Review: Guld karamel, Gold Caramel bar (Toms)

This offering from the Danish company, Toms Confectionery Group, is described as a “Dark chocolate filled with caramel (27%) and soft French nougat (43%)” with a minimum of 54% cocoa solids. Since it is labelled “Guld karamel” (“golden caramel”), which is a popular kind of hard chewy bon bon, invented by Toms, I did expect it to bee similar to this offering. However, it was not really the same thing. I guess this is probably for the good as that offering is quite tough so that a barsize offering would be too hard to finish. So what is this offering all about?

Appearance wise the wrapper and chocolate is a little more elegant than the original Yankie bar I reviewed here. The chocolate is nice dark brown. In cross section view it appears identical to the Yankie bar. Appearance: 8 out of 10.

The aroma is nice with good fruit and cocoa. Aroma: 8 out of 10.

The texture is very soft and chewy, though it is too one dimensional in its softness. The chocolate unfortunately has very little snap which could have contrasted nicely with the softness. The texture is more like soft cocoa fluff than French nougat, which. at least in Denmark, is usually understood as a brittle egg white based candy. Texture: 7 out of 10.

The flavour is quite similar to the Yankie bar, though this one obviously I obviously covered in dark chocolate. One the one hand the dark chocolate adds a little more fruit which is good. On the other hand, however, the dark chocolate does not fit in easily with the French nougat (or cocoa fluff) and caramel, as its slightly bitter aftertaste colludes with other ingredients in a not so nice way. Flavour: 6 out of 10.

Average: 7, 25 out of 10.

Review: Ritter Sport Peppermint

According to Jim's Chocolate mission, this peppermint offering is the third best selling Ritter flavour in the UK.
This proposition is of the "cool peppermint fondant covered with chocolate" type, and I have to state up front that I am not too favourably inclined to this type of offering. It is not that the proposition in and off itself is bad, though I have not had just one that I considered well executed.
My main dislike is that I consider the peppermint oil used for the fondant to be artificial tasting and too overpowering and numbing your mouth and tastebuds with "toothpaste flavour". On that note I also think orange oil tastes too artificial too when used in chocolate and flavouring with orange zest is in my oppinion much superior. Perhaps using mint leaves can produce a better result. In fairness, I have to admit that this proposition appeals to many consumers (for one, it being the third best selling Ritter flavour in the UK), though I would not have guessed so simply by tasting it.

The Ritter Sport Peppermint offering bar is described as “Plain chocolate with a peppermint filling (40%)”. The Plain chocolate has a “50% minimum cocoa solids”.

The wrapper’s light green colour is nice and the depiction of a mint leave is a good indication of the contents of this offering (although to quibble just a bit I think peppermint oil rather than leaves is used). The colour of the chocolate is nice and shiny. This bar is made with low channel depth which means that it well traps the peppermint filling inside each individual square. Appearance: 7, 5 out of 10.

The aroma is so very strong of peppermint that it completely overpowers the chocolate aroma. In my opinion this is much too much. The mint has to compliment the chocolate – not overpower it. I am not sure what the peppermint filling is made of but I suppose from the declaration that it is made from vegetable fat(s) and peppermint oil and/or aromas. Aroma: 6 out of 10.

The snap of the chocolate is very good. The texture of the “peppermint filling” is very waxy and a little dry, meaning that the melt is less than good (the melt of the chocolate itself is nice). Were I evaluating only the chocolate snap of the bar it would have scored much better. Texture: 6, 5 out of 10.

This is a very sweet offering that rapidly begins to “burn” in your neck. What is worse, after about two seconds the palate is overwhelmed by the peppermint filling and it becomes hard to taste much. In my opinion it does not well complement the chocolate but simply overpowers it. The chcocolate itself seems quite similar to the one used in the Ritter Sport Marzipan offering I reviewed here, and it too lacks character and distinctiveness, though here the peppermint is way too much for a chocolate to keep up with. Aroma: 6 out of 10.

Average: 6, 5 out of 10.

More reviews of this offering:

Candyblog's review
Chocablog's review
Jim's Chocolate Mission
Nearof's review
Sugarpressure's review

Review: Irma’s Organic Milk Chocolate with cardamom

This offering is from Irma’s private organic label a Danish supermarket, though the manufacturer is German Ludwig Weinrich.
Chocolate and spices can be an enticing combination, though I believe it eventually boils down to a matter of personal preference. And I suppose this offering of organic and Fairtrade certified milk chocolate (38%) with cardamom will mainly appeal to the more adventurous customers. I consider my self in that category and love the thought of spices in chocolate provided it is properly done.

