March 25th: Booja-Booja Organic Truffles

After getting such positive feedback on my review of their Raspbery Organic Truffles, Booja-Booja were so kind as to send me along a few more varieties of their product line to sample. If you had better things to do with your Valentines Day this year than read that review (See HERE if applicable :D ) then you may wish to be filled in with some of the background to who exactly these guys are.

In a nutshell, Booja-Booja are a small British company based in Norfolk, and they are renowned for their dairy free, cholesterol free, gluten free, organic and GMO free handmade chocolates. Despite still being one of the smaller entities on the chocolate market, they have already won several industry awards across many of their truffles.

Today, alongside some very willing taste testers I tried out both their Cognac Banana and Champagne truffle offerings. Here's what we made of them ...

Booja-Booja Organic Cognac Banana Truffles
Kcal 57 Fat 4.0g Carbs 4.0g (per 11.5g truffle)

These Cognac Banana truffles came packaged in the same manner as the Midnight Espresso variety that I reviewed back in the latter days of 2010, in a very groovy looking 'sustainable, poplar wood box'. Upon opening the lid a variety of different aromas were noticeable, with elements of cocoa, booze and touch of sweet fruitiness all forthcoming.

Stored within mini paper sleeves, the truffles were lined with cocoa powder, which gave each and every one of them a delightful cooling sensation when placed on the tongue. The melt of each chocolate was a divine experience, with the initial dryness of the powder making way for a fast paced, but ultimately silky feeling smooth melt of the inner truffle. As could be determined by the smell, the Cognac element was initially quite strong, however as the melt developed the sweetness of the very real tasting banana fruit came through, nicely taking the sharp edge off the harsher alcohol element. The resulting taste was both progressive and rich, and was thoroughly enjoyed by all that tried them. My mother (who is a big fan of bananas) was insistent of high score and I would agree that it is well deserved.

8.4 out of 10

Booja-Booja Organic Champagne Truffles
Kcal 71 Fat 5.2g Fat(sats) 4.0g Carbs 4.5gg (per 12.5g truffle)

As you can see in the photo above these Champagne truffles came in a slightly different manner to previously reviewed Booja-Booja products, though I think the presentation style was every bit as classy. Despite lacking paper sleeve casings, the truffles were obviously still wonderfully fresh, as the raft of boozie champagne scents that emerged from the box were both pungent and capitulating.

I wouldn't by any stretch of the imagination suggest myself or my family tasting panel as champagne connoisseurs, however I would like to think we would know a good champagne truffle when we taste one. To cut the chase quickly - we thought these were great, and the delightful melting nature of the truffles was every bit as luxurious as the experience described with the Cognac variety above. Taste wise the champagne element was also equally as well implemented, and was balanced perfectly with the rich tasting dark chocolate cocoa with it's slightly acidic boozie tones. As total packages I would be hard pressed to pick one or the other if tasked, but if it was solely on taste I would just about side with the Cognac Banana variety due to it having just one more layer of flavour development. Ultimately I would be entirely comfortable recommending both of these though.

8.4 out of 10

March 23rd: 'Bits n Bobs' Japanese Superpost 2011 # 3

Despite the recent tragic events in Japan, the guys at J-List are running business as usual and I was the lucky recipient of yet another parcel full of goodies before the awful events occurred a few weeks ago. I'm sure you guys will be glad to know that Peter read the feedback from my last lot of Japanese products, and has sent over several of the latest Kit Kat, Pocky, Meiji etc flavours that you guys requested recently. Enough of the chit-chat - Lets get things going shall we :D ....
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Meiji Tasty Cinnamon Chocolate
Kcal 211 Fat 13.9g Carbs 19.5g (per 36.0g pack)

Its not unlike the Japanese do buck a trend, but even I was surprised to see Meiji come out with this latest cinnamon flavoured chocolate. Cinnamon chocolate isn't a common flavour combination I have seen across Japanese confectionery (actually not at all before), nor is it one that I ever really see paired outside of Christmas festivity periods. To be honest I could have cared less - I'm good to try anything :D Unfortunately I can't fill you guys in with the official on-pack blurb due to the language restrictions, however by the best of my knowledge this was a 36.0g pack of six chocolate sticks with base dark chocolate layers with cinnamon flavoured white chocolate on top.

