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Thornton's Milk Chocolate with MangoKcal 531 Fat 31.6g Fat(sats) 19.4g Carbs 52.9 (per 100.0g)
This week I thought it appropriate to kick off '7Days of Chocolate Reviews' with a special feature containing this latest offering from Thorntons. As with a few previous charity contributing products I have resisted awarding this chocolate a score, as I don't wish to be influencing your purchase decision on this basis.
More importantly than any score out of ten, I think it is worthwhile more looking at how this chocolate is positively influencing the lives of some very needy people in Haiti. This can be explained no better way than by Thorntons themselves ...
"A year on from the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti, the country is still rebuilding and desperately needs investment. By buying this Thorntons Chocolate Block with Mango, you will be contributing to Save the Children’s life-changing education work in Haiti – reaching thousands of children with safer schools, classroom equipment and quality teaching."
Quite simply from every bar sold, Thorntons will be contributing a sizable £0.91 to Save the Children's work - you can keep up-to-date with the total contribution thus far HERE.
So what does the bar taste like you ask? Well to be frank it was neither the best or the worst offering I have tried from their square bars range. My score for taste would have been 7.5. The 37.0% chocolate was tasty enough with it's creamy sweet milk flavours, but I felt the mango pieces could have been a little larger as they didn't create quite the same zingy fruity impact I was hoping for. At the end of the day I just don't think it matters anyway, chocolate prestige really isn't the issue here. If you are shopping around this weekend I would urge you to go to your local Thornton's and buy one of these bars. You not only reward yourself with a half decent chocolate, but you can also feel pretty happy that a large chunk of your money has gone to those who really need it.
JIM
News from the Chocolate Market
* Nestle have relaunched some of their sharing bags ... See HERE
* Cadbury have a new Creme Egg campaign ... See HERE
* Chocolate is good for you :D so say Tea4Life (do you want to see a review of this?) ... See HERE
* Ferrero's Kinder Bueno White has a new recipe (I will update the review soon with my thoughts!) ... See HERE
* These guys look familiar ... Heavenly Cakes launch a gluten free product range ... See HERE
* McVitie's are bringing out a new Penguin Caramel Wafer ... See HERE
* Kraft are denying they are going to sell Green & Black's ... See HERE
Posts from other Blogs I enjoyed this week
* Foodstufffinds - Any blog post containing that hilarious Crusha advert deserves a shout out on ChocolateMission ... See HERE
* GiGi Reviews - Gi has just posted the most awesome recipe for alcoholic whipped cream :D :D I'm sure this will interest a fair few of you ... See HERE
* Gone Chocco - It's always interesting to see what other countries make of our chocolates. It's a bit early for the Easter reviews on ChocolateMission, but that hasn't stopped Gone Chocco ... See HERE
* The Candy Enthusiast - This is probably the only chocolate in the world I would never try. I hate mushrooms!!!! ... See HERE
* Chocolate Reviews - Lee does try some fancy pants sounding chocolates doesn't he :D check out his review of Jean-Paul Hévin 64% Papua New Guinea bar ... See HERE
* Foodette Reviews - It's been almost like baking week on Foodette Reviews. Check out her several adventures in the kitchen this week baking various products ... See HERE
Posts
37 comments:
Cheers for the news round up mate there are some interesting stories this week. I wouldn't recommed anyone get too excited about those new caramel wafer penugins. The normals ones suck big time.
That is such a lovely write up for that bar.
I think it is really respectful of you to focus on the importance of the charity work as well as the choc itself. I dont like mango that much but I will be buying one anyway just to contribute.
Have an amazing weekend.
Rxxx
That story about Nestle relaunching their bags is hilarious. From what I can gather all they have done is added on a stupid strapline on the front of their existing bags. No new chocolates, not even a different size ..... I'm guessing they have probably just jacked the price up yes? Typical, just typical.
The bits of mango do look like they are piddly if your photos are anything to go by. I suppose it doesn't really matter but it would have been nice if they hadn't of made that mistake.
Yay thats great seeing Heavenly Cakes get some big time exposure. Lol I feel so proud about knowing about them from their humble beginnings. I can see it now. They are going to be massive :-)
I hope they don't forget about us all here. Betty Bakes needs to stick around lol.
Love the review on the Thorntons bar Jimbob. You pulled my heartstrings enough to convince me to get myself down the shops later on.
Its going to be such a load of effort having to walk all that way for my chocolate bar :)
Hi Jim,
I just thought I would pop you a note about the caramel aero which I ate last night. I honestly don't know what they could have been thinking, it is so bad.
The chocolate doesn't have anything wrong with it per se, but the caramel is just disgusting. Not only is there hardly any of it (which turns out to be a good thing btw) but it tastes so bland like a brown sugary gloop. I would stay well clear of it if I were you mate.
