famous Western delicacies - the cookie. Admittedly the whole concept of the Japanese making cookies isn't all that wacky, but as I will go in to below it was the look and feel of the product that really struck me as quite odd.

The packet sent my way included 20 pieces, each of which was comparable in size to a Maryland/Chips Ahoy cookie. When I said the look and feel of the product came across as unusual, I was of course speaking mainly about the packaging - which I'm sure if you look above will similarly come across as looking a bit odd to you. I think it is the mix of the very traditional, American design style, clashing with the Japanese text which makes it look somewhat peculiar. As weird as it looked, it didn't really make me develop any sort of positive or negative feelings towards it - my feelings were really quite passive in that regard. One thing I did look upon favourably however, was the way that each of the cookies was sealed in an individual foil packet. This not only kept them looking great, but it also maintained a wonderful smelling set of fresh chocolate cookies scent within each.

Having rattled on about the packaging and presentation for two paragraphs, it is probably about time I told you about the actual product proposition - 'rich chocolate cookies, with white chocolate chips'. In theory they sounded great, but the question that begged to answered was whether the Japanese could pull off the American cookie experience? With a taste test score of 8 out of 10 (I know you have looked already :P ), I will be upfront and tell you that to my surprise they did, and with room to spare. The first thing that struck me about these cookies was how soft and fresh they felt out the packet. Each cookie had a crusty outer portion, however closer to the centre each piece was wonderfully soft and melted really nicely in the mouth. As I have referred to already, In addition to being pleasant in texture, they also tasted pretty superb, and certainly passed my expectations. At the heart of each cookie there was a shortbread like appeal with strong notes of butter, brown sugar and salt present throughout. Whilst these flavours were a constant, the original premise of the product was also delivered with the chocolatey cocoa flavours coming through with a decent depth of richness in every bite. In regards to the white chocolate chips, I was hoping for a little bit more in terms of cream based flavour bursts, though they still did a job in adding a bit of further moistness to the soft innards.

Overall these cookies really proved themselves to be a bolt out of the blue - I was no way expecting them to be as good as they actually were. As I said in the above I did find the packaging and presentation somewhat confusing with the mish-mash of Japanese and American cultural influences, but one thing that was perfectly clear was that these were some damn fine tasting cookies. I don't know what the going standard of cookies is like in America, but what often annoys me about many cookie products here in the UK is that all of them are rock solid in terms of texture. In fact, I can't think of a single mass produced brand offering here in the UK that can boast to have the same sort of 'fresh out the bakery' soft feel that these cookies had. If you factor in to the equation just how much distance these travelled in air miles, that claim becomes even more ridiculous sounding doesn't it? I never in a million years expected to be saying this, but thumbs up to Fujiya for making some top notch American style cookies - they have put us Brits (and probably many US brands) to shame.

7.9 out of 10


Want to try some Japanese style American cookies for yourselves? Head to J-List then folks! CLICK HERE

May 10th: GU Liquid Caramel Chocs

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

If you take a glance over to your left at the leaderboard you will be well aware that chocolate and caramel is one of my favourite combinations ever. As classical (another word for boring!) as you all may think it is, I have a real love for many different chocolate caramel products - ranging from the mass produced bars like Cadbury Caramel (See HERE), all the way up to the higher end market offerings such as L'Artisan du Chocolat's Salted Caramels (See HERE). Despite running this site for nearly 3 years now I don't think I am any sort of chocolate expert, however I would like to think I know a good quality chocolate caramel when I taste one. Facing the ChocolateMission rating system today we have these GU Liquid Caramel Chocs, and I had great hopes for them considering how much I enjoyed the GU Millionaire Caramel Flapjacks.

On pack these Caramel Chocs came described as 'liquid caramel enhanced with a hint of sea salt, encased in dark chocolate', and came in 110.0g box priced at £2.99. The outer packaging was simplistic, yet effective in it's decoration and I liked the real stand out that the white GU logo had against the usual black background. Some may think that it is a little plain, but it had all the necessary information and displayed it displayed it in a manner that gave the impression it was a premium product. Inside things weren't quite as much to my liking as the inner pieces were kept within a plastic transparent packet. The chocolates themselves were also disappointingly small in size and were only about the width of a 5p piece.

Opening the plastic packet I was met with quite a curious set of scents which at first started off cocoa led, although then took a turn with an odd spicy pepperyness. Thankfully the smell didn't really indicate the eventual taste, however I have to say that overall these were still very disappointing. As I have mentioned above the chocolates were very small, so it wasn't surprising that the outer dark chocolate was very thin. The dusting of outer powder was a nice touch but even with it the cocoa flavour hit generated did not have much longevity, which was especially disappointing given that the chocolate was smooth and pretty pleasant in it's unsweetened cocoa flavour delivery. Inside the filling was even more disappointing as it lacked many of the fundamental things that make a good caramel. The taste was sugary and floral hinted, yet it lacked any sort of buttery, toffee notes and even more annoyingly the promised lick of salt was nowhere to be seen. To be honest I willingly letting my co-workers scoff most of the box as to me they just weren't worth the calories.

