Review: Toblerone Milk (Kraft)

Christmas and New Year is a very busy season both professionally and at home. And while I eat a lot of chocolate I do not have much time on my hands for writing reviews and I expect this one to be the last this year. Next year will hopefully feature many more chocolate reviews.

This original or “plain” Toblerone Milk is described as “Swiss milk chocolate with honey and almond nougat (10%)”. Cocoa contents is given as min. 28% with 3% honey and 1, 8% almonds.

Aesthetically the triangular shaped box, with embossed letters, looks OK, though it is nothing spectacular. Also, the box appearance does not give a good idea of what kind of chocolate this is, but here Toblerone can probably rely on an established tradition which customers are easily able to identify. The chocolate itself looks OK and when one snaps of a triangular piece bits of almonds are visible. Appearance: 7 out of 10.

Snapping of a triangular piece one is met with a nice aroma of milk chocolate and nuts. Butter/dairy is, unfortunately, quite dominant leaving too little room for the chocolate to really shine. Aroma: 7 out of 10.

The chocolate has a texture which is somewhat in between: when breaking of a piece the snap is fair for a milk chocolate, but in the mouth the chocolate is neither hard (as a dark chocolate) nor as soft as a traditional milk chocolate. There is some crispness from almond pieces, which unfortunately are so finely ground that they do provide too little in terms of crunchy contrast. The visible almond bits and the crunch make me think that we are talking about “French nougat”, which is made with sugar, egg white and almonds which is hard and brittle and not the soft melting nougat made with hazelnuts. I think this should have been stated more clearly especially for the Danish market where nougat is usually thought to be of the later variety unless qualified. At any rate I think the nougat is too finely chopped to add substantial contrast. Also it is very sticky.

Texture: 6, 5 out of 10.

The flavour is of sweet dairy chocolate of mediocre quality and very buttery. One can taste the almonds, but there is too little contrast and complexity for this one to be too interesting. It may nevertheless hit the spot for those looking for a quick chocolate fix. Flavour: 6, 5 out of 10.

Average: 6, 75 out of 10.

Review: Organic Milk Chocolate (Irma)

This organic and Fairtrade certified milk chocolate bar is produced by Ludwig Weinrich, known for producing the VIVANI series. It has 38% minimum cocoa contents and which is in the high end for a milk chocolate, though by no means among the highest available. Here, however, it comes as an offering in Irma’s private label organic line.

Being male I’m not too fond of the pink notes on the wrapper, and also I’m not sure how this fulfils the wrapper’s function as a guide to what tyoe of chocolate you are getting with this offering. The chocolate itself looks, however looks gorgeous with a shiny light brown colour. Appearance: 8 out of 10.

There is a sweet scent of cocoa with notes of caramel, though I feel the aroma could be more powerful. Aroma: 7, 5 out of 10.

This bar has an excellent snap to it both when breaking and when biting into it, considering that this is a milk chocolate. The melt good too if a little slow on the slow side (maybe due to high cocoa contents?). Texture: 8 out of 10.

The flavour is not too sweet, which is good. One can easily taste that this is a high cocoa content bar Still there is very little very little in terms of complexity – it is not enough simply to have a high cocoa content. It is not that the chocolate is bad tasting or bland – it could simply need a little more character. So if you look for milk chocolate with a relatively high cocoa content and with it more “dark” qualities you will probably like this one. Flavour: 7, 5 out of 10.

Average 7, 75 out of 10

Marabou Premium 70% Cocoa

Producing a 70% bar of good quality is no easy task. Thus if a company is capable of producing a good dark chocolate with high cocoa content, it is usually a good indication that offerings with less cocoa, are also of a high standard. However, since high cocoa content offerings tend to have a less broad appeal, many consumers will judge a range from the lower cocoa content end. On the other hand the Premium range from Marabou seems to be produced with dark 70% chocolate as base and cornerstone. Therefore the 70% bar might be seen as a benchmark for the range’s overall quality.

The Marabou Premium range appears to be branded as a more elegant alternative to other bars carrying the Marabou label. This offering has a minimum 70% cocoa content, but, “unfortunately” also butterfat, according to the declaration. As I have stated previously I consider it misleading to label it a “full bodied dark chocolate”, as this offering does, when it contains a dairy product. Also, the declaration states that fat reduced cocoa is used and I hope that one of my readers can help me figure out why a chocolate bar needs to have fat reduced cocoa in it. If you are in the know – or would like to venture a guess - please leave a comment.

Box looks nice and is in keeping with the boxes in this range. The chocolate itself has a nice dark brown colour, though it appears to me it should be shinier. I also think that the box does not accurately convey that this is not a dark chocolate, per se, since it contains butter fat. With this in mind I have to score it low. Appearance: 5 out of 10.

The aroma is one dimensional, “dry” and smells of tobacco which is not very pleasant. Aroma: 7 out of 10.

The chocolate has a nice snap and good melt which is not to dry. The only drawback is that it breaks down a little too fragmentary. Texture: 7, 5 out of 10.

The flavour itself is rather bland and with no complexity, nuances or fruit. It is not too sweet and has a little bitter tobacco finish. Taste 6, 5 out of 10.

Average: 6, 5 out of 10.

Mythic wild chocolate

I apologize. I do not have a review for you today. I hope to make it up to you, though. The article below has got to be one of the best reads on the topic of wild chocolate. It is very informative, superbly written and gives a most fascinating inside view of the world of wild chocolates. You will not be disappointed!

Story of mythic wild chocolate

Review: Ritter Sport Dark with Whole Hazelnuts

According to Ritter Sport, over at Jim’s Chocolate Mission, this offering is the runner up on the worldwide best selling Ritter list. As I have reviewed both number one and three on that list, I thought it only fair to review this one as well. To be up front I am a little surprised that this one was able to conquer second place as I found it somewhat disappointing. While I did not think the world of either the white and milk varieties, at least I can understand why they have such a broad appeal.

Ritter Sport dark Whole Hazelnuts has a whopping 23% of whole roasted hazelnuts and a minimum of 50% cocoa solids. The declaraton to this bar reveals that it contains butter fat and shellac. In my book, as I have stated before, I think it a misnomer to label a chocolate “dark” if it has any dairy product in it (even if this is allowed by EU and/or national regulations), though perhaps I should be more lenient with this one since it is a “filled” chocolate (the Ritter hallmark). In addition this bar is glazed with shellac, a substance from insects, presumably to give the bar extra shine. I will leave it to you to judge whether this is acceptable or not, but to me dark chocolate should only have five basic ingredients plus those for the filling. I am not sure why shellac is necessary here - and I invite anyone to leave a comment on this subject.

As with the wrapper of the other two of the top three, I am not to fond of the “Photo” wrapper, though I consider this one, with its dark colour, the most elegant of the three wrappers. The chocolate has a nice dark brown colour and a nice shine. Also, the bar looks nice in cross section with whole nuts protruding. Still, I think the wrapper is a bit misleading, in that it is not dark chocolate and hence fails to accurately convey what this bar is about. For this reason I will have to assign it a low score presentation wise. Appearance: 6 out of 10.

That this is in fact less than a full bodied dark chocolate is also confirmed by the aroma of the bar which is sweet smelling of dairy chocolate. There are good aromas of roasted hazelnuts that might be more pronounced though. Overall I think the aroma is so dairy that it detracts from the aroma profile of a dark chocolate. Aroma: 7 out of 10.

The hazelnuts bring a good crunch to the bar, but ut us for some reason that the nuts and chocolate, in terms of mout feek, do not play well together, being to “fragmented” in the mouth. The chocolate has a slow melt which lasts until the hazelnuts are munched. It sticks a little to the mouth. Texture: 7 out of 10.