Al
Yet another caramel based chocolate bar. I never thought I would see that. /sarcasm
I don't like the sound of them messing around with the white chocolate bueno. Why would they want to do that? I never thought there was anything wrong with it in the first place.
Will you review it again please when it changes to this new recipe.
Dx
Those other bloggers might review fancier sounding chocolates but I think we all know whose reviews are better Jim ;) Have a tops weekend buddy.
Has anyone seen this amazing sculpture they have crafted out of chocolate?
Sorry for directing everyone to the sun website but it was the only link I could find lol.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3362839/Sweet-sculptures.html
I wonder why they decided to make them out of chocolate. Its a bit random don't you think?
You having a positive word to say about Thorntons? Well there's a first time for everything.
I find mango on the sour side for my taste but I will give it a try since it is for a charity. Can I push you for a score Jim ;) come on we know you will have thought of it in your head.
It's about time that Kraft sorted out what they want to do with Green and Black's. It has been ages since anything has happened with that range at all, there haven't been any new flavours or anything for years now.
If I were them I would scrap the range and focus on extending Dairy Milk and bringing over more Milka to the UK. Green & Black's is such a crappy brand these days.
Hey Mate,
I saw your reply to my comment yesterday and have my predictions ready.
Wolves 1 Liverpool 3
I think we are back on track now. The early kick off will mean they wont be as intense as an evening game I dont think.
Man U 2 Birmingham 2
For some reason I just got a feeling that Birmingham are going to sneak a cheeky draw here. Lol I could be wrong.
Have a nice weekend mate. I think the post about the mango thorntons chocolate is very good btw. If I see one I will do my bit and contribute.
Loads of news again this week. I don't know how I miss most of those stories all the time, I always look at those sites every few days to try keep track of things. It's lucky we have you lol =)
It's so terrible to think that one year on these people are still struggling so badly. The impact will be minimal but at least Thorntons are trying to do something about it.
The Bueno one is weird isn't it. Why do you think they had to change it?
Good on Thorntons. I wish other manufactures were as responsible as them. They may have their knockers but this is a really fine thing for them to do for a cause that is a million miles away from corporate and social resposnsibilities. It reflects really well on them.
Thanks for the double up news post and review mate. You have spoilt us yet again. Enjoy the weekend.
Heavenly Cakes are hitting the big time :) That is so cool to see, it's so deserved.
I will make every efffort to make sure I buy one of these mango bars some time soon.
I don't think I will eat it myself but my sister will like it. It's good seeing you post about an actual chocolate bar for once j/k ;)
At the end of the day I just don't think it matters anyway, chocolate prestige really isn't the issue here. If you are shopping around this weekend I would urge you to go to your local Thornton's and buy one of these bars. You not only reward yourself with a half decent chocolate, but you can also feel pretty happy that a large chunk of your money has gone to those who really need it.
You big softie I will send you a pack of tissues :P No no I'm just joking with you. I thought that was a very sweet write up well done to you young man.
I'm surprised they are giving away so much of the price.
If I remember right they sell them for just over one pound. They must be making a loss overall.
They are selling the orange flavour aero in blockbusters video store if anyone is after one.
I had some of it last night and thought it was ok.
Thank you for the review + news stuff Jimbo.
I know it is small consolation after the ashes but boy are we whipping your behinds in the ODIs lol. We are going to redeem ourselves at the world cup I know it. We will have the last laugh this summer junior.
that Thorntons bar looks interesting, I'm not a Mango fan but will try and buya bar next time I'm around a Thorntons as its such a good cause :)
Green and Blacks is a funny brand, it's probably because even though Cadbury owned it (or bought it) they didnt do anything with it, Kraft would be better off selling it I think, rather than just cull it. That way it could perhaps be bought by a firm that fits the profile more, or one that has the time to look at it, and maybe rejuvenate the brand. It has potential but its deadly dull as it is and is stuck in its founding year of 1991. New logo, new branding, new recipes and ideas and I think they could do ok!
@ Alun.. I agree with you! It's horrible.
Nice review Jim; charidee & a chocolate hit in 1 - who can resist?;) A 'creamier' Bueno sounds goood! Have a great weekend dude x
When I saw the thorntons name I thought here we go again, another slating, pleasantly suprised you werent negative as I really love there chocolate blocks.
Nice review :) this is on my Thortons list now, along with the white chocolate coconut & lime bar which I saw again in trying to pick my favorite 2010 reviews (tough!!). lol I'm missing my tropical fruits.
@Golden those are amazing! you can always get around the ads by clicking the 'print' version ie www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3362839/Sweet-sculptures.html?print=yes lol. Thanks for posting that.
Good on you Jim for featuring that bar without a score. I wouldn't mind trying it next time I'm passing Thorntons.