Overall the scoring chart for these looks really ugly, but I am afraid they were pretty bad compared to most other chocolate caramel alternatives that there are on the market. Starting with the few positives, the presentation was pretty good, the textures were fine, and the outer chocolate actually wasn't bad and only really suffered because of how thinly it was implemented. Unfortunately the negatives vastly outweigh the positives when it comes to these GU Liquid Caramel Chocs. Starting with the most fundamental thing, the caramel, was simply abysmal. It tasted like a very cheap tasting sugary substance that lacked any of the richer notes that all good caramels have. What made the caramel probably worse in my mind was the fact that it was supposed to be salt hinted, which just simply wasn't reality at all. Having tried a few GU products in the past with great success, these have to go down as a really disappointing effort from the brand. It is not often I do this, but I would strongly suggest that you guys avoid these.

5.7 out of 10

May 9th: Meiji Chopan Assort Strawberry

Kcal 213 Fat 13.6g Carbs 20.4g (per 37.0g)

In my penultimate review from my latest batch of goodies supplied to me by J-List, I will today be taking a look at yet another offering from Meiji's extensive portfolio. To be honest when I first saw this product nestled in alongside the other familiar looking Kit Kats and Pocky packets, I had no idea at all what it was, as I had never seen nor heard of the Chopan Assort brand before. After a little investigating on the J-List website, Google and the on-pack pictures I managed to determine that this was a product formed of a 'strawberry flavoured chocolate cup, filled with milk/white chocolate, topped with small pastry piece'. It did sound a little out of the ordinary, but I guess this is a product from Japan so it would have been silly to expect anything else.

The Chopan Assort Strawberry packet consisted of four individual chocolates that weighed in at a collective 37.0g. As you may have been able to tell from the photo above, and from my previous description, the pack was split in to milk and white chocolate varieties, each of which was portioned twice. Keeping standard with Japanese confectionery norms, the packaging was very classy and probably even more so than normal with swish looking fonts and clean looking visuals communicating the strawberry flavouring clearly and in a non overly elaborate manner. The presentation was a real strength of this product, and the chocolates themselves did more than justice to the prestigious look of the outer packet and looked nicely crafted. Contained within a very cool looking foil tray, the strawberry fruit scents that emerged smelt genuine and made for a very appetising prospect at hand.

Before I ate these I didn't quite know what sort of occasion they were best suited to be eaten - they weren't a product that seemed suitable to eat all at once, but neither did they strike me as product to be savoured and eaten one-by-one. In the end I settled on eating them two at a time alongside my usual mid-afternoon and after dinner coffees. Starting with the outer chocolate cup layer, much like the aromas suggested the fruit flavours tasted genuine, and the red berry flavours avoided a common strawberry confectionery pitfall of tasting fake and artificial. The creamy strawberry flavours nicely led in to one of the two different chocolate centres - with the white chocolate reaffirming the sweet cream flavours, whilst the milk chocolate delivering an extra dose of cocoa notes to the taste. Texture wise the melt of both chocolate layers was very nice and felt soft and smooth feel in the mouth when in full flow. The real excitement though came from the small pastry bits placed on the top of each chocolate, as not only did they bring an extra crisp, crunchy element, but they also brought a delightful brown sugar noted wheat biscuit influence to the taste, which proved to be a lovely way to round off each bite.

Overall I have to say that I really have struck lucky with my latest sampling package from Japan, as these Meiji Chopan Assort Strawberry were yet another very enjoyable product for me to review. It is quite incredible how the simple addition of such a a basic thing like a small piece of crusty pastry can make a product really stand out, but it genuinely was what separated these from being 'just another chocolate'. Speaking of the quality of the strawberry element, it has to be said it was really very implemented, and the juicy berry flavours came through well in the taste, and in a non-artificial manner. Out of the two different chocolate varieties on offer, I can't say I liked one more than the other as they were both effective at what they did. The white chocolate pieces were extra creamy, whilst the milk chocolate ones delivered more of a chocolate flavour hit - I guess it will be down to personal preference as to which you will prefer. On the whole, my everlasting impression of these Chopan Assort Strawberry is very positive, and I would recommend them to anyone who likes strawberry flavoured chocolates.

8.3 out of 10

Fancy trying these Meiji Chopan Assort Strawberry for yourself? Head to J-List

May 8th: '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' - Edition 42

**** COMPETITION WINNERS ****

Hi All,

I'm sure you are desperate to know who the winners of the 1000th ChocolateMission post competition are, so please let me reveal all ....

Starting with our 3 runners-up we have ....

... each winning a Hotel Chocolat Sleekster Selection box ...

...
..
.

Daniel Ness, Plymouth
Coleen Allison, Leeds
Emma Reid, Berkshire

... and our winner ... taking home the Hotel Chocolat Mini Chocolatiers Table ....

...
..
. is .......