The hazelnuts do provide a nice taste but I think they could and should have more flavour and character than they have here. Instead, the chocolate steals the show and unfortunately I did not find the chocolate to be of a very good quality, making the nuts unable to put up a fight. It has a rather strange taste, as if it is not “real” chocolate and a bitter and unpleasant aftertaste with no fruit or complexity at all. There are slight hints of vanilla. On the positive side the bar is not too sweet, probably due to the generous amount of hazelnuts. Flavour: 6 out of 10.

Average score: 6, 5 out of 10.

Review: Änglamark Organic Dark Chocolate 70%

This review is perhaps one of the nerdier ones I’ve done, though admittedly with a somewhat surprising result. It was made possible as I found the identical chocolate in two different formats. One being a thin tablet á la Lindt’s Excellence series and one in a relatively thick and compact format. So I thought it interesting to do a heads up test of these bars. Änglamark is the organic private label of COOP one Scandinavia’ largest super market chains, and is produced by S. P. A. Leccio in Italy. Since this manufacturer delivers to big supermarket chains it should be available in several countries under various labels, This 70% Dark Chocolate bar is Organic and Fairtrade certified. Both bars weigh a 100g and contain the same five ingredients namely, cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin (E 322) and vanilla extract.

A priori I did expect most marked differences, if any, in the texture department, but did not think that the difference in format should affect the flavour. I was in for a small surprise.

While these are supposedly identical chocolates there are differences in terms of presentation and appearance. I, for one, like the more compact box and prefer the look of the smaller and thicker pieces as I do not find the cocoa bean engraving to be very handsome. These cosmetic issues aside I like the colour and surface of the flat bar a lot better as I think the smoother surface is more attractive even if there is no great difference, if any, in the nuance of the colour itself. I would score this as a tie. Both bars have a nice dark colour shine to them. Appearance: 8 out of 10.

I was not able to detect any great difference in aroma. Both smell of dark full bodied chocolate with only a hint of sweetness. Also, there is only a slight hint of fruit and no acidity. There is a little rubber which is not entirely pleasant. Aroma: 7 out of 10.

Both bars have good powerful snap. I think the thinner bar has a better snap when breaking of a piece by hand as the break is quite clean whereas the thicker bar has a somewhat harder snap to it. The thicker bar is tougher and one has to chew a bit more for it too melt, making the melt of the thinner bar slightly superior, though both have good melt. I find that both melt and snap in mouth feel was better in the thinner bar, so I think that texture wise the chocolate gains by being dosed in thinner portions. I would rate the flat bar’s texture as 8, 5 and score the thick as 8.

And now to what its all about: flavour. The compact bar had initially a nice sweet and not too bitter taste, followed by a little fruit though it lacks acidity. The finish is a little bitter.

I am most surprised to report that I found the compact bar to be significantly better tasting than the thin bar. While they did mostly have the same profile (sweet beginning, fruit in the middle and bitter aftertaste) the difference was easily discernable. Notably the sweetness of the beginning and the fruit in the middle was much more pronounced with the compact bar. The thin bar lacked much of the complexity of the compact bar and was somewhat bland in comparison. I would probably rate the thick bar as 8 and the thin bar as or 7, 5. If this is indeed the identical chocolate I cannot explain the difference in flavour, but would have to venture the guess that it has to do with the thin bar releasing the flavours too quickly leaving less time for the palate to “play” with the flavours. Perhaps this is an even bigger problem for the thin bar as the very slight fruit and complexity present in the chocolate dissolves too quickly due to its thinner texture.

These bars OK but definitely have room for improvement and overall would probably lie in the 7, 5 – 8 out of 10 range.

Review: Marabou Dark Chocolate

Before digging into the first review of the week, here is a sneak peak of what to expect this week. Thursday will feature a test of an organic dark chocolate in two different formats namely a thick vs. a thin, not only to review the chocolate itself, but to examine how difference in shape might influence the chocolate experience. That should be pretty interesting, so be sure to check in Thursday for that review. Sunday will probably be devoted to a review of the Ritter Sport Dark Whole Hazelnuts, to complete my coverage of the top three worldwide Ritter flavours according to Jims's Chocolate Mission. The list, by the way, is topped by the Milk Whole Hazelnuts which I reviewed here and third place finisher White Whole Hazelnuts which I reviewed here.

But on to today’s the review…

This Marabou “Dark” chocolate contains, according to the declaration, 44% chocolate and skimmed milk powder, but only the English description on the back describes it as a “Milk chocolate”, whereas the Scandinavian languages all state that this is a dark chocolate. The front of the wrapper states that it is a dark chocolate in Swedish and the images convey the message that this is a dark chocolate. I consider it somewhat misleading to give the impression that a chocolate containing skimmed milk powder and a 44% minimum cocoa is a dark chocolate (even if it adheres to national and/or European regulations).

Perhaps the intended target group is children or grown ups (or both) who prefer a dark chocolate experience that is not too dark. However, I would consider it preferable, to grab a good quality high cocoa content milk chocolate instead of having dark chocolate simply because it is dark (you are able to get good milk chocolate with cocoa percentages in the 40s these days). Alternatively, it is possible to get decent dark chocolate which is not too full bodied with cocoa percentages in the mid 50s that children are quite happy to munch into. Thus, if Marabou with this bar, is catering to one or both of the above mentioned target groups, they might consider doing things a little differently

The chocolate itself looks decent even if it could be a bit shinier. The wrapper looks OK but as before I do not think it accurately conveys what type of product this is. Both the depiction of dark chocolate and the words “Mörk choklad” (Dark chocolate) mislead. Thus, the wrapper does not fulfil its basic function of giving a good idea of the product. Hence, the low score: Appearance: 5 out of 10.

The aroma is uncomplex, but dark with notes of rubber and tobacco. It is surprisingly “dark” in its aroma and not sweet, for a 44% minimum cocoa offering. However, the rubber and tobacco are very unpleasant: Aroma: 6, 5 out of 10.

The chocolate has good snap, both when breaking off a piece and when actually biting into it. However, the chocolate has a somewhat crumbly in the mouth feel when melting, which detracts from the overall texture. Texture: 7 out of 10.

This is as might be expected for 44% chocolate very sweet, though to my mind it is way too sweet for a dark chocolate. It has an artificial tasting bitter aftertaste and no complexity of flavour. Flavour: 6 out of 10.

Average: 6, 125

Review: Nestlé KitKat Chunky

This review of the KitKat Chunky wraps up this week’s exclusive KitKat reviews. While I don’t have all reviews in place for next week, I can reveal that it will feature a test case examining the same chocolate in two formats: one in a thin bar versus a thicker bar. It should be interesting to see how, if at all, flavour, texture and/or consistency are affected by changing this one parameter. So be sure to check in Tuesday to see what’s cooking.

As opposed to other KitKat Bars, such as the dark and regular, the “chunky” comes as a single giant wafer covered with milk chocolate, rather than four fingers of the above mentioned varieties thus making it more compact. And I for one consider the chunky style superior to the regular KitKat.

I consider the colour only slightly better than the KitKat regular. I am not sure whether this is because the chocolate covering is somewhat thicker or due to a different type of chocolate. Appearance: 6 out of 10.

The aroma of this one much stronger, than the regular KitKat and smells of milk chocolate, bread and butter, the butter aroma not being entirely pleasant. Aroma: 7 out of 10.

The texture of this bar is, in my opinion, superior to both the regular and dark Kit Kats I reviewed earlier this week. The chocolate covering seems thicker and the wafer is crispier as well. And these factors definitely improve the melt and mouth feel. Texture: 7, 5 out of 10.

Flavour wise this proposition is very much similar to the regular KitKat even if the proportions are somewhat different. The flavours as with the regular KitKat are that of bread (wafer) with a little salt, and sweetness and with the same lack of characteristic flavour and vanilla. Flavour: 6, 5 out of 10.

Overall I think this bar works slightly better mostly due to its chunky character.

