August 23rd: Hotel Chocolat Rum Sultanas / Amaretto Sultanas

Lets start today off with a pop quiz :D - who knows the difference between a sultana and raisin? Answers on postcards please, preferably backdated to last week to before I had googled the answer below ...

"In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand the word raisin is reserved for the dried large dark grape, with sultana being a dried large white grape, and currant being a dried small Black Corinth grape"

You learn something new each day don't you - glorious Wikipedia!! So why am I going off on a random one about sultanas and raisins? It's because today I am reviewing some liqueur flavoured sultanas from Hotel Chocolat.

Hotel Chocolat are between seasons at the moment, so my contacts there offered me the chance to fill the seasonal void with some more samples from their 'little things' standard range. These Rum Sultanas and Amaretto Sultanas both came in 150.0g cardboard tubs that must have contained approximatelly 20-30 pieces in each. This style of packaging hasn't ever been a favourite of mine when it comes to Hotel Chocolat (See Ginger Tangs review). Not only do I not think it looks as aesthetically premium as some of their other offerings (their slabs etc), but also if you plan on eating the contents across anything more than a few days the cardboard material doesn't do many wonders for retaining freshness. Minor packaging gripes aside, the raisins and sultanas looked more appealing, and both radiated strong boozie chocolatey scents when I first opened them up. Below are my brief thoughts on each.


Hotel Chocolat Amaretto Sultanas - These came described as 'sultanas soaked in Amaretto, covered in milk chocolate and almonds'. Out of the two dried fruit products on offer today these were the larger in size, with some pieces being twice as large as the rum alternatives. My experiences with Hotel Chocolat liqueur flavoured chocolates have been a little mixed over the past few months, and I'm afraid to say that these were a little unbalanced when it came to how strongly the amaretto came over in the taste. The milk chocolate, plump juicy sultanas and small bits of almond did initially create a myriad of fruit, nut and chocolate flavour influences, however these were masked by the introduction of the amaretto which didn't take long in dominating the other constituents. The overall effect of the amaretto was detrimental to the taste for my liking, but then again I'm not great fan of the liqueur itself.

Hotel Chocolat Rum Sultanas - These came billed as 'sultanas soaked in Jamaican rum covered in milk chocolate'. As I have mentioned above these were noticeably smaller in size, which I found a little puzzling given that the only major difference between the two products were that these didn't have the small bits of almond nut in their coating. Suffice to say I didn't let this perturb me and I'm glad to say I was a little more receptive of these rum flavoured ones. Similarly to the above, the exterior milk chocolate and inner fruit fast established a sugary sweet taste that was well compounded by the fresh feeling sensation that the sultanas created when bitten in to. Like the amaretto, the rum was similarly forthcoming in the taste, however the sweet fruity hints that were present amongst it's boozie flavours complimented the other constituents better than the more startling alcoholic hit of the other spirit. Out of the two I found that these were the ones I was keener on and I finished the tub long before the amarettos.

Overall neither of these would ever be classified in a list of my all time favourite Hotel Chocolat products, but I have to hand it to them for taking a pretty dull product concept of chocolate coated dried fruit and making it somewhat interesting. The added 'interest' was admittedly just a large dose of alcohol for both products, which landed with mixed success. Lets face it though, this made the propositions far more exciting than they would have been had they just been plain. Out of the two my preference lay with the rum sultanas, though when I sampled them on my parents they said they were too sweet and gobbled the rest of the amaretto in super fast time. All-in-all they may not be the most exciting things that Hotel Chocolat have to offer but I wouldn't discount them from your thoughts entirely. If boozie flavoured chocolates are your sort of thing then these are certainly going to be worth you taking a look at if you also like chocolate covered fruits.

Hotel Chocolat Amaretto Sultanas - 7.5 out of 10
Hotel Chocolat Rum Sultanas - 8.0 out of 10

August 21st/22nd: 'Bits n Bobs' - Millionaire's Shortbread

'7Days of Chocolate Reviews' has been replaced this week by a special 'Bits n Bobs' post that I compiled after receiving an e-mail from keen ChocolateMission reader Lauren. A few weeks ago Lauren got in contact asking me if I had any advice on what brand of Millionaire's Shortbreads would be best to take a long to a tea party she was going to that weekend. Of course I suggested that she visit Heavenly Cakes, who I think make the best Millionaire Shortbread ever (See HERE). Lauren however was on a more pressing deadline and needed to buy them that day (DOH!). At this point I had to admit to Lauren I was a bit useless - I could suggest the very decent Thorntons Millionaire's, but to be honest I didn't have any idea about any of the supermarket offerings she mentioned in her e-mail ... I needed to do some research!

Although way to late to assist Lauren, with the help of my work chums, over the last few weeks I have been trying out various Millionaire Shortbreads that are available to us in our supermarkets here in the UK. I will keep the reviews short and sweet, suffice to say none of them were as good as Heavenly Cakes Millionaire's, but please feel free to add your own thoughts below.


Kcal 180 Fat 10.0g Fat(sats) 6.2g Carbs 21.0g (per slice)
Price - £0.79
'Shortcake topped with caramel and a chocolate flavoured coating'

I found these in Sainsbury's and I bought as I could hazily remember them being recommended to me by a ChocolateMission reader previously. Out of all four products on show today these were certainly the most unique in terms manufacture, price and subsequent taste. Unlike the rest of the Millionaire's this was produced by one of the UK's most famous cake brands, dear old 'Mr Kipling', so it was a bit of a surprise to see it was the cheapest out of all four. These things aside the main diversities from the Supermarket offerings came in the taste. Although it had a crisp outer portion, the base was cake like and soft instead of a hard biscuit. This didn't bother me at all, and I thought it delivered some fine syrup sponge flavours. On top of that sponger layer, the caramel was more like dry fudge rather than being soft and gooey. Similarly this wasn't a problem for me and I enjoyed it nevertheless. What was of great disappointment to me however was the chocolate coating, which had very little cut through in the overall taste and was certainly the poorest of all four on show today.

7.3 out of 10




Kcal 290 Fat 13.5g Fat(sats) 9.0g Carbs 26.2g
Price - £0.80p
'Belgian chocolate caramel shortbread'

I bought this in a single serve portion so I wasn't able to get any second opinions. Saying that I'm still pretty confident in my conclusion that this was the best of the lot - it was certainly the one I enjoyed the most anyway! The plastic wrapper and cardboard sleeve weren't perhaps the best looking packaging ever, but I certainly liked the look of the slice out of the packet and I appreciated the decorative bits of white chocolate placed on top. Starting with the biscuit base I felt the shortbread here was the most accomplished. It was crunchy, yet firm and had a delicious butter led taste taste that had all the desired flavours inputs from the hits of brown sugar and salt - wonderful! The caramel on top was similarly nice and firm in texture and did a nice job fusing all three layers. I felt the caramel and chocolate layers weren't the most accomplished in taste, however the caramel avoided being overly sugary and the chocolate did deliver the chocolate flavour hit to a decent standard.