Paul Marshall, Oldham

Congratulations to the winners, and thank you all for your entries (more than 10,000!). If you didn't win don't worry ... there will be another competition coming very soon!

*** READER SITE SUGGESTIONS ***

During my 1000th post I asked you readers how I should change the site to make it better. Through the mediums of Twitter, e-mail, Facebook and on-site comments I received plenty of suggestions. Here are my comments in regards to the more popular/realistic suggestions I received.

1. "ChocolateMission Chocolate Shop" - I announced at the start of the year that the wheels were motion for me to set up my own shop. Unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to dedicate enough time to make this a reality as yet. I don't want to make promises, but this is still very much something I would like to have set up and functional by the end of the year. All I can say is keep your eyes and ears open for news in the near future.

2. "Create a Chocolate Swap Shop" - In the coming month I will be creating a section on the site for people to do this. It will be as simple as me creating a page where you guys can leave comments stating where you are based, and what sort of swap you are looking for. I will not be taking responsibility or any governance role over these chocolate swaps, though I will be recognising successful traders in the main body of the post on that page.

3. "Can you review more things we can buy in the UK" - I understand that not being able to buy some of the products I review may be frustrating, however the website is visited by people from all over the world. In order to keep these interesting and to appeal to a wide audience I will have to continue reviewing products from a widespread distribution.

4. "Create a ChocolateMission Forum" - Personally this is something I'm not keen on doing, however if there is widespread demand I will seriously consider it. Currently I think the 'Comment' functionality is working quite well for the site, and the number of posts a day seems to be ever increasing. Whilst I can see the benefits of having a forum, I can also that this would be a lot of additional work for myself what with the upkeep and maintenance demands that such functionality would demand. My suggestion in the short term would be that if you want to create discussions, or debate things ... use the 'Comment' button. If this isn't meeting peoples needs I will happily reconsider my stance.

5. "Improve the website design" - This site is by no means perfect, but I quite like the rough around the edges presentation style. I think if I was to get a snazzier looking design people might think that I am taking myself a little bit too seriously as a 'chocolate critic'. If anyone knows/is a website designer I could possibly be swayed in to changing the design if they could spoon feed me how to make the changes (or want to design it themselves ;) ). One thing I will be changing soon is adding some 'popular brands' buttons to make some of the more popular reviews easier to find. Again any further suggestions on how to improve the site functionality are very welcome.

6. "Make your competitions worldwide" - Yep ok! I promise that by the end of the year I will have at least one competition that is open to EVERYONE. Message received loud and clear :D

7. "Make a thumbs up functionality for the products" - Currently there is a stars rating available under each review. I will be adding a Facebook 'Like' button in the next few days as well.


If I have missed out your suggestion please drop me a note with what it was and I will gt back to you.

A big thanks to everyone who had nice words to say about the site, there were so many of you I was very surprised by all the love. Please continue to read, who knows I may make it to 2,000 posts :D

Have great weekends


JIM

May 7th: Cadbury Huesitos

Kcal 95 Fat 4.7g Carbs 11.9g (per 20.0g bar)

If you take a look back a couple of days you will see my first ever Spanish chocolate review in the form of the Cadbury Tokke bar (See Here). Just as I said in that write up, the Tokke was not the only bar I bought on my recent holiday - I also manged to pick up two different variants of another Spanish Cadbury range called Huesitos. Taking a look at the first one today, I first of all feel the need to inform you that Huesitos translated from Spanish to English means 'Bones'. I wasn't all that sure about the name, but the proposition of 'milk chocolate covered wafers with a milk chocolate creme filling' sounded much more familiar and not all that different to the Tokke.

The Huesitos is available in quite a few different forms in Spain, though the bar I picked up was smallish 20.0g single finger bar. Looking at the wrapper it was a little less distinctive and classy looking than the Tokke, but it still had a relative appeal with the silver foil branded very clearly with the Huesitos logo giving a nice vibrant look (still note the small sized Cadbury brand logo!!). Undone from it's foil dressing the bar looked pretty generic, however from a more positive POV it at least had some distinct layering and was fairly enticing with it's sweet, chocolatey biscuit scents.

I have to admit up until this point I wasn't all that enamoured by the prospect of 'yet another chocolate wafer bar' but I am glad to say that it turned out to be slightly better than your average thanks to a small dose of creamy Cadbury chocolate magic. As you can see from the photo above the outer chocolate wasn't all that thick, but it still yielded with a nice snap once the bar had been left to chill in the fridge for a while. In regards to flavours the chocolate was just a small touch above what I would deem as the average market offering, and brought a minor, yet noticeable creamier dairy taste than you would get from your average chocolate. As expected the inner wafers were crunchy but were pretty flavourless aside from some minor wheaty malt flavours. The intermittent layers of inner chocolate creme offered nothing that the outer coating didn't in terms of flavours, though their presence was very much necessary as it was needed to moisten the dry wafer constituents. I don't think it will surprise any of you to hear that the 20.0g wasn't all that fulfilling but it wasn't as if anything else could be expected from such a light, wafer based product.

