October 16/17th: '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' - Edition 57

### JIM's Corner ###

Hi All,

It has been an extremely active week on the site with a record number of contributions from readers :D Keep it up please it is always great to hear from you.

Today '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' takes a slightly different form - starting off with my ramblings here, a bit of chocolate news, and then lastly a special look at a Hotel Chocolat Halloween special.

This week I had over 10.0 kg of chocolate produce arrive from several different companies .... it must be nearing Christmas time eh!? All I can say is be on the look out for more reviews from Hotel Chocolat, Ritter Sport, Kschocolat, Heavenly Cakes and more crazy Japanese chocolates all coming very soon.

I have come so over burdened with chocolate as of late I will be running yet another Twitter based competition for some free chocolate this week. Keep a close eye out for that - See my Twitter feed HERE.

Have great weeks and please keep on adding your opinions to the site. It makes it all the better if it's not just myself rating and talking about these products.

JIM


News from the chocolate market

* This Marmite chocolate story has certainly been receiving a lot of coverage ... See HERE

* If you like the Galaxy Bubbly you will be pleased to hear it is being made in a bigger size ... See HERE

* It's been chocolate week and I have failed to attend any sort of event ... See HERE

... luckily some of my twitter chums at Chocablog, ChocolateReviews, ChocolateEcstasyTours have all been doing the rounds at several of the events. Check out their sites for some amazing coverage.

* Green & Black's have made their mini bar selection even bigger - See HERE

* Thanks to CM reader Thea for this one ... the V&A museum in London has a chocolate themed exhibition on ... See HERE

* Thorntons own brand stores are starting to struggle, this is what happens when you spread yourselves too thinly chaps ... See HERE ... let's just hope their Christmas range delivers the goods ... See HERE

* Here is an interesting report by Datamonitor which documents the rising sales of chocolate in the recession ... See HERE

* Please tell me this is a joke ... Cadbury already talking about their 2011 Easter range ... See HERE

* If you like chocolate truffles this will tickle your fancy ... See HERE

* Lastly .... Chocolate is good for us ... the latest story from the Daily Mail ... See HERE


JIM's HALLOWEEN RECOMMENDED

You may have noticed that my Halloween reviews started earlier this week with my review of the Hotel Chocolat Little Box of Horrors (See HERE). Well given the wide range of Hotel Chocolat's Halloween this range this year I wouldn't possibly have the chance to give each them a full separate review, so over the coming weeks I will quickly showcase the ones I think are most deserving of your consideration this year on the end of my weekly '7Days...' posts.

This weekend I've picked these Hotel Chocolate Boo! White Chocolates. These were pretty much identical to the original milk chocolate BOO! I featured in 2008 (See HERE), though with the obvious adaptation of being made of white chocolate. The Boo! package weighed in at 180.0g and contained 16 'ghoulish pieces' including Bewitching Bats, Scrummy Skills and Tasty Tombstones. The shapes were not only fun looking and well crafted, but the 31% milk solids chocolate was also about as delicious as white chocolate comes. With the taste heavily rooted in a rich creamy milkyness, there were additional notes of honey and bourbon vanilla which made for a naturally progressive and incredibly moreish overall experience. Hotel Chocolat simply know what they are doing when it comes to white chocolate, so if you want your fill this Halloween I highly recommend these. Just please don't go wasting them on pesky tricky or treaters.

8.4 out of 10

BUY YOUR HALLOWEEN CHOCOLATES HERE

October 15th: Terry's Chocolate Orange White Chocolate Smasher

Kcal 132 Fat 7.2g Fat(sats) 4.3g Carbs 14.5g (per 25.0g - 3 segments)

It's still a good nine weeks until Christmas, but kicking off my Christmas 2011 reviews this year we have a limited edition offering from one of the true British classics - Terry's Chocolate Orange. The supermarket shelves adourning the Christmas chocolates, biscuits and nuts have been stacked for weeks now, and sitting right in amongst everything at Tesco I found this 'White Chocolate Smasher' variety. Last year you may remember that I took a look at Terry's Chocolate Orange Snowball and awarded it a semi decent 7.9 out of 10, classing it as a 'surprisingly good quality mass produced white chocolate'. This 'Smasher' version came billed as pretty much the same product, however with the addition of 'colourful crystal pieces'.

Like all Terry's Chocolate Oranges, this variety came in a 170.0g form that was split in to 20 individual segments. The presentation was .... well colourful to say the least. The outer cardboard box was decorated with some puzzling symbols and icons including boxing gloves, love hearts and butterflies (not too sure what that was all about), but it looked pleasant on the eye nonetheless. Unwaravelled from it's foil wrapper the traditional chocolate orange segmentation was further decorated by the promised 'colourful crystals'. On one hand I thought they looked interesting, but on another I also didn't quite feel like they fitted with the cult classic Terry's look.

Most the time white chocolate doesn't really smell of too much so it was unsurprising that it was just a mild set of orange smells emanating from the chocolate. It's pretty likely that the majority of my loyal readers will already know what I'm going to say about this particular chocolate. Yes indeed my conclusion was that the crystal candy pieces were an uncessary addition, but let me take you through the experience anyway :D . Upon placing the first piece in my mouth I was met with a sweet orangey, milky set of flavours that developed a pleasant vanilla note once the smooth melt had picked up pace. As the chocolate melted the crystal pieces came in to play, roughing up the texture before being left as remanants once the surrounding chocolate had disappeared. Crunching down on the remaining candy pieces, a rush of sweet flavours left a rather generic sugary taste in the mouth. Given the sweetness of the chocolate already, I didn't find this a welcome addition to the taste at all. Resultingly this wasn't a chocolate I felt like I could eat in any great quantity.

