March 19th: Hotel Chocolat Choc Cross Buns

So it begins ...!! Yes indeed folks the Hotel Chocolat pack of Easter samples has been with us here in the JCM household for a few weeks now and we've been busy doing our taste testing research - what a hardship eh :D !? As you will see over the coming weeks the 'Old Man' has got all creative with his photography lately. I'm sure he will be welcome of any feedback you wish to send my way on the JCM Twitter feed whether good or bad (See @Chocmission).

Kicking us off this year with the Hotel Chocolat Easter reviews we have one of the totally new products created for 2012. These Hotel Chocolat Choc Cross Buns were one of the products that leapt out at me when I was requesting my samples from the prospective catalog. The sound of 'milk chocolate cups filled with vanilla mousse, cinnamon, ginger and a whole raisin' sounded like an intriguing and innovative idea - certainly not one I had seen attempted before in a chocolate truffle. Thankfully this was a case of ask and you shall recieve, and Hotel Chocolat sent me a pack that contained six truffles.

As aforementioned the JCM tasting panel aka. my family has been in full action and between the four of us there were some interesting opinions on these Choc Cross Buns. One thing we were all aligned on was on the quality of the exterior milk chocolate. There isn't a single one of us who doesn't both like and appreciate the quality of the 40% Hotel Chocolat milk chocolate, it really is one of the finest recipes out there and the full bodied creamy cocoa taste is one that is consistently appreciated by one and all. Opinions however did differ when it came to the hot cross bun filling at the centre of each truffle. Personally I thought the thick textured mousse was very tasty, and I thought it encapsulated all the spice and fruit elements of hot cross buns extremely effectively. On the other side of the fence though, my mother raised the issue that it was too dominant over the chocolate, and that the cinnamon especially was a little strong and controlling of the overall taste. Whilst I disagreed with this I will admit that they weren't the most satisfying of chocolates given that they had light fillings and not so thick milk chocolate.

Overall though these somewhat divided opinion in the JCM household, I should think they will have have far more proponents than not amongst the general public. I think my mother has got a point with the dominance of the filling over the chocolate, but for me it wasn't an issue of great significance since I really enjoy cinnamon flavoured chocolates. I will say that if you are expecting a light flavoured truffle because of the 'mousse' textured centres you are in for somewhat of a surprise. Both the spices and vanilla flavours come through strongly so you should be aware of that if either of those doesn't appeal to you. Personally I liked these and would feel comfortable recommending them on the basis that you like hot cross buns and desire the naturally associated flavours.

8.0 out of 10

Congratulations .....

@janeyliz9!!!!

You are the winner of the M&M's Dark Chocolate Mint courtesy of site sponsors @AmericanSoda.

Jane correctly identified the cross-section photo as the Peeps Milk Chocolate!! ... and not the Nestle Butterfinger as answered by the overwhelming majority of entrants!!

If you haven't won this time around please don't despair! The 10.0kg delivery of Ritter Sport chocolates recently will only mean there are plenty of competitions to come!

March 16th: *NEW* Ritter Sport Chocolate / Yoghurt Cubes 2012

Just when I thought they had forgotten about me, my pals at Ritter sent me the most gigantic box of Ritter Sport treats I've received yet. Included in the 10.0kg package they sent across (yes no typo 10.0kg!!), they included several boxes of these new 'Cube' selections. Both these new selections came in 176.0g cube boxes and both contained 22 chocolates within. As you can tell from the title the two flavour themes were 'Chocolate' and 'Yoghurt'.

For two reasons I'll let the photos do most of the talking today. Firstly the 'Old Man' has done such a cracking job with the photography I think you would all probably rather focus on them rather than my ramblings :D. Secondly, nearly all of the different flavours included in these two selection boxes have been reviewed previously as stand alone bars - I would suggest you take a look at the Ritter Sport review archive HERE to get a more in-depth view on each of them if you wish.
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Ritter Sport Chocolate Cubes


This box contained four different varieties (Click for reviews!) - Nuss in Nugatcreme (Milk chocolate nuts in nougat-creme), Edelnugat (Milk chocolate nougat), Kakao Krokant (Plain chocolate chopped nuts and rice) and Karamell (Milk chocolate caramel).