Overall this Cadbury Huesitos isn't a bad chocolate wafer bar by any means, but at the end of the day the likes of Nestle's Kit Kat, the Lindt Wafer and even the Cadbury Tokke does make it somewhat unworthwhile. What I don't quite understand is how Cadbury Espana can justify having both the Tokke and this original Huesitos in it's range architecture!? When you compare them both side-by-side the Tokke is just a better version of this Huesitos. From what I remember when I bought them the price wasn't all that different, (around 1 euro each I believe!) yet when you compare them the Tokke gives you more bang for your buck as it has thicker chocolate and an additional rice cereal layer on top. As a stand alone product this isn't a bad product whatsoever and it does provide a more than sound chocolate wafer experience. Unfortunately comparisons are very much the name of the game on this site, and I see little reason why you would choose one of these original Huesitos bars over the Cadbury Tokke if you were a Spanish citizen.

6.7 out of 10

May 6th: Lindt Petits Desserts Tiramisu`

Kcal 550 Fat 36.0g Fat(sats) 21.0g Carbs 50.0g (per 100.0g)

On ChocolateMission the Lindt Petits Desserts range has remained a relatively untapped area of Lindt's extensive portfolio, but I can no longer ignore the calls from my readers to get some reviews up. Back in November 2009 I gave Lindt Petits Desserts Creme Brulee bar a terrific score of 9.0 out of 10 (See HERE), and commented that 'the bar brought to life the creme brulee flavour theme fantastically'. Today I was hoping for more of the same from this Lindt Petits Desserts Tiramisu chocolate, which came described as 'milk chocolate with a creamy filling, with dark chocolate crunchy biscuit and coffee'. Tiramisu ranks as one of my all time favourite desserts ever (a restaurant I go to when on vacation in Spain does a particularly amazing one!) so I was pretty curious as to how Lindt planned to implement it into a chocolate bar.

This bar cost me just over £2 from my local Waitrose supermarket (I know, I know me buying chocolate for myself ... that hasn't happened for a long time!) which I guess is probably on the expensive side of things for a mass produced chocolate. One thing that made me feel a little bit more at ease with the price point was the fact that this bought me 150.0g of product, and the packaging looked pretty glamorous with the attractive tiramisu picture and premium looking golden coloured fonts. Inside the chocolate was coated in the usual branded thick layer of foil, that protected the large, thick block pieces nicely. The chocolate itself looked nice on the eye with clear distinct layers of filling visible in each block. Whilst admiring for it's aesthetic prestige I also took note of the delightful hints of dairy, cocoa and coffee being emanated which only went to further heighten my anticipation.

To let the 'cat out the bag' early so to say, I can confirm to you all now that this was one fantastic tasting chocolate. To get the only minor negative out the way my only complaint with the product as a whole comes in the fact that the bar would have been better designed had it smaller mouthsized blocks, though to be honest biting each in half hardly required much effort. Starting with the outer chocolate it was just as good as you would come to expect from Lindt. It had a real fresh snap when bitten into, yet melted with a delightful smoothness whilst delivering a crisp and forthcoming creamy, cocoa taste. Sitting in the middle of the piece the creme layer was nothing short of outstanding and I have no idea how they managed to pack so many different flavour influences in there. To rattle them all off at once there notes of brandy, coffee, almonds, double cream, butter and a minor hint of yogurt to deliver the mascarpone element. To top it all off the dark chocolate biscuit at the bottom reaffirmed the cocoa flavours of the outer constituents, ensuring the chocolate flavour hit was delivered in every bite. The taste was busy, yet never overly so and the flavours never felt rushed or over with too quickly. A few blocks of this at a time made for a decent sized snack, however at the same time I felt like I could have quite easily consumed more given the enjoyment that each mouthful gave me.

Overall the only feeling of regret I have after eating this chocolate is one of why it has taken me over two and a half years to pick this bar off the shelves? I would love to say that the answer to that question is because I have been discouraged by previous attempts at tiramisu flavoured chocolates (Dove Desserts Tiramisu - See HERE, Cadbury Dairy Milk Desserts Tiramisu - See HERE), but I think it is more down to the fact I have been a little ignorant. To sum things succinctly (not my strong point I know!) - this chocolate is utterly superb, and is one of the finest bars I have tried this year ... make that last two and a half years. This chocolate may be more expensive than your average mass produced offering, but lovers of the dessert tiramisu will have no regrets forking out that little bit extra. Much like I found with the Lindt Petits Desserts Creme Brulee chocolate the character of the pudding was captured with amazing effect. This Lindt offering gets a double thumbs up from me - I would strongly suggest you give it a try if you just have the mildest curiosity.

