September 18/19th: '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' - Edition 55

SEPTEMBER 18th: Cadbury Wishes

'Milk chocolate star with textured milk chocolate and truffle centre'
Kcal 165 Fat 9.9g Fat(sats) 5.8g Carbs 17.2g

Just like last week I'm going to disrupt the usual style of '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' with a mini post about these new Cadbury Wishes. Last weekend I couldn't quite believe it when my eyes became fixated on a set of shelves bearing Christmas products in Tesco. Just one week into September and the supermarkets are already three months ahead of the rest of us - unbelievable huh!? Nestled in and amongst all the standard fair Cadbury Roses and Nestle Quality Street tins, these new Cadbury Wishes were shouting out for me to give them a try. You may recall earlier this year that I posted an article in a previous '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' which told the PR story behind the concept of the product.

To keep this review short and succinct I can straight off the bat tell you that these Cadbury Wishes are quite simply Cadbury Wispas moulded in to the shape of stars. Is this a bad thing!? Well no, not really! The packaging looked very smart and there was obviously no expense spared with the thick gold foil wrapping material which gave the product exceptional stand out. The inner chocolate star was pretty awkward to eat given it's large size and crumbly contents, however I couldn't really begrudge this given the concept of the product.

When it came to taste it served up exactly the experience I was expecting. Being Cadbury milk chocolate it was sweet and milky in taste and delivered all the usual Cadbury chocolate pleasantries - there was no differentiation between the taste of the outer chocolate and 'truffle centre which came described on the packaging'. Compared to a Wispa bar the inner aerated texture half wasn't quite as well implemented given the thinness at which it melted. The bubbly sensation created was apparent, yet just not quite as profound and ultimately pretty short lived.

Overall I don't think I will be stocking up on these for myself during the run up to Christmas, but at the same time I would be more than happy with the thought of gifting them as a small present for a friend. A dosage of Cadbury Caramel or some sort of nut praline would probably have livened up the 'truffle' portion of this Cadbury Wishes quite nicely, though I guess this would add to the complexity of the production and significantly lower the contribution they could make to charity. It's not a must try product for it's quality but at least you can feel happy in the knowledge that a portion of your monies is going to a good cause.

7.4 out of 10



News from the Chocolate Market

* As reported a few weeks ago there is further news on Mars cutting the levels of saturated fat in their products ... See HERE

* House of Dorchester (errr who!?) are launching a new range of mini slabs into Sainsbury's ... See HERE

* La Maison du Chocolat are launching a new range of chocolates in time for Chocolate Week coming up ... See HERE

* Great news - the lemon flavoured Jaffa Cakes are coming back for a limited period ... See HERE

* Behold .... the worlds biggest chocolate bar ... See HERE

* Incase you missed it - Cadbury are launching a new bar called Cadbury Bliss ... See HERE


Posts from other blogs I enjoyed this week

* GiGiReviews - I hadn't see a review of a new Hershey's Kisses flavour for months. Gi put that right with her views on the new Caramel Apple flavour ... See HERE

* Foodstufffinds - The guys/gals at FFF managed to pull an all nighter to see in the launch of Halo Reach this week. They needed the help of a very curious looking energy drink to do so mind you ... See HERE

* It's all about limited edition - Franzi took a first look at some of the new flavours of Milka to be seen out in Germany. She was even kind enough to send me some :D reviews soon! ... See HERE

* Japanese Snack Reviews - Hmmmm if you don't like the look of little dead dried fish mixed in with almonds I suggest you stay well away. These do not look appetising ... See HERE

* ImpulsiveBuy - French toast and sausage in the same breakfast? I don't know whether this is greed or genius!? Marvo didn't seem to think to much of the idea mind you ... See HERE

* Candyblog - Cybele has been taking photos of fruit this week ..... haha candied fruit that is :D ... See HERE

September 17th: GU Brownies

Kcal 178 Fat 10.7g Fat(sats) 5.7g Carbs 20.0g (per brownie)

After receiving dozens of reader requests asking me to look at GU's desserts range I finally decided to oblige, and I today bring you my review of these GU Brownies. I found these brownies in the unusual location of the fresh desserts chiller cabinet during my weekly shopping trip to Sainsbury's. I don't know if GU have come to some corporate arrangement with Sainsbury's, but the entire contents of these shelves were dominated by GU products apart from the Sainsbury's own brand fresh cakes - before anyone asks I'm pretty sure these can also be bought in the likes of Tesco etc. On the box these came described as 'chocolate brownies made with 50% cocoa chocolate and pecan nuts'.

