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Clark Bar Dark
Kcal 260 Fat 10.0g Fat(sats) 3.5g Carbs 44.0g'Real dark chocolate, real peanut butter crunch'
This was a 60.0g bar that was sent to me by HomesickAmerican (See HERE) around November time and I believe it is still available. My last flirtation with the Clark brand was back in December 2008 where I accused the original bar as having a fake chocolate coating that was 'among the worst chocolate I have tasted'. Well since then Necco have made changes to the bar and it's ingredients - I wont even attempt to go into the finer details myself (See Cybele's wonderful guide HERE). Suffice to say the fake chocolate has been replaced with real chocolate, and whilst they were at it they also saw fit to bring a 'Dark' bar to market.
This Dark variation was described on the smartish looking wrapper as 'sweet chocolate' so it came as no surprise that it came across as 'mass consumer friendly' taste wise. In terms of flavours the chocolate was so-so. It generated very mild cocoa flavours, but it was noticeably a touch less sugary than your average milk chocolate and it's aftertaste carried a note of smokeyness which was of some interest. The brittle peanut butter centre was conversely sugar rooted in taste, though the peanutty flavours were sufficiently long lasting and thus at least credible to the billing of the bar.
Overall the chocolate was noticeably better in terms of quality from past experiences, but this still wasn't a bar I would overly encourage you try desperately get hold of. The majority of the Reese's range still offers more in my opinion, and I think you would be better served looking at either the traditional Reese's cups or Nutsrageous offerings for your PB fix.
7.4 out of 10
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Dove Peanut Butter
Kcal 180 Fat 12.0g Fat(sats) 7.0g Carbs(sugars) 15.0g'milk chocolate filled with a peanut butter filling'
Last year this was one of the products that caught my eye on several of the American chocolate blogs (See GiGI Reviews & Candyblog). This bar came in a 32.9g form that was split in to five suitably sized blocks. When cross-sectioned the peanut butter looked very smooth and was noticeably more orange compared to Reese's peanut butter which is normally much paler.
From the outset of the first block being placed on my tongue, the chocolate melted with a delightful softness, and the creamy cocoa flavours ebbed and flowed with the well paced, luxurious melt. In terms of feel, the PB was similarly smooth in feel to the chocolate, and had a texture that was every bit as soft during it's melt. When it came to flavours there was a pleasant contrast of sugar and salt, though I didn't perceive the actual peanut flavours to be as strong as you would get from the likes of Reese's.
Overall when it comes to peanut butter chocolates I can do little but make direct comparisons with Reese's products, and this didn't quite deliver me the same full monty peanut butter experience. Despite the creamy tasting chocolate quality being better than your average Reese's milk chocolate, the peanut butter didn't quite deliver on the same level, as the nut flavours weren't quite as pronounced. I would certainly have this bar again, but like the Clark bar above I don't think I will be choosing it over my favourite Reese's products anytime soon.
8.2 out of 10
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Cookies n' Cream Bites
Kcal 180 Fat 9.0g Fat(sats) 7.0g Carbs 28.0g (per 40.0g)'Creamy white chocolatey balls with crumbled pieces of cookie'
I have to admit it was sad the completionist inside me which urged me to track down Taste of Nature's latest 'Cookies' carnation - these Cookies 'n Cream Bites. If you were reading the site back last year you will remember that I managed to review the entire Taste of Nature Cookie Dough Bites range (See HERE). These Cookies 'N Cream Bites came in a 113.0g box that contained dozens and dozens of bean sized pieces.
If you are really paying attention you will have noticed that in the product description the outer layer of this product came described as 'white chocolate flavoured' or 'white chocolatey' and not just 'white chocolate'. Of course this was due to the lack of cocoa butter in the ingredients prohibiting it being called 'chocolate'. After several mouthfuls of these I was still pretty clueless as to what the outer portion of these bites was adding to the taste. When chewed the cookie element came through decently enough delivering an Oreo cookie type flavour burst that was heavily sugar led in taste. What these bites needed though was a strong creamy outer white chocolate, but this was disappointingly lacking, with the exterior portion of each bite only providing a crunchy texture element to the experience but nothing in terms of taste.