Overall I was disappointed, yet not overly surprised with what I thought about this seasonal offering my Terry's. Last year when I tried the Terry's Chocolate Orange Snowball I was fully expecting to find the white chocolate to be cheap tasting, overly sugar laden, mass produced rubbish (not mentioning any names *ahem* Cadbury Dream *ahem*). As you will have read that, chocolate by all means exceeded my expectations - it wasn't the best white chocolate I have ever tasted, but it did well to compliment the fruitiness of the orange. The only hope I held out for this 'White Chocolate Smasher' variety was that it was going to add bit of colour to the affair, whilst not detracting either taste or texture. Unfortunately by my accounts I thought it hampered both, making the aftertaste searingly sugary, and ruining the feel of the soft melting chocolate with it's jagged, sharp edges. Unless you are buying this for sugar hungry kids I wouldn't recommend it.

6.9 out of 10

October 14th: Chocri 'Jim's Coffee Creation'

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

I'm sure you will have seen several sites on the chocolate blogosphere featuring these guys before, but if are yet to come across the Germany company Chocri please allow me to introduce them to you (website See HERE). Chocri are a German company founded in 2008 and they have recently expanded their operations in to the US & UK in 2010. The idea behind Chocri chocolate is simple - you log on to their website and construct your very own chocolate bar choosing from a wide variety of different chocolate bases and additional ingredients. The possibilities and combinations you can make are quite simply endless, you can literally create any bar you desire. Over a year ago I was contacted by Chocri in Germany, however only recently took them up on their kind offer of letting me create some of my own bars. Today I'm showcasing you 'Jim's Coffee Creation' ... come on it wasn't like I was ever going to make a chocolate bar without coffee being involved somewhere :D

'Jim's Coffee Creation' consisted of a dark chocolate base with 'bourbon vanilla, mini biscuits, coffee beans, cappuccino chocolate drops and macadamia nuts' and came in a bar that I would guess weighed in at around the 100.0g mark. All three of my creations (yes another review to follow!) came in a single parcel from Germany that included a decent amount of padding and wrapping to ensure everything arrived in tip top condition. Presentation wise I was pretty impressed with the chocolate at hand. The exterior generic packaging was decorated with it's own 'Jim's Coffee Creation' label, which included details of the ingredients and a handy code for reordering. The bar itself was similarly impressive, with the constituents well dispersed throughout the chocolate as well as some blocked grooves on the underside to aid breaking it apart.

Taking the chocolate out of it's plastic sleeve it was nice to met with a promising set of fresh smelling chocolate and coffee scents that set my expectations of the taste to follow really quite high. As you will have seen above I chose a dark chocolate base for this particular 'Jim creation' and I learnt on the back of the packaging that this was a 64% cocoa recipe. In terms of quality the dark chocolate was of a fair to decent standard that I would say was most comparable to that of Moser Roth. I wouldn't say it had the depth of flavour of the likes of Lindt's 70% recipe or any of Hotel Chocolat's dark chocolates, but the unsweetened cocoa flavours were flavoursome enough and had undertones of acidic fruitiness. Just as the smells suggested the coffee element was pretty soundly implemented, with the beans and chocolate drops bringing intermittent bursts of mild coffee flavours to the party. The whole macadamia nuts and biscuit constituents were similarly well dispersed throughout, though both were more notable for the differentiation they brought texture wise rather than the strength of the minor nutty and buttery offerings they added to the taste. My only real mistake with this bar was my choice of the vanilla ingredient, which generated an unnecessary artificial sweetness to the aftertaste. This was extra silly of me given the inclusion of vanilla in the chocolate base already - woops!!

Overall my first impressions of Chocri are that the potential and possibilities they offer are just slightly ahead of the end quality they deliver. The idea of creating your own chocolate bar is almost like a dream for any chocoholic and judging from this bar alone they try to create that dream using ingredients of a more than fair standard. Speaking from the experience of having tried several other brands, I wouldn't say the dark chocolate they offered here was of the highest standard, though in a way the laid back flavours of the chocolate were well suited given that it was the flavours of my added ingredients that I wanted to come to the fore. The vanilla aside I was pretty happy with my choice of additives. None of them particularly sparkled in my eyes, but the coffee taste generated was decent enough and the biscuit and nuts were pleasant if just a little passive flavour wise. Looking at the Chocri website, had I purchased this 100.0g bar myself it would have cost me £5.50 before postage - a hefty price tag. The novelty of creating my own chocolate bar was fantastic, but had this been a bar of chocolate I bought from a shelf I would probably have been disappointed for the price. There are a few more Chocri 'Jim Creations' to follow - I wonder if they will fair any better?

7.4 out of 10

October 13th: Lindt Swiss Luxury Selection

With the holiday season just coming round the corner I thought I better pack in as many chocolate selection box reviews this year as possible - after all is there any better gift than a quality box of chocolates?

Being showcased today we have this Lindt Swiss Luxury Selection, which is a box you can find on sale in most decent UK retailers. The Swiss Luxury Selection comes in a number of different sizes including a larger 250.0g box - I decided to plump for the smaller 145.0g collection which included an impressive eight varieties. As ever with Lindt presentation was not an after thought. The box looked glorious with it's clever use of stylish fonts and gold colours, whilst I'm sure you will agree that the pieces below all looked wonderfully crafted. Below are my thoughts on each of the different chocolates included in this 'selection of finest milk, dark and white chocolates'.