9.1 out of 10

May 5th: Glico Pocky Dessert Chocolat Fromage

Fancy trying these Glico Pocky Dessert Chocolat Fromage for yourself? Head to J-List

Kcal 97 Fat 5.3g Carbs 11.0g (per 17.9g packet)

This review starts with some good and bad news. The bad news is that I am coming to the end of my latest sample package from J-List Boooo! The good news is that today I get to complete a long standing request from ChocolateMission reader Steven, who what seems like ages ago now asked me to review these Pocky Dessert Chocolat Fromage. In fact, Glico Pocky is one of the most commonly mentioned ranges when it comes to reader requests, and I have to admit up until this point I probably haven't really paid enough attention to this particular part of the Japanese market. In an attempt to start putting things right today, I bring you my review of these Chocolat Fromage flavoured Pocky, which I believe sits in the higher end 'Desserts' part of the range.

This particular variant came segregated in to five 17.9g packs that consisted of three stick pieces in each. In previous experiences with the Pocky range I have always thought that the presenatation has been of a great standard, however these Chocolat Fromage took things yet another step further and really came across as premium offering from the brand. The sense of premiumality was driven mostly by the prestigious looking design of the outer box which was beautifully designed with well placed branding and pictures. Inside the actual Pocky was equally as pleasant on the eye, and if you look above you will hopefully be able to determine that the stick pieces were far thicker than standard Pocky, with each decorated with a generous beige coloured coating with woven chocolate on top.

Once I had finally got over marvelling at the aesthetic beauty of the Pocky the next thing I took notice of was the strong toffee yogurt like scents that were emanated from each of the individual plastic packets. As good as the Pocky smelt and looked, the true determinant was of course going to be the taste, so I straight away set about putting them to the test. Taking my first bite from the tip of one of the sticks I was first struck by a sweet tasting milk chocolate which was a nice way to start each bite as the chocolate flavour hit was established from the outset. As the chocolate melted away smoothly, the under fromage layer was exposed and it soon had an equally strong say in the taste. The fromage element brought a delicious cream cheese like influence, and it's yoghurty nature reminded me of the sort of flavours you get from mascarpone desserts like cheesecake. The base sticks were nothing more than what you would expect from Pocky, with their crunchy nature bringing all the usual moreish wheaty, brown sugar flavour notes to the party. In comparison to other Pocky products I have had previously I felt these were more satisfying, and found just one of the five mini packs a decent amount for a light snack.

Overall although I don't have extensive experience with the brand, I have to say that these were the best Pocky I have ever tasted. I guess having tasted only four other Pocky variants previously it isn't the greatest claim to make, however if you ignore that and just look at the scoring matrix it should give you some sort of idea of how much I liked these. If I was to sum up the taste in just three words I think it could be best described as 'delicious chocolate cheesecake'. Indeed, the flavours were very reminiscent of slightly tangy mascarpone and the generous portioning of the woven chocolate that coated each piece proved to be not only there for decoration, but also to ensure that the all important chocolate flavour hit was present in each and every bite. One of the most frustrating things I find with products like Mikado and Pocky is that they are often annoyingly moreish, but this wasn't quite the case here. The three sticks per pack made for decent sized portions, and whilst I could have easily eaten more at a time I thought that it was a sensible amount for each serving. If you are a Pocky fan then I would really recommend these a flavour well worth trying. After this success I am very much open to more requests for other flavours of Pocky that I should review.

8.5 out of 10

May 4th: Heavenly Cakes Millionaires Shortbread

Kcal 494 Fat 25.6g Fat(sats) 3.2g Carbs 64.2g

For the past few days I have been inundated with readers e-mailing me asking me who Heavenly Cakes are, and how they are associated with ChocolateMission. Well I can reveal that Heavenly Cakes (run by the very friendly Nigel & Maeve) are an online, homemade cakes company established only this year, originating in Hertfordshire, England. If you take a look at their site you will see photos of their products which can only be classified as foodporn (See HERE), but if you sit tight for just a minute I will take you through my review of their Millionaire Shortbread offering. As many of you will know, it is a very poorly kept secret of mine that Millionaire Shortbread (if it is good quality!) sends me weak a the knees. I guess it was no surprise then when Nigel and Maeve decided to make their ChocolateMission debut by sending along some of their freshly made 'all-butter shortbread, covered in Dulce de Leche caramel, smothered in Belgian milk chocolate'.

Being the nice people that that they are, Nigel and Maeve sent me a 'gift pack' sized serving of this Millionaire Shortbread, which weighed in at hefty 725.0g (about 15 man sized servings). As I have said I am huge fan of Millionaire Shortbread, but not even I could possibly justify saving this all to myself, so conducted the usual acid test of sharing with my work colleagues. The packaging and presentation was obviously the first thing I took notice of, and I have to say that it came to my relative surprise that it was very good. The outer cardboard box wasn't anything overly amazing design wise, though it does have to be said that the vinyl finished cardboard used was very smart, and the transparent window at the front allowed ample opportunity to see what was inside. If you have taken the effort to take a peek at the Heavenly Cakes website it most likely that you will have noticed the amazing pictures they have of their cakes. Being the pessimistic person I am, I thought these photos would be too good to be true, but a quick dig in to the silver foil try and the first slice revealed itself to be just as tempting as the pictures on the website, with the chocolate and caramel layers looking just as thick and plentiful.

