September 10th: Rococo Artisan Bar Organic Dark Cardamom

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

One of the most common criticisms that I receive, and that hold my hands up to, is that I don't feature enough smaller UK chocolate companies on this site. In an effort to try cater for the demand, I have recently been on the look out for some suitable products to feature. After some searching I was led in the direction of a company called Rococo, which I saw highly acclaimed on the sites of Chocablog and Chocolate Reviews. The backstory behind Rococo is that it was founded in 1983 by a lady by the name of Chantal Coady, and currently has three shops in London, England. On the Rococo website their great deal of information regarding the organic nature of their chocolate, and how they were inspired by the Grenada Chocolate Company to produce 'ethical chocolate' ... you can read all of this HERE.

Rococo sell the majority of their products through their three flagship stores and their online shop, though they also have some limited distribution in Waitrose. Personally, I haven't had the pleasure of going to one of their stores as yet, so I took the Waitrose option for tracking some of their chocolate down. Priced at pretty expensive £3.50, I bought this 70.0g Organic Dark Cardamom, and I was instantly impressed by the packaging which really stood out to me on the shelf. To command such a premium price you are going to have to 'look the part', and thought the very stylish looking decorative wrapper was very unique. The packet itself was more of vinyl plastic sleeve - it's hard to describe but you're going to have to trust me it look brilliant.

Contained inside this wonderful looking packaging the chocolate was also similarly inviting and I was impressed to see a Rococo emblem inscribed on the middle portion of the bar. Breaking the pieces apart each break was met with a fantastic 'snap', which alongside the forthcoming cocoa scents only further went to raise anticipation. At this point the only thing at more of a premium than the price were expectations :D I'm glad to report the taste didn't let it down. Placing the first block on my mouth the flavours weren't shy in establishing themselves and a red fruit noted cocoa taste was quickly registered. As the chocolate gathered heat the melt progressed at a nice rate and with a pleasant smoothness, with the cocoa flavours becoming increasingly stronger as it did so. At first I thought the taste was a little on the sweet side for a 65% cocoa solids recipe, though the latter stages of the experience brought about a ginger like note to the taste which delivered an extra flavour dimension. This ginger hint was no doubt brought to the party by the cardamom influence and it was a very welcome addition as it gave the chocolate a very distinct, slightly spiced aftertaste. This was a chocolate that I found relatively rich, and best eaten in small tasting portions.

Overall I have been very impressed with my first experience of the Rococo range, and it will no doubt be one I will be dipping back into again very soon. In the context of my all time favourite dark chocolates such as Hotel Chocolat's 85% and The Grenada Company bar I reviewed last month, I wouldn't say this Organic Dark Cardamom quite has the same depth in taste, but it was still a very enjoyable flavoursome chocolate. What I believe this chocolate did very well, and better than a lot of other dark chocolates out there, is that it was a full, well rounded package. The presentation of this product was really first class, and I doubt I have done it justice with the photographs I have posted of the wrapper and the chocolate. As I have said above the taste wasn't up there with the 'best in class', however it was still a delicious chocolate that offered a beautifully classy set of complex and forthcoming cocoa flavours. I guess the only thing that might be questionable about this Rococo product today is the price - £3.50 for 70.0g of chocolate is about as price premium as they come. I would say that if you have an interest in trying all different types and brands of dark chocolate, Rococo is a company that you should be taking a looking at. There will be more to come soon from Rococo on ChocolateMission!

8.8 out of 10

September 9th: Galler Cointreau / Grand Marnier

We have another ChocolateMission first today as I bring you a '2 for 1' Galler review featuring some of the bars recently requested by readers. As I'm sure you will have cottoned on from the post title, both bars featured today came from Galler's alcohol filled bars selection - the Galler Cointreau and the Galler Grand Marnier.

Despite working in a bar for well over a year during my University days, I wasn't all that sure what either of these spirits were, so I consulted my 'go-to' resource Wikipedia for further details:

Cointreau: "is a brand of triple sec liqueur, and is produced in Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou, a suburb of Angers, France." (For more See HERE)

Grand Marnier: "is a liqueur created in 1880 by Alexandre Marnier-Lapostolle. It is made from a blend of true cognacs and distilled essence of bitter orange. Grand Marnier is 40% alcohol (80 proof)." (For more See HERE)

Both these bars came in the standard 70.0g Galler filled bar size which were split in to the four over sized chunked blocks. As you will see in my photos below, both were up to the usual impeccable Galler presentation standards, with the fillings and outer chocolates nicely contrasting in colour tones to make some impactful looking products.


Kcal 498 Fat 30.9g Fat(sats) 18.5g Carbs 47.1g (per 100.0g)

"White chocolate with Cointreau filling"

This chocolate created a great aesthetic impact with it's crisp looking outer chocolate and plentiful dark coloured filling. The exterior white chocolate that coated the inner truffle centres was everything I was expecting it to be, and was just as high in quality as all the other Galler white chocolate bars I have experienced before. It was thick and soft in melt, and released the most gorgeous double cream like flavours as soon as it entered the mouth. During the latter stages of the melt the white chocolate introduced a brief flirtation of vanilla, though it had an abrupt end as the milk chocolate boozie filling well and truly came to the party. The richer tasting centre had stronger cocoa inclinations, however it was the Cointreau flavours that really took hold of the taste. The alcohol flavours were finely balanced and were neither too strong or too weak for my liking. The rest of my family commented at how they liked the slight warmth the Cointreau filling brought to the mouth and how it left a long lasting alcohol note in the mouth.

8.6 out of 10



Kcal 483 Fat 27.7g Fat(sats) 17.4g Carbs 51.8g (per 100.0g)

"Dark chocolate with Grand Marnier filling"

I have to say I have never tried Grand Marnier in my lifetime so it was lucky I had a few reinforcements at hand to help me judge this one. If I start with the outer dark chocolate, what more can I say about Galler's capabilities in this area!? Once again the 60% recipe was totally delicious and provided a gloriously rich set of smokey cocoa flavours as soon as it entered my mouth. The melt as ever was utterly divine, slowly melting away to reveal a spongier, lighter textured centre to the moister truffle like filling of the Cointreau bar above. Indeed, the Grand Marnier filling had more of fondant feel about it, though it wasn't as sugary or grainy feeling as the likes of anything like Fry's etc. Taste wise some members of my family commented that it wasn't boozie enough for them, however the lack of alcoholic kick worried me very little and I just enjoyed the zesty hints of orange that were on offer. The aftertaste wasn't as long or as rich as the Cointreau, but personally speaking I enjoyed the taste just as much.

