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Kcal 243 Fat 15.3g Carbs 19.1g (per bar)The season of new products is showing no signs of slowing down with the likes of Cadbury, Mars and Nestle injecting several 'new' offerings across many of their established brands (See Cadbury HERE, Mars HERE). The busiest of all the mass market manufactures here in the UK has been Nestle, who having extended their Milkybar and Aeros brands already in 2011, obviously thought they better not leave out the Kit Kat. Indeed, my attention was brought to this article a week or so ago by ChocolateMission reader Phil - 'Nestle to launch 70% cocoa dark Kit Kat'. Having just written a review of the Kit Kat Dark Bitter (sourced from Japan), and stated 'it was probably a little naive of me hoping for a 70% Lindt dark chocolate experience', it was somewhat scary that the announcement of this bar came only a few days later. The only possible explanation is that Nestle are dedicated ChocolateMission fans of course :D
The press release for this new 70% bar stated that this new variant would be replacing the original Kit Kat Dark - Press Release HERE. Indeed, when I found the bar in Tesco it was situated, and merchandised alongside some of the older bars - I of course couldn't turn down the opportunity for a side-by-side comparison :D One thing that immediately got my seal of approval was the packaging. The new matted finish on the wrapper looks terrific, and suitably gives the sense of a more premium proposition. The slightly increased price of £0.59 wasn't something that I had qualms with, though looking at the latest press release I was surprised to see that the RRP should have been a whole £0.03 less (See HERE).
Insignificant pounds and pennies to one side, it was time to do the all important taste test. Giving the new fancy pants foil matted wrapper the respect it deserved (saddo haha!), I carefully unsealed the foil material to reveal a very familiar looking proposition below. The chocolate glistened in the light with a shiny looking, fresh complexion, and the fingers broke with a fresh, reassuring sounding snap. Placing the first piece in my mouth my first observations were that the melt of the chocolate was well paced, and that the subsequent flavour delivery of the chocolate retained a smoothness despite the high cocoa levels. Flavour wise the quality of the 70.0% chocolate wasn't as rich or layered as the likes of Lindt or Hotel Chocolat, but it was at least a step up from the woeful Aero Dark. The taste was still 'safe' in regards to it's bitterness and was still by all means 'mass consumer friendly', however there were underlying hints of smokey earthyness which gave the taste a sense of progressiveness within it's melt. My fear was that this stronger tasting chocolate might overshadow the wafer below, but if anything the brown sugar hinted wheat biscuit flavours came through stronger as the contrasting flavour bases were more contradictory in taste (i.e. non-sweet chocolate vs sweet wafer). The fuller bodied chocolate meant the four finger bar came across as very satisfying and rich snacking option, it certainly cured my hunger, and proved to be a very fitting snack to go alongside my afternoon coffee.
Overall I haven't been that complimentary of a number of the Nestle 'new' products so far this year, however this Kit Kat 70% Dark bucks the trend. As I have gone in to detail about above, the chocolate quality didn't come across as being up there with the higher end offerings from Lindt, Hotel Chocolat et al, but it was better than I expected, and it did at least break out of the generic unsweetened milk chocolate mould that can be attributed to way to many 'dark chocolate' mass produced varieties. Comparing the new 70% cocoa bar to the older 54% cocoa, I have to say that my preference now lies with the 70% offering. Nestle's new dedication to it's 'Cocoa Plan' (a marketing buzz phrase they have come up with for their Fairtrade policy) hopefully means that this swap to the higher cocoa formulation will be a permanent move rather than a limited edition time deal. If you are a Kit Kat fan, then I suggest you give this bar a try regardless of whether you have any affinity to dark chocolate. It is the best dark chocolate Kit Kat bar I have ever tried and I would feel comfortable recommending it to anyone.
8.5 out of 10
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50 comments:
Is there honestly that much difference between 54% and 70% cocoa? For me dark chocolate is dark chocolate.
I have to hold my hands up. Im a total KK addict, I can't wait to buy one of these to see what its like. I was really relieved when I saw the score you gave it. It wouldn't have been cool to see you give it a bad score. Lol once you mention the faults with things its sometimes hard to overlook them when it comes to trying it myself.
70% sounds too strong for me. As im not a fan of dark chocolate I dont think I will even try this.