Average: 6, 75 out of 10.

Review: KitKat Dark, Nestlé

As promised here is the second review in a week devoted entirely the Kit Kat reviews. If you haven't followed this blog Monday's blog post reviewed the regular Kit Kat here. This post will deal with the dark KitKat offering and Sunday's review will be off the chunky KitKat. So be sure to check up this week's last KitKat review Sunday.

Dark chocolate has – whether justified or not - a better reputation than its milk and white counterparts. And manufacturers are producing a number of items in their range in dark chocolate version and this is also the case with the KitKat Dark described as “Dark chocolate covered wafer fingers”. In fact Nestlé also produces a 70% chocolate KitKat, not to be confused with this one, which is lighter, containing 52% min. cocoa solids in the chocolate.

As such it does qualify as dark chocolate, which is commonly understood to contain 50% min. cocoa solids (and no addition of dairy products), in contrast to a different version of this bar which reportedly contains (or contained) only 40% cocoa solids.

At any rate I find the wrapper to be a bit more stylish than the milk chocolate variety. Certainly the wrapper signals that this is a dark chocolate which fulfils its function in indicating what kind of bar this is. This is good, at least if you think that this is indeed is a dark and is chocolate. More importantly the chocolate itself looks much nicer than the milk variety and is brown and shiny. Appearance: 7, 5 out of 10.

However, I find the fragrance of this one to be much inferior to the regular KitKat. The dark chocolate smells sweet but with unpleasant smoke, which is quite dominating. Aroma: 6 out of 10.

Texture wise this offering is quite similar to the regular KitKat. The chocolate has a nice melt, even though the wafer could be a little crispier, though it certainly is not dull which is a pitfall of many a wafer based bar. Texture: 7 out of 10.

Flavour wise the wafer appeared to be much the same as the milk variety. At any rate I was not able to taste any significant difference. However, I found the dark chocolate musty, old with a very unpleasant bitter off taste which ruins this offering altogether. For the record the bar was not too old and it did not show any signs of incorrect storage conditions, such as dull wafer or white specks on the chocolate, which is sometimes the case. Flavour: 5 out of 10.

Average: 6, 375

Review: Nestlé KitKat

This is the first of three successive KitKat reviews this week. So be sure to check in on Thursday and Sunday for the other two. I will kick of this week’s review with the KitKat regular which will serve as the benchmark for the KitKat Chunky and KitKat Dark Chocolate reviews.

The KitKat is described as a milk chocolate coated wafer. There are not indications of the percentage of cocoa solids. Appearance wise I think the wrapper is a bit kitchy. When unwrapped, four chocolate “fingers” are revealed. The colour is light brown, albeit a peculiar one which I’ve never seen in chocolate before. Appearance: 6 out of 10.

The bar has no strong or characteristic scent, though there is a sweet scent of milk chocolate. Aroma: 6 out of 10.

The crunch from the wrapper could be crispier, though it is definitely not dull. The melt is fairly decent. Texture: 7 out of 10.

The flavours of this KitKat are that of bread (wafer) with a little salt, and sweetness. Otherwise this bar has no characteristic flavour and I think it does lack a little in the vanilla department. Aroma: 6, 5 out of 10.


Average: 6, 375

Review Lindt Swiss Thins

Being extremely busy at my day job I apologize for missing Thursday’s review. I hope this review will make it up to all of you who visited in vain.

Starting out with the facts, these Lindt Swiss Thins, contain 52% chocolate (min.) and come in box of 200g containing 80(!) making each thin weighing in at approximately 2, 5. There are eight compartments each containing 10 thins. The chocolate contain only the five basic ingredients of a quality chocolate namely cocoa mass and butter, sugar, emulsifier and vanilla.

The Thins come in a very elegant box, and the chocolate thins are also elegant looking, with Lindt in the signature font being written on them The colour is a nice if somewhat light brown. Appearance: 8 out of 10.

The aroma is nice with sweet cocoa and notes of smoke and - as with the Lindt Excellence 70% I reviewed here – a little rubber. Fortunately, the rubber is, in comparison, toned much down, though it still, in my opinion detracts from the aroma. Aroma: 7, 5 out of 10.

The Thins have an excellent almost brittle snap, due to their thinness and a nice melt. Texture: 8, 5 out of 10

Whereas the thinness is good for texture and mouth feel, I think it less good for flavour as it is hard to taste much in such a thin and only 2, 5g piece. Particularly considering that this is a 52% chocolate “only”. Thus I found myself having to take two thins in order to appreciate the flavour properly, which I guess is not the desired effect of an elegant offering box like this. The Thins are much less sweet than I would have expected from a 52% chocolate. They do taste of cocoa but there is no fruit, acidity or complexity in the flavour. It does, however, have a very unpleasant bitter and smoky aftertaste. Flavour: 6, 5 out of 10.

The format of 80 2, 5g thins has its own challenges as pertains flavour. Another challenge is that of having 10 thins on top of each other in each compartment. The effect is that quite a few of the thins are stuck together as they are not separated with paper or a individually packed such as The After Eight Thins are – and probably for this same reason. I think Lindt should consider a solution to this problem as individual pieces sticking together may cause the chocolates to go mouldy.

Average: 7, 625 out of 10

Review: Snickers (Mars)

The (pea)nuts, caramel and chocolate is a classic trio which is offered by many manufacturers, such as the Lion bar with peanuts, I reviewed earlier. Perhaps the most famous is Snickers form Mars. A variation on this theme is also done by Ritter Sport which I reviewed here. I think it is hard to find a really bad bar with this trio and I would certainly be hard pressed to name one, even if the quality can vary widely. In other words it is the sort of bar that most manufacturers do reasonably well.

With this in mind I was excited to revisit the Snickers bar from Mars, which I haven’t had for a long time. Snickers is described as a “Milk chocolate with soft nougat (14%) and caramel centre (27%) with fresh roasted peanuts”

I do not think the wrapper is particularly pretty and the image does not, in my view, do justice to the bar. The peanuts on the wrapper, however, do give a good idea of what is offered. The shape is that of a standard bar in this category. The milk chocolate has a somewhat darker colour than expected for a milk chocolate. Cross section view is OK, though no peanuts are visible. Appearance: 6, 5 out of 10.

The bar has a powerful aroma of roasted peanuts which is nice, though there is a clear burnt tone which is rather unpleasant. Neither chocolate covering (which is quite generous) nor caramel is discernible through the powerful aroma of roasted peanuts, which is very disappointing. Aroma: 6, 5 out of 10.

If the aroma let down, the texture of the bar certainly made up for it. Roasted peanuts provide good texture which is nicely complemented by soft and chewy caramel, also nice melt. Also, the melt is good, if a little slow. Texture: 8 out of 10.

The flavour is mild and sweet the caramel and peanuts coming clearly through. The chocolate, however, is not very distinct and this is really too bad. Here I think is a good opportunity for improvement. With the chocolate flavour so absent I cannot give this more than 6, 5 for flavour. Also, I was not able to taste any nougat (or hazelnuts for that matter – but perhaps it is “peanut nougat”?), which is otherwise quite powerful. Despite these shortcomings, one can readily appreciate that this bar is popular for what it does well, namely the mild and sweet flavour and soft chewy caramel.

Average: 6, 875 out of 10

Review: Ritter Sport White with Whole Hazelnuts

According, to Ritter, over at Jim’s Chocolate Mission, this offering is the third most selling in the Ritter range, worldwide. This was a surprise to me considering that many are not particularly fond of white chocolate. However, being a fan of both white chocolate and whole roasted nuts, I was quite excited to try this offering. The thing about white chocolate, however, is that it can easily become too waxy and sickening, not only due to its (naturally) higher fat and sugar contents, but also because manufacturers often add foreign fats. It is in other words white chocolate is a delicate balance, which is not so easy to pull off.