8.3 out of 10



Overall these alcohol themed bars were every bit as good as the other options I have tried from Galler's filled bars range, and I would happily recommend either to anyone that enjoys the two spirits that have been focused on today. Compared to some other manufacturers (I'm looking directly at you Hotel Chocolat!!) the alcohol content and effect on the taste was just about right for my liking. Especially in the Cointreau bar, all members of my family agreed that the influence the spirit had on the chocolate was just about spot on, the Grand Marnier probably could have done with a little bit of an extra alcohol kick to it, but the juicy orange flavours were delicious nonetheless and complimented the dark chocolate exterior quite wonderfully. If you enjoy alcohol flavoured chocolates then these are both very worthy of a look at.

September 8th: Lindt Fioretto Zabaione

Kcal 124 Fat 7.0g Carbs 13.0g (per 1 praline)

Sorry all but there are no points or prizes being given away for guessing where this product came from today :D Yes Indeed these Lindt Fioretto Zabaione were sent to me directly from Germany via my good friend Franzi who has been helping me keep right up to date with the latest German products. If we all rewind our minds back to July 2009 you may remember me casting the ChocolateMission ruling across a number of flavours from this Fioretto range. If you take a look HERE you can see my reviews of the Lime, Cappuccino and Chocolate Mousse variants - all of them scored relatively decently but it was the Chocolate Mousse Fioretto which stuck out as best in class. Back to the focus of today's review, I can inform you (via WIKI) that Zabaione is an Italian dessert made with egg yolks, sugar, a sweet wine (usually Marsala), and sometimes whole eggs - it is basically a very light custard. This sounded like an interesting flavour combination to me - I was just hoping it was going to prove to be better than Ritter Sport's attempt at a similar advocaat flavoured chocolate.

I received these Fioretto chocolates in a 138.0g box that contained six very sizeable pieces within. The presentation of both the box and the inner pieces was nicely done and very decorative, showing of the flavour theme with both on-pack illustrations and appropriate discriptors. As nice as everything looked I have to say the Fiortetto chocolates weren't the easiest things to eat. Size wise I preferred the smaller mini Fiorettos that I sampled last year - these big truffles were cumbersome and caused a bit of a mess when bitten into. Size issues aside the Fioretto looked phenomenal with the inner cream coloured filled looking particularly appetising and plentiful in it's portioning. The smells coming from the chocolates were also very alluring, with a mixture of sweet chocolate and dairy influences mixed in with some minor boozie scents.

On the box these came billed as 'pralines with Zabaione truffle fillings, covered in rice cereal and milk chocolate'. Starting with the exterior rice and milk chocolate layer, the thick shell broke with a definitive crispness and was forthcoming in setting a kind tasting milky cocoa taste that melted with a thick double cream like texture - delicious! Surrounding the Zabaione filling, a richer tasting soft chocolatey praline layer further accentuated the cocoa flavours setting up the sweeter flavoured centre just perfectly. Just as it appeared the Zabaione filling was butter like in texture and melted with a very fast smooth feel on the tongue. The flavours established were remarkably variable and progressive, with the development starting out like a very creamy sweet custard, before then evolving into a vanilla hinted dessert wine like taste. As I noted above, eating one of these was a bit of a messy experience, but just one was fulfilling enough for a small, great tasting snack.

Overall I can't imagine that these Lindt Fioretto Zabaione would be to everyone's taste but I really enjoyed them, as did the other members of my family who got to give them a try. As soon as I tasted them I was instantly reminded of 'Snowball' advocaat drinks that I sometimes have at Christmas. Unlike the previous attempt at this flavour combination I had tried from Ritter Sport, I thought the Zabaione/Advocaat filling was executed a lot better with the cream and alcohol flavours balanced nicely with neither taking precedence over the other. One thing that you can almost guarantee with Lindt is that the chocolate that coats any of their products is going to very nice, and this was again very much the case here. I have to admit I didn't care much for the inclusion of the rice cereal into the exterior shell as it added very little to the taste, but admittedly it did bring a crunchy element to the smoother textures being offered by the other constituents. I don't think these Zabaione Fioretto were quite as nice as the Chocolate Mousse Fioretto, but I would still recommend them if they take your interest and I would consider buying them again.

8.5 out of 10

September 7th: Lindt Excellence Ginger

Kcal 510 Fat 32.0g Fat(sats) 19.0g Carbs 50.0g (per 100.0g)

How some of these Lindt Excellence bars have escaped getting a ChocolateMission review for as long as they have I will never know!? Having tried Lindt products from all parts of the globe, its pretty amazing that there are still a few bars of theirs' that that have been readily available here in the UK that I haven't reviewed. Thankfully a few months ago, one of my most dedicated readers Phil gave me a nudge in the direction of this Excellence Ginger. Lindt's Excellence range is one of the most consistently high scoring product collections here on ChocolateMission, so I was looking forward to the giving this 'fine dark chocolate with an aromatic taste of ginger' proposition a try. For those unaware, the majority of the Lindt Excellence range that we get here in the UK is in fact produced in France.

As with most Excellence bars this came in a 100.0g format, which was lucky as a bar any smaller wouldn't have fed the mass of work colleagues that congregated round my desk once word was out that there was a chocolate bar in the office :) I needn't say much about the Lindt Excellence packaging - I have said for a long time that it looks classy, sophisticated and worthy of the Excellence branding and nothing has changed in my mind. Inside the branded silver foil wrapping the chocolate looked no different to many other of the the Lindt Excellence dark chocolate variants (See Coffee, 70%), with the thinly portioned, glossy surface further reaffirming the premium product feel.

Breaking the blocks apart two things became immediately evident - the first being the glorious, fresh snap sound at which they broke apart. The next thing to grab my attention were the wonderfully tempting spicy chocolate scents that wafted across my senses. The fragrant smells were nicely indicative of the taste, which was pleasantly forthcoming in it's cocoa flavours despite the relatively tame 47% recipe. In terms of flavour development the unsweetened cocoa flavours were nicely underpinned by influences of milk and brown sugar - even to the most sensitive of tastebuds this wouldn't be a dark chocolate that I don' think anyone could describe as bitter. In previous ginger flavoured chocolates I have reviewed, most of come flavoured using crystallised ginger, though this Excellence bar differed somewhat by choosing to integrate the ginger through natural flavourings. In the context of this bar I thought it was a wise choice, as the spiced ginger flavours were still delivered with as much vigour as any ginger chocolate I have tasted before, yet the texture of the melt was still kept consistently smooth. This wasn't the richest of dark chocolates I have ever tasted, but just a few blocks was enough to satisfy my chocolate needs.