Dragon Noir - An outer shell of dark chocolate, filled with hazelnut gianduja. The mouth feel of this chocolate was absolutely exquisite and the crisp snap of the outer shell perfectly contrasted with the softer centered gianduja. As delicious as it was the strength of the dark chocolate dominated any sort of nutty flavours coming through - I think a better pairing would have been with milk chocolate. Good.

Caramelita - Double-layered caramel with a rich bitter-sweet chocolate. Once again the textures created by the different creme and gooey caramel layers was exquisite and created a sensational feeling melt. The chocolate shell was perhaps a little thin for my liking, whilst both caramels were a little floral and honey like for my taste. I'm being overly critical again :D Good.

Pointe de Chocolate - A chocolate filling coated with dark and light milk chocolate. This didn't sound the most compelling in the selection but it actually turned out to be one of my favourites. The textural differentiation from the outer to inner layers created a delightful truffle experience, whilst the creamy flavours of the lighter milk chocolate led perfectly into the richer cocoa taste of the dark. Very Good.

Carre de Stracciatella - Cocoa bits and cookie chunks, coated in white and dark chocolate. Without doubt this was the best in the box (annoyingly only portioned once!). The creamy flavours of the outer white chocolate were somehow made even creamier by the Stracciatella filling which also contributed strong tones of vanilla. The crunchy cookie pieces were subtle yet hugely flavour enhancing with their additional bursts of cocoa flavours. Superb.

Amande Croquante - An almond piece embedded in almond creme, coated in milk chocolate. Both the milk chocolate and almond cream filling were deliciously creamy and brought strong notes of milk and butter to the party. My only disappointment with this piece was that there was no whole almond piece in sight - instead there were smaller fragments of almond placed in the centre creme. It was still very tasty. Very Good.

Couer a l'Orange - Orange caramel ontop of a dark chocolate ganache, covered in dark chocolate. This was one for you fruit chocolate lovers out there, this was sublime! The dark chocolate was well balanced in in terms of it's strength and brought an unsweetened cocoa taste to the fore before the orange caramel came out of hiding tucked inside. The caramel was very sweet but had a zesty, real tasting orange fruitiness to it that lingered long in mouth for a good deal of time afterwards. Very Good.
Perle de Cacao - A smooth fine-grade cocoa filling, with cocoa flakes, coated in milk and dark chocolate, topped with a chocolate pearl. This piece looked and sounded sensational and it didn't let iself down. The outer milk chocolate was crisp when bitten into, and the feel of the inner chocolate truffle melting was near perfection. The combination of all the different constituents meant the cocoa volume increased with every second the chocolate was in the mouth. The chocolate pearl was a delicate touch. Superb.

Macchiato - A milk chocolate cup, filled with coffee cream and topped with white chocolate. The coffee element was of course not as strong as I desired, however this didn't stop this chocolate being another outstanding truffle. The cream based cocoa flavours of the exterior milk chocolate were further compounded by both the white chocolate and milky coffee flavoured centre. Again it was the textural feel of the truffle that made it seem like a very high quality chocolate. Very good.


Overall I wouldn't go as far saying this was the 'perfect' box of chocolates, but for a mass produced offering these were very, very good. Considering these can be found in most UK supermarkets for under £5 I was very impressed by the quality of the presentation, variety and ingredients - all of which I think matched many 'high end' brands I have tried before. When it came to the actual chocolates the thing that really stood to out to me was how each of them provided a luxurious set of textures. Each piece seemed to be so carefully constructed to combine different textural elements such as soft caramels, cremes, ganaches, giandujas, crunchy cocoa flakes etc. Most importantly each of these different filling formats created different mouth feel sensations, ensuring each piece brought a progressive flavour and texture experience. My only minor gripes with the box were that a few of the varieties which were only portioned once, and the choice of chocolate coatings weren't always best matched to the fillings. Those insignificant things cast away this was a very enjoyable box of chocolates that I would be happy to recommend.

8.5 out of 10

October 12th: 'Bits n Bobs' Cereal, Cakes, Flapjacks & Biscuit Chocolates Bars # 8

It seems like ages since I last posted a 'Bits n Bobs' post up on the site ... :D it must be what ... a whole matter of days haha! The reader requests have been coming thick and fast, so I have wasted little time getting together a few more of the chocolatey products that readers have been suggest I try over the last few weeks. Featuring today we have a newish line of biscuits from McVitie's, some flapjacks from the 'Fabulous Baking Boys', some Smarties Mini Bites cakes, and lastly another cereal bar from our pals at Weetabix.

McVitie's Mini Shorties

Kcal 210 Fat 11.3g Fat(sats) 6.1g Carbs 24.5g (per pack)
'Milk chocolate fully coated shortcake'

You may have noticed that when it comes to anything with the word shortbread in, I'm always game to try it. Given a biscuit type of choice I would always plump for a good bit of shortbread over anything else you could offer me, though I guess I could be tempted by the odd Hobnob :D These McVitie's Mini Shorties appeared on our shelves around early 2010, though until last week I hadn't seem them sold in anything other than an inconvenient large sized pouch. Somewhat by chance I saw this 40.0g snack bag on sale in my local newsagents priced a reasonable sounding 55p - I decided to give them a chance.