The views expressed by my trusted tasting panel (aka my family) were that the selection of flavours was good as they were all varieties that Ritter are strong with. It was noted however that if you didn't like nuts your options would be really quite limited. I agreed with them on this and thought that the Kakao Krokant variety could have probably been subbed for a fruity option - the strawberry yoghurt from the other box would have been just perfect. Another thing of note was that caramel variety really divided opinion as it wasn't caramel like we know it here in the UK. The caramel on offer here had more of a creamy Caramac taste as opposed to the traditional British syrupy butterscotch caramel. Though my own preference would lie with the latter, I still liked the Caramel chocolate cube here and to be honest it was nice to have something a little different from the norm. Despite some of these minor grievances all-in-all it got a thumbs up.

8.2 out of 10



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Ritter Sport Yoghurt Cubes

This selection contained three different varieties - Joghurt (Milk chocolate yoghurt), Erdbeer Joghurt (Milk chocolate strawberry yoghurt) and Waldbeer Yoghurt (Milk chocolate wildberry yoghurt).

Having seen how people react to these yoghurt chocolates down the years it's become quite apparent to me that most people either love or hate them. Unfortunately for him, the 'Old Man' falls in to the second category - thankfully the rest of us in my family are really quite partial to them :D . As far as the choice of flavours on offer, the three here were very strong chocolates and I don't think any one of us could be forced to pick a natural favourite. I guess the only concern really was that the strawberry and wildberry varieties were quite similar, and perhaps there could have been room to introduce a new yoghurt variety in to the fold to widen out the selection and give it a USP (unique selling point). Again casting the small issues to one side this was still a highly enjoyable box of chocolates.

7.8 out of 10


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Overall both these new selection boxes were very well recieved and met with overwhelmingly positive reactions. For any Ritter Sport fans they sure make cute little gifts and as with any Ritter Sport product the quality of the actual chocolate is at the least better than average. Personal opinions are always going to be a factor as to what would be the optimum mixture of Ritter Sport flavours - for what it's worth we thought they had done a decent job selecting the flavours and had little complaints in that regard. Now I've written reviews about them both my next conundrum is to have a think about what I do with the other boxes I have left over :D ... I think you might want to keep an eye on the ChocolateMission Twitter page (HERE) for some upcoming JCM/Ritter competitions!

March 14th: Midweek Mini Hershey's Air Delight

Kcal 200 Fat 12.0g Fat(sats) 7.0g Carbs 24.0g

The midweek mini today again comes courtesy of my friends from AmericanSoda who once again provided me with the bar for this review - See HERE. As of late the aerated chocolate part of the UK market has been extremely busy. The re-emergence of the Cadbury Wispa, and the seemingly endless amount of new Aero products has meant that we have hardly been lacking options here in Ol'Blighty. The USA however haven't been so lucky with their aerated chocolate offerings. I'm even struggling to think of a competitor product for the bar I'm featuring today.

First announced back in June 2011, this Hershey's Air Delight had been a bar I'd been interested in trying since I heard of it. Hershey milk chocolate is one that divides a lot of opinion here in the UK, for every person you come across who says they like it, there seems to another to have a few choice words about it. For the latter, the main points of contention tend to be the aromas and aftertaste generated by the chocolate. Having eaten this bar I can confirm to these people they will have no reason to have raised interest here - both are as apparent as in the normal Herhsey's Milk Chocolate bar (See HERE). Indeed the tangy yoghurty aftertaste and undesirable soured milk smells were still as prevalent as always. Unsurprinslgy, where this bar did set itself out from the original was in it's melt, with it's bubbly blocks creating a lovely tingly mouth sensation that was every bit as good as any other aerated chocolate I've tried.

Overall I can't imagine this Hershey's Air Delight will convince any non-loving Hershey's milk chocolate consumer they must have a re-think, but for those who are at least ambivalent towards it they should give one a try. I personally didn't find that the taste was affected in any manner, however I did enjoy the aerated texture which was a lot more interesting than just the standard experience offered by the original. This isn't a market game changer in the name of new product developments, but it's nice to see the US are getting on-board with the aerated texture thing. Adding air to chocolate may not seem like a good idea, but it's one of those funny things that just seems to work whoever does it.