8.1 out of 10




Kcal 170 Fat 8.1g Fat(sats) 5.0g Carbs 14.2g (per square)
Price - £1.59
'Shortbread topped with caramel and milk chocolate, hand drizzled with white chocolate'

I have to admit that the packaging had me believing these were going to be the best out of the bunch and they nearly, nearly were. Out of all three I felt the chocolate layer of these squares was the most accomplished and I enjoyed it's creamy cocoa flavours and crispness at which it broke when bitten in to. Unfortunately I felt the other caramel and biscuit portions weren't as accomplished as the Sainsbury's offering, as both were just a touch shadier in both taste and texture. Taste wise the caramel was more startling in it's sugary flavours, whilst the shortbread was less buttery and blander in comparison. One thing that was especially noted by some of my work colleagues was that the biscuit bases were terribly soft and crumbly, and the softer, gooey texture of the caramel portion whilst looking nice, wasn't all that practical when it came to eating. If quantity and quality of chocolate are the most important things to you, then these are worth a look at.

7.9 out of 10




Kcal 205 Fat 10.3g Fat(sats) 6.2g Carbs 17.3g (per slice)
Price - £2.19
'Shortbread squares topped caramel and dark Belgian chocolate'

Save the best until last!? Unfortunately not - quite the opposite I'm afraid. Aesthetically these slices looked pretty decent, with the caramel layer looking very plentiful in it's portioning sandwiched between the caramel and chocolate. Speaking of the chocolate, I thought the 'dark chocolate' proposition might be a clever ploy by Waitrose to balance the sweetness of the caramel. Indeed the sweetness was taken out of chocolate, but it was unfortunately not replaced by any grander focus on cocoa or cream so it came off as being just rather bland. The caramel layer took the lead role in the taste with it's fine buttery sweet flavours, but the biscuit bases were just as disappointing as the chocolate. Personally I would say Waitrose billing the bases as shortbread is verging on lieing - they tasted more like blander McVitie's digestive biscuits and were soft and unsubstantial once in the mouth. Unlike the others I wouldn't be prepared to buy these again.

6.6 out of 10

August 20th: Mr Tom Chocolate

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

Before I kick off this review I must first take the time to thank my friends over at Candyholic.com for making this post possible. My pal Kristian from Candyholic was recently kind enough to send me a parcel containing some of the newest products out in Germany. Included in the package was some of the latest Milka and Lindt bars that you will no doubt see appearing on the site in the coming weeks. Kristian also happen to include some of his own favourite chocolates, including this Mr Tom Chocolate bar. Here in the UK the original Mr Tom bar can be found in most newsagents and supermarkets, however I have never seen this chocolate variety before. On the packaging this bar came described as 'milk chocolate with caramelized and roasted peanuts' and was of course produced in Germany.

This chocolate came in the slightly odd sized 150.0g and came in a square bar format not unlike a Ritter Sport chocolate. The wrapper wasn't totally reminiscent of the crazy retro looking Mr Tom bars we get in the UK, but it looked fine nonetheless and the chocolate looked reasonably appetising with visible chunks of peanuts distributed throughout. One slight annoyance for me was that despite the wrapper being similar in style to Ritter chocolates it wasn't resealable, which obviously wasn't ideal for a bar of its size. As I ate the bar over the course of a few days, it seemed to lose it's freshness a little, that said the wafts of peanut smells I got when I opened the thing for the first time were extremely tempting.

Judging by the aromas and the sheer volume of peanuts dispersed throughout, I was expecting a very nutty tasting chocolate and this is exactly what I got. Starting with the quality of the chocolate it has to be said it wasn't the best I have ever tasted, though neither was it the worst. On the back of the wrapper the ingredients stated that the chocolate comprised of 30% cocoa solids which I guess is around the expected strength for the average mass produced milk chocolate. In terms of taste it was nothing out of the ordinary with the flavour base centered around sweet milk and mild cocoa influences. To be honest it didn't really have any compelling or unique features about it, and was more just a bog standard milk chocolate that wouldn't have seemed out of place in any Nestle or Mars produced mass confection. The peanut pieces placed throughout the chocolate were portioned pretty generously, though as I so often find their chopped nature came to their detriment as they failed to have the same sort of cut through in taste as I'm sure whole nuts would have. Don't get me wrong, the caramel and salty influences were still there in force, however they didn't create the lasting impression that other peanut flavoured chocolates have done in the past.

Overall this was a decent enough milk chocolate that had it's strong points, but I ultimately felt like it could have been done a little better than what I experienced here. On the rare occasion that I do indulge in a Mr Tom bar, one of the things that I always love about it is how the peanuts are implemented in their natural whole state as it gives the bar not only a unique and compelling look, but also a raw and very 'in your face' peanut flavour experience. In this Mr Tom Chocolate bar the peanut element was somewhat masked by a no better than average milk chocolate, which leads me to be the question why didn't they just use the base of an original Mr Tom and then just coat it in milk chocolate!? Casting my mind to better alternatives I would say the Whittaker's Original Peanut Block is the best example of a bar that does this combination the best. In light of that I would recommend you give that bar a try before this Mr Tom Chocolate.

7.3 out of 10

August 19th: Galler Heritage Noir 85%

Kcal 559 Fat 50.1g Carbs 16.3g (per 100.0g)

Having got through a fair number of Galler's filled chocolate bars recently I was delighted when I was presented with the opportunity to try their Heritage Noir 85% dark chocolate bar. Those in the know will be well aware that 85% recipe chocolates have a pretty good track record here on ChocolateMission. I don't know whether it is by luck and chance, but bars of this strength from the likes of Lindt, Green & Black's etc have been some of my favourite chocolates of all time. In fact, if you look at the ChocolateMission leaderboard you will see that Hotel Chocolat's 85% House Dark Chocolate still remains right at the top (I very much recommend you try it if you haven't done so already!). Today was all about this Galler Heritage Noir 85% though, and it came described as a very unfussy sounding 'dark chocolate with 85% cocoa'.

This bar came in a 100.0g size that I willingly shared with some fellow taste testers. What can I say about the presentation? My previous reviews on Galler's filled bar range have been filled with nothing but superlatives when it comes to their packaging, but this bar really did look a cut above the rest. The outer wrapper was simplistic, yet totally premium looking in design, but it was the bar itself where this chocolate really shone. When I say shone, I really do mean it shone - the surface of the chocolate had the cleanest looking surface of any chocolate I have seen before. It gave the sense that the chocolate was fresh out the hands of the chocolatier who crafted it, whilst the perfect sized blocks and crystal clear Galler logo just further reaffirmed th sense this was a high end offering.

When I had finally finished marvelling over the gorgeous look of the bar, the next task myself and taste testers embarked upon was taking in the smells offered by the chocolate. All five of us remarked that the strong cocoa scents were appealing in their fresh, fragrant scents, though some (who got really into it :D ) went further by describing they could detect hints of roasted coffee and charcoal (oooh err!) haha! Smelling the chocolate was fine and necessary and everything, but this was really going to come down to the all important taste test. As mentioned above the chocolate blocks were a perfect mouth size, with one piece at a time the optimum size for just popping on the tongue. Doing exactly this allowed for the flavour development to be at it's best - this was a strictly no chew necessary chocolate. Placing a block on the tongue the chocolate quickly established a strong tasting set of cocoa flavours that came across as sharp and edgy to the majority of us. As the chocolate gathered heat and transcended in form, these cocoa flavours became more rounded, and developed flavour notes of vanilla, brown sugar and milk which somewhat took the edge off the taste. During the latter stages of the melt it was mentioned be a few of my taste testers (and myself!) that the taste developed undercurrents of burnt sugar and caramel. The aftertaste left in the mouth was pleasant, but not perhaps as long lasting as other chocolates I have tried of this strength.