Overall I have to hold my hands up yet again at how ludicrous it was that I hadn't reviewed this bar before now - it proved itself to be yet another gem in the crown of Lindt's Excellence range. This Excellence Ginger wasn't quite perfect (I would have chosen a stronger chocolate recipe myself! The 72% perhaps!?), but in terms of ginger flavoured dark chocolates it still has to be recognised as one of the finer options available on the market at the moment. Lindt's Excellence range is one that can really be marvelled at - it's continues to prove that it is fantastically consistent across a wide berth of flavours from mint, orange, chilli, coffee etc - seemingly the chaps at Lindt HQ France can do little wrong when it comes to producing high quality flavoured chocolates. I'm sure all fans of ginger chocolates fans would really like this and I can say that with great confidence given the rate at which my bar was hoovered up in my work office. Recommended.

8.8 out of 10

September 6th: 'Bits n Bobs' Biscuit Chocolate Bars # 4

Today my 'Bits n Bobs' posts continue with me taking a look at yet more chocolate biscuits suggested to me by.

Offerings today come from Fox's Biscuits, McVitie's and a certain celebrity chef who has his own line of chocolate wafer bars. Once again your thoughts and requests are most welcome so please share them.



McVitie's Gold - Kcal 115 Fat 5.5g Fat(sats) 4.7g Carbs 11.5g

'Crunchy biscuit bar with a caramel flavour coating'

If the rules were strict on this site these McVitie's Gold bars wouldn't actually be worthy of a ChocolateMission review, as they don't actually contain any cocoa content. Not to be perturbed by this, I was still happy letting them have their 5 minutes in the spotlight - especially when I found them on a 'better than half price' 85p deal in my local Tesco :D In terms of packaging and presentation I have always liked the look of Gold bars. The wrappers are very typical McVitie's, but they are nicely in keeping with the premise of the product, whilst the bars are also suitably decorated with the Gold logo placed on top. For those with no experience of these McVitie's Gold, I can quickly inform you they serve up one hell of a sugar rush. Taste wise the caramel flavour exterior sets a milky taste, though it is soon dominated by the sugar content which is laden in both the coating and inner biscuit. As the years pass I seem to appreciate Gold bars less and less. Like Caramac, the occasional bar is fine but I don't they aren't a product I would suggest you buy regularly.

6.8 out of 10

Fox's Echo Mint - Kcal 126 Fat 6.6g Fat(sats) 4.0g Carbs 12.1g

'Mint chocolate with a crunchy biscuit base'

After reviewing the original milk chocolate variant in my first B&Bs chocolate biscuit reviews there was little chance I was going to get away without reviewing the mint variant. After a little bit of searching of my local supermarkets I was finally able to find a pack of all places in my local Waitrose (I thought they would have been way to high brow for Echos!), where £1 of my money bought me an 8 bar multipack. Packaging wise they looked almost identical to the original variant apart from the implementation of a green secondary colour as opposed to the normal blue. The bars themselves similarly looked little different aside from the slight tinge of green in the upper filling portion of the product. Since I had some of the original Echo bars knocking around I decided to do a side-by-side comparison, and there was a clear winner. The supposed 'mint flavoured' centre of these bars were poor, and came across as mild toothpaste as opposed to the fresh, real tasting peppermint I was hoping for. The Mint bars retained many of the good things about the originals, but the actual mint element was frankly pretty bad! My conclusion is that Fox's Echo Mint are hard to find for a reason ... because no one wants to buy them. If you want my advice I say just stick with the originals if Echo bars are your thing.

6.2 out of 10

Ainsley Harriott Caramel Delight Bars - Kcal 122 Fat 6.0g Fat(sats) 4.6g Carbs 15.3g

'Crisp wafer with chocolate flavour filling, caramel topping and milk chocolate chips, coated in Belgian milk chocolate'

After reviewing the McVitie's Taxi last month, it was suggested that I give Ainsley's Caramel Delight bars a try. After a quick search in Waitrose I found a seven bar multipack for the reasonable price of 99p. Now, If there was ever an innovator of celeb endorsed foods I think Mr Ainsley Harriott would be in with a great shout of being one of the first to market. Despite seeing this trend grow across several of different food categories in the last few years (David Beckham even has a range of ready meals you know!!), Mr Harritott remains one of the only celebs to have his own brand of chocolate bar offerings, and from what I can remember they have been around for quite some time. As you will see from his product description, Ainsley thinks a lot of his Caramel Delight bars :D - having now tasted them for myself I would do little to disagree with the man! The Belgian chocolate coating had a nice flavour depth, and the taste was noticeably smoother in it's sweet cocoa flavour delivery compared to the standard of chocolate you get from bars like Taxis and Drifters etc. Sat below, the wafer offered a similar experience to a Kit Kat, with the malty wheat flavours positively enhancing the experience. Unfortunately I can't be quite so positive about the caramel layer, which I felt was pretty lacklustre in terms of it's impact on the taste. Although the caramel didn't quite deliver in line with the other constituents, I still on the whole enjoyed these bars, and I would probably buy them again in the future. If you are looking for a wafer based biscuit bar that has superior chocolate to the average market offering this is one well worth a look at.

7.7 out of 10

September 4/5th: '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' Edition 53

### Jim's Corner ###

Hi All,

After two weekends of special feature reviews I thought it best to give you an update what is happening behind the scenes.

First off I want to congratulate the winner of last weeks Ritter Sport Schokocreme competition ... Emily Hutchinson from Harrogate, who correctly guessed that the bar weighed a mighty 250.0g! A sample on the bar is en-route to you now Emily. Everyone else thanks for all the entries, please keep an eye out for more competitions running next week.

If you happened to miss my review of the Galler Heritage Lait Pleine Saveur on Friday be sure to check it out HERE. I can't recommend that milk chocolate enough, it was one of the finest bars of chocolates I have had across the last three years (hence the score of 9.4 out of 10!). It's a review not to be missed!

This week I have received parcels from Hotel Chocolat, another from Germany, as well as box full of different Pocky flavours. I hate to sound my own horn but there are some great reviews coming up this week. I hope you all continue to visit and add your own opinions to my reviews.