6.6 out of 10

March 12th: Cadbury Thank You

Kcal 180 Fat 12.0g Fat(sats) 6.9g Carbs 16.6g

In case you had forgotten it's Mothers Day here in the UK on the 18th of March (next Sunday!!). Yes indeed it's that one day of the year when there is frankly no excuse but to spoil your Mum rotten. That could include breakfast in bed? a nice meal out a restaurant? a bunch of flowers? & oh yes of course, a lovely box of chocolates :D In previous years I've always chosen to test out some Hotel Chocolat chocolates for you all, but this year I thought I would change it up a bit and look at an offering from one of our more widely available brands - Cadbury.

So what are Cadbury suggesting we share with all our Mummies this year!? These 'Thank You by Cadbury' appear to be the answer. These 'Thank You' chocolates looked very similar in proposition to the 'Lots of Lovely Little Pralines' by Cadbury which I reviewed last year (See HERE). This 187.0g box of 30 chocolates came descried as 'milk chocolates with a smooth creme filling' and came packaged in a uniquely flower shaped box. Inside the chocolates were smaller than I thought they might be, and were around the size of a one pence piece.

What with their small size these were oddly suitable to eat in pairs rather than as single chocolates. As with the aforementioned 'Lots of Lovely Little Pralines' it was disappointing to find that these were made of the cheaper 14.0% cocoa and milk solids Cadbury recipe. This was instantly recogniseable with the greater sugar emphasis when it came to the taste of the outer Cadbury chocolate. Hidden away inside below the chocolate, I wish I could say the vanilla creme centres were more flavour enhancing than they were, but unfortunately they did little aside from add a very minimal vanilla note to what was taste reminiscent of very sweet, dried milk powder.

Overall I certainly wont be subjecting my dear old Mum to these rather ghastly chocolates and I recommend you also stay well clear.I forgot to mention at the start of the review that these have an RRP of £5.00 which to me suggested they should have been something a little more special than your average Cadbury chocolate. I think you can tell by the score that these actually significantly under par, and were by my estimation a very poor effort. The lack of the Dairy Milk chocolate recipe and crummy vanilla creme centres made for a very unexciting flavour journey - a disappointing return for something if done like the Cadbury Bliss could have some potential. My recommendation this year for Mothers Day!? Well it wont surprise to hear my advice is to stick with the tried and tested. Get yourself to Hotel Chocolat and give your Mum the chocolates she deserves.

5.2 out of 10

March 9th: Competition - Identify Me

It's nearly the weekend WOOHOO!!!!

Following on from this weeks American Soda Bits n Bobs (See BELOW!!), I feel in the giving mood!


Do you fancy trying some of the new M&M's Dark Chocolate Mint yourself!? Well have a stab at identifying the cross-sectioned product below:



To enter all you have to do is to get start following @Chocmission on Twitter and tweet me your answer with the hashtag '#competition'. Please ensure in your Tweets you inform all your friends to follow me :D I will announce the winner on Twitter next weekend!

HINT: The product you need to identify is currently on sale on the AmericanSoda website.

March 7th: Bits & Bobs: American Soda Special 2012 #1

I wish I could say that I was travelling back and forth from the US to source all of these latest American snacks, but reality is that it's those chaps at American Soda who are continually supplying me. Indeed today I bring you another set of mini-reviews of some of the latest snacks they've sent my way. Be sure to check out the American Soda site for yourselves! Remember they ship all across Europe!

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Hershey's Cookies n Creme DropsKcal 300 Fat 16.0g Fat(sats) 10.0g Carbs 30.0g (per pack)

I have to admit I do have a nostalgia sourced soft spot for this Hershey's Cookies n Creme chocolate. For some reason or other it got adopted as one of the family favourites as we commonly bought it during our many trips to Disney World Florida in my childhood. Anything that reminds me of Disney World is always going to be welcome in my mind so perhaps consider taking my view of these with a large pinch of salt :D With that said I have to say these were pretty darn good. The ingredients list would rival most chemistry sets but there's just something about the sugary, dairy strong 'chocolate' that is really quite appealing when eaten in moderation - it reminds a bit of carnation milk. Impressively, the little bits of cookie were still as forthcoming as in the bar format, and the oreo type chocolateyness and crunch was a part of every individual drop. I wouldn't recommend anyone trying to consume a king sized pack in one sitting, but these are one of those chocolate packs that are nice to have around for a quick handful every now and then. I wouldn't stretch as far as saying these are highly superior to the bar format, but as a standalone product they are one of the better Hershey's products in my opinion.