Overall I personally felt this was a very accomplished and tasty dark chocolate which was a common consensus amongst all the people that I sampled it with. I think it was best summed up by one of colleagues as 'proper chocolate' - this it certainly was. The flavour development was absolutely first class and I loved the way it started out with a strong, almost startling chocolatey flavour hit before it developed in to a calmer, creamier kind taste. If I was to compare it to the Hotel Chocolat 85% I would say it was definitely in the same ball park in terms of my enjoyment of it, but the thinner nature of the Galler bars melt gave it slightly less longevity and presence than it's Hotel Chocolat counterpart. This is just my own personal opinion, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are many out there who might just happen to prefer this Galler offering. The wonderful thing about dark chocolate is that is shares many similarities to fine wines. Everyone has their own tastes that are matched by different brands, but like wines, anyone who has any idea about chocolate will be able to tell this is a high quality bar. I know I keep saying this about most Galler products I try, but I can only tell the truth - I really recommend this.

8.9 out of 10

August 18th: 'Bits n Bobs' Cakes, Cereal & Biscuit Chocolate Bars # 3

In the last few weeks my 'Bits n Bobs' reviews seem to have gone down well with readers, so acting on the few requests made in the last B&B post, I today bring you some more quickfire product reviews. In the line of fire today we have offerings from Jacob's biscuits, Kellogg's and my all time favourite food retailer Marks & Spencer ... lets get cracking ...




Kcal 116 Fat 5.8g Fat(sats) 3.7g Carbs 14.5g (per bar)

'Milk chocolate with fruit, chocolate cream and a biscuit base'

In my Jacob's CLUB superpost last month, readers were quick to point out that it wasn't quite so super as I had missed out one of the flavours in the range. Unbeknown to myself the CLUB biscuit also comes in a 'Fruit' flavour which currently isn't included in the 27 bar multipack that I bought to test the other three flavours. After a little hunting down in Tesco I finally found a 9 pack of bars for the price of £1 and brought them in to work for our tea room. For anyone wondering about the fruit content of these bars, it will come as little surprise to you that this came in the form of currants. Upon opening the bar it was particularly nice to see the currants nicely portioned throughout out the biscuit base. This made this 'Fruit' bar look more exciting aesthetically compared to the other variants which have to be said, all looked pretty similar. In regards to taste the milk chocolate and biscuit constituents primarily offered the same experience served up by the rest of the CLUB range, though the currants did manage to enhance the flavour depth. The sugary fruitiness of the currants wasn't anything revolutionary, but it was a welcome addition to the taste and the soft chewy texture of the fruit pieces nicely contrasted with the crunchy biscuit. If I was going to buy CLUB biscuits again in the future I would probably plump for either these or the mint ones.

7.4 out of 10

Kcal 84 Fat 2.5g Fat(sats) 2.0g Carbs 14.0g

'Chocolate toasted rice cereal and milk bar'

I remember this product being one of the first cereal bars to come on the market from the established manufacturers, and it was one of the ones I have become pretty familiar with down the years. As I have said on previous reviews, chocolate cereals have never been a thing that I have particularly enjoyed (apart from the latest Weetabix Chocolate See HERE), neither am I really much of a fan of rice based cereals. Given both of those facts it probably doesn't seem all the sensical that I have a bit of a soft spot when it comes these Coco Pops Chocolate & Milk Cereal Bars. I wouldn't say these are an every week purchase for me, but I do on occasion slip a pack in shopping basket and take them to work for a snack. Taste wise the chocolate payoff isn't as grand as what you get from any average chocolate bar, but the sweet cocoa flavours deliver a decent chocolate flavour hit. Additionally the milk icing that lines the bottom brings a very pleasant additional creaminess to the taste - I just wish they would make it as thick as it used to be! For a low calorie chocolate snack this is one of the best options out there in my opinion.

7.2 out of 10

Kcal 515 Fat 30.8g Fat(sats) 13.5g Carbs 55.5g (per 100.0g)

'Chocolate square with biscuit and honeycomb pieces, topped with a layer of milk chocolate and white chocolate drizzle'

Whilst the other two products have been around for donkeys years, this Marks & Spencer Honeycomb Tiffin is on of the latest additions to M&S's extensive 'food on the go' range. This 45.0g cake set me back a reasonably priced 69p and came in a pack sized similar in size to a box for a jewellery ring (sorry only comparison I could think of haha!). In true English fashion I consumed this alongside a traditional cup of Early Grey tea (stereotypical Englishmen I know!), which proved to be a very fitting eating occassion. Unfortunately for all cakes that feature on this site nowadays, they always come up agaisnt the tought comparator of Heavenly Cakes. Lets get this well out the way from the start, this wasn't as good as the Heavenly Cakes Tiffin cake! I did however still get a a great deal of enjoyment from this M&S offering. The base of the cake was a little crumbly around the edges, but it had a nice denseness to it in the middle where the honeycomb bits really came in to their own. The combination of the buttery biscuit pieces, milky sweet chocolate and honey made for a very interesting and diverse flavour experience. Unfortunately the taste wasn't particularly long lasting, something that I think could have been helped by the chocolate topping had it been a little more substantial and impactful in terms of flavours. It was a decent enough cake, especially when you factor in the price and convenience of it.

7.6 out of 10

August 17th: Guylian Milk/White & Hazelnuts

Chances are these Guylian bars reviewed today are 'the most travelled' chocolates ever to appear on ChocolateMission. You may be asking yourself how on earth this could be the case since Guylian chocolate is produced in Belgium!? Well from what I can make out from the back of the wrapper, these bars made a quick stop off to Australia! Indeed last week when browsing the shelves in my local Sainsbury's I happened to come across these Guylian Milk/White Hazelnuts bars. I hadn't seen either of them before so I was quick to consult the back of the packet to find determine their place of origin. It said 'made in Belgium, imported in Asutralia/New Zealand', so I was a little clueless (and still am!) as to how they made their way to my local supermarket in Surrey, England - whatever, I ended up buying both 100.0g bars!

Packaging wise I thought both were a little disappointing. Yes I will admit that they did manage to catch my eye, though I didn't think the use of the green colouring on either of the variants was very in keeping with Guylian's normally perfect sense of premiuimality (yes I'm making up words now!). Both chocolates were maintained in good condition thanks to a layer of foil packaging - the milk variant was by far the stronger smelling establishing a nicely nut hinted set of chocolatey aromas.

Below are my thoughts on each variant ...

Guylian Milk & Hazelnuts - Kcal 563 Fat 36.3g Fat(sats) 18.0g Carbs 49.6g (per 100.0g)

'How a chocolate smells, is always very indicative of the taste'. That is a phrase you will have found in several previous reviews and 99.0% of the time it is generally right. Out of the two chocolate types on offer today it was this milk variant that smelt strongest, however when it came to the taste it proved to be a little bland in comparison to it's white comparator. The chocolatey flavours had a very smooth milkiness, but there were very little cocoa flavours generated throughout the entire experience. Luckily for this chocolate, another one of my 'chocolate rules' of 'chopped nuts always being worse than wholenuts' was also proved totally wrong. Indeed, the chopped bits of hazelnuts were delightfully flavoursome and established a very forthcoming set of savoury woody flavours that left a lasting impression in the mouth. This was a chocolate very much saved by a very tasty helping of hazelnuts.