Overall I was pretty disappointed with these as I felt the product concept was pretty strong. Looking back across my reviews, Taste of Nature have never really managed to light up the ChocolateMission scoring system, though there are definitely stronger offerings in their portfolio. If I was to recommend some alternatives I would suggest you look in the direction of either their Fudge Brownie or Mint Cookie Dough Bites. I didn't particularly enjoy these but I'm always looking to hear second opinions - be sure to leave yours!
6.4 out of 10
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Hershey's Symphony
Kcal 220 Fat 14.0g Fat(sats) 8.0g Carbs 23.0g (per 42.0g)'Creamy milk chocolate with almonds and toffee chips'
This was a bar that I found in Selfridges, London, where I found it merchandised in their American chocolate section alongside some more Hershey's bars. At the time I thought it must have been a new offering from Hershey's, as I hadn't seen or heard about it before - not even on my fellow American chocolate bloggers websites. Although priced at £1.00 for just the 42.0g bar, I thought it would be worth a punt as the 'creamy milk chocolate with almonds and toffee' proposition sounded strong.
Speaking firstly about the presentation I thought the bar looked nice on the eye. The wrapper was made of a foil material and established a classical, suave like feel with it's manuscript themed design pattern. The inner bar was also relatively impressive looking, and the Hershey branded block showcased a good distribution of added nut and toffee pieces. This was something that came through texturally with crunchy pieces nicely contrasting the soft melting chocolate in each mouthful. Whilst creating an interesting and variable mouth feel, the added nut and toffee pieces were also wonderfully complimentary to the taste. I know I always go on about nuts being far better when implemented whole, but even chopped almond constituents here generated a decent amount of savoury nut butter flavours. I'm pleased to say that the toffee pieces were also similarly enhancing of the creamy chocolate, and they added intermittent bursts of burnt sugar flavours to what was a progressive and variable taste.
Overall I have to give this Hershey's Symphony bar a ChocolateMission thumbs up. Those worried about the Hershey's milk chocolate needn't worry themselves here, as this bar utilises their better 'creamy' recipe rather than their yogurt tangy aftertaste traditional milk chocolate. As you may have gathered I thought the nuts and toffee pieces were highly complimentary of the chocolate, and I liked the overall effect that had in both terms of taste and texture. This is a bar that will be enjoyed by fans of Daim, SKOR or Heath bar. I would buy it again.
8.0 out of 10
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Nestle Butterfinger Snackerz
Kcal 170 Fat 8.0g Fat(sats) 3.5g Carbs 17.0g (per 36.2g)
'Crisp bite-size candies with a Butterfinger-flavoured centre'
Rounding things off today we have one last peanut butter themed product, this time courtesy of our pals from Nestle and their Butterfinger range. Given that we are now being starved of peanut butter options here in the UK after the withdrawal of the Kit Kat Peanut last year, I'm always very keen to lay hands on any peanut butter flavoured products I can. Although none of the previous Butterfinger line-up have sparkled on the ChocolateMission rating system, this new format showed a good bit of promise.
These Butterfinger Snackerz came in a 36.2g bag that I duely ate all to myself as a mid-afternoon snack. The design work on the pack and overall presentation of the product was of a fair standard and was instantly detectable as being part of the Butterfinger range. When unsealed the foil packet released a delicious smelling array of peanutty sweet scents ... cue the end of all the positive things I have to say :D Yes indeed the fabulous aromas unfortunately masked what turned out to be a rather poor tasting product. Essentially each crispy wheat cereal piece was coated with a thin layer of waxy melting, sugary chocolate. As underwhelming as the chocolate was, the peanut butter flavoured candy fillings were even more disappointing, and they contributed more to the overwhelming taste of crystalised brown sugar rather than the desired nuttiness. One dimensional in taste and non-satisfying ... hmm!
Overall I would say that these are a poor extension of the Butterfinger range and the subsequent score reflects this. As I said above, although the standard bar isn't my favourite chocolate bar anyway, I felt these took the Butterfinger brand to an even greater low what with their flavourless chocolate, bland cereal and poor peanut butter centres. Unless you are a real Butterfinger nutter (see what I've done there!), I wouldn't recommend these.