Despite their foil enclosure, there was nothing about the biscuits that suggested they were fresh in any sense and upon opening the bag I was confronted with a disappointing lack of fresh biscuity aromas and some rather dusty, scuffed looking biscuit pieces. 'Never judge a book by it's cover' right!? Well in this circumstance yes, I should of. These biscuits simply weren't up to par with what I would expect from McVities. The chocolate was waxy and relatively flavourless in both melt and taste, whilst the shortbread biscuit below was similarly lacklustre in any sort of forthcoming flavours. In fact the minor brown sugar notes aside, the biscuits were entirely lacking anything of substance - no butter, no salt, no nothing. I found the bag of these totally underwhelming, I can say with a measure of confidence that I wont be going back for another anytime soon.

5.6 out of 10



Nestle Smarties Mini Bites

Kcal 118 Fat 6.9g Fat(sats)3.1g Carbs 13.3g (per cake)
'Truffle base cakes made with chocolate cake crumb, with mini smarties covered in milk chocolate'

You may recall I didn't think all that much of either the Toffee Crisp and Munchies Mini Bites. For this very reason I was hardly overwhelmed with excitement when I saw these Nestle Smarties Mini Bites on sale in my local Sainsbury's, but at just £1 a pack I hardly felt like I was pushing the boat out giving them a try.

Cutting the long story short I was really surprised at just how much I liked these. Taking you through the course of the taste, the outer layer of milk chocolate was first to have it's say in proceedings and to be honest it did no more than establish a very average sugary, milky taste. The real treat with these Mini Bites was the inner cake, which was delightfully flavoursome and extremely chocolatey. It was moist, rich and variable with it's dense texture that was broken up by the small crunchy fragments of Smartie shells. For cakes that are mass produced, they tasted oddly fresh and not at all synthetic like so many of the cake bar products you get nowadays. I would certainly have these again as they are a great option for sharing amongst a few people over a cup of afternoon tea. Easily the best in Nestle Mini Bites range.

8.4 out of 10



Weetos Chocolate Cereal Bar

Kcal 88 Fat 2.9g Carbs 14.4g (per bar)
'Chocolate flavour wheat hoop bar with a milk chocolate base'

Having once said that I wouldn't ever review cereal bars on ChocolateMission, I believe today we are left in the position where I have pretty much covered all bases in this sector of the market. To take us to what I believe is 'full-circle' today you get my view point on this Weetos Chocolate Cereal Bar, which is a product manufactured by Weetabix here in the UK. These Weetos cereal bars are most commonly found in the supermarkets occupying a £1.00-£1.50 price band for a multipack of 5 bars, I picked some up from my local Sainsbury's.

Aesthetically the bar looked relatively appealing with base milk chocolate layer looking decently portioned. I've said before that chocolate flavoured cereal is something I never normally eat so this was in actual fact my first encounter with Weetos as a cereal. My impressions after tasting it were that it must be pretty bland given that it was the syrup bind that controlled the majority of the flavour experience. Amongst the sugary, syrupy flavours there was an underlying taste of weak cocoa powder, however it never managed to really create any chocolatey taste of note. The milk chocolate was similarly lacking flavour, had a waxy melt to it that wasn't altogether that favourable - quite simply there was no real chocolate flavour hit on offer. Although this was only 88 calories in it's entire constituents I still felt there was little point in it's consumption. There are better (and worse!) cereal bars out there.

5.1 out of 10



The Fabulous Bakin' Boys Choco Flapjacks

Kcal 131 Fat 6.2g Fat(sats) 3.4g Carbs 16.5g (per 28.0g finger)
'Milk chocolate flavoured flapjack fingers'

I bought this pack of flapjacks on my last trip to Sainsbury's where I found them on a half price deal of 65p for 6 individually wrapped finger pieces (28.0g each). I have to say I wasn't all that impressed by the packaging or the flapjack fingers. I thought both looked a bit plain looking and uninspired compared to some of the other more aesthetically exciting options in the cake aisle (French Fancies anyone).

Despite lacking inspiration in terms of their looks, I'm glad to report I was more than happy with how they tasted. The oaty base was bonded by golden syrup, which featured heavily in the grand scheme of the taste. In addition to these sweet, cereal base flavours I could detect intermittent notes of brown sugar, butter and of course chocolate. The chocolate flavour hit wasn't quite there in terms of it's desired impact, registering just minor hints of sweet milky cocoa flavours, but on the whole the overall taste was very pleasant. I think the obvious addition of a milk chocolate coating would go a long way to improve the product drastically, though this would of course depend on the quality of the chocolate on offer. For the promotional price you can more than justify giving these a try.

7.0 out of 10

October 11th: Hotel Chocolat The Little Box of Horrors

Hotel Chocolat Mondays return, and this week I kick off the first of my 2010 Halloween reviews. Those of you who have followed the site for the last year will be aware that Halloween is far from my favourite holiday season. As much as I don't like the day itself, I have to admit I have always been more than willing to review some of the offerings from the likes of Hotel Chocolat etc (See past reviews HERE). My look at the 2010 range starts today with me taking a look at the 'Little Box of Horrors' selection, which came described as a 'hair-raising collection of horrific Halloween chocolate figures, lollies, and spine-chilling caramels'.

Generally speaking, the presentation of the entire package was fantastic. My photos wont be doing it justice, but the box was beautifully presented with the all the inner constituents remarkably crafted in to some very cool looking Halloween designs. Below are my brief thoughts and ratings on the different bits and pieces.

Skull Chocolate Licks - For something that looked so gruesome these were some very tasty chocolate lollies which came in Hotel Chocolat's standard milk and white chocolate varieties. With each weighing 35.0g they proved to be a decent sized snack, although I did sort of defeat the object of them by removing the sticks at the first given opportunity. Kids will love these. Very Good.