7.5 out of 10

Guylian White & Hazelnuts - Kcal 582 Fat 37.8g Fat(sats) 18.9g Carbs 55.0g (per 100.0g)

Contrary to expectations this white chocolate was actually very flavoursome, and fast established a thick creamy vanilla taste as soon as it entered the mouth. The pace of the melt of the chocolate was well timed, whilst the feel of transformation from solid to liquid was also pleasantly smooth. As much as the white chocolate was noteworthy to the taste, the majority of the experience was once again dominated by the chopped hazelnuts that were plentifully portioned throughout each block. The contrast of the creamier, sweeter white chocolate and the savoury hazelnut pieces was more extreme compared to the milk variant, which made the taste that little bit more exciting. I don't often say this but I found the white chocolate the more satisfying out of the two.

7.5 out of 10


Overall despite these being pretty average offerings from Guylian they were still fascinating to review given that they held several surprises ...

* Surprise #1 - Their place of origin!? ... I still have no idea how they made it to the UK.
* Surprise #2 - The white chocolate was tastier than the milk chocolate! ... This is something I don't find myself writing all that often.
* Surprise #3 - The chopped hazelnuts were actually pretty good! ... In both bars the chopped bits of hazelnuts generated a decent level of flavour and actually led the taste as soon as they were chewed.

Although I did prefer the taste of the white variant, it's failure to ignite any excitement with it's lacking aromas before the taste test has resulted in it scoring the same as the milk chocolate offering. To be honest I wouldn't get all that upset if you never come across these yourselves. They are both nice enough, but they don't offer anything that isn't available elsewhere on the market - See Lindt Excellence Caramelised Hazelnuts.

August 16th: Kit Kat Chunky Hazelnut

Kcal 270 Fat 15.6g Carbs 29.7g

I get the feeling that there are plenty of UK consumers still feeling a little disappointed (understatement of the year!) at Nestle's decision to replace the Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter with an inferior (in my opinion!) Kit Kat Chunky Caramel. If you are one of the people that fall in to that category this is probably not the best post for you to read, as today I will be showcasing this Kit Kat Chunky Hazelnut. Why is this such a bad thing!? Well I'm sure all my UK readers will be instantly annoyed by the news that this is a bar solely manufactured and distributed in Germany - I can hear the mass 'DOHs' being exclaimed now. On the wrapper the bar came described as 'crisp wafer layers, with a hazelnut creme filling, coated in milk chocolate' - this prospect had me licking my lips.

As with all other standard Kit Kat Chunkys this bar came in a single piece 50.0g size that I ate across a single sitting. My first impressions of the wrapper weren't all that positive and I was instantly confused by the choice of a green colouring to indicate the hazelnut flavours theme (I still am to be honest) Aside from the lime/bogey green exterior things became a whole lot more familiar when I unwrapped the foil and took out the bar inside. In keeping with any other Chunky variant the chocolate and wafers looked as just grand and thick, whilst the hazelnut creme looked well portioned and inviting. In addition to the standard chocolate biscuit Kit Kat smells there were also mild hints nuttiness on offer which further heightened my anticipation.

I'm sure 99% of you would have tasted some sort of Kit Kat product down the years so there is probably very little need for me to inform you all of what the chocolate and wafer constituents of this product tasted like. Just to clue up the remaining 1% :D the thick helping of outer milk chocolate delivered the desired chocolate flavour hit and was more than competent at establishing a sweet, milky cocoa flavour base that perfectly combined with the malty wheat flavours of the crunchy wafer layers. The sole defining aspect of this product was of course always going to be the quality of the hazelnut creme - was it good? was it bad? was it out of this world? Well it fell a little short of being out of this world :D but I'm glad to say it was very tasty indeed. Unlike the dry, pasty texture of the UK Chunky Caramel, this creme had a more fluid, cool feel in the mouth. Most importantly it added a further nutty dimension to the taste - it wasn't the most intensive of hazelnut influences, but it was strong enough to cut through both the chocolate and wafer elements, leaving a lasting impression of creamy hazelnut in the mouth. The total bar was a joy to eat and pleasure to eat in it's entirety and left me feeling very satisfied.

Overall this Kit Kat Chunky Hazelnut was every bit as good as I was hoping it to be, and would have to be placed right alongside both the Peanut Butter and White Chunkys in regards to my favourites. To give you some sort of context this Chunky Hazelnut was pretty much exactly like a beefed up, more substantial version of the Kit Kat Senses. It had exactly the same milk chocolate, wafer and hazelnut creme constituents, but all three were more heavily portioned which most greatly benefited the hazelnut creme. Unlike in the Senses where the filling is more of a 'suggestion' and portioned pretty poorly, every bite of this bar had strong hazelnut tones which I personally found much more to my liking and far more satisfying in comparison. My UK readers are no doubt going to be very frustrated by this review given that I have now been lauded over yet another flavour of Chunky they don't have readily access to. For those of you that do have this bar in distribution in your local stores, I would strongly suggest you give it a try - I for one will be buying it again in the future.

8.5 out of 10

August 14/15th: '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' - Edition 52

JIM's Corner

Hi All,

I hope you have all had good weeks - we have had some great products featured on the site this week. If you haven't managed to check out some of the reviews that have been posted on the site I would make sure you check out the Greneda Chocolate Co's first ChocolateMission outing and also take a look at Galler's Cafe Noir, both scored in excess of 8.5 out of 10!

If you are followiing me on Twitter you will have no doubt have seen the Weetabix competition I have been running this week. Winners will be announced Saturday evening so keep an eye for that. I'm sure a lot of you will be excited to hear that there is a Zotter competition in the pipeline! Keep an eye out for that.

Some readers recently have requested that I give you guys a sneak preview of what is to come this week. Well without giving the game away too much I have more coming from Galler, a 'Bits n Bobs' and also a new variety of Kit Kat Chunky :) I bet you weren't expecting that last one! Be sure to check in Monday for that.

Have great weekends

JIM


News from the chocolate market

* Fox biscuits are bringing out some new 'Choc n Oat' bars ... See HERE

* I've never heard of this company 'Moo Free' before I guess they must be a dairy free chocolate producer. Anywho they have some new products coming out ... See HERE

* CoCo Pops have a new fibre based cereal out ... See HERE

* If you like Cadbury Clusters you should check out these new Muller Pots ... See HERE

* Women love chocolate right!? Well so do Men ... REAL MEN like me :D ... See HERE

* Auberge du Chocolat takes home the gold at the Great Taste Awards ... See HERE

* .... Have I missed anything!? Why not share it with us all! Drop me a comment.