Appearance wise I am not too impressed with the wrapper, which I believe could be nicer. However, the chocolate itself is really nice looking with a rich and shiny brown colour. Appearance: 8, 5.

The aromas are quite nice of dairy chocolate and a distinctive aroma of cardamom. On the plus side the aroma could have been much more dominating than it is in this bar. On the negative side the aroma does overpower any aromas that might have come from the muscovado sugar used in the making of this bar. Aroma: 8 out of 10.

The snap when breaking of a piece is quite excellent though it is much less pronounced when actually biting into it. The melt is very good indeed, even though the chocolates sticks a little to teeth and gums. Texture: 8 out of 10.

The chocolate itself (38% cocoa) is rich with good though not too spectacular a flavour. The cocoa comes cleanly through. There are hints of caramel and spices (muscovado sugar?). As expected the cardamom is quite dominating, and perhaps it could toned slightly down. Ultimately it is a question of either or. However, having only one piece at a time (not my forte :-) makes the flavour intensity just about right. Flavour: 8 out of 10.

Average: 8, 125 out of 10.

Review: Nestlé KitKat Chunky Caramel

This offering is described as a “Crunchy wafer with a caramel layer (19, 1%) coated in milk chocolate (61, 8%)”. The wafer and caramel proposition exists in so many versions, that it seems manufacturers have two choices if they wish to produce a bar that stands out. Either they can choose to do a really nice no frills bar or they can try to create a new proposition altogether and while Nestlé have done things a little bit different with this one I do not feel that the attempt is altogether successful.

The wrapper is OK looking, though the yellow colour does not particularly well illustrate that this is a caramel offering. The bar is not particularly attractive and certainly the chocolate inside the wrapper is nowhere near as attractive looking as the image on the outisde. For one thing, the caramel and chocolate separating the layers on the image is nowhere near as pronounced as it appears on the image. The chocolate covering is a little lacklustre and could have been shinier. Appearance: 6 out of 10.

The aromas are mostly of coffee and malt with burnt notes. The chocolate is disappointingly absent in this one, despite thw wafew being covered with a thick layer. Aroma: 6, 5 out of 10.

As with the White Chunky KitKat I rewived here, the texture of the thick covering is quite nice, However, the wafer in this one was – for some reason - much duller unfortunately ruining the texture. If this is due to the extra filling in comparison to the white I think here is a good opportunity to go back and see if the texture can be improved upon. Texture: 6 out of 10

This bar has sweet malty and coffee like flavours though in terms of chocolate the milk chocolate was flavour wise very absent. The caramel flavour is not like sweet, soft and chewy toffee as you find in say a Mars bar. It is rather a coffee tasting flavour with a burnt flavour (no meant in an unpleasent way). While it does not taste bad, it is in my opinion very uninteresting and lacks character. Flavour: 6, 5.

Average: 6, 5 out of 10.

Review: KitKat Chunky White Chocolate

This offering is supposedly the same as the “plain” Chunky KitKat with milk chocolate except that it is covered with white chocolate. I for one like the “chunky” texture much better than the regular as I think the more substantial chocolate layer (and wafer) better supports the texture of the wafer/chocolate proposition.

My only concern here was the quality of the white chocolate. With many such propositions, such as the Lion bar I reviewed here, the white chocolate is replaced with white "frosting" and indeed “white chocolate” did not appear on the wrapper. In contrast, the wrapper of this one describes it as a “Crisp wafer in white chocolate”, unambiguously stating that this is the real McCoy. I am happy to report that white chocolate is indeed an ingredient in this offering and though it may not be of the highest it much to be preferred over white “frosting”.

The wrapper is OK looking and gives a good idea of the proposition. The white chocolate appears quite decent and the whole thing looks nice in cross section too. Appearance: 8 out of 10.

The aroma is very sweet and very buttery (both of dairy as well as cocoa butter) as well as a hint of vanilla. I think the aroma is slghtly overdone in this bar. Aroma: 6 out of 10.

The texture is very well done. It has a nice chunky crisp to it with an initially substantial wafer coated with a thick layer chocolate. While the crisp of the wafer is quite quickly gone the thick covering melt at a nice and slow pace providing it with a quite nice overall texture which is technically quite well executed. Texture: 8 out of 10.

Flavour wise this is quite sweet as should be expected of a white chocolate and a generously thick one at that. There is a clear taste of wafer with just a touch of malt/honey notes, though the flavour as such is rather uncomplex and unspectacular. I am glad that this bar has real white chocolate in it, and though it is not of the finest quality, it is much to bepreddered over white covering. Flavour: 7 out of 10.