As with the Milk with whole hazelnuts form the Ritter range I am not too fond of the ”photo” wrapper, but it does give a good idea of what the contents is like. I also think the presentation loses a bit from the fact that hazelnuts are coming through and white chocolate appears somewhat waxy instead of clean and shiny. Appearance: 7 out of 10.

The aroma is nice of sweet white chocolate and roasted hazelnuts, though I cannot detect much in way of vanilla. Aroma: 8 out of 10.

Both rice crispies, added for extra crunch, and the whole hazelnuts provide good texture. However, perhaps the whopping 23% of roasted hazelnuts is too much as the chocolate becomes very fragmented when biting into which, by way of mouth feel, is less than ideal. While the chocolate itself has a good melt, if a bit waxy, the whole nuts and rice crispies detract from in that they provide an uneven breakdown and mouth feel, though perhaps this is a minor point. Texture: 7 out of 10.

Turning to flavour I was struck by two things. First the chocolate is not too sweet, which is good. Second it does not have much characteristic of white chocolate, which leaves the white chocolate lover in me unsatisfied. I would also like to see a more distinct flavour, although I should add that the chocolate, as such, is not bad tasting. Flavour: 7 out of 10.

Average: 7, 25 out of 10.

Review: Fazer Dumle

Dumle, from Finnish Fazer, offers a timeless combination of caramel toffee covered with milk chocolate. Promising a mild and sweet experience this offering should have a broad appeal that should offend no one.

The first thing I noted is that the appearance is signalling a laid back, childish thing. And while this one may be intended for kids I think that it does not clearly signal what kind of candy this is. So even if grown ups might like these toffees they a) get no clear indication of what it is and b) might be put of by the childish appearance. Appearance: 7 out of 10.

The aroma is dominated by an artificial smelling essence of some sort which I found quite unpleasant and overpowering making it hard to identify more than hints of toffee and chocolate. Aroma: 5 out of 10.

Initially this toffee has a nice soft texture. But as the outer layer of chocolate melts away it becomes a cross between toffee and chewing gum. I did not like the chewing gum consistency and I don’t think a caramel toffee like this one should “end” in this manner. I think the texture could be much improved if it simply ended in a soft chewy consistency. Texture: 6 out of 10.

Taste wise I think the artificial aroma is much too overpowering, though the toffee has good sweetness. Otherwise I think that there is not much character in the flavour. While I realize that an offering such as this one in all probability aims to be sweet and mild I think a good opportunity for improvement would be to cut back on the aroma and put a little more love and care into the making of this toffee. Aroma: 7 out of 10.

Despite the above I have no doubt that this should be popular with kids and grown ups who like mild and sweet toffees.

Average 6, 25 out of 10.

Review: STORCK Toffifee

Toffifee is described as “A Hazelnut (10%) in caramel (41%) with creamy nougat (37%) and chocolate (12%)”. Such a combination is rich and full of potential provided enough love and care goes in the making. Unfortunately I do not think this is the case with this offering from German confectionary manufacturer, STORCK.

This particular packet came with 15 pieces (125g) which seems well proportioned in size. The appearance of the box seemed to convey the idea of the offering well, neither over- nor underselling it. The Toffifees themselves look OK if a little on the dull side and could use a little decoration or at any rate something that might liven them up a little. Perhaps some chopped hazelnuts, on top, for example, might look nice. Cross section view reveals nice look. Appearance: 7, 5 out of 10.

There is a strong aroma of hazelnuts, buttery caramel with notes of coffee. However, there is very little in terms of chocolate which is rather disappointing. Aroma: 7 out of 10.

The Toffifees mostly have a soft chewy texture, which is a little too soft in my opinion. The only crunch to break this soft, chewy texture comes from the hazelnut. Unfortunately this single (?) hazelnut a piece is not quite enough crunch. A good opportunity for improvement, I think, would be to add more nuts (or crunch). On the plus side the Toffifees have a nice melt. Texture: 6 out of 10.

Flavour wise the Toffifees deliver the taste of hazelnuts and toffee, though neither toffee nor hazelnuts flavour is very intense, which makes this a less satisfying experience than what might be expected from such a rich combination. Also disappointing is the lack of any distinctive chocolate flavour. While this offering certainly is not an unpleasant, the lack of intensity in flavour makes it a little dull. Flavour: 7 out of 10.

Average: 6, 875 out of 10.

Review: Milka Alpine Milk Chocolate

Several brands, besides Milka, have an Alpine milk offering. From holidays in Italy I know that products made with ingredients from the Alps are considered to be of particularly good quality. Thus Alpine Bressaola (dried beef) is at least twice as expensive as the ordinary variety. When it comes to chocolate, however, I have my doubts how many consumers are actually able to taste the difference. I certainly was not able to detect any particular “Alpine” flavour. I presume, therefore that products such as this one, is created due to consumer (or marketing) demand. In Denmark, however, Milka is not so easy to come by (perhaps for strategic reasons of the producer, Kraft). And for some reason the Ritter Sport Alpine milk is not carried by the supermarkets chains. And while I was able to locate the Ritter Sport Alpine in a local grocery shop it was not stored under such bad conditions that it would be unfair to review it. The Milka Alpine milk, however, which I also found this 100g bar in a local grocery shop (probably parallel import), was in good enough condition to review.

Presentation wise the purple wrapper and cow seems a little “childish” though perhaps this is the intended target group. The chocolate itself has a very light brown colour and is divided into squares with “Milka” imprinted. Appearance: 6, 5 out of 10.

When unwrapped I was met with a very sweet and buttery fragrance of dairy chocolate which, in my opinion, was much too sweet and buttery. I was not able detect any significant aroma of hazelnuts (declaration stated that hazelnut paste was used in the making of this bar). Aroma: 6, 5 out of 10.

Snap is actually a nice one, considering that this is a milk chocolate. On the other hand the melt could be better considering that this is a milk chocolate. Perhaps the added butterfat made the texture somewhat too waxy. Texture: 7 out of 10.

The flavour is very sweet and I was not able to note any special “Alpine” flavour profile. There is a bit of cocoa in the flavour profile and not much else in the flavour, not even hazelnuts and I’m at a loss to explain their presence in this offering. The sweetness simply overpowers everything. This confirms the suspicion that this bar is intended mostly for children, though this is nowhere stated. Flavour: 6, 5.

Average: 6, 75

Review: Bounty

Bounty is the chocofication of coconut enrobed in chocolate. To me – and I suspect to many consumers - the idea of coconut and chocolate is an enticing one. It is therefore surprising that only a few brands have such an offering in their range. Also, some of the manufacturers that did try their hands with this combination have not been hit by immediate success. Ritter Sport, for example, created a “cocos” bar, which did not sell well and was therefore discontinued. However, fans have requested it be brought back.

This classic offering from Mars, is coconut filling (dried coconut accounts for 21%) covered with milk chocolate (at least 25% cocoa solids). Presentation wise the blue/white wrapper looks OK and the light brown colour of the chocolate itself is decent, without being spectacular. The saving grace, however, is the cross section view, which is very nice with hite filling between milk chocolate. Appearance: 7 out of 10.

Surprisingly there is not much coconut fragrance when the bar is still unbroken. The aromas are those of coca and milk chocolate with no particular nice smell to it. When broken into the coconut comes somewhat better through. Aroma: 7 out of 10.

The bar has a nice texture in the form of good soft melt from both filling and chocolate. However, the chocolate feels waxy in the mouth which somewhat ruins the otherwise nice texture. Texture: 7 out of 10.

The chocolate is very sweet and appears to be of low quality and lacks chocolaty intensity, even when taking the genre into account. The coconut filling too lacks intensity and, at least to my liking, should have had a more intense coconut flavour. Flavour: 7 out of 10.