What a shame I don't like dark chocolate :( I never get why people would want to make their choc less creamy and more bitter. I don't think I ever told you what I thought of the caramel senses bar btw. I was just as annoyed with it as you were I think. I wouldn't buy it again, it was just like the chunky one but with less sickly caramel stuff. One day they will release something I will like.
Dx
Top review jim my man. I wont comment anything more until I try one for myself. Just to say have a nice week and thank you for the reivew. I really appreciate the effort you take with them.
Its mental how the kit kat in japan can be adapted with different flavours without it being such a big deal, and then in this country Nestle millions of pounds on just saying they have increased the cocoa a little.
I wish we were more like the Japanese. It would be exciting having new flavours all the time.
Why bother with anything other than the red wrapper Kit kat. We all know the original is the best. Nothing beats it.
Have Nestle given a reason for the change or are they just doing this for the hell of it? I wonder if it is just a sneaky way of increasing the price by 9p.
Ho hum I will try it anyway. Like you Jim I hope I can find one of the older bars to compare them one after another. I will be fuming if there are no discernable differences.
Jim do you think there has ever been a week before when you have buried a cadbury product and then praised a nestle one? Lol I doubt it very much.
As cool as this looks im disappointed that we get shafted with another dark chocolate kit kat instead of a whole new flavour. I could think of a million things they could have done. Hazelnut? Dark chocolate w mint/orange etc the options are endless.
You know I don't like my dark chocolate that much but I think even I might give this a go if your rate it so highly. For 59p its not like I have too much to lose. Maybe this will be the start of my love affair with the dark side of the chocolate world. Thanks love, have yourself a beautiful weekend.
Rxxx
I hope this is genuinely as good as you say it is and not just a response to those idiots who say you criticise Nestle all the time. You should just ignore them mate. Everyone who reads the blog properly knows you write honestly.
Yuck! Dark choc! No thank you! Next please lol.
Why is there always such a fuss around KitKats? Honestly can someone tell me why people think they are so special?
All they are made of is cheap wafer and cheap chocolate. I seriously don't get why so many people go mental over them.
Hold the back pages JIM SAYS NESTLE BAR IS GOOD SHOCKER!!!!!!!
God its been months since my last Kit Kat. I think I will be changing that today lol. Ideally I will be getting me one of these, if I can't buy one the red one will do.
I do love the look of that wrapper. It makes the Kit Kat look a lot more modern than it was doing in the last one they had.
One thing I never got about the old dark chocolat kit kat wrapper was that it was brown coloured? I think it looks a million times better with the dark black colours against the red. It looks like it is worth paying another 9 pence for LOL
Im looking forward to trying this now. Before I just thought it would taste exactly the same but if your taste description is anything to go by we are all in for a nice surprise. Great review Jim.
Well done my zero percent interest has risen to about ten percent. Im not bothered in the slightest about trying this but if i just so happen to come across one I will buy it if I have the change in my pocket.
Nestle's new dedication to it's 'Cocoa Plan' (a marketing buzz phrase they have come up with for their Fairtrade policy) hopefully means that this swap to the higher cocoa formulation will be a permanent move rather than a limited edition time deal. If you are a Kit Kat fan, then I suggest you give this bar a try regardless of whether you have any affinity to dark chocolate.
But but but ..... they should have been fairtrade in the first place. You forgot to mention that point lol.
Nestle are a disgrace Jim. You should just tell people about it.
Do you not find it a bit mental that you have reviewed three different dark chocolate kit kats now. If you count the supermarket one you could even say you had reviewed 4, your friends must think you are so mad. Do they know about your chocolate reviewing antics or do you keep it hush hush.
Yay its nicer when you give things a Jim thumbs up =) I will buy one of these as soon as I can. It will be a shame that I don't have anything to compare it to like you did. I don't think I ever had one of the weaker dark chocolate ones before they changed it.
Can I make a suggestion for your site please? Can you create a new way of linking people to reviews you have done for popular brands like Kit Kat please?
Its a bit of an arse having to trawl through all the nestle ones just to find the kit kats. That would be tres tres useful if you could figure out a way of doing it.
What a joke. This is nothing other than an excuse to put the price up and they chaught you out hook, line and sinker. I can't believe you fell for it.
That new wrapper looks the nuts. That would be enough to make me by this alone, let alone the better chocolate on offer.