8.0 out of 10


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Red Velvet Cupcake Bites
Kcal 180 Fat 9.0g Fat(sats) 8.0g Carbs 27.0g (per 40.0g)

I've been highly critical of rather a few Taste of Nature products previously so my expectations for these new Red Velvet Cupcake Bites were hardly what one would describe as sky high. After a little talk around from my AmericanSoda contact Ben however, he told me that these were the nicest ones he had tried from the range. After a recommendation like that I really couldn't turn them down so I gave these 'bite sized cupcake morsels in creamy red frosting' a try. Just like the previously reviewed Cookie Dough Bites (See HERE), these Red Velvet Cupcake Bites came in a 88.0g cardboard box with the pieces contained within a plastic packet. The thick red coloured coatings looked a little thick and waxy for my liking, however I found that they melted at a decent rate and they surprisingly established a pleasant white chocolate like milky taste. At the centre of each of these pieces, the crumbly soft innards created a convincing cake batter taste. Colour me surprised folks - these actually tasted of cupcakes! Whilst I wouldn't go as far as saying these were excellent in any way, I would stretch to giving them a single JCM thumbs up. If I was to recommend one from the TON range it would be these.

7.8 out of 10


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Lucky CharmsKcal 180 Fat 9.0g Fat(sats) 8.0g Carbs 27.0g (per 40.0g)

Ever since I reviewed my first cereal product here on ChocolateMission one of the most commonly received reader requests is for a review of General Mills's Lucky Charms cereal. Having reviewed the chocolate version a while back last year (See HERE), I decided that a few single serve portions would suffice so I asked Ben @AmericanSoda if I could have some of the 49.0g single bowl portions sent my way. Within days I was setting my usual porridge to one side and instead pouring my milk on these 'frosted toasted oat cereal with marshmallows'. As you can see from my photo one thing you can't accuse Lucky Charms of is not being is colourful. The marshmallows come in every colour you can think of - I'll let you decide whether that's a good thing or not what with all the colourings. I will keep this short and sweet (haha aren't I hilarious) as my conclusions are very much the same as they were about the chocolate variety. The taste is ridiculously sugary, yet the combination of the corn cereal and marshmallows have an alarming moreishness. Eaten on it's own the lightness of the cereal is a real turn off for me as I find it so non-fufiling. Added to another healthier, plainer tasting cereal however it becomes a charming (Ok I'll stop now haha!) addition. This cereal is one of those iconic American foods you should try if only to say you have. There is every chance you will become a fan of them.

7.2 out of 10

March 5th: Nestle Aero 2in1

Kcal 194 Fat 11.8g Fat(sats) 6.9g Carbs 18.7g

No sooner had I read the very unexciting news that Nestle are giving their Aero range a packaging makeover here in the UK (See HERE), I was sent a very nice e-mail from a JCM reader named Emily who made me a very generous offer. Indeed in an act of great kindness, Emily sent me one of these Nestle Aero 2in1 bars, a chocolate she had managed to find in her local Polish store. This '2in1' bar came described as 'bubble milk and white chocolate'. I seem to remember we had the same bar (blue wrapper I think!!) here in the UK in years gone past - I let you drop me line on Twitter to confirm that ;D @Chocmission

As was obvious by the shop it was bought in, the wrapper confirmed that this was indeed a 'Nestle Polska' produced bar. It came in what seemed a plentiful 35.0g size and split into the same rectangle shaped blocks that you would have come to have expected before the refresh here in the UK. The wrapper it has to be said looked pretty cool, and was attractive on the eye as well as being relevant with the dual colour theme. The chocolate itself also looked pretty with the white chocolate aerated centre appearing equally, if not more plentiful than the milk chocolate.