Yikes Milk Chocolate Pieces - These were simply three milk chocolate Halloween Shapes that had been lifted straight from the Hotel Chocolat Boo! Selection. The chocolate moulds looked aesthetically interesting, and the 40% milk chocolate was it's usual top quality generating a finely balanced sweet cocoa taste that had a healthy creamyness to it. A little boring, but hey you can't complain when the chocolate is that decent. Very Good.

Milk Chocolate Figure Slabs - One thing you can certainly say about this box is that you get value for money. These 60.0g milk chocolate slabs came in different three different varieties - Terrifying Tombstone (plain milk chocolate), Fiendish Finger (with shortbread pieces), and lastly Ghoulish Ghost (with popping candy). I could have done without the popping candy slab (I gave that one away haha!), but both the biscuit and the shortbread slabs were delicious as you would expect. Very Good.

Vampire's Eyes Caramel Truffles - These looked so, so gross when I was photographing them :D I was at first a little put off by the artificial looking red caramel centres, but I was a little reassured by the 'naturally coloured' billing. In terms of taste I wouldn't have chosen to pair white and caramel together (sugar rush!), however these still proved themselves to be very tasty and the creamy, vanilla flavours of the white chocolate, and the buttery, toffee flavoured caramel seemed largely unaffected by the odd colourings. Very Good.


Overall this was a fine collection of different chocolate treats with every single piece well worthy of it's Very Good rating. With pretty much all of the different constituents comprising of their house milk and white chocolate recipes, I was never afraid of what the standard of the chocolate might offer - everything was simply delicious and I was happy eating each and every one of them. When you couple the tastiness of all the pieces with the fantastic standard of presentation and value for money, then you have a pretty special Halloween option at hand. If I was being overly critical I would suggest they leave the popping candy slab out and substitute it for a white chocolate slab to be consistent with everything else in the box. That said I can see younger chocolate lovers being keen on that slab as well as the lolly pieces so my views probably aren't entirely representative. If you are looking for an 'all-in-one' Halloween selection you should check this Little Box of Horrors collection out.

8.6 out of 10

October 9/10th: 'Bits n Bobs' Miscellaneous German Selection

7Days of Chocolate Reviews takes another rest this week as I would like the opportunity to publish some product reviews that have been hanging around in my posting queue for way to long. The 'Bits n Bobs' assortment today includes a selection of products hailing from Germany - I hope you enjoy these mini reviews and photographs.

Have a view on one of these products? Please leave me a comment with your thoughts ...



Wiebold Confiserie Choconova Truffelpralinen-Mischung - Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???

Wiebold are a German chocolate manufacture who are based in Hamburg and who were founded in 1968. They are chiefly known for their handmade praline truffles and thanks to ChocolateMission reader Susie I today got a chance to try some of them.

Below are my thoughts on the three different truffles ...

Milk Chocolate Kaffee Marocchino - (Top Picture) - This piece my second favourite in the selection. The milk chocolate that coated the inner truffle was nicely flavoured and established a friendly milk based. Once the crisp outer shell was bitten in to the smooth yet viscous truffle centre was revealed upon where the volume of the cocoa was turned up with just a small hint of coffee. If I had my own way I would have made the coffee come through stronger. Very Good.

Dark Chocolate Toffee - (Middle Picture) - Without doubt this was the finest of the lot and I would go as far as saying it was one of the best truffles I have ever had. The dark chocolate that coated the piece was pretty good and established a decent unsweetened cocoa taste but it was really the toffee layer that sat between the outer chocolate and inner truffle that really made this so special. This layer of toffee delivered sweet buttery caramel flavours to the taste, whilst the inner truffle further reaffirmed the cocoa flavours of the outer chocolate. Superb.

White Chocolate Vanilla - (Bottom Picture) - Of the pack consisting of eight chocolates this was the flavour that was unfortunately portioned twice. Inconsistent probably sounds like an odd word to describe a truffle but the two truffles simply didn't taste the same. One was packed full of cream and bourbon flavours, whilst the other was pretty much flavourless. Suffice to say I enjoyed one immensely, the other not so much. Standard.

Overall I have to say I was pretty impressed with my first encounter with the Wiebold Confiserie brand. As I have alluded to in the above paragraphs I still think they have several of part of their marketing mix they can improve - the packaging would really be a good place to start! In regards to the actual chocolate they produce I have very little to moan about - especially when it comes to their Toffee and Kaffee Marocchino truffles. Minor issues aside these were a very accomplished set of truffles; I will definitely look to try more Wiebold products in the future.

8.0 out of 10



Moser Roth Mini Pralinen Kugeln - Kcal 35 Fat 2.3g Fat(sats) 1.4g Carbs 3.3g (per chocolate)

As Moser Roth have proved in the past, good quality, cheap chocolate can be found if your looking in the right places so today I decided to take a look at their Mini Pralinen Kugeln chocolates which came described as 'milk chocolate filled with chocolate mousse and vanilla-bourbon truffle filling'. The outer packaging to me looked pretty damn good and I thought it managed to look pretty premium with its glossy finish and not not overly garish use of gold colours and fonts. inside the bag contained about 20 or so chocolates, each of which were tightly wrapped in their own branded plastic wrappers. As you can see above when split in half the chocolates looked pretty cool with the distinction between the mousse filled half and the vanilla filled half pretty evident.