I'm not altogether sure of the weight of the box, but inside there were 8 individually wrapped brownies. In terms of price, I have to admit that the £4 I payed for these did seem pretty hefty at the time - suffice to say it noticeably added a fair wedge on my final store receipt. Presentation wise I was altogether pretty impressed. The dome shaped box was no doubt a pain in the backside to photograph :D , but I thought it looked cool nonetheless and it was very easy to store in my fridge. The brownies themselves also looked appetising on the eye, though I wasn't particularly impressed by the aromas that were released from their plastic packets. The chocolate cake smells on offer weren't at all unappealing (far from it!), but I was expecting them to be far stronger for products that were supposedly 'fresh'.

What with these brownies being 'freshly made' they had a relatively short 'best before' date of one week, so I took these into work to share with my ever grateful work colleagues. To make sure we had all bases covered we of course tried these brownies in a number of different ways - straight from the fridge, heated, and lastly, and most indulgently, with some Ben & Jerry's vanilla ice cream. Despite trying them all these different ways the experience they delivered was pretty similar each time, and there were obvious positives and negatives. Speaking about the good stuff first, these brownies were more than adequately satisfying and they established a rich chocolate experience from the very first bite. The taste was laden with unsweetened cocoa flavours that built with every chew, and additionally there were minor nutty offerings from the pecans. Moving on to the not so positive feedback from some of my colleagues, they felt that the brownies were a little one dimensional with their dense, viscous texture. A lot of them remarked that good brownies have crisp, light outer portions and then soft gooey centres - these were simply just slabs of dense brownie cake. A more personal gripe of my own was that the pecans could have been better implemented had they been larger in size. I think the flavour impact would have greater had they been bigger, and they would have brought a crunchy element to the one dimensional texture problem. Out of all these methods the situation where these brownies shone were when they were heated with the ice cream - believe me this made for one devilishly rich dessert.

Overall these were some very tasty brownies but there are some glaring areas where I think they could be fractionally improved. One thing that I can have no complaints about whatsoever was the quality of the dark chocolate used, it was exceedingly rich tasting and flavoursome for just a 50% cocoa recipe. People who suffer from nut allergies obviously wont agree with me here, but the pecan nuts were also a fantastic inclusion, though as I mentioned above they could have been even more genius had they been larger in size and not chopped so finely. It may sound like I am being overly critical here but you have to remember I am always comparing these to the truly superb Heavenly Cakes Milk Chocolate Brownie which I once described as "the best plain brownie I think I have ever had the delight of eating". If we put Heavenly Cakes aside for just being in a class of their own, these GU Brownies are at least worth taking a look at if brownies are your thing. They are a little expensive and by no means perfect, but they are still some very tasty cakes indeed - more GU cakes coming soon.

7.6 out of 10

September 16th: Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Brazils / Macadamias

You may have noticed recently that I have been reviewing some of Hotel Chocolat's more obscure products (covered fruit offerings - Sultanas, Mango Strips etc) and have been experimenting with parts of their range other than their standard chocolate offerings. Two more products sent my way recently by Hotel Chocolate HQ were these Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Brazils & Chocolate Macadamias. Had you asked me a few years or so ago whether I would be that keen on trying these, I would have probably declined as nuts were never something that stirred great excitement inside of me. Having tasted just how tasty some chocolate nut products can be over the past three years, my views have of course changed somewhat so I was of course very keen to give them both a try.

Both of these variants came in 125.0g bags that contained around 20 or so nut pieces in each. I have commented at length previously about the plastic bag presentation before so I needn't probably go in to much detail again - suffice to say I think it is an area that Hotel Chocolat could improve in presenting some of their products, I don't think it quite meets the premium brand perception that their products command. With the said the both the types of nuts looked fantastically authentic when bitten in to. My photos probably wont do them justice, but both the brazils and the macadamias looked terrifically golden and ripe in colour sat below the thick outer shells of milk chocolate. The cocoa powder dusted on each nut type was a nice touch, however it did take away some degree of practicality to eating them outside the home.

Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Brazils - 'Whole roasted Brazil nuts panned in milk chocolate and cocoa powder'. These nuts were slightly longer in shape compared to the fatter macadamias though the chocolate was still equally as thick. The 40% milk chocolate delivered it's usual cream rooted sweet cocoa flavours, though it was of course the nuts which mostly dictated the taste. The Brazils broke with a delightful crisp freshness and with a nice crunch in the mouth. The flavours generated by the nuts weren't the strongest but there were tones of butter and nice earthyness which established a pleasant savoury flavour contrast to the sweeter chocolate.

Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Macadamias - 'Whole roasted macadamia nuts panned in milk chocolate and cocoa powder'. I could literally cut and paste my thoughts on the impression created by the milk chocolate from above - it did exactly the same job here. The differentiation was obviously bought about by the nuts at the heart of each piece. In contrast to the Brazils, the macadamias were sweeter in taste and had a fuller bodied, richer butteryness then left a slightly longer lasting flavour impression in the mouth. Like the Brazils these broke with a very fresh crunchy sensation - the textures of both nuts were fantastic.

Overall both these Chocolate Brazil and Macadamia products proved themselves to be decent offerings without ever providing the wow factor that comes with so many other Hotel Chocolat products. Everything from the packaging, presentation and subsequent taste of both varieties was decent enough and on the whole up to standard, but given some of the other really special things that Hotel Chocolat offer they understandably didn't prove themselves to be anything out of this world. If you were to ask me which of the two nut types I prefer I would probably settle for the macadamias as I found them to be the richer tasting out of the two. With that said I would be more than happy to settle for the Brazils, as they were equally as tasty, just not perhaps as fulfilling. Whilst I wont be recommending these as a 'must try' Hotel Chocolat product I would feel more than happy gifting them or picking them up myself for a tasty daily grazing snack.

Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Brazils - 7.3 out of 10
Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Macadamias - 7.5 out of 10

September 15th: 'Bits n Bobs' Cakes & Chocolate Biscuits # 5

You must all know the drill by now when it comes to my 'Bits n Bobs' posts - multiple products and snapshot reviews. Today three products take centre stage, two of which are 'biscuit' bar versions of some Nestle's best selling chocolate bars. The other is a first ever appearance for Kellogg's Pop Tarts.


Nestle Toffee Crisp - Kcal 99 Fat 5.2g Fat(sats) 3.4g Carbs 9.2g (per bar)

These bars come described as 'biscuit pieces, crisped cereal and caramel, covered in milk chocolate'. Those of you who have never read my original Nestle Toffee Crisp review will want to take a look HERE. The Toffee Crisp has always been a bit of favourite of mine (hence the 8.5 out of 10 rating!), though reasons unbeknown to myself I had never tried these biscuit bars. In stature they were around a quarter of the size of an original bar but the only difference I noticed visually (apart from scale!) were the small bits of biscuit amongst the rice cereal centre. I would love to say that the biscuit pieces had a massive impact on the taste, but to be honest it was still the chocolate and toffee caramel elements that dominated each bite. Just like the normal sized bars these were still a little unsubstantial due to the light airy centres. More importantly though they were still every bit as delicious with their mixture of sweet caramel and chocolate flavours, and the variety of textures were still as varied and glorious. I would buy them again for our tea room - they are just great for just a little chocolaty snack.

7.7 out of 10




Nestle Yorkie Biscuit Bar - Kcal 123 Fat 6.2g Fat(sats) 3.6g Carbs 10.3g

Having just reviewed a biscuit bar version of one of my favourite Nestle products, I now move on to one of my lesser favoured offerings of theirs. Looking back at my review of the Nestle Yorkie Original (See HERE) I must have been in a good mood as think my score of 7.8 out of 10 was probably a little generous - it is only just a bar of average tasting milk chocolate after all. Anyway the notorious £1 deals in my local Tesco persuaded me to give these Yorkie biscuit bars a try and they came billed as 'bourbon biscuits covered with milk chocolate'. To my surprise I actually enjoyed these a whole lot more than I thought I would. My views on the quality of the chocolate haven't changed (a fair standard, cheap recipe sugary milk chocolate), but the biscuit just gave a little bit extra to the total Yorkie experience. It was crunchy and buttery in taste and offered a minor suggestion of salt - it quite simply provided a normal chocolate biscuit experience but with an added dose of average tasting milk chocolate which resultingly made it a little more substantial snack wise. I would be more than happy to buy them again.