Despite the low scores, this bar is larger than the sum of its parts, as the proposition is nice. Mars has an excellent opportunity for improvement making this bar even better.

Average: 7 out of 10.

Review: Marabou Daim

The Marabou Daim bar is milk chocolate studded with bits of Daim for extra crunch. Daim is a crispy milk chocolate covered croquante bar that I have reviewed here. For Daim lovers this offering will probably hit the spot perfectly. Even for those less fond of Daim (as non-Scandinavians appear to be) but do like Marabou this offering will probably still be exciting as the Daim is much less dominating, adds good crunch as well as caramel flavour.

From a technical perspective this bar works much better than the Marabou non-stop on several levels (aesthetic, improved crunch and flavour) and I think therefore – with my Scandinavian bias – will appeal to a much larger group of chocolate lovers. In fact I would venture the guess that this is probably one of Marabou’s the top selling products in this line. At least I find this one the best I have tasted so far from Marabou.

The wrapper is too bombastic to my taste, though the chocolate looks OK. As with the other Marabou milk chocolates this one is not shiny. Appearance: 7, 5 out of 0.

The aroma is dominated by Daim (croquante/caramel) with added aromas of milk chocolate. Still, the aroma is somewhat artificial. Aroma 7, 5 out of 10

The texture of this one is a big improvement not only to the Daim bar, but also to such filled chocolate as the Marabou Nonstop, which I reviewed earlier here. The Daim provides good crunch, but still sticks to the teeth when the toffee turns chewy. The melt could have been better considering that this is a milk chocolate. Texture: 7, 5 out of 10

On the plus side, the flavour resulting from the combination of Daim with Marabou milk chocolate is much superior to the Daim stand alone. All things, however, are not dandy. There are hints of smoke or “burnt” caramel. Chocolate is very sweet and artificial tasting with no distinctive chocolate flavour. Using better quality chocolate this could indeed become very successful. Even as is I think many will love this bar and I have no doubts that is one of the top selling products in this series that many a consumer will buy again and again. Flavour: 7, 5 out of 10.

Average: 7, 5 out of 10.

Review: Ritter Sport Milk Chocolate with Whole Hazelnuts

This offering is milk chocolate (min- 30% solid) studded with a whopping 23% whole hazelnuts is the most popular of the Ritter range worldwide. Not only that, it is also the most popular in Germany, home of Ritter Sport and it is runner up to the Ritter Marzipan Bar in the UK which I reviewed here earlier. I was therefore very much excited to review this bar.

Chocolate and nuts is a great tasting combination with the nuts providing excellent crunch and texture. And this combination is generally handled well by the chocolate manufacturers.

I’m not too fond of the “photo” style wrapper, although the chocolate itself, however, looks nice indeed, with a rich medium brown colour. Cross section view reveals whole nuts unevenly distributed (not a critique.) Appearance: 7, 5 out of 10.

The bar is very fragrant, smelling of dairy milk chocolate and hazelnuts and here I agree with Jim’s review, that the dairy, buttery, creamy and milky is being quite dominant. Aroma: 7, 5 out of 10.

Good crunch results from the hazelnuts and the melt from the chocolate is good,though it feels a bit waxy as if foreign fats have been added. Texture: 7, 5 out of 10.

Mild and sweet flavour of milk chocolate sweetness, which is checked nicely by the nuts which also had a nice flavour. It is as if the chocolate has its own flavour profile either because of added fats and/or flavour enhancers. I do find the nuts are a bit bland and might benefit from a little salt, perhaps. Flavour: 7, 5 out of 10.

It is not hard to understand why this bar is so popular. Within it’s genre it seems very well done indeed. The milk chocolate is very mild and should not offend anybody and the hazelnuts add nice flavour and texture. Even if this is not my personal Ritter favourite (which I will review sometime in the future) I can certainly appreciate its position as the overall Ritter Sport leader.

Average: 7, 5 out of 10.

Review: Nestlé Lion with Peanuts

This proposition is – with the addition of peanuts - much similar to the original Lion bar, namely wafer and caramel coated with milk chocolate. Peanuts, caramel and chocolate really is a grateful combination to work with and many companies have a take on this, Snickers perhaps being the most famous.

The Achilles heel of this proposition is the Lion bar backbone, namely the wafer. If the wafer is crispy and has the right density it can be quite good. However, if it is dull it has the texture of cardboard ruining the entire experience. Also if it is too light the bar will suffer from not being sufficiently substantial.

The bar itself looks nice as is as well as in cross section, though I find the wrapper too bombastic to be really attractive. Appearance: 7, 5.

The aroma is nice with lots of peanuts which, however, overpowers, almost everything else, not least the cocoa which does not come through, which is somewhat disappointing. Aroma: 7 out of 10.

There is a nice and good crunch from the peanuts. However, the wafer is a little dull and thus becomes a little like cardboard. Here I think there is a good opportunity for improvement. Texture: 7, 5 out of 10.

I find good flavours from peanuts and caramel, though both the wafer and milk chocolate are uninteresting. The wafer tastes too artificial for my liking and the milk chocolate simply isn’t sufficiently flavourful. Flavour: 7, 5 out of 10.

Average: 7, 375 out of 10.

Review: Nestlé White Lion

One might easily think that the White Lion bar is simply a variant of the regular covered with white chocolate (or “frosting”) instead of the usual milk chocolate. And on the composition and component level this is certainly true. However, once this bar enters your mouth it is an entirely different story. The major improvement is the soft caramel in this bar as opposed to the tough caramel in the regular Lion bar.

As with the original Lion bar and the Lion bar with peanuts, the basic idea is to add a layer of caramel to a wafer and coat it with chocolate. This challenge is to get the wafer to stay crisp. If this fails the result is a dull wafer with the texture of cardboard. Also one has to strike a good balance not making the wafer too light and not making it too substantial. A too light wafer will not provide good texture (as well as satisfying your chocolate hunger!) and if it’s too substantial will make the bar too compact.

So, how did the White Lion bar deal with these issues?

The wrapper is a little too bombastic for my taste, though the bar itself looks nice and a cross section view is also nice. Perhaps a little decoration, in the form of contrasting colours, for example, might add to the appeal of this bar. Appearance: 7, 5 out of 10.

The aroma is that of artificial cake, as with the regular Lion, with a hint of coconut (though none is listed in the declaration). The aroma might come from the glucose or from the condensed milk used. Aroma: 7 out of 10.

The texture of the bar is nice, with soft, smooth as well as crunchy textures from the wafer. The wafer, however, comes close to cardboard because it is not crunchy enough. Still, the texture of this one is much better than the regular Lion which received a 6 out of 10 for texture. Now I’m thinking perhaps this bar was stored under less than ideal conditions and perhaps I should soon do a retest. I think a good balance was found on the weight of the wafer. Texture: 7, 5 out of 10.

There is not much flavour in terms of chocolate and it entirely lacks the characteristics of good white chocolate. The white chocolate covering seems to me more like a “frosting”. The wafer has a wheaty and artificial taste. It is very sweet and has notes of caramel and glucose. I agree with Jim's review, over at Jim’s chocolate mission, that the flavour of this bar is somewhat lacking. Flavour: 6, 5 out of 10.

Average: 7, 125 out of 10.

Review: Anthon Berg Marzipan Bar with Nougat

This offering is similar to the Anthon Berg Marzipan Bar I reviewed earlier, except that it has a nougat stick inside the marzipan which is then covered by dark chocolate (54%).

Such a composition has the potential to deliver quite an exclusive bar. And no doubt this was indeed the aim of the manufacturers. Unfortunately, I think that the flavour does not deliver and is thus prone to disappoint the consumer expecting a little more from this bar.