The half filled with chocolate mousse was pretty delightful and just like my previous experiences with Moser Roth chocolate I enjoyed the sweet creamy taste of the outer milk chocolate which lead nicely into the finer, stronger cocoa rooted flavours of the inner mousse. On the flip side however the half which contained the paler vanilla filling was quite frankly horrible and tasted just as bad as it smelt. Unfortunately for me I felt the taste was artificially derived with the filling tasting horribly sweet and sugary with no real cut through in terms of actual vanilla. With the vanilla portion tasting so poor I can't say I found myself reaching back into the bag all that quickly. These were far from awful but I wouldn't overly recommend them.

6.6 out of 10

Leibniz Pick Up! - Kcal 141 Fat 7.2g Carbs 17.0g (per biscuit)

Following on from my review of the Prinzen Rolle last year, over the last five days I have been tucking into these Leibniz Pick Up! In regards to proposition these varied very little from the aforementioned in that they constituted of two biscuit pieces sandwiching a chocolate cream layer.

My main gripes with the Prinzen Rolle the last year came two fold; firstly that I couldn't separate the biscuits pieces from the filling and secondly because the biscuits laked a little in the flavour department. In summary these Leibniz cured one out of two of these problems and had a similarly nice tasting chocolate cream at the centre. Where these Leibniz did appear superior was in the strength of the taste I got from the outer biscuits. Just like the Rolle the Leibniz biscuit had a predominantly buttery taste but with stronger malt and wheat flavours. As the biscuit was chewed more in the mouth I also noticed an extra dash of brown sugar that just gave the whole biscuit a longer sustained presence in the mouth. The chocolate cream was pretty much almost identical to Rolle and this was no bad thing. It was smooth and soft in the mouth and gave the desired chocolate flavour hit with its milky cocoa flavours. As I have said above this bar only ticked one of the boxes where the Rolle failed ... so where did it go wrong!? ... yep ... I still couldn't separate the biscuit pieces from the inner chocolate cream. I'm sure biscuit fans will agree this is a very serious issue :D We can't be having this!

7.9 out of 10

Toggenburger Kagi-Coconut - Kcal 582 Fat 38.0g Carbs 54.0g (per 100.0g)

A few months ago I was kindly sent a little packet of goodies from a dedicated ChocolateMission reader called Franzi who lives in Germany. Amongst the selection there were several chocolates from the likes of Ritter Sport, Milka and Lindt etc, but also included was this Toggenburger Kagi-Coconut - a bar described as 'wafer filled with coconut cream, covered partially in milk chocolate'.

I have to admit I was really, really surprised about how much I enjoyed this bar. The actual separate constituents of this bar weren't of this highest quality but together they made for a fantastically variable taste experience and I was very much won over by the this product by the time I had devoured it. I enjoyed both the wafer and milk chocolate elements, but the real stand out part of this bar was the coconut cream which sat right in the middle of each stick. The coconut cream layer brought some fresh tasting creamy nut elements to the taste and delivered them with a fantastic cooling moistness - it was utterly delicious. I wouldn't necessarily say this was a must try but if you ever come across this Toggenburger Kagi-Coconut I can say with great confidence that you wont feel let down.

8.2 out of 10

October 8th: Galler Praline Aux Noix

Kcal 549 Fat 38.3g Fat(sats) 20.2g Carbs 45.0g (per 100.0g)

After reviewing both of Galler's white and milk chocolate praline bar offerings it would have been just rude of me to not to go full circle and take a look at their dark chocolate praline option. To set the context, in my review of the Galler Praline Blanc I commented that it was 'a very accomplished praline based white chocolate offering' and dished out a very worthy 8.3 out of 10. A few weeks later I then took a look at the Praline Lait, which managed to supersede the previous Blanc offering earning itself a 'must try for praline fans' commendation and an even superior 8.5 out of 10 rating. Having tried both of those phenomenal bars you can imagine my excite at trying this Praline Aux Noix - this was one I kept all to myself :D

This 70.0g offering came with a slightly differentiated proposition from the aforementioned hazelnut based praline bars, with the on-pack description making reference to a 'walnut praline filling' accompanying the dark chocolate. Aesthetically the bar looked every bit as glorious as any other Galler product I have reviewed previously. The wrapper communicated the premium nature of the brand expertly with it's fine black stylishness, whilst the chocolate was certainly intriguing with it's well portioned filling studded with small nut fragments. Aroma wise the mood was suitably set by the plethora of nutty cocoa scents that emanated from the inner foil wrapping - I could tell this one was going to be a real treat.

As I mentioned above this wasn't one of the bars I shared out amongst any colleagues, friends or family. I wanted to savour this one all to myself, and I ended up eating it across a number of days accompanying my after dinner coffee. Briefly speaking about the outer dark chocolate, it was of a magnificent quality, and full of rich tasting balanced cocoa flavours that progressed wonderfully along the passage of it's soft flowing melt (read more extensive thoughts on Galler's 60% cocoa dark chocolate - HERE). Focusing more on the filling on offer I thought it was absolutely delicious, though admittedly it wasn't quite the perfection I dreamed it might be. The inner filling managed to cut through the strong tasting chocolate, though compared to the other praline bars the taste wasn't quite as strong or long lasting. The main reason for this being so, was because the leading flavour influence was still woody hazelnut, which was somewhat surprising given the walnut billing. Rest assured the praline filling was still very tasty, but I did want something more from the walnut constituents which whilst evident in texture, lacked a definitive influence in the taste.