5.4 out of 10
Posts
65 comments:
I had probs finding the comments button for a minute there lol. The reviews seemed to go on forever and ever.
At first glance the Galaxy is the one that looks like it has the most potential. It's a little sad to see those cookie dough things score badly, talk about potential!!!
Yuck Hersheys chocolate. How the hell did they manage to beat the rest of these people? Hershey chocolate is beyond disguting. I think its the worst choc I have ever tried.
We officially have a new record then. Five in one is a pushing it even for you lol. I haven't read through them all yet but I'm liking the look of some of these peanut butter bars.
Yummy yummy yummy. That galaxy with pb looks v good do you ever think they would release such a thing here? Galaxy choc is the best imo, I would love it if they gave us a bar with peanut butter inside. That one is worth watching out for lol, Nestle could have done better couldn't they ;)
Wow love you really pushed the boat out with the amount of reviews today. Do you not just think you should go back to just posting everyday? I think you should, I still get disappointed on the days I log on and then realise you wont be updating the site. Lol I always forget that you changed.
Rxxx
Why are the choco m awards now friday? i asked in a diff thread but no one has answered me.
I've tried none of these but if I had to rank them in order of being able to try them I would go for (first to last) Cookie bites, Dove Peanut, Clark, Butterfinger then Hersheys thing.
I know you say its a different hershey chocolate without but I genuinely just hate everything they make when it comes to chocolate. You must have been harsh on the cookie bites. Nothing that sounds that good can be that bad lol.
Jim if we wanted to buy any of these things where would you suggest we go to?
I see you have recommended several different people in the past like candypirate and homesickunitedstates.
Judging by your experiences which of them is the best?
Too many words man. You shouldn't post so much in one
Have you looked at the some of the prices quoted on cybercandy for some of these
Clark bar - £1.29
Cookie dough bites - £2.42
Butterfinger £1.15
Are they having a giraffe? OTT pricing at its most extreme.
Is it me or do american chocolates always come across as more trashy and junk food like than our own ones? I dunno why I think that, I just percieve them as more unhealthy right away. I hope I haven't made myself look uber stupid here.
Dx
The one that stands out to me from these lot are the cookie dough bites. I know you haven't scored them so well but they sound like they should be so nice. Lol they sound like top cinema snackage.
Five reviews from America + 3 peanut butter ones and not one of them is from Reeses? Come on Jimbob sort it out fella.
You know there is only one brand worth looking at when it comes to peanut butter and chocolate. I know the choc on peanut butter sucks but the peanut butter is soooooo good it more than makes up for that little misdemeanour don't you think.
I was thinking the other day you hadn't reviewed anything from America for yonks. Lol then you come and give us five. Its typical of you =)
Galaxy and peanut butter? Am I in some sort of dreamworld here? do want!!!!!!!!
Ooooh nice. I liked the normal Clark even though the chocolate was crappy. This dark choc one sounds like it has good potential. I will have to see if I can try find one. I'm guessing it might be a little late cause its a limited edition. I will let you know how I do, additionally if anyone finds somwhere to buy it please can you post the link for us all.
I have a friend going to America in a few weeks for Easter and I'm currently writing her a list of chocolates to bring back. So far I have M&Ms pretzels, Reese's Big Cups and Hershey 5th Avenue. Can you think of any obvious ones that would be good to try Jim? Anything new that you haven't told us about yet?
The Clark bar actually sounds good as far as the concept goes, peanut butter and brittle seems to be a great idea! Pity it seems to be too sugary. But can you imagine the salty peanut butter of the Reeses Cups combined with really good buttery brittle covered in high quality dark chocolate. Oh my, that sounds like some heavenly peanut-chocolate treat.....
Also those cookie dough bites take my fancy just from teh description as I am one of thise people who loves eating unbaked cookie and cake dough/batter. *g* Again pity, they don't really deliver what they promise.... Again good quality cookie though covered in good chocolate would be a product I would rush out to buy.....