Despite being made in Poland the ingredients were listed in English and it was interesting to see the list was a lot 'cleaner' than the what we get here in our UK bars. The most glaring absentee was the Polish bar's lack of 'vegetable fat', which by all accounts is a good thing. Stating a 28% miniuim of cocoa I actually had risen expectations that this bar could well be superior. Unfortunately when it came to the taste this just wasn't a reality for me, and this is something I think I can only attribute to the different milks used. On a good note, the bubbly, aerated texture was retained by Polish chocolate and it melted at a nice rate and with a lovely tingly bubble sensation at it's centre. The milk flavours however were just not what I was used to, and I could really tell this was a bar that had been created using dried milk powder as opposed to fresh. To me the Polish chocolate had an odd smokeyness to it's milky underbelly. The outer milk chocolate was more what I was used to, but the white chocolate centre only further enhanced the milky flavours to which I simply wasn't all that keen on.

Overall this was an interesting bar to try but it really suffered at least in my eyes, from it's poor quality milk ingredients. I guess on one hand you could look at it from the perspective that at least the white chocolate wasn't horribly, horribly sweet like so many other mass produced white chocolate bars can be. On the other hand however, in my opinion it was still a poor quality milk alternative so I'm afraid I wont be rating it that much higher anyway. As far as a recommendation goes I wouldn't say this is a bar you need to get hold of unless you are a massive Aero fan. Thanks again to Emily for sending this for me to try.

6.6 out of 10

March 2nd: J-List Picture Special + Competition

It's FRIDAY!!!!!! And you my ChocolateMission friends have 3 things to celebrate ....

1) It's the start of the weekend :D

2) Your getting an extra photo special (below) JCM post this week courtesy of our pals @Jlist

3) Within this post there is a competition to win some extras I have left over from my last J-List package :D

As I said above, the post today is a just a little picture special to tie you over the weekend. Be sure to check out J-List.com if you fancy any of the items you see up on the site today - my pal Pete from J-List is a fascinating character to follow on Twitter. Let's just say he provides an interesting POV on Japanese pop culture - add him @Jlist
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Kit Kat Sakura Matcha Latte
Above you see the Kit Kat Sakura Matcha Latte. This was a Kit Kat I gave a big thumbs up back in April 2010, at which point I gave it an 8.4 out of 10 (See HERE). Well almost 2 years on I fully stand by that score. The green tea and Kit Kat combination is one that many have stuck a nose up at before, but believe me it's one that that really does work. A lot of the Japanese Kit Kat flavours can be so-so but this isn't one of them. For the true Japanese Kit Kat flavour experience get yourself involved with some of these. They still get a big JCM recommendation.
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Love Attack Chocolates
When ever a new package from J-List arrives I often get my mother to help me out researching what some of the items are (I don't read Japanese folks!!). This however, was not one of those occassions - no one in their right mind would get their mother to be searching J-List.com for the words - 'Love Attack' ... if you have been on the site before I'm sure you will know what I'm talking about haha :D ... well folks lucky 'Love Attack' did in fact turn out to be candy coated chocolates - phew :D Indeed these Smarties like chocolates happen to be innocent 'chocolate medicine' and are supposedly 'parody' chocolates that take the mick out of a popular Japenese medication product. Ho hum they are part of my giveaway below so hopefully they can go to someone to cure their 'broken heart' :D
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Meiji Pokemon ChocolateThe crazy folk at Meiji obviously have some sort of license with Pokemon in Japan as they seem to make several chocolate and candy products featuring the pesky gritters. This solid slab of sweet milk chocolate was frankly very generic and non-newsworthy .... but it brings good things for you my friends :D

COMPETITION!!!

Do you want to win some of the bits and pieces left over my latest J-List package? Well here's the challenge.

NAME THE 5 POKEMON FEATURED ON THE FRONT OF THE BOX YOU SEE ABOVE

To enter just Tweet me the names on twitter @Chocmission ... first one to do so wins the lot!!! Please include the hastags #follow and #competition in your Tweets please!

Anyone can enter! So get to it folks!

Enjoy your weekends now!!

JIM

February 29th: Midweek Mini Lion Bar Peanut

Kcal 203 Fat 10.6g Fat(sats) 5.9g Carbs 23.3g

If there's one thing I've come to realize, it's that the Polish are rather fond of their Lion Bars. Indeed, Nestle Polska can not only boast the Nestle Lion Bar White (See HERE), but also this Nestle Lion Bar Peanut which I found on sale in a local Polish food store. Weighing 41.0g it was noticeably smaller than it's milk and white chocolate Polish siblings, but I was impressed by it's wrapper which had a glittery, vivid orange and gold colour scheme.