Posts from other blogs I enjoyed this week

* Foodstufffinds - Another awesome week of reviews was highlighted by this post about Pot Noodle's Bombay Bad Boy :D I want to see a review of the Spare Rib now ... See HERE

* Candyblog - Cybele has managed to find her way around to reviewing the Tunnock's Caramel Milk Chocolate Wafer. It has legendary status in the UK ... See HERE

* TheBeWilderedBrit - This is one of my favourite sites at the moment. Bemused Brit Richard took a look at these Necco Chocolate Wafers this week ... See HERE

* GiGiReviews - What is it with my American blogging friends reviewing all manner of UK things this week. This week GiGi had a try of our Snickers Flapjack ... See HERE

* JapaneseSnackReviews - Well this has caught my attention! I am going to have to try this soon as possible - Kit Kat Salted Caramel Big Bar ... See HERE

* Caffeine-A-Holic - Bryan's site is one I have only just recently just come across but it's one I will be keeping an eye on. Take a look at his review of Red Bull Energy Shots ... See HERE


Posts I updated this week

* Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut - See HERE ... updated photos
* Cadbury Triple Choc Roll - See HERE ... added mint variety review
* Schogetten Tiramisu - See HERE ... added dark chocolate variety review
* Reese's Crispy Crunch - See HERE ... Updated photos

August 13th: The Grenada Chocolate Company Organic Dark Chocolate 71%

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

In some of my recent reviews you may noticed me mentioning that I have been buying an increasing number of chocolates from the UK supermarket retailer Waitrose. Indeed if you are one of my UK readers I would strongly suggest you take a visit to you local store to check out their chocolate shelves. I'm not saying it is going to be a cheap visit, but I'm in little doubt that a lot of you will be surprised at just how wide their range is. On one of my recent recent Waitrose visits I picked up this little known offering made by The Grenada Chocolate Company. This bar came billed as a 71% cocoa organic dark chocolate bar, made from 'organic cocoa farms nestles in the lush Carribean rain forest'. When I review chocolates like this, it really blows my mind how the ingredients make their way from rain forests on one side of the world, to being in my hands here in the UK.

This bar came in a 85.0g tablet and set me back the reasonably priced sum of £2.99. One of the things that immediately struck me about this product was the packaging. I have never been to the Caribbean, but from what I understand it is a colourful, vibrant place, which is something the wrapper communicated expertly. Sat on the shelf the bar really stood out - believe me it would have to considering the hundreds that Waitrose stock. Inside the chocolate was wrapped in a thick layer of bronze foil and looked beautifully fresh with a crisp, clean looking surface and it's deep black colour. When it came to aromas, the chocolate fully justified it's fresh looking aesthetics and it emanated some fragrant, roasted cocoa smells which gave me great expectations of the taste to follow.

Breaking the chocolate in to smaller chunks it broke with a lovely sounding snap which further gave evidence that this was a delightfully fresh chocolate. Of course looking, smelling and sounding fresh wasn't going to mean anything if it didn't taste fresh and flavoursome, and I have the pleasure of reporting that it very much did. From the very first seconds of the chocolate being in the mouth the cocoa flavours came to the party and quickly established a strong set of sugar and milk flavours. As the smooth melt slowly gathered paced, these brown sugar notes caramelised into a smokier influence, which had minor hints of wood and red fruits . As the solid mass entered it's final melting stage, transforming into a liquid state, a final plethora of chocolate and coffee elements came to the fore. This final twist in the aftertaste was a fitting end to each blocks, and left a great impression on my palette for a long time after consumption. This was definitely one of those chocolates best enjoyed in small amounts alongside an after dinner coffee. It wasn't suitable for eating in any great quantity, as it was exceedingly rich.

Overall this was one of the best plain dark chocolate bars I have tasted for a long time and is well worthy of it's 9.0 out 10 rating. Pretty much everything about this bar was superb: the packaging looked great, it smelt wonderful, it broke with crispness and of course mostly importantly it was exceedingly tasty. My tasting notes above may read like I am trying to sound an expert (which I don't think I am!!), but that was truly the only way I could describe the taste. I hope my rambling has been able to communicate that the flavours on offer were rich, smooth flowing, progressive and never in any sense bitter - it was almost the perfect dark chocolate. Compared to my all time favourite Hotel Chocolat 85%, I would rate this chocolate in the same league, though I wouldn't say the finish or the textures were quite as creamy, so my preference still falls with the latter. If you are going to be taking my advice and are going to go for a shop in Waitrose soon, I strongly suggest you keep an eye out for this dark chocolate - to be honest it's going to be hard to miss it on the shelf.

9.0 out of 10

August 12th: Thorntons White Chocolate with Coconut & Lime

Kcal 583 Fat 39.3g Fat(sats) 25.9g Carbs 48.0g (per 100.0g)

One of the greatest things about running a website like this is that every now and then I get random parcels turn up on my doorstep with chocolate samples I didn't even know I was going to be receiving. Just a few weeks ago Kate from an agency called Nudge sent me a package on behalf of Thorntons, which contained one the latest limited editions from their Square Blocks *ahem* Ritter *ahem* range :D This White Chocolate with Coconut & Lime struck me as a suitable summery offering from the brand, involving a unique combination of ingredients. Thorntons are one of a very few brands that I believe make decent white chocolate (See HERE), so I was more than interested to see what I made of their latest white chocolate creation.

Despite all these Square Block bars looking the same you may have noticed that Thorntons certainly like varying up the size and weighting of them depending on the added ingredients. This coconut and lime bar clocked in at 80.0g, which served me for two sittings when sharing amongst a few willing tasting accomplices. I'm not sure of who picks the colours of the packaging at Thorntons, but I have a pretty strong feeling that guy/girl's favourite colour is green judging by the number of bars in this range that use that colour (Tonka, Pistachio & Mint). My green gripes aside, the overall presentation was of a good standard - the inner foil wrapper ensured a good degree of freshness, whilst the chocolate looked suitably intriguing on the eye with the golden bits of coconut visibly dispersed well throughout.

As I do with every chocolate I gave this one a good 'smelling-over' before I tucked in to it. The smells that emanated from the bar weren't the most forthcoming but when specifically searched for there were hints of citrus fruit amongst the underlying vanilla yoghurt like scents. As I have passed reference to already, Throntons are one of very few brands that I think have a decent white chocolate recipe and it didn't fail to impress me once again. During the initial phases of the melt, the chocolate presented a creamy milk based taste that was pleasantly passive in it's sugar emphasis. Moving in to the middle and latter stages of it's transformation, a subtle lime twist became noticeable which brought a switch of emphasis away from a creamy tasting chocolate, to a more fruit flavoured yoghurt like taste. Once the blocks had completely melted away, the remaining fragments of dessicated coconut provided a fitting end to each mouthful, bringing excitement in terms of both textures and nutty flavours. The progressive nature of the flavours and resulting taste meant this was a chocolate that demanded attention from the first to the last minute in the mouth. In this regard I felt like it was a satisfying chocolate.

Overall I thought this was an interesting and unique flavour combination, but I don't think it would be one that I would consistently choose to buy instead of Thorntons' plain white chocolate offering. Despite being listed in the actual ingredients as only 'flavourings', it was the lime element of this product that proved to be the X-factor, as it really changed the focus of the taste. The white chocolate started out very familiar with it's cream based flavours, however the introduction of the lime in to the mix made for a slightly sourer yoghurt like overall taste. Whilst this variation was still pretty delicious and a nice change up from the norm, I probably wouldn't include the lime in the mix if I was given the option, on relfection I would happily have settled for a plainer white chocolate with coconut offering. Whilst I may not have rated this as highly as Thorntons' white chocolate original, I would still happily suggest it as a nice variation for white chocolate fans to try. Be sure to check it out before it disappears with the summer sun.