7.8 out of 10




Kellogg's Pop Tarts Chocotastic - Kcal 198 Fat 6.0g Fat(Sats) 2.5g Carbs 17.0g (per tart)

After a few reader requests I finally caved in and gave these Kellogg's Pop Tarts a try. If you look on the several American food importer websites, Pop Tarts are big business in America and the seem to offer an never ending number of different flavours. In the UK it appears we only have the two - including of course this 'Chocotastic' variety. On the box they came described as 'chocolate flavour filling in a frosted pastry', the nutritional information and ingredients list revealed that each tart mainly consisted of sugar! To test drive these out I replaced my usual bowl of breakfast cereal with two of these toasted Pop Tarts. In terms of taste the outer portions of each tart were quite nice and I thought the chocolate pastry, although a tad dry, was pleasant when washed down with milk. At first I also found the centre bit reasonably tasty with it's chocolate syrup flavours, but it wasn't long before I found it overbearing in terms of it's sweetness and I couldn't stomach over half of the second tart. Personally I don't think I will be replacing my usual cereal with these anytime soon. They might be nice as the odd treat but I just can't imagine anyone being able to eat them everyday! They get a very, very generous score of 7 out of 10 for taste.

6.7 out of 10

September 14th: Galaxy Smooth Truffle

Kcal 518 Fat 30.2g Fat(sats) 18.3g Carbs 55.4g (per 100.0g)

Not a week seems to by without some sort of 'New' product coming out here in the UK at the moment. Recent product launches such as the Galaxy Bubbles, Twix Fino and Cadbury Spots V Stripes bars have all been announced in the press, but the bar I am featuring today was one that caught me totally off guard whilst shopping in Tesco. Indeed, just last week when I was on the look for yet another new product (Cadbury Wishes - review coming Saturday!), I found this new Galaxy Smooth Truffle bar minding it's own business sitting amongst all the other Galaxy variants. On the wrapper the bar came described as 'milk chocolate with a chocolate truffle filling' and whilst not explicitly stating it was manufactured there it had Poland down as it's first point of contact. This Polish connection had me wondering if these bars have been imported as a WIGIG ("when it's gone, it's gone"), or whether they have been rolled out in Tesco first like the Galaxy Cookie Crumble as Tesco customer exclusive!? I guess time will tell until we hear from Mars!

The bar came in a 135.0g form that I took in to work in order to get a few second opinions. As you can see above the wrapper was aligned to the rest of the Galaxy range with the variant being solely differentiated by the secondary blue colours and very subtle on-pack branding (it could be easily missed don't you think!). My suspicions that this might not be a UK manufactured bar were further raised by the size and shape of the Galaxy blocks. In the UK this has changed many a time down the years, but I had never seen them shaped like this before - not being a frequent Galaxy consumer I could well be wrong in my thinking here, please feel free to chip in. Regardless the chocolate looked nice nonetheless and the truffle centre appeared clearly visible and lighter in viscosity when the blocks were cross sectioned.

In regards to aromas this chocolate was very similar to all other Galaxy products in that it didn't really offer much aside from a mild set of sweet chocolate flavours. Rather that go in to great detail about how this chocolate tasted, it is probably best you just head to my review of the original Galaxy chocolate bar I wrote a few years ago (See HERE). As you may have guessed the truffle filling was identical in taste to the harder, outer chocolate and brought no real flavour progression of any note. The chocolate was still sinfully creamy tasting and delivered a smooth, sweet cocoa set of flavours, but it was ultimately a little disappointing that the truffle filling had nothing else to offer. Myself and some of my fellow tastees did note that the chocolate did seem a touch more sugary than at previous times we had tried Galaxy down the years, but this was perhaps us paying too closer attention to detail - ultimately the chocolate was still very much to our liking. Speaking about the texture of the chocolate, I personally thought this 'Smooth Truffle' format was more of a hindrance than it was beneficial. Ergonomically (that's a big word haha!) the blocks weren't quite optimised, as they were just a little to big to place in the mouth all in one go. This meant it was required for the blocks to be bitten in to, which was obviously not a thing that was best doing given the nature of the truffle proposition. Casting issues aside this bar still offered a typical Galaxy chocolate experience that was relatively satisfying when eaten in sensibly sized portions.