One of the things leading the consumer to believe that this is a somewhat exclusive bar is the very elegant wrapper. This impression is strengthened when the bar is unwrapped revealing a dark brown chocolate covering, ornamented with elegant stripes in a lighter brown nuance. It is a shame that these stripes are inconsistent in thickness and distribution which detracts from the bar's appearance. Cross section view reveals a nice “stick” of nougat inside the marzipan. Appearance: 7, 5 out of 10.

In contrast to the Anthon Berg Marzipan Bar, which had a nice and distinctive chocolate fragrance, this one has a more artificial fruity aroma overpowering the chocolate aroma as well as the scent of nuts and almonds. Aroma: 7 out of 10.

This bar has an excellent snap when biting into it which is very well done indeed. The marzipan used in this bar is probably the same as that used in the Anthon Berg Marzipan Bar, though here its coarseness is not as pronounced due to the presence of nougat. This results in a slightly better melt and texture. Texture: 8 out of 10.

The taste of the chocolate does not stand out as it did in the Marzipan Bar, though it is probably the same covering. This is because the nougat has a perplexing fruity taste reminiscent of jam, not allowing the chocolate to stand out clearly. Also, it lacks the intensive flavour of roasted hazelnuts, characteristic of good nougat, and it simply does not go well with the taste of apricot kernels used to flavour the marzipan. As I wrote in the review of the marzipan bar I think the use of apricot kernels ruins the more delicate flavour of almonds in the marzipan, even if it makes for a stronger flavour as well as a cheaper bar. Flavour: 6, 5 out of 10.

Average: 7, 25 out of 10.

Review: Marabou Premium 70% Cocoa Raspberry

In theory, at least, I think the combination of raspberry and chocolate is alluring. This is because hints of red fruit in the flavour profile of dark chocolate, is generally considered desirable in a dark chocolate.

In practice, however, it is probably very difficult to strike the right balance between dark chocolate and the acidity of fresh fruit. A related challenge in this kind of bar is probably that shelf life is considerably reduced if fresh fruits are used (rather than say dried or preserved). However, if ('sugared’) dried fruits are used much of the complexity in flavour disappears and the original advantage of red fruit hints with it.

How did the Marabou Premium with raspberry deal with these issues?

The box is nice and is designed in the same spirit as the other chocolates in the premium range. The chocolate has a nice shine to it and cross section view is also fair. Appearance: 8 out of 10.

However, the raspberry and chocolate aromas do not go well together in this particular offering, as it becomes much too fruity (according to declaration apple aroma is also employed). Aroma: 6, 5
out of 10.

The snap of this bar is not very pronounced and should be much more clean and crisp. The chocolate does not melt but lingers in the mouth for quite some time which is somewhat odd. Texture: 6 out of 10.

Initially an overly sweet flavour of what seems to me to be dried raspberries (declaration does not state whether raspberries are fresh or dried). At this stage I could also detect a hint of coconut. However, after the initial taste of raspberries comes a very unpleasant bitter taste, which somewhat ruins the entire experience. I am not sure of the source for this unpleasant taste. Flavour: 5 out of 10.

Average: 6, 375 out of 10.

Review: Daim

Daim is a very popular chocolaty bar throughout Scandinavia. Combining crunchy caramel and almonds (croquante) covered with milk chocolate, it has broad appeal. For some reason, however, it seems slightly less popular with non Scandinavian reviewers such as Jim’s chocolate mission and chocablog-

While there are many bars combining caramel and milk chocolate, this is a somewhat different proposition for several reasons. First, it is not a soft, chewy bar but a hard crunchy, I would say brittle, offering. Second, it is quite a thin bar, probably to support its hardness.

The wrapper is a little too bombastic to my taste to be really attractive. The bar itself is OK, even if not screaming EAT ME! Appearance: 6, 5 out of 10.

There are certainly nice aromas of caramel and milk chocolate in this bar. However, these are marred by some artificial aroma agent, I think. At any rate there is something smelling artificial ruining the aroma part. Aroma: 6, 5 out of 10.

The caramel is quite hard and thus provide good, if somewhat brittle crunch shattering the croquante. The mouth feel and melt is less than perfect as it sticks to teeth. Texture: 6 out of 10.

This is a very sweet bar and has a slightly burned caramel flavour. The milk chocolate does not provide much in terms of flavour, but rather brining sweetness to the party. Also, It may have another function namely to check the “burnt” flavour. Flavour: 6, 5 out of 10.

Review: Fazermints (Fazer)

Chocolate mints from Finish Fazer must be some of the oldest still around in this category. At least I remember the elegant silver package from my childhood and if my memory serves me correctly it was considered a prestigious chocolate that my parents bought in the duty free shops to give away as presents.

Producing a chocolate with a filling of mint is probably rather challenging. The peppermint cream quite often becomes too dominating and the whole thing tastes like toothpaste in your mouth. On the other hand, the combination might perhaps work out reasonably well, if the mint flavour is not too dominating. So were these Fazermints up for the challenge?

Both the package and the wrappers of the individual mints are nice looking. Also, the individual pieces are fair looking in a cross section view, if a bit small. Appearance: 7, 5 out of 10.

Aroma wise there is a very strong scent of peppermint, though the aroma of sweet dark chocolate (47%) is clearly noticeable. Aroma: 7, 5 out of 10.

The crunch of the chocolate covering is fair, though the melt is somewhat lacking. Also, the mint cream is rather slow to melt in the mouth. The texture itself is nice and smooth. Texture: 7 out of 10.

The flavour of the mint cream is very overpowering and sweet, and becomes too much like toothpaste. The dark chocolate flavour is barely noticeable which is a drawback, not only considering that it makes up 53%, but also because it might have cut across the sweetness of the mint filling. Flavour: 6 out of 10.

I am not convinced that indeed chocolate and peppermint cream is such an obvious proposition as is for example chocolate and orange. I say this fully aware of the popularity of such chocolates as After Eight and Ritter Sport Peppermint, the latter being on the top 3 best sellers from the Ritter range in the UK.

I may be in the minority here and perhaps the combination might be executed better than these particular mints. I will review a few more mint chocolate and, as usual, report back.

Average: 7 out of 10.

Review: Lindt Excellence 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate

The Swiss always had a reputation for producing high quality chocolate and confectionary. In part this reputation stems from the fact that several of the pioneers of modern chocolate production were Swiss. Rodolphe Lindt, one of the original founders of Lindt & Sprüngli, is a case in point. Lindt invented the conche, a machine that helps producing smooth and flavourful chocolate that melts on the tongue and much superior to what was known at the time.

In addition, the prosperous Swiss banking industry probably provided investment funds for developing chocolate production. Also, in such a wealthy community (at least in the cities) luxury items such chocolate probably has a higher chance of success. Of course, much has changed since those early days of chocolate making.

Lindt & Sprüngli is still, however, widely considered a prestigious manufacturer of high quality chocolate and I would expect their Lindt Excellence 70% bar to be one of the top offerings in their range. And indeed this bar offers some nice features.

The box for one thing is elegant and this is matched by the appearance of the chocolate itself which has a rich dark brown colour and a nice glow to it. Appearance: 8 out of 10.

The aroma, however, is somewhat disappointing. It has aromas of cocoa, smoke and rubber, the latter being rather unpleasant. The aroma of the cocoa seems not to be that of a full bodied chocolate and in a blind test I would probably not have guessed that this was a 70% chocolate. Aroma: 6 out of 10.

The snap when breaking is fair if somewhat solid, though the mouth feel of the snap is much better. At first the texture is a bit dry but then improves to a nice melt. Texture: 7, 5 out of 10.

After the initial dryness, described above, comes a nice acidity and sweetness which is then supplemented by a nice if brief fruit. It is a shame that the fruit is not richer or at least more prolonged. The finish has a slightly unpleasant bitterness to it. Flavour: 8 out 10.

Average: 7, 375 out of 10.