8.0 out of 10

August 11th: Galler Cafe Noir

Kcal 536 Fat 34.0g Fat(sats) 17.3g Carbs 44.9g (per 100.0g)

Barely a week can go by at the minute without Galler featuring on this site, but I certainly wont be complaining if the samples remain this plentiful and the quality of chocolate remains as high as it has been. The bar taking centre stage today is another from their filled bars range, and is yet another coffee flavoured offering. Over the past month you will recall that I have reviewed many coffee flavoured chocolates, ranging from the Ritter Sport Espresso, Thorntons Colombian Coffee and even Galler's own Manon chocolate. This Cafe Noir bar however sounded like it had the potential to be the best out of the lot, and came described as 'dark chocolate with a coffee praline filling'. With my trusted taste testers at hand (my family), I today went about seeing if it could live up to my lofty expectations.

Despite travelling in the same parcel as last weeks slightly deformed Praline Blanc, this 70.0g Cafe Noir bar managed to make its way to me in slightly better condition. As you will see from the photo above, this bar was colour coded using a dark brown tab at the top, which I thought was a sensible choice of colour given the flavour theme. The chocolate bar itself did look a little worn and scuffed due to the previously mentioned post issue, but that aside it looked nicely appetising with darkly coloured outer chocolate nicely differentiated from the lighter coloured coffee centre. Straight out of the inner foil wrapper, the bar immediately made it's presence felt, emanating a tempting set of chocolate and roasted coffee bean scents.

Given what I have written in previous coffee flavoured chocolate reviews it doesn't take a genius to work out that this particular flavour combination is one of my favourites, and this is a preference that I share with my father. I wouldn't say either of us are chocolate coffee connoisseurs, but having tried several different varieties over the last few years I would of said that between us we could come to a decent judgement as to how good one is. Having tried so many different coffee flavoured chocolates, the only way to really judge this Galler Cafe Noir was to place it in the context of our previous experiences. Starting with the outer chocolate it was a great start as it was certainly a step in quality up from the likes used in Ritter Sport's Espresso. The exterior 60% chocolate was quite simply delicious tasting, and fast established a rich, flavoursome set of unsweetened cocoa flavours in the mouth. The melt of the outer chocolate was smooth and well paced, though the inner filling was even softer feeling when encountered. Compared to the outer chocolate the inner filling was slightly sweeter in taste - almost like a black coffee that had been treated to a few spoonfuls of sugar. Although the coffee was by far the leading flavour note there also were small hints of hazelnut and vanilla detectable in the latter stages of the flavour development, which was welcome as it made the taste at least somewhat progressive.

Overall both my father and I agreed that although the chocolate was more flavoursome and richer tasting than the Ritter equivalent, the Ritter Sport Espresso had a better quality coffee centre as it had a longer last flavour impact and was just a little less passive in taste. That said, this was still an incredibly tasty offering from Galler, and I thought the dark chocolate exterior made it better than the previously reviewed Galler Manon which had the same coffee filling just with a white chocolate coating. Having taken my reviews of Galler products in to double figures with todays post I now feel very confident as recommending them as a brand that is suitable for gifting if it is high quality that you are looking to communicate. One thing that you always get for certain with Galler is a feel that what you are looking at/eating is from the premium end of the chocolate market - the packaging and presentation is always first class. I might not be able to recommend this Cafe Noir bar as the best in class in regards to coffee flavoured chocolates, but I can definitely suggest it as a very competent offering. It's worth giving a try if coffee chocolates are your thing.

8.5 out of 10

August 10th: Trumpf Schogetten Marzipan / Banana Split

It's been a fair while since I last reviewed a Trumpf Schogetten product on the site, but with the help of some German friends I today get the chance to bring you a special 'two-for-one' review. In the ChocolateMission spotlight today we have both these Marzipan and Banana Split varieties - the latter of which is one of the latest flavours to come out especially for Summer 2010.

Both of these flavours came in the standard 100.0g bar format, and as usual came split into several separated blocks pieces. In terms of packaging and and overall presentation the Banana Split was the most attractive looking and really caught the eye with it's bright yellow pastel coloured background. In terms of aromas both proved to be fairly appetising, though the Banana Split was noticeably a little artificial smelling in terms of it's fruity scents.


Trumpf Schogetten Marzipan


Kcal 492 Fat 30.0g Carbs 45.0g (per 100.0g)

'Filled bitter chocolate with marzipan filling'

I remember my conclusion in my review of Schogetten's plain dark chocolate bar being that for the price you pay the quality is pretty tremendous. Placing the first piece of this in my mouth these were again my initial thoughts, as the dark chocolate exterior quickly established a decently rich set of unsweetned cocoa flavours in the mouth. Unlike better quality dark chocolates the taste wasn't all that progressive, though the cocoa volume rose to a decent level throughout the progression of the melt. Sat in the middle of each piece, the marzipan was nicely moist in terms of feel and texture and had quite a definitive alcohol edge to it's taste. Unfortunately the almond flavours were a little lacking and at times almost completely absent. Compared to the likes of Niederegger the marzipan filling was pretty poor in terms of quality.

7.3 out of 10




Trumpf Schogetten Banana Split

Kcal 555 Fat 34.0g Carbs 56.0g (per 100.0g)

'Milk chocolate with a banana creme filling'

As I have mentioned above I was pretty cautious about this chocolate before tasting it, as the smells that emanated from the packaging came across as quite fake. I probably needn't say much about Schogetten milk chocolate, as I have covered it so many times in my previous Schogetten reviews (See HERE). Suffice to say the milk chocolate substantiated a decent milk rooted chocolate flavour hit with every mouthful and the pace of the melt led nicely, in to the drier, almost chalky texture of the inner filling. That may not sound like the most complimentary of descriptions, however the differentiation in feel between the layers was pleasant, and thankfully the taste was there to match. In terms of fruity 'realness' I have to concede that the smells weren't all misleading, though this bothered me a lot less than I thought it would. I think this was majoritly because the delivery of the banana element was nicely underpinned by a strong flavour base of bourbon vanilla, which created the desired ice cream like experience. This chocolate was very sweet, but I found it adequately satisfying after a few blocks.

7.8 out of 10

Overall whatever flavour I try from Schogetten I seem to always come to exactly the same conclusion everytime. In terms of quality neither of these chocolates can be classified as 'best in class' at their flavours, however for the price you pay they are certainly worth a look at if you find yourself a little short in the pocket. The Marzipan variety has decent enough dark chocolate, but it's actual filling unsurprisingly lacks the prestige of some of the higher end marzipan brands. Similarly the Banana Split flavour had reasonable standard milk chocolate and a tasty filling, however compared to some of the summer varieties offered by the likes of Ritter Sport etc it simply isn't quite as good. I would recommend these chocolates if you are shopping on a budget, but if it is ultimately quality you are after you should look elsewhere.