Overall I have probably pulled out more negatives than I should have done with this product, however it was easier to pull out reasons why Galaxy perhaps shouldn't have bothered with this variant rather than coming up with reasons why it was a stroke of genius. If you think about the Galaxy truffles that you get in packs of Mars Celebrations, the reason they work so well is because those pieces are perfect for just popping in the mouth and letting them melt. Unfortunately the thinner, longer format of these blocks pieces just simply didn't work in quite the same way. Compared to the normal Galaxy bar, these Smooth Truffle blocks melted at twice the pace, offered no further enhancements to the taste and didn't have the elegance of individual chocolate truffles. When I asked the other five people I tried these with whether they would consider buying this bar themselves they all unanimously said 'no' citing the main reason as being they saw little reason to buy it over a normal Galaxy milk chocolate bar. At the end of the day I would still rate this as a decent enough mass produced milk chocolate offering, but I can't see it sticking around for long as it doesn't deliver a unique selling point worth buying in to.

7.2 out of 10

September 13th: Galler Biscuit

Kcal 538 Fat 36.9g Fat(sats) 19.5g Carbs 43.2g (per 100.0g)

Having touched upon Galler's alcohol filled bars last week (See HERE), I today return to checking out yet another of their dark chocolate offerings. This review today was requested by ChocolateMission reader Robert, who was curious about this Galler Biscuit chocolate given his love for Ritter Sport's Butter Biscuit bar. In terms of proposition, this Galler Biscuit differed only very slightly from the Ritter Sport equivalent in that it had a dark chocolate coating instead of a milk chocolate one. On the wrapper the bar came described as simply 'dark chocolate with biscuit filling', with the proportions being 66% dark chocolate to 33% biscuit.

Normally at this point I have to try and think up a different way of saying 'this bar came in a 70.0g form', though this one actually only weighed 65.0g. Presentation wise everything was as good looking as normal with the wrapper as immaculate in design as any other from their range. I have grumbled many a time in the past about the size of the Galler blocks, though the problem was none more evident here as each of them needed biting or cutting in to because of their hard filled centres. Releasing the chocolate from it's inner foil wrapper, the bar emanated some pleasant smelling cocoa scents that had hints of nut and cereal.

As I have mentioned above the size of the blocks meant this bar wasn't the most practical to eat on the move so I took my time enjoying it after a few evening meals accompanying after dinner coffees. I always think the best way to consume dark chocolate is by letting it slowly melt away on the tongue, so having to bite in to the chocolate to begin with was never an ideal circumstance. Regardless the 60% recipe was just about as good as always, with the forthcoming smokey cocoa flavours as delicious and full bodied as previous experiences. Sat below this thickish outer shell of chocolate the biscuit felt contrastingly hard in the mouth and retained a decent crunchiness despite the moist melting chocolate. In terms of taste I felt the biscuit element was perhaps not as flavoursome as it could of been. The toasted wheat and brown sugar flavours did have small notes of almond and hazelnut, which believe me were as good as it sounds, but at times it just seemed to fade in to the background of the taste with the stronger flavoured chocolate. Despite the flavour depth of the dark chocolate, the fast melting nature and lightness of the biscuit meant this wasn't the richest or most satisfying of dark chocolate bars ever.