Packaging and presentation were really what really rather standard for typical Japanese products - stylish and possibly excessive haha! The unsealing of the individual foil stick packets straight away set the expectations of the experience to come, with strong spicy scents emanating with very little subtlety. Meiji can never be a brand who can be accused of not delivering the promised flavour variation - the cinnamon was by far the dominant influence on the taste with both chocolate types taking a very 'backseat' presence. Had it not been differentiated in colour, I probably wouldn't have even noted the presence of the dark chocolate base, the white chocolate and strong tones of cinnamon dominated from the start of the melt to the end with their contrasting creamy, spiced flavours.

Overall despite having it's limitations with it's one dimensional cinnamon flavouring, I actually quite liked this chocolate and thought it was a decent offering. If this particular spice isn't anything that gets you too excited then there isn't much here for you, though if you fancy getting your fill of this combination without having to wait until Christmas this is a pretty sound option. Another solid, if unspectacular flavoured chocolate from Meiji.

7.5 out of 10


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Lotte Tiramisu Chocolate
Kcal 424 Fat 32.0g Carbs 30.3g (per 69.0g pack)

The next product up today comes from Lotte who are probably most renowned on this site for their superb Pocky 'me2 range' Toppo, and of course the Crunky Cereal Chocolate bars. Whilst the Toppo and Crunky offerings are the most commonly featured on both here and J-List, Lotte also have a few other chocolate bar lines that they constantly update with new flavours etc. The most recent one sent to me was this Tiramisu chocolate - a limited edition offering that is described by J-list as 'Super rich fresh cream and cheese stuffed between classic Lotte milk chocolate' .... sounds unappealing huh!? Well it turned out to be really rather good.

Before I start describing how wonderful this tasted I unfortunately can't gloss over the horrible packaging this bar came in. The Japanese are usually so terrific in making their products look appetising, but in my opinion their attempt at creating a retro look here was off the mark and more looked like design work suitable only for a pair of 1970s curtains :D Thankfully thoughts of the wrapper were all soon forgotten when I got around to tasting the chocolate. As you can see the bar was thin in nature, however still managed to create a dual textured mouth feel with it's softer truffle filling sandwiched between the smooth, glossy outer chocolate. Taste wise the milk chocolate wasn't particularly special with it's sweet creamy flavours, though the inner tiramisu centre really came through, adding strong twists of coffee and mild boozieness to create a very enjoyable, progressive flavour journey - big thumbs up.

Overall I was very impressed with this Lotte Tiramisu Chocolate and would happily recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the dessert itself. Although the bar hasn't managed to break the 8.0 out of 10 mark, it is worth noting that this was solely down to the standard of the packaging, which for a Japanese product was surprisingly below par. If you are ordering from Japan in the near future I would suggest you consider this as something you add to your basket if you like the sound of it.

7.6 out of 10


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Tirol Chocolate Kinako Mochi
Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???

I'm going to finish off todays set of reviews with the ChocolateMission debut of a brand of chocolates called Tirol. Tirol chocolates are famed throughout Japan and the Far East for their small sized nature, indeed these individual square shaped chocolates are about the size of a standard truffle, weighing only 9.0g each. My first experience with the brand was with this Kinako Mochi flavoured chocolate, which for the uninformed Japanese foodies amongst you means 'sticky rice cake with soy powder' flavour.

I really went to town here with the photos for this chocolate, as I really wanted to get across just how unique and wonderfully crafted these chocolates looked. Each individual pieces came wrapped in a dual layered wrapping, the first being a colourful, well designed plastic warpper, and then below that a silver foil wrapper for freshness. As much as the exterior wrappers were interesting, these really did pale in comparison to the delightful taste and texture experience that awaited me. The outer portion of the piece was a dark coloured white chocolate and established a sweet taste that had notes of roasted peanuts, cream and custard present throughout. Sat in the middle of the chocolate, a firm jelly like layer added a wonderful gummy sweet like texture experience that was terrifically unique and beautifully constrastive to the smooth melting chocolate.

Overall I give my first experience with the Tirol brand a big thumbs up and I think I have found yet another Japanese brand that has found itself a terrific little niche in this congested confectionery market. What these Tirol chocolates lacked in size, was more than made up for by the delicious tasting chocolate and exciting, unique texture experience delivered by the mochi filling at the heart of each piece. If you are looking for some Japanese chocolates that are a little differentiated from the rest then I suggest taking a look at Tirol's range now.