August 9th: Galler Praline Blanc

Kcal 564 Fat 35.8g Fat(sats) 19.6g Carbs 54.5g (per 100.0g)

My slow procession through Galler's (website See HERE) filled chocolate bar range shows no signs of coming to a halt, thanks by and large to their own willingness to kindly ply me with samples (hurray!!). Over the course of 2010, Galler have not only won a fan in myself, but also the rest of my family who always seem to conveniently be on hand whenever a Galler parcel delivery needs signing for. One of the Galler bars that has featured quite prominently amongst reader requests is this Praline Blanc offering, which consists of 'white chocolate with a praline filling'. Having tried a few teasers so to speak in their Ballontin of Pralines selection box, I was certainly expecting alot from this particular bar.

This Praline Blanc can in the usual Galler filled bars setup with the 70.0g constituents split into four overly large sized blocks. If you look at my photos above you will notice that the bar didn't make its way too me in the usual A-spec fashion, I will have to blame this on the weather which as most of you will know here in the UK has been searingly hot over the last few weeks. Putting it's slightly misformed shape aside, the presentation was every bit as I expect from Galler. The chocolate blocks especially looked very tempting indeed with the dark coloured beige filling looking plentifully portioned within the snow white coloured chocolate. Straight out the foil wrapper the bar didn't have the strongest of aromas, though as soon as it was cut in to a thick, strong hazelnut smell managed to raise my anticipation that little bit more.

After a good few hours in the fridge, the chocolate managed to miraculously retake it's original shape so the all that was left to do was the obligatory taste test. After cutting the blocks into manageable mouthful pieces, my ever willing family and I shared the bar over some post lunch coffees which proved to be a very suitable occasion. The outer white chocolate was the first element to come to the party and was fast at establishing a smooth, flowing milk based set of flavours. The taste of the white chocolate was sweet, but it maintained a decent balance and the background hint of vanilla grew in stature as the taste developed. Sat below the chocolate the praline filling was pretty special tasting, and somehow managed to feel softer than the silky chocolate that coated it. It wasn't the strongest in it's hazelnut emphasis, but it had a pleasant amount of woody nut flavours, and the creaminess only further went to enhance that of the exterior chocolate. If I had a criticism about this bar it would be that I think it could have done with a bit of roughness in the texture of the praline centre, just to make the flavours grip that little bit more. Both the chocolate and the praline filling were both so smooth and fast in melt that their actual mouth longevity was pretty short lived, which is an issue that could of been solved by making the filling feel more substanstial.

Overall this may not be Galler's highest scoring bar on ChocolateMission this year, but it still a very accomplished praline based white chocolate offering. I have remarked this on several reviews in the last few months but the point is worth reaffirming yet again that Galler are very, very accomplished when it comes to the quality of their white chocolate. Yet again it provided a delicious exterior for the inner filling, and was even given the seal of approval from my father who is really not a fan of chocolate of the white kind. The praline filling below was perhaps not perfect but it was still exceedingly tasty with it's super smooth melting hazelnut flavour delivery. Although now having tried several of Galler's praline chocolates, I'm still a little none the wiser as to which of their chocolates is the best type to coat their praline recipe. One thing I can say with great confidence though, is that if you like your white chocolate and praline products this is up there with some of the best of them. It may not beat Hotel Chocolat's Praline White, but by my reckoning it's still very much worth a try to see what you think for yourself.

8.3 out of 10

August 7/8th: '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' - Edition 51

JIM's Corner

Hi All,

I'm doing things a little differently for '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' as I have a special feature on the new Weetabix Chocolate Cereal below.

Not much has happened this week - apologies there have been no Twitter competition, things have been a tad busy my end. I am away for the weekend so this post will have to do you for Saturday & Sunday :D

Please feel free to contribute to my review below by answering the questions at end. Also if you have spotted any chocolate news stories be sure to leave them. I hope you all have great weekends!

JIM


Posts from other Blogs I enjoyed this week

Gigi Reviews - Gi had an awesome idea and provided us all with a posts documenting her top 10 products of 2010 ... See HERE

The Impulsive Buy - Whilst I was busying reviewing normal Peanut Butter Chips Ahoy this week, Marvo trumped me with a Chips Ahoy with Reese's review ... See HERE

Foodstufffinds - Cin has decided to expand the range of products she reviews. She took a look at a Pieminister Thai Cook Pie this week - it sounds delicious ... See HERE

Candyblog - Cybele has been on her travels recently but that didn't stop her swinging by Aldi to pick up some of these Choceur Chocolate Crisp Bars ... See HERE

ZOMGCandy - I always like seeing Ritter Sport reviews - Rosa at ZOMG is currently doing a nice round up of some the flavours she hasn't tried before .... See HERE

ChocolateReviews - Lee has been hard at work again this week and has posted a great review of a chocolate from a brand I haven't heard of before - Mast Brothers!? He rated it pretty highly! ... See HERE

Weetabix Chocolate Cereal

Kcal 156 Fat 1.8g Fat(sats) 0.8g Carbs 30.0g (per 2 biscuits)

I'm a firm believer in the saying that 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day' - I simply don't function without my usual Weetabix or Bran Flakes! Because of this, I simply couldn't resist writing a review on these new chocolate flavoured Weetabix. Normally I stay well clear of flavoured/chocolate cereals as they usually contain ungodly amounts of sugar (no one wants a mid-morning sugar crash!), but one of the first things to catch my eye on the packaging was the 'contains half the sugar of the average flavoured/chocolate cereal' strapline. That sounds as likely as a deodorant leaving you '100% sweat and odour free', but it did give me a little reassurance that these might be a little different from your average chocolate cereal.

Over the last few days I've been trying out these new Weetabix Chocolate in all different manners, here are my thoughts ...

* Classic cold milk - The usual wheaty flavours of the biscuit were well maintained, yet there was a nice chocolatey taste present throughout. Some of the biscuits had clusters of chocolate chips which further accentuated the chocolate flavour hit. Very Good.

* Hot Milk - I can see this being my preferred method of consumption during the winter! The cereal turned the excess milk into a hot chocolate like mixture which was a delightful way to finish off each bowl! Superb.

* Yogurt - This isn't as weird as it sounds. When eaten with a vanilla or banana flavoured yogurt the chocolate flavours were still cut through well in the taste. I find yogurt more filling than traditional milk, though I wouldn't advise picking a really sweet one like a fromage frais. Very Good.

* Honey/Sugar - It's not uncommon for people to add sugar or honey to Weetabix so I thought I would try it out with these new chocolate ones. I personally found the taste too sweet, and felt that the added sugary substances took focus away from the chocolate in the taste. Poor.

* Peanut Butter - This was a bit of a random thought but I'm glad I tried it! On top of each biscuit I added a layer of peanut butter and I found the salty flavours nicely contrasted with the sweetness of the cereal. To avoid gluing your mouth together I wouldn't recommend eating them dry like this :D Superb.

Overall I really like these new chocolate flavoured Weetabix and would say they are one of the best chocolate cereals out there on the market right now. It would be silly for me to give them a score based on the usual rating system (it's designed for chocolate bars afterall!), but I would happily recommend them to any Weetabix fans. I don't think I'm going to be replace these with my everyday cereal, but I will be keeping some in the cupboard to have as the occasional treat.

So over to you ChocolateMission readers ....

Have you tried them yourselves?
How would you eat them?
What are your favourite chocolate cereals?