As it goes, none of this stuff seems to be good/unique enough to make me seek out a source to buy it. Which in a way is a good thing. ;-) But thank you for showing us some over sea stuff again. Always interesting to see what the big world of sweets has to offer.
Jim have you seen this?
http://www.fdin.org.uk/2011/02/cadbury-unveils-latest-bar/
Cadbury Big Race, honestly how childish can you get what a complete joke.
Jim (or anyone else) do you know what launched first? Galaxy or Dove?
I think the name Dove better is better than Galaxy though I would see why we dont use it hear cause people would think it was soap lol.
I know it doesn't matter but it would just be a nice bit of trivia to know.
And now nice coincidence, I can also make a contribution to the world of cookies and cream sweets. *g* There is a new post up about the cookies and cream bar for which the readers of the Ritter Sport blog have voted a while ago.
http://www.ritter-sport.de/blog/?p=6760
Rough translation:
The jury met for a first tasting of different recopies for the "Cookies and Cream". Here are some pictures:
We had the choice between seven different recipies to find out which one would come clossest, in terms of ingredients and taste to the demanded winning chocolate bar variety but also actually tastes good. There were solid bars with chocolate pieces, bars with softer baked pieces but also bars with a milk cream filling and biscuits pieces on offer. Here's a photo of some:
There were two clear favourites which were shortlisted to go into possible production. 1) a white chocolate filled with milk cream which includes dark chocolate pieces and vanilla aroma 2) solid but creamy white chocolate bar with dark chocolate pieces, also with vanilla notes.
Both varieties are very tasty, but some optimisation still has to be made. This will be done by Joachim Esser (reasearch and development). The second tasting will then be at the end of this week.
Now to be honest, neither of those strike my fancy at all as I don't like most white choclate and the Ritter one I find way too sweet. The sweet white chocolate in combination with their generally also very sweet milk cream filling sounds vile to me. *g* But am sure some people would love that recipie.
Mars wins in the face-off with Necco, Nestle, Hershey and Taste of Nature then :-)
I would have put my money on them at the start if you had asked.
I now have a burning desire to try galaxy and peanut butter together now.
This might have to be a DIY jobbie. I don't think dipping a normal bar of galaxy into a pb bar is going to create the same effect, though it might be half way there lmao.
Hmmmm Interesting!!!! a bar that you finally think can compete with Reeses. This is a sight to behold. What a shame like none of us here in Blighty will get an opportunity to offer a point of view. Well, not unless Mars do something out the blue and pull their fingers out and do something useful for once.
Jim the newest peanut butter thing in america that is getting all the attention is the new Snickers bar. Have you seen it? It's called the snickers peanut butter squared, can you do us a review of it please.
Are you up to your eyeballs in reviews or summit Jim? You must be if you are posting 5 at once mate. I don't mean to be rude but my opinion is that five is excessive for one day. It's like reading an essay if you read them all.
Just that small mention of the KK peanut butter bar has brought a tear to me eye lol ;"(
Why oh why did those idiots take that divine beast of a chocolate bar away from us :( When I heard they were going to the first thing I did was buy a box of them from my local supermarket. The store attendant I asked for it from thought I had gone completely mad.
I hope you are all sat comfortably and got yourselves a cup of tea!! Please be prepared for the biggest ever 'Bits n Bobs' post, featuring FIVE, yes FIVE product reviews. Today we have an assortment of products that made their way to me from America - peanut butter, cookies, toffee and nuts ... you get it all here today!
As soon as I read this I knew I was in for a long read. Shouldn't it say hot cup of cocoa though :P
Despite the creamy tasting chocolate quality being better than your average Reese's milk chocolate, the peanut butter didn't quite deliver on the same level
Nothing will ever be better than the Nutsrageous. I could eat one of them everyday if I allowed myself.
Those worried about the Hershey's milk chocolate needn't worry themselves here, as this bar utilises their better 'creamy' recipe rather than their yogurt tangy aftertaste traditional milk chocolate.
I didn't know they had more than one milk chocolate. I thought they all were made with that horrible stuff with the rancid aftertaste. I might have to investigate further now :)
Thanks for all the reviews x
Get in my belly Mr Clark bar =] I love anything that Necco company make, their sky bar is such a classic. If anyone here hasn't tried and liked the old frys five centre I would urge you to find one. You're be in for a right treat, thank me later.