8.0 out of 10

March 21st: Hotel Chocolat 'A Dozen Quail Eggs'

I was going to leave the Easter and Mothers Day chocolate reviews for a while longer, but the rest of my family insisted I get this review up as soon as possible so none of you miss out on an opportunity to try them. Apologies for spoiling the review in the first paragraph, but lets face it, it was blindingly obvious that these Hotel Chocolat 'A Dozen Quail Eggs' were going to be received rather warmly anyway!

Described as a 'selection of filled chocolate eggs', these were a none to dissimilar product to the Hotel Chocolat The Sleekster Egg Box Selection reviewed in 2010 - See HERE. This 2011 selection however came with a quirky and fascinating new look (very cool looking in my opinion!), aswell as some intriguing new flavours. What with the selection comprising of eleven different flavours, all of which were correctly identifiable from the inclusive menu, we better get going ...
Classic Praline - Milk Chocolate/Blue Stripes - A deliciously creamy 40.0% milk chocolate shell with a woody, hazelnut noted textured centre. I think we all know by now that Hotel Chocolat make fantastic praline. Superb.

Caramel Praline - Milk Chocolate/Black Stripes - I was surprised to see that this was one of the few 'survivors' in terms of flavours from the 2010 selection previously reviewed last year See HERE. It was still just as I remembered it. Very Good.

Chocolate Truffle - Dark Chocolate/Red Stripes - This was more of a plain dark chocolate piece with little flavour development from the centre truffle constituents. Still very tasty but understandably it was perceived as one of the less exciting pieces and was left until last. Good.
Strawberry Truffle - White Chocolate/Pink Stripes - This was the first plucked out by sister who described it as a creamy, vanilla heavy white chocolate, with a delightfully 'real' tasting strawberry fruit centre. Very Good.

Amaretto Truffle - White Chocolate/Brown Stripes - I perhaps wasn't the best person on my mini taste panel to test this one, but for what it's worth I still thought it was fantastic. Unlike other booze filled Hotel Chocolat truffles I have tried previously, I loved the balance the creamy white chocolate gave the alcohol fueled filling. Not my favourite but still very nice. Very Good.

Blueberry Truffle - White Chocolate/Purple Stripes - My mother hasn't stopped going on about how much she loved this truffle since she ate it. She is a big of blueberries, and was amazed at how real the flavours of the fruit came through the sweet, creamy white chocolate shell. She said it was one of the best chocolates she's ever tasted from Hotel Chocolat - big claim there! Superb.



Whisky Truffle - Milk Chocolate/Black Stripes - Despite his initial grumbles that this one should have had an exterior dark chocolate shell, my old man later conceded that the extra sweetness from the milk chocolate was the perfect contrast to the fierce, fiery whisky flavoured soft centre. He said it was delicious, but only for real whisky lovers given it's strength. Superb.

Chocolate Brownie - Milk Chocolate/Brown Stripes - Like the chocolate truffle was the plain dark chocolate piece in the selection, this was really just the plainer milk chocolate offering. Again there was nothing wrong taste wise whatsoever, however with so many interesting flavours available it was one of the last to be eaten. Good.

Vanilla Truffle - Milk Chocolate/White Stripes - This was the first time I had seen a Hotel Chocoalt vanilla flavoured truffle so I insisted that I get the chance to try this one, and I'm glad I did. The vanilla filling provided a tasty extension of the cream flavours of the chocolate, and rounded off the soft melting mouth feel with a cooling note of sweet bourbon. Superb.
Liquid Caramel - Dark Chocolate/Yellow - This was the egg that was portioned twice in the box - was I ever going to have a problem with that!? Haha of course not! As you can see from my review last year (See HERE) this was a truffle I rated very highly indeed. Superb.

Rum Truffle - Dark Chocolate/Orange Stripes - This was described by my sister as just a little too strong for her taste. She is a big fan of rum based drinks, but even for her said that she would have preferred the rum to have played second fiddle to chocolate rather than it being vice-verca. Standard.


Overall if you have taken the time to read through my families above thoughts on these truffle eggs, you find it easy to see why they insisted this selection be fast tracked on to the website. This Hotel Chocolat 'A Dozen Quail Eggs' was absolutely loved by all four us. Collectively we thought it looked very impressive, offered an amazing amount of variety, and of course we all loved the selected chocolates that we tried. When you think about it, those attributes are really all the table stakes you want from a box of chocolates, and Hotel Chocolat delivered on these here with a real touch of real class. As far as recommendations go, I probably needn't say that I think these come with a big ChocolateMission thumbs up. I can see them being a bit of a hot seller for Hotel Chocolat this Easter, so if I were you I would get your Hotel Chocolat orders in quick.