Have a great weekend

JIM


News from the chocolate market

* Fancy paying £600 for your own crafted chocolate coin?? Hmmm me neither ... See HERE

* Ever heard of Summerdown? Nope I haven't! They have some new chocolate mint thins coming out though ... See HERE

* Kraft are looking at technologies to make wrappers that avoid chocolate bars melting ... See HERE

* Old news this but Divine have an 85% dark chocolate bar out there on the market now ... See HERE

* McVitie's have cut the calories and redesigned the wrappers of Penguin biscuits ... See HERE

* Cadbury continue to come up with interesting ways to engage consumers with their Spots V Stripes campaign. They are asking you to 'challenge an Olympian' this week ... See HERE

* There are some new flavours of Galaxy hot chocolate hitting the marker ... See HERE

* Hershey have appointed a new sales director for a big push in Europe ... See HERE

Have I missed something this week? Please share the story with us ...


Posts from other blogs I enjoyed this week

* TheImpulsiveBuy - This had me cracking up. Marvo got in touch with his feminine side with Nestle's Women's Wellness Hot Cocoa Mix ... See HERE

* GiGi Reviews - I saw these in a supermarket in the UK only a few days ago! It seems that Pringles are pushing their multigrain crisps worldwide as Gi also reviewed them in the US ... See HERE

* Rodzilla Reviews - Keep your eye on this site it's great! ChocolateMission friend Rodzilla reviews local resturants, ice cream, candy - just about anything really! ... See HERE

* CandyBlog - Candy queen Cybele posted her review of the Ritter Sport Summer Editions 2010 :D Come on Cybele keep up with the times haha! Great review - the photos put mine to shame ... See HERE

* Sugar Pressure - The guys over at Sugar Pressure did a great job comparing the original Clark bar with the new Dark variant. I want to try the Dark one now for myself ... See HERE

* Foodette Reviews - I've had a few run ins with tea flavoured chocolates before, Jess was similarly not so impressed by the majority of these ... See HERE


Review - Revisited

This is a new feature I'm looking to run each week. It is pretty common that I get a lot of e-mails/comments that disagree with my scoring and write ups of particular products. In these cases where I find this to be a recurring phenomena, I will give those products another try. This week we go all the way back to 2008.

Green & Black's Butterscotch - See HERE

I've updated my write-up and my photographs to make for a more coherent review, but I still stick by my original thoughts with this one.

If you know of a product that you think I have over/under played drop me a comment or an e-mail. You never know ... it could be the next Review - Revisited :D

September 3rd: Galler Heritage Lait Pleine Saveur

Kcal 573 Fat 39.0g Carbs 46.5g (per 100.0g)

Galler claim their Heritage range is comprised of the 'The Great Galler Classics', and having had such a wonderful experience with their Heritage 85% Noir bar last time around, I certainly wont be one to dispute this description. My conclusion in that previous review had me stating that it was a "very accomplished and tasty dark chocolate" and that "it was best summed up by one of my colleagues who described it as 'proper chocolate'". After being so overwhelmingly positive about their dark chocolate capabilities, it came as no surprise to me that Galler were rather keen to send along some more of their Heritage bar offerings. The bar being featured today is this Lait Pleine Saveur bar, I believe that translates into 'Full Milk Flavour'.

Quelle surprise this bar came in a 100.0g size that was split into nicely sized chunked blocks. As I hope you can tell from the photos, the presentation was certainly up to the usual impeccable standards. A few commenter's on the last 85% Noir bar made remarks about the inappropriateness of the pink tab used at the top of the wrapper - there were no such problems here with as there was a better suited dark red rouge colour adorning this Lait Pleine Saveur variety. The chocolate blocks themselves were once again a marvel to behold, with their glistening branded surfaces supplementing the delightful chocolatey scents reaffirming the fresh nature of the chocolate at hand. It has to be said that Galler really do seem to be masters at presenting their products in the correct fashion, they always give the sense that they are a cut above most other market offerings.

If you have skipped over my gushing at Galler's presentation standards, and just want to know how the thing tasted then you have come to the right place. Speaking as someone who writes almost a review a day, when it comes to chocolates that stand out from the rest, the ones that tend to do so are the ones that have naturally distinctive flavours that develop over the course of the tasting experience. Very few milk chocolates tend to tick both boxes for me here, but ones that do range from the cheaper market offerings such as Dairy Milk and Galaxy, all the way up to the more premium brands such as Zotter and Hotel Chocolat. As if it was ever in any doubt this Galler Heritage Lait Pleine Saveur proved it self to fit in nicely alongside those other premium brands - it was simply delicious. In texture and melt it was thinner than the likes of Dairy Milk etc, but it was equally as soft and caressing as any milk chocolate I have tried before. It's transition from a hard to soft state coincided with the most delightful releases of different flavours, with the taste instantly occupied by a cream based cocoa rooting as soon the chocolate began it's melting journey. As the blocks gathered warmth and slowly ebbed away, the most delicious of caramel notes developed in the taste giving the forthcoming milky cocoa influences a well rounded, smooth flavour edge. These caramel notes were simply divine, and made the taste so amazingly moreish. Despite the richness of depth of flavours, I simply couldn't help myself reaching for 'just one more block' - milk chocolate at it's best.

Overall there is nothing else to say other than milk chocolate simply doesn't get much better than this Galler Heritage Lait Pleine Saveur. Since I have started this site I have progressively become more and more appreciative of dark chocolates that have far greater cocoa content then this 34% cocoa bar. This particular Galler offering however has served a timely reminder that milk chocolates can offer just as much flavour wise - the taste was just as complex as anything else I have tasted in the last few years. Just as I said above, every great chocolate needs to have distinctive qualities about it to make stand out from the rest of the market. The unique factor of this chocolate were the sweet caramel flavour advances during the mid progression of the melt. Believe me you have to taste it for yourself to fully appreciate how amazingly they complimented the creamy cocoa flavours, for me personally they made this one of the tastiest milk chocolates I have ever reviewed. It has been a long time since a product has scratched the surface of the ChocolateMission leaderboard but this product slots right in there alongside the caramel offerings in second position. If you appreciate top quality milk chocolates you need to try this Galler Heritage Lait Pleinie Saveur.