Overall this was a near impossible chocolate to score due to it being both delicious, yet still a tad disappointing. Having now reviewed in the region of twenty Galler products, I'm already taking for granted how consistently well the brand presents it's products. Everything about the packaging and crafting of the chocolate shows high expertise, and the inner product once again proved itself to be more than a match. The dark chocolate praline combination was a strong synergy of ingredients with the 60% chocolate laying down a rich cocoa flavour base for the nutty praline to enhance. My only real gripe with this particular offering derived from the walnut constituents, which on the balance of things didn't create the impact on the taste that I desired. Having now consumed the bar, I'm a little unsure why Galler felt the need for change from their original hazelnut focused praline. As proved by the Galler Praline Blanc & Praline Lait, the hazelnut praline was already strong enough to occupy the space - in the grand scheme of things the walnuts were perhaps not even necessary. It sounds silly moaning about a chocolate that was so enjoyable but perfection is what Galler should strive for. Trust me, they aren't far off.

8.3 out of 10

October 7th: Werther's Original Caramelts

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

Back at the start of the year in February Storck brought three new chocolate based products to market in the form of their Werther's Original Milk, Dark and Caramel Chocolates. Six months now down the line, Storck then announced the launch of a new variant for this range called Caramelts (See article HERE). On the packaging these came described as 'caramel flavoured candy confections'. Now before any of you start asking why these are being reviewed on a chocolate review site, I can tell you that they did have some cocoa content in them - so you can save yourselves the effort there haha! Despite being made in Germany and only just making it to the UK market in the last few months, Cybele at Candyblog.net has already given her perspective on these - I would suggest a wander over there for a second opinion (See HERE).

As with the other previous three variants these Caramelts came in a 125.0g bag that contained around twenty or so individually foil wrapped pieces. To be honest had I not been on the 'look out' for these in the shops I'm not sure I would have been able to pick them out from the other existing 'Caramel' variant, as the packaging does look very similar. That point aside the pouch looked attractive, though I had further reservations when it came to the inner pieces, which I thought were a little dull in colour. Given the ingredients list already (more on that later) it probably wouldn't have hurt to have brightened them up a bit just to make them look more attractive. Whilst they weren't the most good lucking candy ever, they did smell pretty tempting, and there were forthcoming caramels scents wafting from the pouch as soon as it was opened.

One glance at the leaderboard will tell you that I am in every sense a caramel fan, so I was looking forward to seeing what these had to offer. Cast your minds back to my reviews on the original three variants in February you will have noticed that I had a few issues getting used to the odd texture of all of those products - I'm sorry to say this was again the case with these Caramelts. Apologies for taking this review down a bit 'science' route but a glance at the ingredients list provided real insight as to why this was. From the top: sugar, vegetable fat, high fat milk powder, whey powder ... the list goes on. Now I'm sure we are all aware that several of our most famous products here in the UK (Cadbury Dairy Milk for example) contain vegetable fat, but I'm 100% confident it would be nothing like the levels in these Caramelts. I'm not one for normally getting overly fussed about ingredients, but the waxy, greasy melting sensation these created was just not to my liking at all. The creamy caramel taste had a pleasant butteryness smoothness to it, but the pieces had such a short lived longevity I didn't ever feel like they were satisfying in any manner.

Overall despite being fully prepared for the textural sensation this time around I still just couldn't get to used to it and felt it was just as detrimental to these Caramelts as it was the previous three variants I had reviewed. What I find so disappointing about all of these offerings from Storck is that if you look at the scoring charts for most of them, the only place they really fall down is in the texture and sustenance criteria, with one very much being a consequence of the other. When it comes to the packaging and the taste of all these products they are all relatively decent offerings of a sound to good quality. Unfortunately just like the others, the texture and mouthfeel of these Caramelts just couldn't be overlooked, and it did ultimately sap my enjoyment of these. If you are a real Werther's Original fan then you should probably still give them a try, but I can't give them any sort of recommendation.

6.5 out of 10

October 6th: Hotel Chocolat Kirsch Cherries

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

After last months adventures with Hotel Chocolat's Chocolate Sultanas I today go full circle with HC's enrobed fruit range by taking a look at these Kirsch Cherries. Despite having tried past terrors such as Green & Black's Cherry offering, my more recent foray with Lindt's Amarena Kirsch bar was far more successful so I approached these with a relatively open mind. On the pack these came described as 'Whole de-stoned cherries, softened by a long soaking in kirsch, then enrobed in layers of milk then dark chocolate'. For those of you wondering, Kirsch is a clear, colourless fruit brandy traditionally made from double-distillation of morello cherries' (thanks Wiki!).

Just as with the other products from Hotel Chocolat's enrobed fruit range, these came in a 150.0g tub that contained I would say around 20 or so cherry pieces. Compared to some of the other fruits I have tried the cardboard tub didn't seem to hamper the freshness of the contents, I was pretty amazed by the strength of the fruit, chocolate and booze scents that greeted me when I ripped open the foil seal on top. In regards to aesthetic presentation the choice of colour for the outer packaging was obviously very sensible, and I was similarly impressed by the look of the actual cherries. Each of the pieces seemed very plump in size, whilst the dark chocolate looked relatively fresh considering the slightly scuffed surfaces.

I have to say before tasting these I was pretty intrigued as to how Hotel Chocolat had coated these in both milk and dark chocolate - all soon became apparent. The exterior layer of these cherries were coated with a thick layer of Hotel Chocolat 50% dark chocolate. As you would expect the taste wasn't quite as flavoursome or as rich as some of their stronger recipes, but it generated a decent set of unsweetened cocoa flavours that would later prove pivotal in the overall balance of the taste. Sat below the dark chocolate a thin layer of milk chocolate slowly eased the experience towards a sweeter culmination, though it was the cherry fruit piece that really took centre stage. The cherries were in every bit of the sense wonderful. Biting in to them they were juicy and bursting with a plethora of red berry and brandy flavours. Unlike so many of Hotel Chocolat's alcohol flavoured products the implementation of the Kirsch was fantastic and spot on at allowing the other fruit and chocolate constituents have their share of the taste. As moreish as these were I was more than happy settling for just a handful as a snack - believe it or not for a dark chocolate product but these were at their best when they had been stored in the fridge.