Once all marvelling at how good the cake slices looked was over, the next thing I took notice of was the buttery, biscuit smells that were being emanated. I can't quite say they were bakery fresh, but they still managed to further increase anticipation for my first bite. As is plain to see in the pictures, these cakes were very thick in terms of depth, so just small little helpings at a time made for the richest of chocolate, caramel fixes. One thing that was playing on my mind before I tasted these, was that no matter how thick and plentiful the chocolate and caramel layers were, there was going to be little point in them being so if they were of a poor standard. It only took one bite to lay all these fears to rest - both the chocolate and the caramel were absolutely delicious! Starting off with the chocolate layer it had nice cream based taste which reminded me of softer Galaxy chocolate with it's sweet finish and loving feel on the tongue. The caramel was equally as good and brought all the desired toffee, brown sugar and minor salt notes to the taste with it's soft chewiness. Lastly the biscuit base was similarly enjoyable, with the shortbread buttery wheat flavours and bursts of white sugar and further salt notes rounding off what was a sinfully rich taste.

Overall these were nothing short of the finest Millionaire Shortbread cakes I have ever tasted, and I certainly wasn't alone in this thinking as a number of my work colleagues agreed. The previous product to hold this title was of course the Thorntons Mini Millionaire Shortbreads, and I can still see myself buying them on occasion as they are still very good in their own right and are a fraction of the cost. Frankly though, when it comes to quality these Heavenly Cakes are in a league of their own, with everything about them making for a nigh on perfect Millionaire Shortbread. Exceeding even my own expectations the chocolate and (especially) caramel layers stood out as being nothing less than 100% delicious. They were packed full of creamy sweet flavours, were insanely rich, and most notably were so wonderfully fresh tasting. The people I shared these with are pretty used to me bringing sweet treats in to the office, though never before have so many of them asked where I bought/obtained something from. For the sake of your health and your wallet and I wouldn't encourage anyone to be making these an everyday purchase, but as a treat or a special occasion I can promise you that you can't go wrong here. Coming from a guy that never promises anything, you will hopefully get some understanding as to how much I rate these. More Heavenly Cakes coming soon!

9.1 out of 10

May 3rd: Ritter Sport Bio Kakaosplitter Nuss

Kcal 498 Fat 33.0g Carbs 42.0g (per 100.0g)

Despite the never ending procession of new flavours and varieties coming out of Ritter towers in Germany, it has been a long while since I last reviewed a bar from their 'Bio' range. For those who haven't come across the 'Bio' sub brand before, I can inform you that it is the organic part of Ritter's portfolio, and there are currently six different flavours on the shelves. Thanks to the ever so kind people at Ritter Sport, I today got the opportunity to try this new Kakaosplitter Nuss flavour, which translates roughly as 'Cocoa Nibs & Nuts' to us English speaking folk. It was recently reported in the UK that sales of organic foods was down 7.0% in latest year, driven largely by the fact consumers are tightening their belts because of the recession. Due to this fact, I have very little confidence of this range ever making it to the UK, but I was still very keen to give a try nonetheless.

In line with the rest of the Bio range, this Kakaosplitter Nuss bar came in a 65.0g size that was split into sixteen mini sized blocks. One thing that I have consistently said about the Bio range is that Ritter Sport have done a fantastic job of communicating the natural proposition of the product through the packaging. Once again the wrapper had a fresh look, and the on-pack pictures were clear in communicating the flavour at hand. The chocolate itself looked similarly appetising and it was noticeable that not only did the surface look particularly smooth, but the inner chopped nuts were generously portioned and dispersed well throughout. Having commented on how fresh and sparkling the chocolate appeared, it probably won't surprise you to hear that the product had a strong aroma that was laden with enticing cocoa and nut scents. Speaking from past experiences, I tend to find that products that look and smell good, often turn out to be better tasting than others that aren't.

Speaking of the taste itself I can thankfully report that this bar provided further evidence of my above hypothesis. In comparison to standard line Ritter Sport milk chocolate I couldn't really detect a massive difference in the quality of the cream based, sweet cocoa taste, though there was a noticeable difference in the pace and feel of the melt as it felt softer and smooth in it's transition from it's solid state. Although the additional cocoa nibs were more subtle than other cocoa nib enhanced chocolates I have tried previously, the product was still better off for presence, as they drove home a friendly cocoa flavour hit without bringing any question of bitterness to the taste. Normally I am not really one for approving of chopped nut pieces, however the fine particles of hazelnut still delivered the desired woody, savoury nut flavours, whilst at the same time also bringing a satisfying crunch element to each and every block. A minor complaint of mine would be that I still am not a huge fan of the mini sized, Ritter blocks. The 65.0g size is too much for one sitting, though half a bar isn't all the satisfying - I think an 80.0g bar compromise is needed.