8.9 out of 10

March 19th: Kit Kat Sweet Baked Potato Minis + Competition

Kcal 69 Fat 4.1g Carbs 7.6g (per 12.3g)

Its been said recently that I haven't run enough chocolate competitions for you all, so today I'm giving you all the opportunity to lay your hands of some ultra rare Kit Kats from our pals in Japan. Before we kick off the competition I would like to first bring your attention to these Kit Kat Sweet Potato Minis, which have recently been released again for a limited time period in Japan and are available from J-List ... See HERE!

Why haven't they got a fully fleshed out ChocolateMission review?? Well its because I have already reviewed them of course :D ... obviously you knew that!!! If you are a ChocolateMission new recruit or just so happened to miss out of on what went before, you might want to take a look at my reviews of the Kit Kat Sweet Potato firstly in four finger form - See HERE and then secondly in Mini form - See HERE.
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COMPETITION TIME:

Remember these???


Indeed, I have a pack of the infmaous Kit Kat European Cheese Mini (Review See HERE) to give away to a lucky ChocolateMission reader. To enter in with a chance of winning these you can one of two things ....

METHOD 1) Send an e-mail to Jim[@]Chocolatemission.net (take out the brackets!!) stating what three products you want me to review next from J-List. Please give your e-mail the subject title 'Kit Kat Competition'

METHOD 2) 'Retweet' a ChocolateMission review during the competition time on Twitter.

The winner will be announced on the site and my Twitter feed on April 2nd 2011. Please can I ask that comments on this post be kept to any questions regarding the competition. Good luck.

JIM

Competition Rules:
1. Only one e-mail entry please, however multiple entries via Twitter are allowed.
2. Open to my worldwide readership (not just UK this time!!)
3. ChocolateMission jurisdiction is final - Rules of the competition can be changed at anytime.

March 18th: Thorntons Milk Chocolate with Banana

Kcal 549 Fat 32.9g Fat(sats) 19.7g Carbs 55.3g (per 100.0g)

Before I launch onwards with the review today, I must first thank ChocolateMission reader Rosa who sent me this bar just before Christmas 2010. What with the wealth of samples I get, I always feel awfully guilty taking chocolate from readers but it has to be said this was a very pleasant surprise considering I hadn't clocked it's release. Indeed, this Milk Chocolate with Banana bar wasn't one that I hadn't seen in my local Thorntons shop. As a lover of all banana flavoured things, whether it be sweets, tea, milkshakes or chocolate, I was looking forward to trying this 'organic milk chocolate with dried banana'. Those of you who have concerns for this sort of thing may also wish to know that the bananas used are Fairtrade - a point Thorntons felt they needed to mention on more than ten occasions on the packaging :D

This banana flavoured bar came in a 80.0g form that I ate over the course of two sittings. Aside from the over the top communication of the Fairtrade and organic contents, the packaging was suitably coloured, whilst the chocolate was kept in a silver foil packet which assured a nice freshness. On the eye the chocolate looked attractive, with the darkened spots of dried fruit seemingly well dispersed. When attempting to break the chocolate in to smaller chunks, it broke with a fresh sounding snap and radiated some fragrant fruity scents.

If you have read any of my several Thorntons reviews of this square bar range you will have seen that the majority of the milk chocolate bars have used a 35-40% cocoa recipe (See HERE). Just as I found with those offerings, the milk chocolate here was again of a decent quality and generated a friendly creamy cocoa taste that grew in character as it's melt developed. Just as it appeared looking at the bar, the additional banana pieces were well portioned and dispersed throughout the chunks. These fruit pieces had a nice caramel like fruitiness to them, and created a very true, real banana taste with their chewy texture. The end note of the chocolate melt was a delicious hint of vanilla, which further added a positive complexity of flavour development. As a whole the taste was very sweet, but the half bar serving size felt like a sensible size and settled my chocolate needs.