Review: Maltesers

I found it a bit hard to evaluate this product, as I did not know what to expect. Also, I am not familiar with any similar product. Clearly, this is not chocolate in the strict sense though the Maltesers are described as "Chocolates with crisp, light honeycombed centres". Chocolate or not, according to Jim over at Jim’s Chocolate Mission, this was Mars’ top selling product in 2008!

Moving on to presentation I consider the wrapper too bombastic to be really attractive, though the Maltesers themselves are nice looking. Appearance: 7, 5 out of 10.

I find very little character in terms of aroma which consists mostly of bread, salt and milk chocolate. Aroma: 6 out of 10.

The balls are very crispy and very light. At the end they become a bit chewy. However, they melt away extremely quickly not leaving much time for joy. They are really over before the fun begins. Texture: 5 out of 10.

However, the balls lack any distinctive flavour, the fluffy filling beneath the chocolate covering taste a little like bread with some salt. The milk chocolate (23%) is quite sweet and lacks distinctive character. Flavour: 6, 5 out of 10

If Jim is right about this being Mars’ top selling product (at least at one point), the people at Mars must clearly be doing something right, though I would be hard pressed to guess what makes these balls so popular.

Perhaps the Maltesers’ lightness will appeal to some as a snack that does not make you too feel heavy after consuming a bag of these.

Average: 6, 25 out of 10.

Review: Marabou hjerter (hearts)

This box of “Heart shaped Milk chocolates with hazelnut cream filling” contains 20 chocolates (125g). This means that each chocolate weighs about six grams.

The chocolates come in an elegant red box and presentation is enhanced by the inlay paper covering the “hearts”, adding a somewhat sophisticated feel to it. The hearts themselves have a nice shine and very light brown/caramel in colour. Presentation/appearance 8 out of 10.

Aroma is strong hazelnut/nougat, very sweet and fatty. Very little discernible aroma in terms of cocoa. 6.5 out of 10.

The chocolate has a nice bite though there is no snap as such. This is quite well done. However, the texture after a little while becomes quite fatty which I find less pleasant. The melt is nice. Texture: 7 out of 10.

Flavour wise this is a very sweet chocolate and personally I find it too sweet. The good thing, though, is that the sweetness does not leave a burn in your neck, which is sometimes a problem. The hazelnut flavour clearly comes through, though it is not very intense which is somewhat disappointing. Equally disappointing is the lack of clear chocolate taste. With each piece being only about six gram I think the manufacturers should have gone for a more intense flavour. It is hard not to think that the sweetness is to compensate for the lack of flavour in these quite small pieces. Flavour: 6 out of 10.

Average 6.9

Review: Organic Dark Chocolate 70% (Irma)

I picked up this bar at Irma one of the nicer supermarkets in the Copenhagen area. As with their white chocolate, which I reviewed earlier, I was not able locate any production info other than it was produced in Germany, though I suspect that it might be produced at Ludwig Weinrich, who is known for producing the VIVANI organic series. At least some of the other bars in the Irma private label range state that they were produced there, such as the milk chocolate one.

In contrast to the white chocolate I am not too fond of this wrapper as I don’t find the brown and reddish colours very attractive. The bar itself looks Ok, but perhaps more shine would be desirable. Appearance: 7.5 out of 10.

The aroma is very nice, has good sweetness to it and the cocoa comes clearly and cleanly through. There are also hints of smoke. Aroma: 8 out of 10.

The bar has quite excellent snap both when breaking and biting into it. The melt is quite nice as well. Texture: 9 out of 10.

The flavour comes in several stages. Initially there is a good full bodied flavour of cocoa as well as sweetness. The sweetness continues and is then complemented by medium fruit which is quite nice indeed. Though fruit is present it does somewhat lack in acidity. Finally, a long aftertaste with pleasant bitterness which is quite an achievement. This chocolate contains muscovado sugar, though I was not able to taste that very distinctively. The wrapper also states that the chocolate contains cocoa powder and this makes me curious as to why this is done. Overall I find this to be a fairly well crafted chocolate.
Flavour: 8 out of 10.

Average: 8, 125 out of 10.

Review: Ritter Sport Choco Duo

This offering from Ritter Sport should – at least theoretically - have a wide appeal, as it promises two chocolates in one!

The wrapper is done in an attractive two tone layout of which the blue is really stunning. The bar itself is quite simply gorgeous looking with brown milk chocolate underneath a top of white chocolate. The white chocolate nuance could be a more “clean” white, though this is perhaps a minor point. Appearance: 9 out of 10.

The aroma is hard to evaluate due to the composite nature of the bar. The combined aroma does not come across too well, in my mind. It is, however, possible to separate the two types of chocolate. The milk chocolate has a pleasant, if not spectacular, aroma of milk and sweetness. The white chocolate, on the other hand, entirely lacks the aroma profile of white chocolate and vanilla. Aroma: 6, 5 out of 10.

The snap is good though the chocolate itself is surprisingly firm which means that the melt takes a little time to kick in. The texture is very waxy and unpleasant being quite sticky, sticking to gums and mouth. Texture: 6, 5 out of 10.

I find the combined flavour to be puzzling as neither flavour of white or milk chocolate take charge, resulting in a somewhat a confusing taste impression. Separate tasting yielded as follows: White chocolate lacks in character and vanilla and is rather mediocre. I found the milk chocolate to be substandard with a somewhat bitter and unpleasant peppery aftertaste. I think this bar borders on being too sweet, though perhaps it will be acceptable to many consumers. Flavour: 5, 5 out of 10.

I think many Ritter Sport fans will be less pleased with this particular bar as it lacks the hallmark Ritter characteristic: the filling. This particular combination of milk and white chocolate – it seems to me – does not deliver, but becomes somewhat confusing, sweet and waxy.

Average: 6, 9 out of 10 (rounded figure)

Review: Nestlé Lion Bar

This Lion bar takes me back to when I was a kid. I recall being around 8 or 10 years old, when seeing an ad for this bar in a football magazine. It looked darn delicious and I just had to have it. It probably was the first bar I bought because of an ad. I don’t recall if I liked it or not back then – though I probably did. When I saw it at the store the other day I just had to get a few to sample.

I find the wrapper to bombastic to be really attractive. The bar has some appeal though I did not find it overly attractive to behold. A more shiny milk chocolate would make it a great looking bar. Alternatively the bar might be decorated, say some white chocolate stripes, to improve appearance somewhat. The contours of both bar and crispy cereals look nice. Appearance: 6, 5 out of 10.

The bar has a surprisingly nice aroma of milk chocolate and coconut. No coconut is listed in the declaration, so perhaps the coconut aroma stems from condensed milk used in the making of this bar. Aroma: 7, 5 out of 10.

The first reaction I got when biting into this bar was that it had a somewhat odd mouth feel and texture. It is hard to bite into, there is crunch and there is chewy toffee. In the mouth it simply does not work out as it is too tough and chewy to my taste. Texture: 6 out of 10

I found the flavour to be uninteresting and lacking in character. There are flavours of toffee and vanilla and the sweetness is nicely balanced – that is – it is not too sweet. Perhaps this is a bar that many may like, though to my mind, it is simply not sufficiently interesting. Flavour: 6 out of 10.

Average 6, 5

Review: Anthon Berg Marzipan Bar

This dark chocolate coated Marzipan Bar from Anthon Berg is a Danish classic and quite popular, as the Anthon Berg brand is often associated with good quality chocolate.

In keeping with this image the wrapper is visually quite aesthetic. The chocolate coating has a non-glossy dark brown colour and a cross-section view of the marzipan reveals an elegant look. The bar has few imperfections on the bottom and sides. Appearance: 8 out of 10.

Aroma is nice and sweet with no bitter tones. Both chocolate and marzipan aromas are discernable. Aroma: 8 out of 10.

The snap is fair, though could be crispier. The marzipan texture is somewhat coarse. Texture: 7 out of 10.