9.4 out of 10

September 2nd: Burnt Sugar Chewy Caramels

Kcal 433 Fat 23.6g Fat(sats) 10.6g Carbs 53.4g (per 100.0g)

You may have noticed me mentioning over the last couple of months that I have been buying an increasing amount of chocolates from Waitrose supermarkets. If you are one of my UK readers and you haven't checked the confectionery shelf of your local store yet, you may well be in for a nice surprise. Not only do they seem to offer a wide range of imported chocolates, but they also for some reason seem to carry a lot more smaller niche brands. A name that would fall nicely in to that category would be 'Burnt Sugar', a brand that has been fleetingly mentioned by ChocolateMission readers over the past year. Today I thought I would give the brand it's first run on the rating system by taking a look at these 'chewy caramels dipped in dark chocolate'.

£1.99 of my monies bought me a 110.0g pack that included several variable sized pieces. Taking consideration of the range as a whole, I have to mention that I liked the stand out that the different Burnt Sugar products had on the shelf. The varieties on offer were nicely differentiated thanks to some sensible colour coding, though consistency was kept with the Burnt Sugar brand logo nicely decorating each box of each. Inside the exterior packaging the caramels were kept within a transparent film packet. This wasn't the most glamorous looking style of presentation, however it cannot be denied that it kept the contents in a well maintained condition, as the toffee like aromas that were released once the packet was opened smelt glorious.

As you may have guessed from the product description this was a product formed of two key constituents. According to the outer packaging the outer dark chocolate comprised 33.0% of the total product, whilst the caramel made up the remaining 67.0%. In terms of quality the two varied massively in what they delivered. Starting with the negatives, I have to say I thought the dark chocolate was pretty poor. I found the melt pretty waxy and slow starting, whilst the cocoa flavours were more laid back and subtle than I was hoping for. According to the packaging the chocolate was of a 55% cocoa min recipe, though the chocolate flavour hit was pretty poor and didn't create the desired flavour impact in the mouth. Conversely my perceptions of the inner chewy caramel fillings were much more positive, primarily due to them contributing about ten times more to the resulting taste. Just like the outer chocolate, the flavours were slow starting, however once the caramel had heated and softened in the mouth the delicious butter led toffee flavours shone through nicely. It was very noticeable that each piece left a lasting impression of burnt, toasted sugary flavours in the mouth, which probably shouldn't have taken me by surprise given the brand name :D

Overall these Chewy Caramels have scored reasonably well on the rating system, but they could have easily done even better had the quality of the chocolate been superior. If I was rating the caramel centres in isolation I probably would have gone as high as awarding them a 9.0 out of 10, as they delivered on everything that a good quality caramel should do. The centres were most enjoyable when sucked on, which made them pleasantly soft in texture whilst they released their delicious tasting buttery, sweet flavours. This was all well in good, but unfortunately the dark chocolate that coated each piece was just not up to scratch, and was lacking any real flavour depth. Given the varying quality of the two different components it is a bit difficult saying whether I would recommend these or not. I guess it just depends on what you are looking for from the product. If you aren't the biggest fan of dark chocolate you might see the mild chocolate as a positive thing, but on the other hand if you are after a caramel with a rich tasting dark chocolate flavour hit you are going to be left a little disappointed. Second opinions are very welcome .... please share them ChocolateMission fans!

7.9 out of 10

September 1st: Thorntons Chocolate Truffle / Choc Nut Crunch Bars

On a recent shopping trip to my town centre I realised it had been awhile since I had last been to my local Thorntons shop, so I popped inside to see if they had any new or exciting products to feature on the site. Looking amongst their 'impulse' bars range I found these two new looking Chocolate Truffle and Choc Nut Crunch bars. Neither of the two were graced with a 'New' logo on their wrapper like a lot of new products choose to have nowadays, however it was the new modernised packaging that made them stand out amongst the rest sitting on the shelf.

Although neither of the bars seemed that big in my hand, I thought the 59p price tag was fair (even more so after tasting them!). Whilst capturing my attention, I also thought the new style packaging looked nice, and I especially liked the new lettering using for the branding as well as the tempting looking on pack visuals. Below are my brief thoughts on each of the bars, starting with the Choc Nut Crunch, and then the Chocolate Truffle.


Choc Nut Crunch - Kcal 197 Fat 12.6g Fat(sats) 5.7g Carbs 17.8g
'Milk chocolate bar with a hazelnut praline and nougat centre'

This bar was delightfully flavoured and had a wonderfully progressive taste that grew in prestige as the melt developed. After a short duration chilled in the fridge, the outer milk chocolate broke with a firm, crispness and revealed a softer, drier crumbly layer below. The milk chocolate wasn't the most flavoursome ever, but it established a smooth, creamy cocoa led taste that allowed full expression of the nuttier influences in the filling. The hazelnut element contained within the smooth praline was powerful with a very woody flavour direction that left a lasting impression with each mouthful. Within the praline, small chunks of crystallised almond further reaffirmed the nuttiness of the bar which was a nice touch to end each mouthful. This wasn't the richest tasting chocolate ever, but it was positively surprising in the depth of it's nutty flavours.


Chocolate Truffle - Kcal 212 Fat 16.0g Fat(sats) 9.0g Carbs 14.9g
'Milk chocolate bar with a milk chocolate mousse centre'

Having tried a similar Continental Vienesse Truffle bar a few years ago (which was very poor!), I wasn't expecting much from this Chocolate Truffle bar. Whether my low expectations inflated the subsequent score I don't know, but the experience I had with this bar was certainly very different to that one back in 2008. The outer milk chocolate did a very similar job to what I have described above, and it fast established a creamy cocoa flavour base. Sat plentifully portioned below the solid chocolate exterior, the unexciting sounding chocolate mousse turned out to be the real star of this bar. Texture wise the mousse was very well received with it's smooth, yet dense and substantial mouth feel. Against all expectations it tasted pretty wonderful as well, bringing greater emphasis to the cocoa flavours of the chocolate which in turn brought a delightful richness to the taste. For such a small bar I was very surprised at the satisfaction it delivered - it truly was like one big truffle piece.

Choc Nut Crunch - 8.0 out of 10
Chocolate Truffle - 8.0 out of 10

August 31st: Moser Roth Mousse au Lait Coffee

Kcal 586 Fat 38.8g Fat(sats) 22.9g Carbs 51.8g (per 100.0g)

It has been quite a while since I last reviewed anything from Germany's Moser Roth brand, but thanks to ChocolateMission reader Alan I today got the chance to try another offering from their range. For those that haven't come across Moser Roth before, it is a brand of chocolates produced in Germany specifically for Aldi stores. What with Aldi being much bigger and widespread in Germany, Moser Roth is obviously a lot more renowned in it's homeland, though their bars can also be found in most of their chains located here in the UK. As I don't live anywhere near an Aldi my chances to review Moser Roth chocolates are generally rather limited, but like I said thanks to Alan this Moser Roth Mousse au Lait Coffee made it's way in to my hands last week. Described as 'milk chocolate with a lightly whipped coffee mousse filling' it sounded like the sort of bar that was my kind of thing - I was hoping for a Milka Amavel Mousse au Cappucino type experience.