Overall this was a delightful chocolate that I took great pleasure eating from the very first piece to the last. The pairing of milk chocolate and a sweet fruit like banana I guess didn't come without risk, but the greater emphasis on the cream flavours in chocolate as opposed to the the sugar content meant this wasn't a problem in the slightest. With that said I would love to know what a darker chocolate could do with the quality of the banana constituents displayed in this bar. I think the combination of the sweet fruit and a really earthy cocoa chocolate could be really quite special - lets just hope it is something they will put together in the future. For the minute, if bananas are your thing then you will be wanting to check out this bar for sure. It certainly gets a ChocolateMission recommendation and thumbs up for sure.

8.0 out of 10

March 16th: Oreo Chocolate Bars - Caramel Coffee & Dark Bitter

My friends at J-ListJapanese Snack Reviews? Of course it has to be from J-List!! Indeed both of these bars today were recently sent to me by my favourite Japanese pal Peter @Jlist (Twitter feed HERE). You may recall me having reviewed a few of these Japanese Oreo Chocolate Bars before (See Green Tea, Milk Chocolate & Strawberry flavours) to varied success. Well apparently in the Far East they must have been recieved pretty well, as there have been two new flavours added to the range in the past few months. Today I take a look at the Caramel Coffee & Dark Bitter offerings ...

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Oreo Chocolate Bar Caramel Coffee

Kcal 173 Fat 9.5g Carbs 19.5g

Despite not being the the most aesthetically pleasing bar on the eye, when cross-sectioned it was nice seeing the fragments of Oreo biscuits generously dispersed throughout it's entirety. Taking a whiff from inside the foil wrapper the bar was pretty forthcoming in it's aromas, with the strong biscuity smells enhanced pleasantly by some nice cappuccino like scents.

If you have taken the time to study my photograph you will probably know the criticism I'm going to throw in the direction of the chocolate - yes indeed it was a little lacklustre in presence. The sweet mild cocoa flavours it did develop were enough to register a chocolate hit for each mouthful, but I would have liked the chocolate to have had a little more say in the taste. Speaking more positively, the centre mish-mash of Oreo biscuit and caramel, coffee flavoured icing was terrific, with the sweetness of the toffee element nicely playing off the saltiness of the cookie bits. The suggestion of coffee to the taste was ... well ... exactly that! It was more just a mild suggestion, but it was there nonetheless, and gave the bar a nicely progressive taste and sweet coffee end note.

Overall this wasn't exactly a groundbreaking chocolate bar by any means but it was nice, and one that I would have again if it was readily accessible. I'm a little bemused why they couldn't just be done with it and have fully coated the the thing in chocolate, but that aside it was a tasty little coffee number. I still dream of the day that some coffee creme double stuffed Oreos make it to market, come on Nabisco you know you want to :D

8.0 out of 10



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Oreo Chocolate Bar Dark Bitter

Kcal 216 Fat 13.4g Carbs 20.9g

Save the best until last??? ... Well no ... I haven't today :D haha I must have chaught someone out with that. This Dark Bitter variant was slightly different in composition to the bar above and other crazier flavours in the range, in that it was a simpler proposition ('dark chocolate with Oreo cookie pieces') and ever so slightly larger in term of size (38.0g vs 32.0g').

On the eye the bar wasn't as visually striking as some of the other Orero Chocolate Bar alternatives, though when it came to the taste I felt it more than held it's own. As you probably could have guessed, this wasn't the grandioso dark chocolate experience of a Galler or Hotel Chocolat dark chocolate, but rather more the case of a less sugary focused chocolate creating a mass consumer friendly dark chocolate experience. With the attention drawn away from the underlying sweetness of the chocolate base, the saltyness and vanilla creme influences from the cookie pieces became more accentuated, making for a taste that had increased emphasis on it's Oreo cookie influence.

Overall this wasn't the most exciting flavour variation I have tried in this Oreo Chocolate Bar range, but it was more satisfying than some of the other options given it's larger size. Those looking for a rich dark chocolate will in all likelyhood be disappointed by it, though I doubt very much that your average person would be looking for that sort of experience from a bar such as this to begin with. If you come across it don't be put off by the dark chocolate billing.

7.5 out of 10

March 14th: Hotel Chocolat Liquid Chocolat Caramel & Caramel Smudge

I've decided to kick off this week of chocolate reviews with the return of Hotel Chocolat Monday!! Today I will cover off a few out standing reader requests before the busy Easter and Mothers Day periods sneak up on us. I've recently been sent enough samples of these products to feed a small army so you can expect the Hotel Chocolat coverage to be extensive again this year - did you really expect it to be any other way?