That sounds interesting about Bueno White..I wonder how they've improved it? I'm quite partial to one now and then.
@Alun - I'm glad someone else agrees...I wasn't impressed either.
Jim are you feeling ok? It's almost as if you are being complimentary about Thorntons here.
I went on a big search for the aero orange yesterday and came up short in Birmingham :( I exhausted all possibilities and came up with nothing :( The shop assistants I asked didn't have a clue what I was on about either.
One of them even laughed at me and said they stopped selling it years ago. Harsh.
Jim I've just clocked your site update message thingy. How come the awards have been pushed back mate? I was looking forward to seeing them dammit.
Awwwwww that is such a sweet review for that Thorntons bar. I think you have done 100% the right thing not awarding it a score. Sometimes things are more important than a silly rating I agree.
I'm a little worried by Kraft saying they aren't going to sell Green and Blacks. They haven't done anything with it since they took over, I fear they are just going to neglect it and milk it for money instead of giving it to another company to make something of it.
We will see what happens I suppose. Sorry for going off on one.
Talking of Green & Blacks I found a fascinating article about the wrapper designs and its positionaing as a premium brand rather than just a niche organic chocolate, and Cadbury buying it etc! Theres a picture of its original wrappers and the later brown ones.. persoanlly, although neither are great, I prefer the original one!!
http://wheresthesausage.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/12/green_blacks_re.html
Hi All,
The weekends go fast these days don't they.
Thank you for all the positive comments regarding my Thorntons Mango review. It's good to see that you understand the reasons for me not giving this one a rating out of ten. Lets just say it gets a 10 out of 10 for 'showing corporate responsibility'. We all know these companies make these things to make themselves look caring, but who cares when the contribution is so substantial.
Some of you may have picked up from the site announcement that the awards 2010 have been postponed until February 19th. Please make sure you get your votes in for the readers choice awards.
Paul - Don't worry I think I can contain myself.
Nick - No idea about any price changes but yes I agree its silly trying to big things up as a relaunh.
Ben - The mango pieces did need to be about twice the size yes.
Kim - Don't worry I have it on good authority that Betty Bakes isn't through with Chocolatemission just yet :D
Alun - You may be interested in the site tomorrow to see my own views chap.
Robert - There are plenty about at the minute aren't there.
Daisy - I will buy one when the new recipe comes out and will update the review if there are any major differences.
Golden - Those are some very impressive statues I must say. If I made something like that out of chocolate I would just be worried the whole time that someone was going to eat my amazing sculpture :D
Alex - Zzzzzz
Joel - Be careful what you wish for their chap. There are some decent bars in the G&B range. You are right though they do need to sort out what they want to do with it.
Nigel - Not bad on the predictions this weekend chap. You did get the United result totally wrong though :D 5-0 United was very convincing.
Selina - It's easy to miss the articles when they get posted everyday. Don't worry I'm keeping an eye on things.
Katie/Duncan - My pleasure guys. Bars like this deserve the exposure.
Anon - Aero orange? I suggest a viewing of the site tommorow :D
Justin - You certainly are whipping our backsides. You made it 3-0 in the series today. We need to sort ourselves out, it was another abysmal performance today.
Alan - Haha it sounds like you want to change the whole marketing mix with Green and Blacks in order to get it fixed :D I don't disagree with you on any of those points. I think they need to hit the refresh button because at the moment it is drifting off in to one of those nothing brands. Nice find on that blog post btw. Very interesting stuff.
Roxy - Charidee??? Where does that come from :D
Thea - When you buy it be sure to send your thoughts over. I see no reason why you guys can't say what you like about it. It's a bit different to me saying it's rubbish (which it isn't haha!!!)
Phil - I have no idea about the Bueno White, nothing immediatedly springs to mind that I think needs changing. The new recipe packs are being marked so I guess we should be able to tell. Let me know your thoughts when you try one.
Anon - It's funny how all these 'I'm surprised to see you being so nice to Thorntons are anonymous comments'.
Robert - That is no way for a shop assistant to respond. I hope you said something to the management.
Duncan - I need a little more time to prepare the Awards 2010 post chap. It's not me being lazy, I just want to do a good job of it :D
Selina - You didn't go off on one at all. I think you are right, it is going to be a case of seeing what happens.
Thanks for the comments everyone. You may have gathered I have some exciting NEW products coming up on the site tomorrow. Be sure to check it out.
JIM
Surprisingly having now tried this I think the review score doesn't do the taste enough justice :) the chocolate (from Haiti beans) is really delicious, with hints of maybe vanilla or cinnamon, and the mango is good too; even if I prefer it on the tart side, I still thought it was a brilliant combination. My friend also liked it, although it must be said we are both partial to mango. Like you say though, the taste isn't the most important thing in this case. I think this would also make a chocolate lover a thoughtful gift.
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