Despite my non-existent grasp of Polish language rendering the on-pack bar description meaning nothing to me, as soon as I did the cross-section photo it was obvious that the peanut content was integrated into the outer chocolate layer and amongst the rice krispie cereal pieces. Without ever reaching the heights of Snickers allure, the bar radiated some tempting peanutty scents which were indicative of taste experience to follow. As the smells suggested it wasn't as nutty as other peanut containing offerings, but it still managed to substantiate a salty nut presence in and around the malty wafer and sweet creamy chocolate. This savoury salt lick was especially a welcome contrast with the sweet caramel, and made for a moreish and very easy to consume chocolate bar. This one didn't need two sittings - the whole thing satisfied to very nice level.

Overall I consider this Nestle Lion Bar Peanut to be the best Nestle Lion Bar I've tasted and I include the UK milk chocolate version in that consideration. It reminded me a lot of The Kit Kat Chunky Peanut, (a bar Nestle criminally stopped making in 2010 though soon to return!) which of course can only be a good thing. If you can lay your hands on one I would strongly suggest you give it a try. Fans of peanuts and the original Lion Bar certainly wont regret doing so.

8.8 out of 10

February 27th: Galaxy Bubbles Orange

Kcal 172 Fat 10.6g Carbs 16.9g (per bar)

A year on from the launch of Mars's original Galaxy Bubbles we today take a look at the first variety extension, the Galaxy Bubbles Orange. According to this source (See HERE), this orange variety is a limited edition and was chosen as it 'ranked the highest out of various flavour variants in consumer tests'. I for one would love to have known what the other options were, however the article fails to make reference to them. You may also like to know that Mars are also running an on-pack competition to coincide with the launch. 'Win a Million Moments, offers customers a chance to win and choose from a prize fund of £13.0m, with each pack containing a unique code that can be entered at www.galaxychocolate.co.uk, or sent via text'. Rather curiously the pack fails to bring light to this on the front.

Like it's original milk chocolate sibling this orange variant weighs 31.0g and is a bar split in to six individual pieces. To my knowledge the bar is currently being distributed in Tesco and Sainsburys, though I'm pretty sure it is also being sold in many highstreet stores such as Boots and Superdrug. In regards to the wrapper the obvious changes had been implemented to the pack, with the use of orange colouring and images to highlight the new variety. Although there was no indication of any aesthetic changes to the actual chocolate blocks, the fragrant and welcoming orange fruit scents made the flavouring very obvious.

A year ago when the Bubbles bar first launched I was pretty critical of it, and didn't see much in the way of it's value to the existing range. Having now given this orange variety a try, I'm pleased to report that I felt a lot more positive about my experience after consuming it. My problem with the initial bar was that I just didn't see the point of the bar given that it was essentially just a smaller/lighter version of the original Galaxy bar that didn't expose the usual Galaxy thick, soft melt. Whilst this Orange variety still didn't provide much in the way of value for money based on it's size, the format suited the taste as the orange flavouring was enabled to be delivered with the correct amount of intensity. Indeed, with the lighter textured aerated melt, the sweet orange element was nicely balanced in terms of strength against the usual creamy milkiness. Whilst I still couldn't say this was a totally satisfying chocolate bar, the extra flavour dimension did give it a somewhat more satisfying feel.

Overall this Galaxy Bubbles Orange exceeded my expectations and I found it to be a more positive experience than I first thought it might be. The style of the aerated inner texture certainly suited the flavouring, and though I still missed the standard soft melt mouth feel of standard Galaxy chocolate, the aerated sensation came across as a fitting format for added orange sweetness. In conclusion I would feel happy suggesting this to chocolate orange fans, though I still have a bone of contention to pick when it comes to the price/kg thing. £0.57 for a bar that weighs only 31.0g is rather cheeky - given it's a limited edition chocolate I wouldn't be surprised if some of the independent retailers stick a bit more on top of that RRP. I wouldn't go getting overly upset if this one passes you by, but it's worth a try if you are into all things orangey.

7.6 out of 10