Before we look at anything egg shaped, or cheesey mother tribute paying chocolates though, I thought you might all like to see the fun I have been having with some of Hotel Chocolat's Caramel flavour themed products. Upon request of several readers below you will find my thoughts on Hotel Chocolat's Liquid Chocolat Caramel, and Hotel Chocolate's Caramel Smudge. I needn't remind you that both of these products can be bought either online or in all Hotel Chocolat highstreet stores.

Hotel Chocolat Liquid Chocolat Caramel

Last month I concluded my investigations of the current hot chocolate market with my reviews of the Hotel Chocolat Liuquid Chocolat Milk & Dark variants (See HERE). I say concluded, however I simply couldn't ignore the amount of reader feedback asking me to take a look at some of the flavoured options - so I asked my contacts at HC if I could give their caramel variant a try. One special delivery later, and a 275.0g tub full of 'hot chocolate flakes made from caramel, milk and dark chocolate, interspersed with white chocolate hearts' was sitting on my kitchen counter begging me to get my backside in gear to start the rather arduous task of it's creation. Having now conducted this slow melting process a few times now, I have to admit I haven't been overly impressed with this mixture thus far (I still have half a tub left!). Compared to the Dark chocolate Liquid Chocolat I've found this Caramel one to be a too sweet for my taste. Being a regular black coffee drinker my palette is possibly a bit more used to stronger, hot drinks. Personally I found this caramel mix too dominant in it's sugaryness, would have preferred a flavour influence with more of butterscotch emphasis such as it's aromas suggested. This isn't a bad quality hot chocolate mix by any stretch of the imagination, however it just isn't really to my own taste. Both my mother and sister swear blind it's the nicest hot chocolate around (hence the more rounded score), but for the moment I will be sticking with the Dark Liquid Chocolat mix.

7.7 out of 10



Hotel Chocolat Caramel Smudge

Hotel Chocolat get a lot of praise on this website, too much in the opinion of some haha. One thing no one can deny however is the fact that these guys listen to what their consumers are saying. No greater evidence of that is the way this review has come about. It had been fleetingly mentioned by a few readers on a previous review that they wanted my opinions on this Caramel Smudge product. Before I knew it there was a pot of this chocolate spread with me ready to devour before even send them an e-mail asking for it - efficient huh!? As you will see in the photo above (Yes photos taken by my Old Man before you ask :D ), I have been trying out this 'Caramel flavoured hazelnut and chocolate spead' on toast in the mornings, aswell as various other ways such as with ice cream and in cereal etc. To cut to the chase, this Caramel Smudge may not look one of HC's fanciest products ever, but boy is it tasty. Your own enjoyment of this spread will be largely dependant on whether you like hazelnut spreads. Though the product is named 'Caramel Smudge', the caramel is actually more of a background enhancer rather than at the flavour forefront, with the woddy hazelnut having a far greater emphasis in the taste. Being a hazelnut lover, I absolutely loved it. The sweet toffee notes of the caramel are just about balanced - on white thick bread it tastes absolutely divine. If you like spread like Nutella this might just send you in to a world of unparalleled pleasure - highly recommended.

8.6 out of 10

Fancy trying these yourself? Visit Hotel Chocolat

SPECIAL FEATURE: 'Say it with Celebrations'

Today we have a special feature on the site courtesy of our friends from Mars UK.

These guys recently got in contact with me regarding a special service they have just launched called 'Say it with Celebrations'. In a nutshell, this service allows you to send a personalised chocolate gift box featuring your own custom meassage and selected Mars Celebration chocolates - cool idea huh!?

In just three easy steps you can create an awesome little (or large) assortment of chocolates, complete with your own personalised message for yourself or a special someone:

Step 1 - Choose a Box - This involves you choosing between the three sizes ...
- 'Little message' (5 chocolates + message) - £2.49 plus p&p (£1)
- 'Small wallet' (5 chocolates + message + photo) - £3.99 plus p&p (£1.25)
- 'Double wallet' (10 chocolates + photo + message) - £5.49 plus p&p (£1.50)

Step 2 - Choose your Celebrations Mix - You have three options here again ...
- 'Favourite Bar Minatures' - 1 x Malteser truffle, 1 x Galaxy Caramel, 1 x MilkyWay, 1 x Galaxy, 1 x Galaxy Truffle
- 'Everyone's Favourite Minatures' - 1 x Mars, 1 x Twix, 1 x Snickers, 1 x Galaxy, 1 x Bounty
- 'Lucky Dip' - Can't handle the pressure of picking one of the above? Choose this option to hand the responsibility back to Mars to choose one of the two options above.