I find the chocolate flavour quite good and it is impressive that is has enough character to stand out given that it is only a thin covering and “only” 54% chocolate. However, the marzipan itself has an artificial flavour, probably due to inclusion of apricot kernels which unfortunately quickly dominates the flavour to the worse. In my opinion the taste of apricot kernels is not as sophisticated as that of almonds and is “wrong” in a marzipan bar such as this one. On the positive side the bar is not too sweet - sometimes an issue with marzipan bars. Flavour: 6, 5 out of 10.

Average: 7, 4 (rounded figure)

Review: Marabou Premium 70% cocoa sea salt pecan

I must admit I have a soft spot for pecans. To me they are walnuts - just better. Also, pecans tend to evoke in me romantic images of the American south and southern cooking - well yes, pecan nut pie! Such associations might have a broad appeal for many to try out this offering from the Marabou Premium series.

The appearance of the case is attractive and just like the Marabou premium 86% the inside foil has cocoa beans on it. The chocolate, however, is not shiny, and has white specs. I am not sure if those white spots are due to the pecans or whether the appearance is due to incorrect storage at the store. I did, however, get it from the same store as the Marabou Premium 86% which had a nice shine to it. Also, it was not too old, so this cannot be the explanation. When breaking into the chocolate nice tiny specks of pecans are visible. Appearance gets 6 out of 10. If the appearance I experienced is due to incorrect storage, indeed, this bar would probably score 1, 5 – 2 points more, had it been optimally presented.
I then picked up another of these bars - just to make sure - and I'm a little disappointed to report that the appearance was exactly the same.

The bar has reasonable not to sweet cocoa aroma with some bitterness. I could not, however, detect any scent of nuts. Aroma: 7 out of 10

The snap of the chocolate is good and the caramelized pecans and salt add some crispiness, though in my opinion the pecans are chopped too finely. This may be due to the fact that this is a relative thin bar. The melt is good. Texture: 8 out of 10.

The flavour is mild and sweet and not overly dark. I found it hard to detect any pecan flavour. The salt blends in quite nicely and adds complexity to the flavour. The salt really complements this chocolate well and adds complexity to the flavour. This part is really well done and is probably the strongest part of this bar. Whilst there is a tiny amount of fruit (mostly due to the salt) much more fruit would have been excellent for this chocolate. Thus I find that this chocolate leaves something to be desired in terms of flavour. I also have an issue with the amount of pecans. According to the declaration this bar contains 10, 5% caramelized pecans (=Pecans, sugar, salt). I guesstimate a total of 5 or 6 grams (at most) of finely chopped pecans (100g bar) and I find that this is too modest an amount to really impact the flavour of the bar as a whole. Also, it means that this bar as a whole is somewhat sweeter than a pure 70% chocolate as by my reckoning it will contain a little more sugar.
Flavour: 7, 5 out of 10.

I do think, however, that this chocolate could easily become popular with whatever target group, Marabou aimed it at (whether that target group is very large is of course another matter).
I am not sure why fat reduced cocoa is used for this bar, as well as other bars in the Marabou Premium range. Is it to save on ingredients or is there some other reason? Also, I am not sure why this bar includes butter fat, especially in view of the fact that this is a “dark” chocolate (I put dark in quotations mark, as I don’t think dairy products have any place in a dark chocolate). Is that too, to save on production? Why would you reduce natural cocoa fats and then add butter fat?
If I were to hazard a guess, my immediate thought was that fat reduction saves on ingredients (cocoa butter is one of the most expensive if not the most expensive fats around). However, the resulting lack of fat might leave an inferior melt and texture, hence the substitution with much cheaper butter fat.

I should be the first to admit that I’m no expert on the subject and so I invite more competent explanations.

Average: 7, 125 out of 10

Review: Ritter Sport Marzipan

Marzipan is an almond sugar paste, which, when properly done, tastes sublime. That is, of course, if you like almond and nuts. It has been used in confectionary at least since the middle ages and Germany has a particular strong tradition for using it, such as in Stollen, a rich and luxurious German Christmas log (idea for developing a stollen Ritter Sport?!).

In sum the marzipan-chocolate combination is a classic – and rightly so.

Interestingly, however, this marzipan bar is not one of the top 3 best selling Ritter flavours in Germany (1. Whole Hazelnuts 2. Praline 3. Alpine Milk Chocolate).

Surprisingly, it tops the UK list (1. Marzipan 2. Whole Hazelnuts 3. Peppermint). I say surprisingly because I was convinced - admittedly on no solid basis whatsoever - that marzipan was a continental thing.

I do not know how Ritter's marzipan flavour ranks here in Denmark, though I would on the same entirely unsubstantiated grounds as above, estimate it as one of the more popular flavours.

This offering from Ritter Sport has an attractive wrapper, although there is an issue of content overweight as I described in the review of the Caramel & Nuts, also from the Ritter range. The dark chocolate has an appealing and shiny dark brown/ black colour. Also, the marzipan filling, visible in a cross section view, stands out as quite attractive. The chocolate on the underside of the bar has some minor imperfections (caveties). Appearance: 8 out of 10.

Nice, if quite overpowering aroma of marzipan. The aroma of dark chocolate is not very much present. Aroma: 8 out of 10.

The snap, when breaking of a piece, is quite good. Also in the mouth the chocolate snaps in a very attractive manner. The snap is very well done indeed. The marzipan blends in naturally, but perhaps a softer texture would be nice. The melt is OK but could perhaps be somewhat improved. Texture: 7, 5 out of 10.

The flavour is not too sweet which is good, as this can become a problem when combining chocolate and marzipan (which by its nature is quite rich). However, the dark chocolate (50%) lacks character and distinctive flavour. The marzipan is quite overpowering in its flavour and comes across as somewhat artificial, as if aroma/flavour has been added too generously. The result is an unpleasant bitter finish, which unfortunately, at least for me, ruins the flavour of this bar. Flavour: 6, 5 out of 10.

The strength of this bar is clearly its aroma and snap. However, judging solely on the basis of flavour I would score it much lower than the present average.

In sum, I was somewhat disappointed by this bar as the marzipan-chocolate combination has great potential.

Average 7,5

Review: Marabou Non Stop

This Marabou is a “Non Stop” studded milk chocolate that comes in a 200g bar. I do not exactly know what Non Stops are, though from the wrapper it appears as something like Smarties. The wrapper states this is a “Milk chocolate with chocolates in a crispy sugar shell”

The wrapper looks OK if a little on the bombastic side. However, opening the wrapper red, yellow and green specks of sugar shell chocolates are revealed. These greatly detract from the aesthetics of the bar. In addition there are empty cavities in the chocolate. Appearance: 6, 5 out of 10.

The aroma is pleasant sweet milk chocolate with a hint of caramel and perhaps some aroma additives too. The aroma is surprisingly nice when compared to the Marabou Digestive (review here). It is for some reason somewhat similar to the Ritter Sport Caramel & Nuts. Aroma: 8 out of 10.

The chocolate itself seemed surprisingly hard for a milk chocolate. The “non-stops” gave it a crunch, though as in a sugary crunch – not in added texture such as nuts or “biscuit balls” as in the Marabou Digestive. Also, the melt of this bar was unpleasant as it stuck to teeth and gums and did not melt softly. I sum I did not find the texture of this bar to be very good. Texture: 6 out of 10.

The flavour is bland and very sweet and leaves a burn in the neck. It has no intensity and it is hard to identify a clear chocolate flavour. There is an unpleasant bitter aftertaste after a little while lingering on the palate. Flavour 6 out of 10.

I have a hard time imagining that this bar could become a big hit. The idea of Smarties-like chocolates in a bar may appeal to a good number of consumers. I doubt, however, that many will rebuy this one after tasting it. Of course I could be way of the mark here and so I am prepared to be corrected!

Average: 6, 625 out of 10