Overall this Bio range has never set the world alight for me but this Kakaosplitter Nuss was yet another solid offering. Apart from appearing and smelling a bit fresher than some of the standard Ritter bars, I honestly can't tell much of difference in the taste of the normal milk chocolate compared to the organic Bio chocolate. Although I didn't perceive anything out of the ordinary taste wise, this is not to say that the quality wasn't high, and once again Ritter proved that a relatively average milk chocolate can be seriously enhanced with some wonderful added ingredients. As I have gone in to above the additional cocoa nibs brought a richer chocolate flavour hit, whilst the chopped nuts were delightfully fresh tasting and crunchy. I wouldn't rank this as among the best Ritter Sport bars ever, but if you are after an all natural, nutty milk chocolate this would be a great place to start looking.

8.1 out of 10

May 2nd: Cadbury Tokke

Kcal 115 Fat 6.0g Carbs 14.1g (per 23.5g finger)

Last month you may recall me telling you all that I went on holiday for a short period. Indeed mid March I took a five day vacation to Alicante in Spain where I had a glorious few days in the sun during Easter. Of course being the dedicated guy I am, I couldn't help myself but look at some of the local chocolate goodies on the Spanish market. In fact if you look at the archives you will seen that today will mark the first ever review for a product from Spain (pretty surprising huh!?) and it will be this Cadbury Tokke bar taking centre stage. Produced by Cadbury Espana, the Tokke came billed as 'crispy milk chocolate wafers', though you may want to treat that translation with an aire of caution as it has been a long while since GCSE Spanish lessons :D

The Cadbury Tokke came in a 47.0g form that was split in to 2 separate finger bars. In regards to the packaging the Cadbury branding took a back seat to the Tokke logo, which I guess is some sort of indication that the Cadbury masterbrand isn't as strong in Spain as it is in other countries. Interesting observations aside both the wrapper and inner chocolate bars looked impressive, and I thought the red foil packet was both eye catching and exciting to look at. Inside both of the wafer fingers were kept in immaculate condition, and the foil fresh material ensured that a strong waft of sweet chocolatey scents emerged when the seal of the packet was broken.

Breaking apart the first finger piece I straight away noticed how defined each of the different layers were. The outer chocolate layer was pretty thick all the way round, though there was an larger helping on the top on the bar where rice cereal pieces were also incorporated. Underneath there were several layers of wafer and chocolate creme, which broke away with a fresh sounding crunch when snapped apart. Taking my first bite into the piece was really overwhelmed at just how different the chocolate tasted compared to any Cadbury product in the UK. Although I wouldn't say it was as creamy as the Dairy Milk recipe, I would say that it was less sugary and packed more of a cocoa flavour hit with every bite. Similarly the wafer, cereal and inner chocolate creme elements packed more flavour than the UK's comparable Cadbury Timeout bar, with each respectively bringing further doses of cocoa and wheaty, biscuit flavours to the party. Considering this was predominantly a wafer based product I was surprised at just how satisfying this bar was. I ate the total thing in one sitting but 230 calories hardly felt like a sin for the sense of hunger fulfilment it gave me.

Overall I have to give Cadbury Espana a big thumbs up for their first appearance on ChocolateMission. As concepts go, a milk chocolate wafer product is hardly going to win innovation of the year 2010, but for what this bar was, it was actually very good. If we compare it to the highly comparable Cadbury Timeout we have in the UK there is a clear winner and it our Amigos en Espana who take the plaudits! Essentially the milk chocolate used here wasn't as distinctive in taste as the UK Dairy Milk, however it was of a good quality for a mass produced chocolate product and I wasn't surprised to read that it contained more cocoa (29% cocoa solids) which is higher than most standard Cadbury products in the UK. It would be very silly for me to tell you guys that this is a 'must try' product because it simply isn't. What it is though, is a very good milk chocolate wafer bar, and I will certainly be entertaining the idea of grabbing another when I am in Spain later this year - well worth a try!

8.3 out of 10

May 1st: '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' - Edition 41

### Jim's Corner ###

Hi All,

Firstly I have to start off by saying thank you for all the kind words you have all sent me through your e-mails, comment and tweets this past in regards to my 1000th post. I hope you have all entered the competition (See HERE if you haven't).

Please remember that there is a special prize for the person who can supply me with the evidence that they have gone above and beyond to help spread the word about the competition.

Last week I said that I would be giving you all feedback on your suggestions of how to improve the site. I have decided that since these are all still coming in with the competition entries I will leave my responses a while longer. I have loved some the ideas so far - please keep them coming, I am reading each and every one.

In a bid to keep this short and snappy - enjoy your long May bank holiday weekends! Coming soon (in the next week or so!!) we have reviews of the Ritter Sport summer variants, Hotel Chocolat's summer range and Heavenly Cakes making their first ChocolateMission appearance. Surely there will be some decent stuff in there!