Step 3 - Personalise - This is where everything gets very cool ...
- First you choose one of the greetings to appear on the front (Happy Birthday etc)
- Then, if your box size allows it, you can add your very own photo
- Finally, you can add your own message to the inside of your box

The creation process can be carried out either online (See HERE) or through the use of the Mars 'Say it with Celebrations' mobile application (available for free from the Itunes store).

This might be coming across as nothing more than a glorified advert, but I genuinely think its a cool idea, as do some of my fellow bloggers like Liz at Foodstufffinds. With Mothers Day and Easter coming up soon this may well be a gifting option you may wish to consider. I think it's an ideal option if you are looking to make your chocolate gift just that little bit more special.

March 11th: Zotter Plum Brandy / Zotter Oral Choco Shot

ChocolateMission is doing a two for the price of one on Austrian chocolate reviews! I have been promising readers in my last few Zotter reviews that I would feature some alternative products to their standard Handscooped bar range, so in an attempt to please everyone I today feature one of their quirkier products as well as a mini review of yet another Zotter flavour.


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

Not so long ago I featured a review of the Zotter Coffee, Plum & Caramelised Bacon (8.6 out of 10 - See HERE). Most of the feedback from that post was that the majority of you fancied trying the plum and chocolate combination, but were put off by the bacon aspect - step up the Zotter Plum Brandy. Consisting of 'dark chocolate filled with plum brandy cream' this sounded like the answer for those of you who were put off by the previous bar's meant content - that still sounds wrong even now doesn't it :D

Presentation wise I was again not to pleased with seeing a random black line running down the one side of my wrapper (exactly like the one I mentioned in my Zotter Ginger review!). That minor annoyance aside, the bar smelt delightful when released from it's inner gold foil wrap, and it radiated an enticing mixture of fruity dark chocolate scents. These aromas proved to be highly indicative of the taste, with the 70% exterior dark chocolate layer establishing a bitter set of cocoa flavours from the outset of it's smooth melt. Akin to a lot of other Zotter bars, the truffle layer below was exquisitely soft, and packed full of flavour. The centre cream was far sweeter in taste than the outer chocolate, and delivered a delicious creamy fruityness set as soon as it came in to contact with my tongue. The brandy element was also interestingly implemented, coming through not so strongly in the taste, but giving a kind warmth to each mouthful.

Overall I really enjoyed this Zotter flavour and would happily recommend it as one of their nicer plainer options. As good as the dark chocolate was, the plum brandy cream was the shining star of the product. It had a luxurious mouth feel and importantly didn't over do it when it came to the brandy element. On the whole it wasn't one of the Zotter bars that pushed the boundaries of uniqueness in the flavour combination department, but it was still exceedingly tasty and one that can be considered a 'safer option' if you are unsure about the plum bar with the bacon in.

8.0 out of 10



Now on to the bizarre ....

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

Well if I was going to be featuring the 'safe option' Zotter Plum Brandy the only way balance things up was to include a feature on one of Zotter's weirder products - step up the Zotter Oral Choco Shot!

When I read the packaging (which wasn't in English I may add!), the description of 'one chocolate shot of whisky' didn't really prepare me for what I found inside the box. Yes you really can believe your eyes ... that really is a syringe filled with chocolate you are seeing above. Indeed, awaiting me inside, a plastic sealed syringe tube contained a 12ml 'shot'. As you can probably of guessed this wasn't a product I took to work to 'share with colleagues' :D I consumed my 'hit' of chocolate whisky after an evening meal by squeezing out the contents on to spoon. Being the alcohol wimp I am, I spread the contents out in to two helpings. After wolfing down the first one I was very glad I did - BOY was it strong. The chocolate flavours were forthcoming initially, but they were soon well and truly dominated by a very strong whisky hit that heated the back of my throat the instant I swallowed. Not being a whisky expert I wont comment on the quality of the whisky flavour hit - believe me though, it well and truly came to the party :D

Overall this was an almost impossible product to rate so I wouldn't take any notice of the score. This was one of the bizzarest chocolate products I think I have ever reviewed for the site - it was certainly an experience put it that way! The novelty and fun factor behind the product is simply unquestionable, I haven't seen anything like it before. In regards to the actual chocolate content and satisfaction delivery - well if you are after a whisky fuelled dosage of chocolate it delivers that in abundance, even if the method is somewhat odd. I don't feel that comfortable recommending syringes filled with brown liquid on this website :D but give this a try if you see one. Its an experience like no other.