Sorry Jim I forgot to include a picture of the new snickers for you. I know that is usually helpful for you.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9fuTzoexRnc/TM6zbKT8n2I/AAAAAAAAEIc/jhBukk5kUjI/s1600/GLGJXW25J2FWWXTW-540x540.jpg
Jesus Jim this has got a be a new record even for you. I will admit I haven't read all of them (just the peanut butter ones so far).
I would like to try the galaxy style pb bar someitme, I think its all to wishful thinking to expect something like that for UK shores.
On a side note I read the other day you are going to create a new website for news stuff. Is that general news or chocolate news? I think that would be a great idea. There are always things coming up that I want to talk about with other choc mad people.
Great pics and great reviews Jim. Probably the best bits and bobs review if you ask me. It has the most interesting products in there for ages.
Hey Jim
Who do you think will win tonight then? I think Barca are gonna spank the arsenal. I did think the same about milan vs spurs last night so I could well be wrong again.
I like the look of the dove + pb but the others didn't catch my attention at first glance. Reading what you day about them none of them sound all that special.
Cheers
N
Where can we buy these? I have looked for some of them on ebay and everywhere is uber expensive for P&P. Any guidance for us inexperienced buyers?
Alongside that crappy new cadburys thing Nestle are also making these new pop choc kit kat bites. I have bought them a few times already from pound stores which I think bought them in from poland and other european countries.
I doubt they will create too much excitement for anyone but they said nice enough.
Kev
Well looking forward to the award ceremony on Friday jim. It's like the awards week what with the Brits and Baftas. The chocolate mission awards are far more important we know :P
Sorry to say but none of these stand out that much to me. I certainly wouldn't pay the excessive prices that we normally have to.
The one that disappointments me the most is the butterfinger one. I have bought the Butterfinger bar a few times through various online people on ebay and I have always thought the peant butter flavours were done really well. This just can't of been the case here if your review is anything to go by.
The rest I have my other reasons for not being fixated by them. I don't like galaxy chocolate, the cookie bits aren't my thing and I've not even heard of that Clark bar. Sorry if this sounds ultra critical, I did like the reviews lol.
@David I think that Cadburys bar sounds alrite mate. The only worrying thing about it is that it doesn't sound like they have used Dairy milk choc again. If they dont they can really just get lost.
I was in America for 4 months last summer and made it one of my top priorities to try every chocolate bar out there! I tried all of these apart from the Butterfinger Snackerz. I dunno why coz I really like Butterfingers, especially Butterfinger ice cream!! Yummmm.
The Cookie Dough Bites really are that bad. Trust me. They taste like cold sugary lumps of nothingness. No flavour at all. Definately does not resemble cookie dough in any way.
Peter - if your friend can find them, get her to buy you a few Cup o Golds. I was on the east coast where they seem to be non-existent but I managed to get some in California. Also stock up on Reese's WHITE and DARK cups, and Reese's Clusters. Jim didn't score them quite as high as I think they deserved I think, although it was a while ago so I think they might have changed them. They are HEAVENLY. Your friend will find them in pharmacies like CVS and big supermarkets, in big bags. And Pretzel Flipz in every flavour, also you will find loads of Ritter flavours over there! Enjoy!!
Damn I wanna go back to the US now :(
That Clark bar is so misleading looking at your picture. I thought that it was a gooey, real peanut butter bit in the middle, not the flakey brittle stuff you describe.
Judging by the pics and what you say, then it would have to be the Dove PB if I could only choose one. The cold reality is that I will probably never get to try any of these *wub*
@Nigel you don't know what you are talking about mate. I'm confident us Gooners are going to give a good account of ourselves vs those barcelon basstards tonight. I just hope they don't cheat and dive like they did last time. As good as they are they, they do tend to do that sort of thing if they have their backs against the wall.
..... back to the world of chocolate :O Jim five reviews is just way too many mate. I would stick to just the three at most. Its going to take me hours to read through all of these. My attention span isn't long enough to last out all five at once lol.