This Mousse au Lait Coffee came in the same format as the Mousse au Lait Noisette that I tried earlier this year in the form a 187.5g package containing five separate 37.5g bars. As I did with the hazelnut variant I thought the packaging was extremely well styled and very premium looking considering the price it retails for. Having now seen two different variants from the range I think there is scope for Moser Roth to have dialled up the flavour varieties a little more in the on pack visuals and branding. That is probably me being ultra fussy - the product was superbly presented and I was still loving the idea of breaking the package down in to the five smaller bars.

Over the course of a working week I slipped one of the individual bars in to my work bag each day for me to eat alongside my afternoon 'pick me up' coffee. When removing the bars from their paper sleeves I didn't at any point get a strong sense of aromas, however when searched for they did offer some fine smelling sweet chocolatey scents which offered just a few hints of coffee. In regards to taste my experience with this Mousse au Lait Coffee was not to dissimilar to the Noisette bar I had tried from this range before. The outer milk chocolate wasn't particularly strong, or distinct in terms of the flavours it offered, but the grounding of sweet, milk rooted cocoa was pleasant and did a job providing the chocolate flavour hit for each bite. At the middle of each block the mousse delivered on it's promise of having a whipped, light texture and had a pleasant mouthfeel compared to the thicker melting milk chocolate. The mousse filling added a degree of additional creaminess to the taste, however I (inevitably) found the coffee element a little lacking and didn't quite feel like I got the coffee flavour experience I wanted from the sweet mocha like taste. The 37.5g serving size was sensible portion size for a snack but the slightly non-committal taste meant I didn't find it the most fulfilling of chocolates ever.

Overall this bar ticked many boxes when it came to the scoring chart, coupling some fantastic presentation with a fairly decent tasting product. I found the chocolate to be of a decent quality given the price, though the usual Moser Roth limitations were evident once again here, with the chocolate lacking uniqueness and a flavour impression to really call it's own. Whilst the chocolate wasn't exactly distinct, it still did it's job and the mousse filling certainly didn't let itself down when it came to providing interest texture wise. My loyal readership will be aware that I like my coffee chocolates flavoured strongly, so I doubt it will surprise none of them that I have highlighted this bar as being a little weak for my liking. Although this Mousse au Lait Coffee may not have been tailored to my specific tastes, it is certainly worth bearing in mind for fans of bars like Ritter Sport's Cappuccino as I would say this bar offers a similar sort of proposition. As is always the story with Moser Roth they never produce outstanding chocolates, but this was yet another competent offering that is worth taking a look at.

7.3 out of 10

August 30th: 'Bits n Bobs' - Cakes, Biscuits, Brownies & Chocolate

Despite what you guys might think, I unfortunately don't spend all my day writing about chocolate (though I wish I did!!). Reality is I work an office job Monday to Friday. The office in which I work is a very friendly, sociable place, and people often bring in all types of cakes, chocolates and snacks for our tea area.

Every once and while I of course bring in things myself, so I thought it only right to do a quick fire 'Bits n Bobs' post reviewing some of the more interesting things to make to our tea area recently.


Marks & Spencer Rocky Road

Kcal 355 Fat 20.7g Fat(sats) 15.2g Carbs 38.5g (per bar)

These Rocky Road cakes were on a '4 for 3' deal last time I was in M&S. On the pack they came described as 'Biscuit, marshmallow and sultanas in a rich Belgian chocolate coating' - the first thing that struck me here was lack of cherries!? I wasn't particularly fussed by this myself as I'm not a great fan of them, but I wasn't too sure if this could be classified as a fully fledged Rocky Road without them (to be fair my other colleagues who tried them didn't notice!!). Poor old M&S were always going to be compared to the Heavenly Cakes Rocky Road and I'm afraid to say this didn't match up in any criteria. The chocolate and constituents were of a fair quality, but neither had the richness of the Heavenly Cakes alternative. The sultanas and marshmallow pieces added interest texture wise but failed to create much of an impression in terms of enhancing the taste. I probably wouldn't buy this again.

6.4 out of 10



Tunnock's Dark Chocolate Tea Cakes

Kcal 105 Fat 4.7g Fat(sats) 2.5g Carbs 14.6g (per Biscuit)

I have to hold my hands up straight away here and admit that I'm a bit of fanboy of these. I've been buying them for years now and they happen to be a pretty staple purchase whenever I do my weekly shopping in Sainsbury's (annoyingly my Tesco doesn't stock them). For those that haven't seen a Tunnock's Tea Cake before (where have you been living haha!), they are described as 'biscuit bases, topped with marshmallows covered in chocolate'. To cut the long story short, I like these dark chocolate ones just a bit more than the original milk chocolate variety that are more widely distributed. In comparison I think the unsweetened nature of the 'dark chocolate' balances the sweetness of the mallow centre a little better. Just like the milk chocolate ones, I don't find them the most satisfying of snacks but there is just something so comforting about them that makes me buy them time and time again - it must be nostalgia!

7.2 out of 10

The Co-Operative Fairtrade Chocolate Brownie

Kcal 320 Fat 12.6g Fat(sats) 6.0g Carbs 34.6g (per brownie)

Just like the Rocky Road cake above, this poor, poor brownie was always going to be compared to the Heavenly Cakes milk chocolate brownies I had the delight in reviewing a few months ago. It will be more fun for me to try and pull out the advantages that this Co-op brownie has over the Heavenly Cakes offering, rather than me just be totally blunt and say IT DIDN'T TASTE AS NICE haha! So what sort of case can I build!? Well ... for a start it was Fairtrade - 41% Fairtrade sugar, 4% Fairtrade cocoa powder, 7% Fairtrade Cocoa Mass and 1% Fairtrade cocoa butter ... hurrah for equality!! Secondly it only cost me 75p - so there was an obvious price advantage over Heavenly Cakes. Thirdly when I bought it I got to eat it straight away - no waiting in the post my brownies thank you very much. Sadly I would like to say those three things make it a superior product, but unfortunately not. In my opinion this brownie was nowhere near as rich, or as insanely indulgent in it's chocolate delivery. It will do a good job if you fancy a brownie on the impulse, but if it is the highest quality you're after look in the direction of Heavenly.