August 6th: Chips Ahoy! Peanut Butter Chunky

Kcal 90 Fat 5.0g Fat(sats) 2.5g Carbs 10.0g (per cookie)

At the back end of last year I was sent a gift package from a US foods importer (who puzzlingly want to stay anonymous!!) which included several products from the land over the pond. Having had a backlog of Japanese, diet and Valentines Day chocolates to get up on the site in January and February I can finally now get around to posting some of these reviews up on the site. Kicking things off today we have these peanut butter flavoured Chips Ahoy, a product I couldn't help but dig in to as soon as I laid eyes on.

These cookies came in a 396.0g pack that contained a plentiful 22 separate pieces which I shared (stupidly) amongst some work colleagues over the duration of a week. As I said above I needed very little encouragement getting stuck in to these, however I did like the presentation in particular the realistic visualisation of the cookies on the front and the practicality of the resealable foil seal. In regards to the cookies themselves aesthetically they were pretty appetising but they smelt even more so with some buttery nut scents evident amongst the standard fresh cookies aromas.

If you remember my review of the original Chips Ahoy back in January 2009 (See Here) you may recall that I am a real fan of Chips Ahoy and used to often eat them whenever I used to go on vacation in the US when I was younger. These Chips Ahoy Peanut Butter Chunky retained all the sweet brown sugar, salt and butter notes of the originals but every now and then also brought a further dimension to the taste with a delicious peanut butter twist. It has to be said that although they were extremely tasty the peanut butter chips that created the flavour bursts of buttery nuttiness were only sparingly incorporated and I was disappointed that they were not more generously portioned. Just as I wrote about the original Chips Ahoy last year the longevity of the cookies in the mouth were again disappointing and although I enjoyed the fact they melted nicely in the mouth I was similarly annoyed that this meant the flavours were gone all too quickly for my liking.

Overall just as I was hoping these were some damn tasty cookies but they did somewhat suffer from some of the problems that I raised about Chips Ahoy in the past. There is no doubting whatsoever that at times these cookies tasted absolutely wonderful with the original flavours further enhanced by the additional peanut butter thrusts brought by the PB chips. What stopped these cookies being up there with the likes of some of the Oreo flavours was the fact that whilst they tasted superb they just simply didn't last long enough in the mouth to leave a lasting impression or satisfy hunger as much they probably should given their high calorie and fat content per cookie. If you are a peanut butter fan I would still suggest you give these a try as they do the job in creating a good peanut butter flavoured cookie. I am not sure I would go to the expense of importing them myself but next time I am in America I will probably look to purchase another pack if I see them at a sensible price.

8.0 out of 10

August 5th: 'Bits n Bobs' - Cereal & Biscuit Bar Assortment # 2

After the positive response I got to last months Cereal, Biscuit & Cake Bar 'Bits n Bobs'(See HERE), I thought it only right to follow up with another B&B post with some of the products that were suggested and requested by readers from the first one. In the line up today I have some pretty well renowned biscuit bars from Nestle & McVitie's, a rather ghastly cereal bar and another offering from Bahlsen's biscuit range. If you are unfamiliar with the 'Bits n Bobs' posting format, this is where I write shorter, quickfire reviews for several products at a time.

Lets get cracking ....

McVitie's Taxi - Kcal 131 Fat 6.9 Fat(sats) 4.9g Carbs 16.3g

'caramel wafers and chocolate cream covered in milk chocolate'

Before today I hadn't ever tasted a McVitie's Taxi so I had no prior experiences from my childhood to call upon like I had with CLUB, Breakaway, Kit Kat etc - what a deprived childhood I must have led eh!? ;) Presentation wise the product was dressed in a typical looking McVitie's wrapper, though I was more excited by the look of the woven wafers and inner cream layers in the actual bar. I have to admit I was expecting a pretty boring, generic like wafer product, but I was actually pretty impressed by the taste. The chocolate constituents did nothing particularly special, yet the coating was flavoursome enough with it's sweet milky flavours. My enjoyment of this product was mostly driven by the caramel and inner cream layers, which brought a very welcome chewiness and viscosity to the crisp wafers. Whilst adding interest to the textures, the caramel also added a forthcoming toffee flavour hit to the taste. Colour me impressed McVitie's - I don't tend to by biscuit bars, but I will buy these again in the future.

7.8 out of 10

Monster Puffs Cereal Milk & Chocolate Bar - Kcal 86 Fat 2.6g Carbs 14.6g

'Sugar Puffs cereal and milk chocolate bar'

Despite being of the opinion that parents who feed their kids Sugar Puffs should be shot :D I just couldn't help myself when I saw these discounted down to 50p for a four bar multipack in my local Tesco. Despite the vibrant foil packaging I was less impressed by the actual cereal bar, which when it wasn't sticking to the wrapper was equally unimpressive with it's modest looking (putting it nicely!) chocolate layer. As you can see from my picture the drizzle of milk chocolate was woefully portioned so it probably wont surprise you that it barely managed to register in the taste. The combination of the puffed wheat cereal and syrup that bound it together wasn't unpleasant in any manner, but it was neither very tasty. The 20.0g constituents provided a pretty poor sized snack. I don't think these will be around for long.

5.8 out of 10

Bahlsen Choco Leibniz Dark - Kcal 138 Fat 7.1g Fat(sats) 4.5g Carbs 17.0g (per 2 biscuits)

After my review of Bahlsen's Jaffas a few weeks ago, a number of readers indicated that I should try their Choco Leibniz biscuits. If I roll the years back a bit, I can remember buying these biscuits when my family used to go to France - I was never a big lover of them myself, but they were certainly liked by other members of my household. Bahlsen biscuits are being promoted quite heavily in UK supermarkets at the moment, so I was pretty delighted when I found these very posh looking biscuits on a £1 deal in my local Tesco. Favouring the prospect of the dark chocolates ones I didn't wait long before testing them out with an after dinner coffee. In terms of taste these reminded me of the Ritter Sport Butter Biscuit chocolate bar, but just with plain unsweetened chocolate combining with the buttery crisp biscuit below. I didn't think that either the chocolate or biscuit were particularly exceptional, but like in the Ritter bar they made for a fantastic synergy. These didn't last long when I offered them round to the rest of my work colleagues.

8.0 out of 10

Nestle Breakaway - Kcal 99 Fat 5.0g Fat(sats) 2.5g Carbs 12.0g

Normally when I know I don't like a product I do try my best not to review it, but I couldn't avoid the number of requests that came in asking me to review the Nestle Breakaway. I have always perceived the Nestle Breakaway as quite a bland offering - my heart always used to sink when my parents bought these back from the supermarket instead of the usual Kit Kat or Twix bars. That said I was willing to give them another chance - especially considering that a pack of 6 only set me back £1 in Tesco. Aesthetically I couldn't see many differences from how I remembered them - even the bars were decorated with the same checkboard patterns. Unfortunately the taste was just how I remembered aswell, with the mild tasting milk chocolate and non-descript flavoured biscuit generating very little excitement for me. If anything I think the biscuit part may have even got less flavoursome than it used to be - the two bars I ate today failed to bring any noteworthy flavours to the party, which resultingly made for a boring, bland tasting experience. I know these contain only 99 calories but I personally wouldn't waste your time on them.

5.8 out of 10

Got any ideas of products you want to see reviewed next month? Drop me a comment with your requests ...