Apols if that is sounding critical, you do a terrific job selling that galaxy one to me. I just only wish UK mars would take this lead here and just give us a pb one like they did in america.
Are you sure those snacker things don't belong in a cereal bowl? They look for all the world like they do.
Peanut butter is one of those things that I've heard many people talking about before I ever got to see it. And since everyone seemed so crazy about it, I was really curious to try it. But when I finally did, I hated it. I couldn't understand what all the other people liked about it, I thought it was yuck!
So I may be a big fan of Galaxy/ Dove chocolate, but I wouldn't touch something with a peanut butter filling.
The Cookies n' Cream Bites would be my first choice out of all these, even though I'm not a fan of Oreos either. Oreos are just one of those products that I used to be really curious about because so many people were telling me how much they loved it. But when I got to try Oreos myself... I was something like "so what's all the excitement about?" They're not bad, but they're not great either.
Hershey's Symphony looks harmless, but not tempting. I've never tried Hershey's chocolate, but everybody tells me that it has a particular taste that some people love and some people hate.
Speaking of particular tastes, have you ever tried Elvan or Solen chocolates?
PS - I got to try most of Galler's chocolate range at the beginning of this year - about 30 of them (including truffles, Langues de Chats, Bouchees Pralines). I still haven't tried the Orange, the Biscuit, the Amandes, the Raisins de Smyrne and the Cointreau sticks. And also the Inventive Mille Feuilles. I haven't been able to find these six. The Piemontais was the nicest surprise of them all - that's how chocolate with rice should taste.
PS#2 - I'm getting Zotter chocolates at the end of this week or next week :D :D :D
Keep the American reviews coming, Jim! I always love to hear your opinion on chocolate that's readily available to me.
@Anne: I would have liked them to pick another flavour instead of Cookies and Cream (I did vote for another so I was obviously a bit disappointed). Also, white chocolate is not my favourite kind of chocolate. Still, Ritter Sport don't have many white chocolate bars. Most of their range is milk chocolate.
Great reviews as always Jim :) None of these are particulatly appealing to me, the Hersheys Symphony sounds the best although I wouldnt go out of my way to buy one since I can just bug a Daim easily enough. I hate the wrapper, its so dull and very 80's! The other bars dont hold much interest, Ive never undestood the fascination with cookie dough.. why would anyone want to eat balls of uncooked dough..uncooked batter and dough is just horrible :S
@Ana - I agree! I always wondered about oreos too - my sister really likes them, I tried them and though.. errm ok, just a very average biscuit really, whats so special! lol. I'd rather have a Bourbon to be honest.
Interesting that you favor Reese's over the smooth Dove Chocolate bar (though I find the chocolate in Dove a little waxy) - I've always found the peanut butter in Reese's creations to be very dry, though pleasingly salty to contrast with the sugary chocolate they use.
This reminds me of home :( @Daisy I know what you mean about American foods coming across as more unhealthy but I think you will find that people like cadbury and hotel chocolat are just as bad. It must just be the way they are marketed. The way these things get talked about it is pretty important to how people think about them e.g. when you think of Reese's you think peanut butter and all the unhealthy connotations with that. In contrast if you think about Cadburys then you think milk which is obviously a bit less negative healthwise. One cant be that much worse for you than the other in real life. Ramble over lol.
@Kev Those remind me of the Kit Kat Kubes we used to get. I never understood why they stopped making them. I used to scoff them by the packet.
My fave combination (pb + milk choc) featured three times and only one of them is any good. I find it so funny how in america they get ten times the amount of peanut butter chocs than we do here in england. I find it very hard to believe that one country likes peanut butter that much more than the other one does. It doesn't make sense that their manufactures are way more.
@ JK - i know what you mean and I think to an extent thats true. But I think it would be hard to say that milk and peanut butter are on the same level in real life healthwise lol you drink milk everyday but if you ate peanut butter in the same quantities you'be in trouble i think lol.
Also US chocolate does seems to be much poorer than other countries by comparison, though if you grow up with it it wont seem so bad I dont suppose.