When I saw you discussing this in the comments the other day you didn't come across as being that keen on this so I presumed it was going to be another negative review coming from you. It's good to see that you thought it was very decent, it certainly sounds like it is going to be worth me giving it a try. Cheers for the review buddy, Have a nice weekend.
I hate how all these companies are acting all proud about going Fairtrade. It sort of begs the question why they ripping these people off beforehand for so long. Its not like they are paying for it now either, they just charge us a higher price.
Why do we not have a white chocolate KK? Have they ever done one?
Out of all the flavours they could have done they just choose something that we have already? Im getting so tired of Nestle doing stuff like this grrrrrrrrr.
Looks nice mate thanks for the review. Nestle are starting to move all their new products in to matted wrappers. They did the same with the new senses bar, I wonder if they will change all of them soon?
Lol youv'e managed to do it again getting this new bar before the rest of us. I swear you must have some connections or something. It can't all be about you just looking out for these in the shops :P
You need to share with us your tips if that is really the case.
KKs FTW ... but dark chocolate FAIL
KK RED > KK DARK
Man this sounds delish. Cheers for another ace review Jimbob.
A score in the high 8s for a Nestle bar? Now this is something I wouldn't have predicted. What a turbulent week with that crappy cadbury heart chocolate box and all.
Im not saying you are any way biased but I wouldn't have expected it to be that way round at all.
Good review Jim, and thanks for the shout out :)
You made me laugh saying that Nestle are chocolate mission fans, haha. I think they'd have done something about those caramel Kitkats by now if they were ;)
I'm glad to hear this was nice, I never liked the last one they did very much but this sounds much better. I'll certainly be giving it a try when I see one.
A little off-topic but recently I've started thinking Nestle may have changed the recipe to their Kitkat Chunky chocolate. I bought a multipack a few days ago, and the chocolate had more of a woody taste, whereas usually it's more milky. I didn't enjoy them. I wonder if the countline bars are the same. Haha, I feel like a chocolate geek for noticing something like that. My friend said they tasted the same as they always do.
This looks nice although I havent seen any yet lol the shelves are all full of the old ones, but then no one has the Aero Orange (except my local corner shop)or those Cadbury boxes yet.. theyll be gone before they even get them lol
@Richard - it was probably brown because it was dark chocolate, like the orange is orange and mint green :)
Personally I think think the black and red looks a bit hard, (and very Nescafe! but then thats a Nestle brand) and it kinda looks like theyve just squashed the Kitkat logo to fit it in lol. But the matt foil is a good idea, I still liked the old paper wrappers better mind you, thse foil kitkat wrappers are a pain to open :)
Its good seeing you give this a brill rating but I would much rather of them push the boat out and try out a new flavour.
Even if it was just as simple as strawberry or white choc or something, it just would of been nice to have something completely new rather than a rehash of something they should have had right in the first place.
@Golden_Touch you are so right about it being shameful that they think we should be proud of them now being Fairtrade. They should have been practicing these things in the first place. If some of the reports are correct, from what I hear Nestle are one of the companies that have been most exploitive in the past.
I see there are two bars in your photo. Have you got any left over to send us?
Jim I just read your review of the normal KK and you say that you cant pick a favourite between a four finger kk and a chunky one??
Personally its the four finger all the way. I love playfully nibbling away at the the chocolate around the wafers. Lol it takes me like 30 mins to eat a whole bar.
Bring back the carramac Kit Kat. That was the best one they ever made but they snaffled it away from us all.
Thanks for the review Jim. Like a few other JCMheads I'm not a massive fan of dark chocolate. However I've come to trust you when it comes to your rulings on chocolate ;) & you've given this bar a big thumbs up which has intrigued me! so I'll give it a go. Have a good weekend dude x
Great review, thanks. You can never beat a good old KitKat with your cuppa. The different flavoured KitKats are something I've not sought in years due to me thinking they won't live up to the original but, after this recommendation, I'll definitely take an over-due trip down the biscuit aisle tomorrow and, at the very least, purchase this dark offering as is sounds real good. I remember the orange ones being quite addictive in my younger years when they were purely limited edition. At least you'll have surely shut all those that think think you have some sort of anti-Nestle agenda up (for a couple of weeks at least)! Enjoy your weekend.
@Selina - Yes! They seemed so popular, I don't get why they stopped making them.
Hi All,
Cool to see so many of you continuing to not hold back when it comes to the feedback on these reviews. Like some of you have alluded to it has been a crazy old week what with the disappointing Cadbury showing and this rather good Kit Kat coming up trumps.