7.8 out of 10

Marks & Spencer Milk Chocolate & Caramel Layered Cookies

Kcal 180 Fat 9.4g Fat(sats) 5.5g Carbs 22.2g (per biscuit)

Save the best until last!? Would I really do something like that :D ??? ... Of course I would! You can now find these 'biscuits topped with a layer of caramel, crisp rice and milk chocolate' in a M&S near you, and I was lucky enough to snaffle a few boxes of them on a introductory £1 offer. If you factor in the likes of the new Cadbury and Mikado biscuit offerings, the chocolate biscuit market has been pretty active recently in terms of new products available in the last year, so these were going to have to be something special to make them stand out from the rest. Frankly ... they were! They were tremendous! The chocolate was thick and took a substantial grip on the taste, whilst the caramel layer was more creamy and Dulce de leche like, rather than being just sugary, syrup gloop. The biscuit bases were also very tasty with their shortbread, buttery flavours - even the outer bits of chocolate puffed rice were fun looking and proved to be just a nice touch. Looking at the calories you probably don't want to go replacing these with your daily custard cream, but if you are after some 'posh biscuits' to bring out for the guests round your house I'm sure these will go down tremendously.

8.7 out of 10

August 28/29th: Ritter Sport Schokocreme

Kcal 578 Fat 40.0g Carbs 50.0g (per 100.0g)

Just when I thought it had gone a little quiet on the Ritter Sport front, last week a 2.0kg box arrived on my doorstep (poor postie!). Inside the well packaged Ritter Sport branded parcel, there were eight bars of this new Schokocreme flavour - that is Chocolate Cream of course to us Brits. On the wrapper the new bar came described as 'milk chocolate with a chocolate cream filling (43.0%) and small rice cereal pieces (2.5%)'. In proposition this didn't sound like the most innovative or exciting of all the flavours to come out of Ritter HQ recently, but I approached it with an open mind and roped in some of my fellow family members to try it with me (I say that as if it took much convincing :D )

As I have noted above the package I received from Ritter was rather large, which is lucky for you guys as it means I have the opportunity to give one of these bars away. If you can do some easy maths and calculate the weight of this bar, pop me an e-mail at Jim[@]ChocolateMission.net (take out the brackets!) Winner announced Saturday 4th September. As you will no doubt have noticed in my photo above, this was another presale sample sent to me by Ritter, so the packaging on show is not actually the finished article. From what I could gauge from the products received, I think it would be a safe assumption to make that the eventual presentation will be just fine. Sat in the middle of the standard sized blocks, the chocolate cream looked well portioned, whilst the small specs of rice cereal were also very evident.

Smelling the chocolate, my senses were soon filled with some familiar Ritter Sport milk chocolate scents that did a sound job of setting up the taste that followed. Placing the first block in my mouth the experience started out like most other Ritter milk chocolate bars do, with the taste fast taking a sugary cocoa led flavour base. Excuse me again for repeating myself from past reviews, but whilst the chocolate was fine and did a sound job of providing the chocolate flavour hit, it was pretty generic in taste and had nothing about it that made me want to shout how great it was from any rooftops. In the centre of the blocks the chocolate cream did little to enhance the sugary, milky flavours of the chocolate, though it did at least offer a differentiated texture that felt softer and smoother during the duration of it's melt. Throughout the chocolate cream the small crispy pieces similarly didn't prove to be the most compelling flavour wise with their mild rice cereal suggestions. On the plus side however, they did bring a degree of interest to the textures with their crunchy, disruptive mouth feel a nice contrast from the faster melting, smoother chocolate constituents.

Overall it was felt by not only myself but my entire family that this was a pretty average Ritter Sport offering. Whilst it was fine at fulfilling the proposition it put forward, the flavour combination wilts in the presence of some of the other more distinctive offerings that there are in the range. A thing that particularly disappointed myself about this chocolate was the fact that Ritter Sport have continued not to implement their finer milk chocolate recipe across the rest of their range (See that bar HERE). I think another opportunity that they had with this chocolate was also to differentiate the outer milk chocolate, with the inner chocolate creme. I think it would have certainly of been interesting to see what a bar with a milk chocolate exterior and dark chocolate cream filling would have been like - that would have been a nice alternative to the Ritter Sport a la Mousse au Chocolat bar which happens to have this proposition just the other way around. To conclude this bar was absolutely fine at what it did, but it just wasn't all that special. Don't forget to enter the competition above - you better get your calculators out :D

7.2 out of 10

August 27th: Nestle Dairy Box

Kcal 199 Fat 11.9g Fat(sats) 5.7g Carbs 20.3g (per 4 chocolates)

It's been a while since I last reviewed a selection box on ChocolateMission so I thought I would give this Nestle Dairy Box a try when I saw it on a special offer in my local Sainsbury's supermarket. With an RRP of £3.75, this Dairy Box is Nestle's equivalent to Cadbury's Milk Tray and comes described as an 'assorted selection of milk chocolates'.

Presentation wise I thought it was a little on the plain side with it's use of mostly cream and beige colours on the packaging. On the flip side I was a little more impressed by the inclusion of a menu and the look of the chocolates which at least looked to have some sort of effort put into their shaping and decoration.

In the selection there were a decent sounding ten chocolates on offer. Below are my thoughts on each of them starting from left to right in the photos. Apologies if my descriptions of the taste all sound so similar - as will come apparent this is not my fault!

Whole Almond Delight - As suggested by the name this piece contained a single whole almond at it's centre and was coated in milk chocolate. The milk chocolate exterior was severely lacking in flavour, whilst the inner nut was relatively flavourless and lacking the desired fresh crunchiness. Poor.

Caramel Creme - I was expecting a liquid caramel centre given the 'indulgent creamy caramel' descriptor but was left very disappointed by the filling that lacked any caramel resemblance whatsoever. Again the outer milk chocolate was poor in terms of flavours offered. Poor.

Almond Crunch - This was a piece comprising of a 'cream mousse centre with caramelised almond pieces'. There were fine, grainy particles detectable amongst the softer, lighter centre, however neither constituents offered any flavour progression from the mild milk chocolate. Poor.