Hi All,
Boy oh boy a load of comments today. Thank you for them all.
Apologies for the length of the post today, as you might have guessed it was actually a number of old reviews cobbled together for one large 'Bits n Bobs' post. Some of those bars have been waiting almost a year for their turn in the ChocolateMission spotlight.
I'm going to now attempt to respond to some of your questions etc. Apologies if I miss out anything glaring.
Tim - Are you sure you have tried the 'Creamy' version of Hersheys chocolate? It's better than the normal stuff.
Kim - I wouldn't hold your breath for a Galaxy Peanut Butter bar. I can't see it happening.
Rachel - Nah I think the Monday, Wednesday, Friday and weekends thing is working out at the moment. I think most people would agree considering the length of the posts are increasing.
Anon - The rewards are coming Friday because I want to give people the chance to discuss them.
Steven - There are several companies you can try but they all net out as being just as expensive. I cant really comment on their customer service as I generally dont pay when I deal with these people.
Richard - Cybercandy is always extortinate. I wouldn't recommend them.
Daisy - I have never thought that about American foods myself. I think they have a greater amount of junk food products, but ours are just as unhealthy as them. Chocolate is chocolate afterall.
Justin - It's hard doing anymore Reese's reviews for the minute ...I've reviewed 90% of the stuff they make :D YIf you see anything that I haven't reviewed and you want to see just shout.
Estelle - I'm full of surprises me :D
Peter - There are way, way too many products to mention chap. Take a look under the 'US' label and you should be able to find all my highly rated ones.
Anne - That does sound like heaven in a chocolate bar. It's surprising that Reese's haven't attempted a Butterfinger rip off yet. I'm glad you still found the reviews of interest :D Thats the aim of this all :D
David - Indeed I have seen that new Cadbury bar ... its sitting right infront of me as I type :D
Colin - To answer your question to the best of my knowledge .... I have absolutely 100% no idea chap :D :D Can anyone advise Alan with this?
Anne - I've not heard from Ritter about the Cookies and Creme bar yet. I will send them an e-mail to see if I can get myself a sample.
Steve - That is one way of achieving your Galaxy PB dream I guess :D
Lindsay - I'm looking into getting one of those bars right now. Its proving a little troublesome.
Darren - You hit the nail on the head. Too many reviews sitting in the stockpile. I need to pump some out to you guys.
Will - It was very annoying when they took it away from us wasn't it. I think that has been Nestle's biggest error in the last few years.
Duncan - Just chocolate news of course. I wouldn't want people discussing boring stuff that actually matter on here :D haha!
Nigel - I say bank on the Arsenal victory tonight. They will win convincingly I think ... 3-1!!
Anon - Personally I would go for www.americansweets.co.uk. They seems to be a good reputable bunch of people who wont cane you on the packaging.
Kev - Good spot. They look like the Kit Kat Little Mini they make in Japan.
Lauren - Haha I agree the ChocolateMission awards are ten times more noteworthy.
Ryan - As long as the reviews are worth reading I don't care what you say about the products chap :D They aren't my creations to be getting worked up about.
Ganesh - You will hear my views on it next week :D Sit tight.
Linz - you mention a few things that I haven't reviewed there. The Cup o Gold being one of them. I also need to try out a few more Flipz products. After I reviewed those pretzels from THE BIG YUM I have got rather obessed with them.
Chris - I agree I think Arsenal will win tonight. Whether that means you win the tie altogether is a different kettle of fish though. Barca are strong favourites.
Ana - I find it astonishing you don't get peanut butter. This is surely just madness. I've not heard of either of those chocolates but they sound interesting. When ever you mention these brands to me I am always amazed by how much our product ranges differ by region. It would be a whole new world of chocolate if I ever moved to where you live. Glad to hear you enjoyed th Galler range, they made some fantastic chocolate. Zotter will be a wonderful experience for you, theres nothing like it.
Roddy - Welcome back chap. Its been awhile since I've seen you round this neck of the woods.
Alan - You don't like the Symphony wrapper? Hmmm I think its quite cool in a classical sort of way. Perhaps it is one of the ones you need to see up close? Have you tried Ben & Jerries cookie dough ice cream before? That stuff is honestly some of the best ice cream ever!