Overall this was a very pleasant dark chocolate offering from Galler but there were obvious areas where I think it could be improved with just some small adaptions. One thing that I almost taking for granted with nearly all Galler products at the moment is the quality of their chocolate. Across all three types - milk, dark and white, they have some phenomenal chocolate recipes, so it is almost solely down to the quality of their fillings which determine how highly I rate their products. Despite really enjoying this biscuit filling and it showing a lot of promise, I thought it wasn't as good as it could have been. I don't want to carry on about the size of the blocks, but let it be said the issue was even more highlighted with the hardness of the biscuit filling. If I was Galler I would personally make the biscuit element nuttier than it is already - the minor hints of nut that the biscuit was suggesting already almost acted like a teaser for what could have been. At the end of the day I'm sure this is a bar that many people would really enjoy - I know did! It could however be made even better with just a few very basic tweaks.

7.8 out of 10

September 11/12th: '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' - Edition 54

September 11th: Rocky Crispy Crunch Bars

Kcal 85 Fat 3.7g Fat(sats) 2.7g Carbs 7.9g

You guys have really struck lucky this week as I have included a mini product review of these NEW Rocky Crispy Crunch Bars for you to digest with the usual '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' post. Extra keen ChocolateMission readers might recall my original review of the Rocky Caramel (See HERE November 2009) in which I stated "On the whole I think the Rocky Caramel is far from being the best chocolate bar ever, but for the price you can't argue with what it offers". True this maybe, but to be totally honest with you I hadn't repeat purchased any sort of Rocky product until I saw these new Crispy Crunch bars in Sainsbury's this week. Indeed sitting on the shelf price marked down to 69p (half price offer) the brightly coloured blue packaging caught my eye as I browsed the biscuit bar area as I shopped for some items for an upcoming 'Bits n Bobs' post.

On the wrapper, Fox's promise 'milk chocolate covered crispy wafer and crunchy biscuit bars', which isn't a proposition far removed from many other offerings in this category. Aesthetically I thought the product looked rather good and I was pleased to see that the bars were at least twice the size of the other Rocky variants. At first sight it was hard to determine the biscuit from the wafer constituents as the centre of the bar was jumbled and lacking any sort of layering - something I hope you can determine from my photograph above.

So how did they taste!? Well I have to say these actually turned out to be a pleasant surprise. As I expected the chocolate quality wasn't great with the sugar based flavours contributing far more than the milk and cocoa than I desired. Although the chocolate wasn't exactly brilliant, it at least wasn't all that strongly flavoured so it let the inner cereal, biscuit and wafer constituents have a grander say in the overall flavour creation. The combination of the malty crisp wafers, buttery crunchy biscuits and light textured rice cereal elements made for a variable and interesting taste that I got more pleasure from than I was expecting.

Overall I wouldn't rate these up there with the king of the chocolate biscuit bars like the Kit Kats or Twixs of this world, but if you fancy trying something a little different from your ordinary Rocky biscuit I don't think you can go far wrong with these new Crispy Crunch bars. They aren't going to set anyone's world alight but I can see them sticking around as I think the simple proposition will have mass appeal.

7.0 out of 10



News from the chocolate market

* Kraft secures major cocoa deal with Barry Callebaut ... See HERE

* Nestle are bringing a new variation of the Kit Kat Senses to market ... See HERE

* Profits are worryingly down at Thorntons ... See HERE

* Wales online are reporting that chocolate is good for us :) ... See HERE

Have I missed anything this week? Be sure to share your chocolate stories ...


Posts from other blogs I enjoyed this week

* Foodstufffinds - Cin got stuck in to some of Hotel Chocolat's Vintage Buttons. Hotel Chocolat 40% house milk chocolate, theres nothing quite like it ... See HERE

* Candyblog - Cybele took a look at product that is meant to be making its way to UK shores sometime soon. Unfortunately she wasn't all that impressed with the dodgy textured Werthers Originals Caramelts ... See HERE

* GiGi Reviews - Being 20+ years old I don't generally find myself drinking chocolate milk anymore :D If I did I might want to take a look at this Broguiere's Chocolate Milk which comes highly recommended by GiGi ... See HERE

* Gone Chocco - In the land 'Daaaaaaaan Unda' Kath has been checking out Cadbury's bar of Plenty range ... See HERE

* Chocolate Reviews - Lee put together a nice write up of his adventures at The Speciality Chocolate Fair 2010. I wish I could have gone, but there is always next year ... See HERE

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