Once more of you get to try this bar as it infiltrates its way in to the mainstream it would be interesting to hear your thoughts. I hope you don't think I am going barmy by saying there are noticeable differences.
Questions & Comments .....
Ryan - See above :D Why not try for yourself and see if you notice if they are different.
Phillip - I believe the 'for the hell of it' explanation is most applicable here :D I wont complain mind you, it was more to my liking.
David - I honestly wouldn't know chap. Its not something I plan or take any notice of.
Andrew - All good suggestions. Nestle UK must have thought the demand for a higher cocoa concentrated Kit Kat rather than those flavours.
Nikki - I think Kit Kats are popular because they have been around for so long. The quality of the ingrdients may not be great in isolation, but together they are really fantastic.
Richard - dark chocolate doesn't always have to be black in colour. There are plenty around that are darker shades of brown. That was never something that bothered me to be honest :D
Katie - Agreed I don't like these manufactures kicking up whoopla about moving to Fairtrade either, but to be honest I don't know what their practices they had in place before were so I don't want to comment about that. If some of the stories I have heard are true, then they have some explaining to do for sure.
Geoff - Mental or sad ... :D I will let you guys ponder that one.
Estelle - I to prefer it when products are decent. It's never nice having to eat/review something that is poor.
Tricky - I will look in to that. That is a good suggestion.
Golden - See what I said to Katie above. I'm not to sure I agree with what you guys are saying about this all being a shrowd for the price increase. I think that would come naturally with the change of the ingrdients.
Andy - I believe we did have one at some point. Its funny you mention it, im eating an American white chocolate Kit Kat right now :D
Sarah - see what I said above. I just don't think Nestle believe consumers want anything other than an updated dark Kit Kat. I'm sure they have done some extensive consumer reasearch to validate this.
Lee - Who knows? I would agree with you though I think they look good.
Sally - Like I said in the review I found this bar in Tesco. Im not important enough to be contacted by Nestle or Cadbury etc.
Colin - Fair comment but I genuinely have no ill feeling towards any retailer or brand. I don't know how many times I have said this now.
Phil - No problem Phil, thank you for making me aware that it was coming out chap. I've not had a Kit Kat Chunky from the UK in a fair while now, you have just given me a good excuse though :D I will let you know my thoughts.
Alan - Nothing will ever replace the paper and tight silver foil combination will it :D ultimate classic Kit Kat :D If they were going for a more modern look then I think that did well with the new wrapper. It does look classy in the flesh.
Anon - I think you guys are capable of buying this one yourselves are you not?
KimmySant - I like both for different reasons. The chunky for its substantial feel and the four finger for it's classic nature. Any sort of Kit Kat is welcome in my house :D
Roxy - I look forward to hearing what you think of it. Fingers crossed you like it.
Ria - No truer words have been spoken. A kit kat will forver be the best thing to accompany a good brew. I really don't understand the whole thing about me having an agenda against Neslte. I have no idea when or where this originated from.
Thanks again for all the comments and messages chaps/girls. Make sure you have yourselves decent weekends and make sure you check out the site tomorrow for an extra special review. Sorry no 7Days of Chocolate Reviews this week.
JIM
Had one yesterday, not as good as the Canadian one. The chocolate is more bitter, but not in a good way.
I liked the dark chocolate but I think the milk complements the wafer better, being creamier & a little saltier.
It just goes to show how long it has been since I had a kit-kat. Lat I remember, they came in two thick fingers, and now they are in four thin ones. I'm quite pleased by the change, and I do think the wrapping for this is quite nice, although I find it a bit irritating that several months down the line, it is still bearing the 'new' label.
I'm afraid appearance is the only thing that gets thumbs up from me on this bar though. While the wafer is more solid than its milk chocolate original, I thought the dark chocolate didn't work with it. I think a wafer needs milk chocolate to melt into it, and you don't get that with the dark.
Being in Abu Dhabi and in Waitrose shop I find the new 70% Dark Chocolate bar next to the old Dark Chocolate bar so whats the difference both contain 66% dark chocolate as written on the packaging the only difference I find is that WAITROSE have doubled the price. Old dark chocolate bar 2.25aed (40p) and the New 70% dark chocolate bar 5.00aed (90p). So becareful and don't get ripped off.
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