Victoria - I generally prefer dry foods myself anyway. I'm funny like that ... I really don't like uncooked vegetables or fruit ... but heat them up or dehydrate them and I love them all. The salt content of Reese's has to be high, its not something I have looked into the detail of, but the salt kick is just superb.
JK - As I said above chap I think it is more that they have MORE junk food type products rather than them having unhealthier ones.
Resph - I have always thought that. You got to trust they have done their market research though. If the demand was there on a mass scale they would almost certainly be catering for it.
Thanks for all the comments people. Sorry again if the amount of words was overload for some of you. At least I gave you some pictures to look at :D :D
Awards up Friday! I can't wait to see what you all think.
JIM
Wow what a jam packed (or should I say PB packed haha) review Jim! I tried Hersheys once & it was soo gross that I don't know if I could bring myself to try it again...That asides, I've actually made a list of the American treats reviewed by you that I really want to try so that I can get them next time I go to the US! x
Thank you so much for all the fab reviews Jim. Are you planning on doing any more american reviews soon?
Is it me or Hershey never make as much new stuff anymore?
Half price Easter eggs at Tesco
How have you got one of the new big race bars? Is it any good or just another duffer?
As nice as the galaxy peanut butter looks I doubt very much it will exceed any Reese's product in my mind.
I personally think Reeses is just about perfect in everything it does. The chocolate could be tons better but the peanut butter is just gorgeous. The best cups they do are the white ones but they are a real pain to buy without having to pay ridiculous amounts for them.
Can chocolates that have appeared in bits and bobs posts win prizes in your awards Jim? Why has it taken you over two months to put them together btw?
These better be worth the wait ;) No pressure now.
Are you ever going to do any more competitions? You said keep an eye on your twitter feed but all you do is talk about the reviews.Come on chocolate man, you must have loads of chocolates to give away to us.
David that cadburys bar you posted about yesterday sounds so bad. It sounds like they are trying to copy the kit kat or something. I dont get why we have to put up with such crap these days from cadburys. They used to make exciting chocolate but now its just dull dull dull. They need to get their house in order.
@Lee Personally I think those Big Race bars sound pretty nice! why do they sound bad? Theyre not really like Kit Kats. It will make a change to have a different wafer type bar and I'm sure it'll taste ok. Not every new launch has to be mega bucks exciting, sometimes the simpler new products turn out to be the best :)
Wow what a bumper review, you're spoiling us Jim :)
The Symphony and Dove bars appeal to me most. I hate products like the cookie bites which don't use real chocolate, it's such a cheap way to pass something off. I'm not at all surprised about the Butterfinger bites, I remember the Butterfinger itself being overly sweet.
Wow, a huge post yesterday! I suppose it had been a while since we had American products to look at. I have to say, you came up with a few surprises with your ratings! On mearly looking at the products and thinking about your general likes, I was shocked to see the Hershey's bar come out second. I'd have thought the peanut butter and cookie based things would have been highest. Having said that, the Dove peanut butter bar looks great. It just looks smooth & creamy and when you add the pb...yum. I feel that I haven't mentioned enough in the past about the lack of pb chocolate over here, but it's true. What's to stop Galaxy releasing a Galaxy pb, like the Dove? Nothing! Thanks for the review, as always. I've not read the comments yet but I'm sure when I will, there will be anti-Nestle accusations after the Butterfinger score :D
lol for once I was sitting down with tea :D the lack of PB here is dire...when a US friend offered to bring me something I said 'any peanutty chocolate!' I finally found Reese's Cups here, in my university supermarket; Tesco online also offers them for much less. The Symphony has been around for several years at least. I like it but prefer the regular Hershey's chocolate recipe.
@Alan I grew up (for a while) on US chocolate and I still think it's substandard!
@Rachel what she said. I now prefer to check the site less regularly and then read it all at once. I still remember when we lost our Sunday reviews.
@Lauren I vote for 'Choctas' :D
@Jim (re response to Duncan) boo :D in fact I think the news page should be called 'chocolate matters' :D
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