Overall colour me impressed, these were extremely tasty and exceeded all my expectations. As was probably evident by the fact they were the last ones I decided to review, these were not something I was particularly looking forward to reviewing but having just finished my sampling tub I oddly find myself contemplating buying another already which isn't something I often have an urge to do with any product I review. What I liked about these Kirsch Cherries was the way they struck a really fine balance with their sweet and unsweetened flavours. The milk chocolate and cherry fruits delivered all the sugary sweet fruity flavours desired, and were the perfect counter balance for the harsher tasting dark chocolate and liqueur flavours of the brandy. Quite simply I can't recommend these Kirsch Cherries enough for people that enjoy their chocolate coated fruits. Even if you aren't the biggest lover of cherries (like I'm not!), I would suggest you give them a try.

8.4 out of 10

October 5th: 'Bits n Bobs' Cereal & Biscuit Chocolate Bars # 7

Today I have the great pleasure of bringing you my seventh 'Bits n Bobs' post looking at some more cereal and biscuit bars suggested to me by ChocolateMission readers. The reviews today span across Harvest Chewee Milk & White Choc Chip Cereal Cars, the legendary Tunnock's Snowballs and lastly a new flavour of Leibniz Pick Up! biscuits from Germany. I would say thats four product reviews in one, but as you will come on to see its more three and a half ;)

As always I welcome all your thoughts and opinions on the products I write about today. Additionally if you have any suggestions for upcoming 'Bits n Bobs' reviews these would also be gratefully received.

Harvest Chewee Milk / White Choc Chip Cereal Bars

Kcal 92 Fat 3.2g Carbs 14.7g (per bar)

I had thought about reviewing these separately, however after tasting them I realised I had come to the same broad conclusions about both the milk and white choc chips variants. Harvest Chewee cereal bars are a common feature in many a child's packed lunchbox here in the UK. To my surprise a quick glance at the wrapper revealed that they are made by the same people who make Sugar Puffs (Honey Monster Foods Ltd). That little revelation aside the packaging did little to excite me too much, neither did the bars which I have to say straight away looked small once I took them out their foil packets. As I said above, my conclusive thoughts about both variants were very similar. The base constituents of the rolled oats and golden syrup bind were as good as any cereal bar on the market, whilst the both the different chocolate types were nicely distinguishable with the white chocolate taking more of a sweeter, yoghurty flavour stance. On the whole both these cereal bars were pleasant tasting, however their smaller stature and size only seemed to whet my appetite and further my hunger rather than satisfy it to any degree. For that reason I can't envisage myself buying these again in the near future. Unless you are buying them as a small sized treat for your kids I would suggest looking at a more fulfilling option like the Kellogg's Fibre One bars.

6.2 out of 10



Leibniz Pick Up! Coco Locos

Kcal 145 Fat 7.5g Carbs 17.0g (per biscuit)

Before getting stuck in to this review I must pass on my thanks to ChocolateMission reader Franzi who provided me with this product. A few weeks ago I posted my review of the original Bahlsen Leibniz Pick Up! biscuits in my special German focused 'Bits n Bobs' post, in which I scored them a very decent 7.9 out of 10. Having had such a positive experience with those originals, it was was with great delight that Franzi gave me the opportunity to try these Pick Up! Coco Locos. These biscuits constituted of the same chocolate cream and biscuits layers of the originals, however had an additional layer of coconut creme running down the centre. Not to my surprise the outer biscuit differed little with it's crunchy texture and buttery flavours. Where these Coco Locos did go that little bit extra though, was with the inner creme layer, which was nothing short of delicious. The additional coconut flavours further enhanced the creamy taste of the milk chocolate, whilst also bringing a delightful cooling sensation when encountered on the tongue. The coconut element left a lingering set of milk and nuts flavour in the mouth which made for a well rounded tasty and satisfying biscuit. I totally recommend them if you like coconut.

8.1 out of 10



Tunnock's Coconut Snowballs
Kcal 134 Fat 6.2g Fat(sats) 5.3g Carbs 17.0g

After reviewing the Tunnock's Caramel Wafers and Tunnock's Tea Cakes, the only remaining product for me to left to try of theirs were these Coconut Snowballs. I'm not to sure about what sort of date the Coconut Snowballs were first launched, however if they are anything like the Caramel Wafers it's probably safe to assume they have been around for a fair amount of time. For those that have never seen these before, Coconut Snowballs are similar to the Tea Cake, with the addition of grated coconut to the exterior of a soft chocolate shell but with no biscuit base. Whilst my photos have probably not done these Snowballs the correct justice I hope you will all recognise just how wonderfully unique looking they really are. Indeed, the shredded coconut made an awful mess of work desk but I was more than happy to put up with that small gripe given the delicious and refreshing milky coconut flavours it brought to the party. Neither the chocolate or mallow inner layers were particularly amazing quality, however it has to be said the thin chocolate layer still managed to provide a desired chocolate flavour hit, whilst the mallow provided a devilishly sweet taste with it's spongy texture. I wouldn't recommend these based on the quality of the product, but I would certainly do so on the unique coconut and marshmallow experience they bring to the party. The whole product oozes heritage.

7.4 out of 10