JIM


News from the chocolate market

* McVitie's have just announced the launch of these Medley bars. They sound nice - See HERE

* Chilli and chocolate flavoured meatballs anyone? - See HERE

* I announced the launch of these Cherry flavoured Cadbury Mini Rolls a few weeks ago, but here are some more details - See HERE

* Oh no ... chocolate now isn't good for us :D - See HERE

* With the UK election race hotting up the Lib Dems have gone as far as trying to sweeten voters with their own 33% cocoa chocolate ... no surprise that it wasn't produced by Kraft - See HERE


Posts from other blogs I enjoyed this week

* GiGi Reviews - Last week Gi went in to writing over drive chronicling her adventures at the Ben & Jerry's factory in Vermont! These are seriously worth reading if you love their ice cream - See HERE

* The Impulsive Buy - We think our UK election is the hottest voting race going!? Nuh-uh! Not according to Marvo. Check out his reviews of the latest Mountain Dew - Dewmocracy flavours - See HERE

* Japense Snack Reviews - It has been a week of Japanese snacks here on ChocolateMission, but these guys do it for a living. Check out their Lotte Crunky Biscuit review - See HERE

* CandyBlog - Cybele posted her reviews of the new Ritter Sport Spring flavours. She was similarly disappointed by the Vanilla flavour - See HERE

* Foodstufffinds - Seemingly not a week goes by that Cin doesn't manage to come across a new product that I want to try. This week its these new flamed steak flavoured Kettle Chips - See HERE


Updated Reviews of old

New photos have been added to some of my old Twix reviews - take a look! Special thanks to ChocolateMission reader Alan for the Polish Twix Dark!!

* Twix Dark (Polish & UK) - See HERE
* Twix - See HERE

April 30th: Meiji Meltykiss Creamy Milk Chocolate / Caramelized Almond

Some of my favourite reviews this year have been Gianduja based products, with Hotel Chocolat's leading the way in terms of quality (See HERE). Up until this year I was frankly pretty oblivious that this sort of product even existed, though it seems even over in Japan that this kind of melt in the mouth confection has some sort of existence.

Meiji's Meltykiss brand has long been in existence, and in true Japanese style there have already been several different flavour variants available on the Japanese market down the years. Thanks to my friends over at J-List, I today got the chance to try two of the Meltykiss varieties - namely the 'Creamy Milk Chocolate' and 'Caramelized Almond' flavours.

If my research is correct then the Meltykiss brand is positioned at the more premium end of Japanese mass confections - the packaging would certainly go as far to suggest this. Both variants came in 100.0g boxes which contained several small cubed pieces that were held in thick foil wrappers. The outer packaging was sublime with the gold colour fonts and intricate sealing mechanisms (god that sounds geeky!!) really communicating that these were a more sophisticated option than your standard Japanese offering. Below are my brief thoughts on each variant ...


Meiji Meltykiss Creamy Milk Chocolate

Kcal 377 Fat 28.6g Carbs 25.8g (per 60.0g)

I guess it can be argued that if a product is to be classified a Gianduja then it has to contain some form of nut - hence you could say these don't fit that requirement. Although these Meltykiss Creamy Milk Chocolate contained no nut content whatsoever and were rather just cubes of soft milk chocolate, it was hardly liked they lacked flavour. Placing the first cube in my mouth a dry sensation was immediately brought to my tongue as the outer lining of cocoa powder brought about the first texture interaction. Within seconds this dryness turned to a wonderful cooling sensation, as the gloriously soft melt kicked in, and the cube melted like butter and with infinite ease. As the cube did this an explosion of double cream like flavours were released and created a delicious sweet chocolatey flavour hit. Each piece only lasted a matter of seconds on the tongue, but every last moment was immensely enjoyable.

8.4 out of 10



Meiji Meltykiss Caramelized Almond:

Kcal 377 Fat 28.7g Carbs 24.7g (per 60.0g)

Out of the two these sounded like the more exciting flavour but they were going to have to really go some to trump the Creamy Milk Chocolate variant above. Cutting the long story short like I usually like to do, I will say right now that they were simply equally as good - not better, not worse, just a little different flavour wise. One area that both variants didn't differ was in the texture delivery - these Caramelized Almond pieces felt just as amazing in the mouth and their melt was every bit as luxurious. Where they did offer something different was in the taste, as the creamy flavours of the aforementioned variety were unsurprisingly replaced by a more buttery tasting nut influence. The more savoury slant on the taste was abided somewhat by the minor note of the toffee, though it was the almond nut element that definitely came through the strongest, and it similarly just as delicious.

8.4 out of 10


Overall I have once again metaphorically 'bottled it' when it has come to picking a favourite out of the two flavours, but I genuinely couldn't separate one from the other. To get one thing straight these MeltyKiss didn't quite deliver the same rich experience that the Hotel Chocolat Gianduja do, but as products in their own right they were still incredibly moreish, and were genuinely a joy to both eat and review. If I was to live in Japan I could see Meiji's Meltykiss being one of those brands that I would really love. Not only is the taste and texture interplay superb, but actual the concept of the product is brilliant, and it is delivered in a well packaged and sophisticated manner. If you are going to be buying confectionery in from Japan soon you shouldn't be leaving Meiji Meltykiss off your shopping list.

Head to J-List to buy Meiji Meltykiss