Orange Sensation - This chocolate was supposed to contain an 'orange truffle centre with orange peel pieces and crunchy cereal'. Again there were noticeable particles evident amongst the truffle centre, but they did little more than provide an awkward lumpiness. The orange flavours were completely MIA, they must have forgotten to put that bit in!? Very Poor.

Chocolate Almond Mousse - 'Chocolate Mousse flavoured with a hint of almond', again the milk chocolate exterior and filling was devoid of any flavours of note. No one on this planet would have guessed this was supposed to be flavoured with almond in a blind taste test - it was totally lacking in nutty flavours. Very Poor.

Raspberry Parafait - The colour of the centre above gave me hope that this might be one of the more flavoursome offerings in the box. How wrong I was! Once again the centre was nothing more than a mushy flavoured version of the flavourless exterior chocolate. Just like the other fruit flavours, the raspberry was nowhere to be seen here. Very Poor.

Double Hazelnut Delight - This piece at least sounded somewhat exciting on the menu and came billed as 'hazelnut praline studded with roasted hazelnuts, dipped in milk chocolate'. Despite the poorness of the milk chocolate constituents, the hazelnut elements did manage to offer a woody nut hint to the mild taste. Standard.

Rich Chocolate Truffle - This was probably the best piece in the box, but that's not saying much. The upper portion of white chocolate managed to bring a creamier edge to the plain tasting milk chocolate. Inside the softer centre there were evident bits of wafer which did bring a nicely contrasting crunchy element to other smoother melting constituents. Standard.


Chocolate Dream - Well at least they didn't even try to suggest this one had more to it - 'chocolate truffle enveloped in chocolate'. Sorry if this is getting boring already, rinse & repeat ... the milk chocoalte was very mildly flavoured - I didn't get any enjoyment from this piece. Very Poor.

Perfect Praline - Out of all the chocolates in this box this was probably one of the few that I would deem as a passable chocolate. Between them the praline and chopped almonds didn't manage to generate some sort of nut offering to the taste, which is more than can be said for several of the other nut flavoured pieces in this selection. Standard.


Overall I must start off by firstly offering my apologies if this review reads like one long moan! Unfortunately though this selection box gave me little opportunity to do anything other than that - it was one of the poorest collection of chocolates I have ever tasted. The main issue with these chocolates was the quality of the milk chocolate that coated every single one of them. The cocoa content isn't listed anywhere on the box (18% milk solids), but I would certainly expect the figure to be extremely low. As I have described on all of the pieces above, the milk chocolate offered very little to the taste, which was obviously never going to be a good basis from which to build off. Just to compound the tasteless nature of the outer chocolate most of the centres were equally devoid of flavour, the caramel, fruit and mousse flavoured chocolates stand out as the main perpetrators. To be honest I can't see any sort of situation that I would recommend buying this Nestle Dairy Box Selection. I certainly wouldn't recommend buying them for yourself, I wouldn't recommend buying them for a partner or friend ... I don't think I would even recommend buying them for your worst enemy :D Long story, cut short - I would just avoid these.

4.8 out of 10

August 26th: Lindt Amarena-Kirsch

Kcal 552 Fat 36.0g Carbs 50.0g (per 100.0g)

Since the start of the summer I have been slowly making my way through Lindt's latest 100.0g tafel range, which you may recall has been based around different ice cream flavours. Having already reviewed the Nocciola (See HERE) and Eiscafe (See HERE) variants the one remaining flavour left to try was this Amarena-Kirsh, which I managed to get hold of with a little help from my German friend Franzi. Through aid of the on-pack pictures and my loose understanding of German I was able to get identify that this was based loosely round Cherries, though it took a quick Wikipedia search to identify the origins of Amarena-Kirsch. According to my favourite online encyclopedia, Amaerna-Kirsch are an Italian speciality, which would make sense given that both the Eiscafe and Nocciola flavours have followed that theme (More about Amaerna-Kirsch HERE).

As I have referred to already above this bar came in a 100.0g format which was split into a 5x2 grid of blocks. The packaging, albeit hard to photograph, looked as wonderful as ever and I thought the pinky, red colours made it look the most exciting flavour in the range. The blocks were again slightly on the big side for my liking, though the way they were so beautifully crafted and shaped meant I didn't dwell on that flaw for long. Cutting the block in half for my photography I was delighted to see that the inner creme was studded with large bits of what looked liked frozen dried fruit. In addition to looking pretty gorgeous, the light coloured inner creme smelt pretty phenomenal, mixing a lovely variety of chocolate and genuine smelling red berry scents.

To this point the chocolate was displaying a wonderful promise and the proposition of 'milk chocolate with cherry creme and Amarena cherry pieces' was something I couldn't wait to get stuck in to. Much like the smells had indicated the cherry flavours didn't hang about in imposing themselves on the taste, and straight away they were detectable in the background of the sweet cocoa flavours of the outer chocolate. As ever with Lindt milk chocolate, the taste was luxuriously cream based and it melted with a glorious softness to reveal the inner filling below. As pleasant and smooth as the chocolate felt on the tongue, it was then eclipsed in mouth feel sensation by the creme which had a lighter silkier feel to it's melt. It was at this point that the cherry really flavours really started coming through strongly, with the red fruit flavours establishing a very sweet, yet very 'real' tasting cherry influence. Submerged in the creme filling, the small specs of Amaerna cherry rounded of the taste quite superbly. In comparison to both the chocolate and the creme, the small bits of fruit were sharp and zingy in taste and provided a refreshing juicy sourness to leave a lasting impression of cherry in the mouth. The pace of the melt meant the flavour longevity wasn't optimum, but that wasn't too much of a problem given I had a full 100.0g bar :D

Overall this was probably the best cherry flavoured chocolate that I have ever tasted and it has surprisingly scored the best out of all three of the Lindt ice cream themed bars I have tried this summer. As previous chocolates have shown, implementing cherries in to chocolate is not the easiest thing to do without creating an artificial taste. Thoughts of this chocolate being in any way fake tasting were completely absent when I was eating it. The cherry influences were expertly integrated, in fact I don't believe they could have done it any better. One consideration I did have this chocolate however, was the appropriateness of the milk chocolate coating. As good, and tasty as it was, one part of me couldn't help but feel that a dark coating might have been better matched for the sweetness of the fruit. I could well be wrong and the flavour balance could go out of kilter with dark chocolate overpowering the cherry, but I would still be very keen to try it if such a bar existed. If you like your cherries then this is a must try chocolate for you. This is another pearl in the crown of Lindt.

8.6 out of 10