7.0 out of 10

March 9th: 'Bits n Bobs' 2011 New Product Misc

The 'Bits n Bobs' post this week consists of a few 'New' product launches that we have seen here in the UK in the past few months.

You may have seen on the site already this week that I have recently tried out the reformulated Ferrero Kinder Bueno White and was none to please with what I found (See HERE). Would these products fair better on the ChocolateMission rating system? Take a look ....
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McVitie's Penguin Caramel Wafer
Kcal 106 Fat 5.4g Fat(sats) 3.8g Carbs 10.2g (per bar)
'Milk chocolate covered wafer bars filled with caramel and chocolate cream'

The latest product line extension of the McVitie's Penguin brand was announced HERE back in the middle of January. I found this pack of nine bars on an introductory £0.85 deal in my local Sainsbury's store - it was lucky I was keeping my eye out for them as the exterior packaging looked none to disimmilar from the standard Penguin Wafer bars.

You may have noticed from my photo and the descriptor given above that these were a none to dissimlar proposition to the Tunnock's Caramel Wafer Biscuit (See HERE), a product I am very familiar with :D . Comparing one with the other, these Penguin Caramel Wafers simply didn't match up. Although the chocolate was of a similar quality and thickness, the wafer and caramel layers weren't as flavoursome and lacked the wheat biscuit and buttery caramel charms of the aforementioned. At two thrids the size I also didn't find them as satisfying. These wont offend anyone, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them absent from our shelves within a year what with the stiff and superior competition.

6.6 out of 10


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Cadbury Bournville Biscuits
Kcal 85 Fat 5.0g Fat(sats) 3.1g Carbs 9.9g (per biscuits)
'Cadbury classic dark chocolate with a chocolate covered cream centre'

Anyone who has read my Cadbury Bournville review (See HERE) will be aware that it isn't one of my favourite dark chocolates ... bit of an understatement there :D . Being the dedicated guy I am though, I simply can't ignore reader requests - if you guys are sick of my moaning then you can all blame ChocolateMission reader Thea haha :D I found these new Cadbury Bournville Biscuits on sale in Waitrose where surprise, surprise they were on a £1.00 introductory offer.

To cut to the chase, as I expected, I didn't get much enjoyment from these biscuits. Perhaps this is me just be stubborn, but I simply just didn't enjoy the taste of the chocolate, which I felt was as overly sugary, one dimensional and lazy in it's melt. The biscuit element did at least bring some sort of appeal to the overall taste, however I didn't detect any differentiation from the outer chocolate to the inner chocolate cream apart from the softer texture. I've always maintained that Cadbury Bournville chocolate might be a nice option for those who don't like their dark chocolate all that strong and wish to ease themselves into the dark side. Speaking from a personal point of view however, I think we all know it just isn't to my taste. Not even the added biscuit has made it score that much better.

6.0 out of 10


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Kit Kat Pop Choc
Kcal 108 Fat 6.3g Fat(sats) 3.8g Carbs 11.4g (per 9 pieces)
'Crispy wafer pieces covered in milk chocolate'

I wont spend to long on this one, as these Kit Kat Pop Chocs are rather self-explanatory. These Pop Chocs have been described by Nestle as a product "to move the Megabrand to a whole new arena" in their PR statement (See HERE). I'm not sure about that, though I'm sure a number of you will be well aware they have been doing the rounds in most European countries for a fair while now - they have often been spotted in shops such as Poundland/Home Bargains etc. I found these on sale in Tesco last week at the RRP price of £1.49 for a 140.0g.

Essentially these Pop Chocs are Malteser sized bites of regular milk chocolate Kit Kat - what could be bad about that? ... Well ... nothing ... they are delicious as you would expect :D Quite simply, if you love your Kit Kats then there would be no logical reason why you wouldn't love these. It would of perhaps have been nice of Nestle to have been a little more adventurous, and given us some of the crazier flavours like they get in Japan (Caramel Salted HERE, Chilli Powder HERE), but this is the UK we are talking about it :D Recommended for you Kit Kat lovers.

8.1 out of 10