I think this bar delivers exactly what it should do, namely deliver a those with a sweet tooth with a nice and uncomplicated sweet/snack. I consider this bar superior to the Milk Choclate Chunky KitKat and I think it should have a broad appeal and thus good potential for becoming quite popular. However, it seems that many consumers top choice is not that of white chocolate which may stand in the way of this bar.

Average: 7, 25 out of 10.

Review: Marabou orange croquante (crisp)

I consider orange(zest) and chocolate to be an excellent match and when done properly it adds a nice zing to the chocolate. On the other hand I’m not particularly fond of adding orange oil to chocolate as it is too perfumed and simply does not taste right.

The bar is described as “Orange flavoured milk chocolate with crisp” with cocoa solids of min. 30%, though is impossible to tell by the exterior of this chocolate where the orange flavour derives from. At least for me as a lay person. The declaration simply states “flavourings”. I suppose the only conclusion I can draw from this is that orange zest is not part of this bar or it would clearly have stated so.

The wrapper looks OK looking and with its yellow and orange colours - as well as the image of orange slices - clearly signals that this bar has something to do with oranges, though, as stated above, the source of orange is unclear. My only concern here is that the image of a whole orange gives me the "wrong" associations as in my head only the zest - and not the rest of the orange - has a real part in a chocolate bar. The chocolate itself has many cavities though it looks OK but could be shinier. Appearance: 7 out of 10.

Aroma is OK of dairy chocolate as well as a hint of biscuit. The orange aroma is very strong and in my opinion somewhat too strong. Aroma: 7 out of 10.

There is no real snap in the chocolate and the crunch is way too dull to provide sufficient contrast. The melt seems quite waxy and way too sticky. Texture: 6 out of 10.

This bar is quite sweet and has no characteristic chocolate flavour and I think is best described as boring. The orange is very strong and artificial tasting. The bar has a not so pleasant aftertaste. Flavour: 6, 5 out of 10.

I am not a fan of this particular bar, though I think this particular combination has excellent potential: Milk chocolate, almonds and orange zest sounds quite good.

Average: 6, 625 out of 10.

Review: Mars (Kraft)

According to the Danish description on the wrapper this is a “Milk chocolate with nougat”. Strangely, though, there are no (hazel)nuts listed in the declaration and perhaps it should state caramel instead of nougat. In German it is described as “Milk chocolate filled with fine candy cream”. And sure enough when you bite into the bar it is very creamy indeed.

The bar appears to be made up of three different parts a layer of cream (the “nougat”?) making up the about 2/3 of the bar and is topped by some sort of soft caramel cream. These two components are then covered with milk chocolate. The wrapper in itself does not give a good indication of what type of chocolate this is, but here the Mars name & fame probably means that customers are well aware of what kind of offering this is. The bar itself looks appetizing enough though I think the chocolate should be much shinier than is the case here. Appearance: 6, 5 out of 10.

Aroma: The aroma appears somewhat odd and is hard to describe. Sure enough I can smell sweetness, cocoa and salt but there is also a different – and not altogether nice - smell which I can not define. Aroma: 6 out of 10.

The texture is very soft. The chocolate melts away leaving a soft chewy caramel. There is too little snap from the chocolate and no contrast in form of crunch and here I think is a good opportunity for improvement. Texture: 7 out of 10.

This bar has a very sweet dairy chocolate flavour. You can taste the malt with its honey notes and the caramel. The flavour though is uncomplex and probably likely to have a broad appeal. A positive feature of this offering is the salt which in my opinion is much underrated in chocolate. Still this is not enough to make up for the lack of complexity in flavour. I think more intensity in the caramel and cream would considerably improve this one. With a more intense flavour this bar would probably sweep away all competition in its market segment. Flavour: 6, 5 out of 10.

Average: 6, 5 out of 10

Review: Yankie bar (Toms)

This Danish produced bar has an interesting story. According to the candy manufacturer, Toms, American soldiers stationed in Europe after World War II missed their beloved chocolate bars. An agreement was made that Toms was to produce the chocolate bars and the Americans would provide the cocoa beans in return as this it was in shortage. The bar has become quite popular in Denmark and has been manufactured in several versions. This one, as far as I can make out is a bit different from the one labelled “Original” though no other qualification (than “Yankie”). It is described as “Milk chocolate filled with caramel (27%) and soft French nougat (43%) and malt”. The Chocolate has 30% cocoa content (min.).

It is a little similar to the Mars bar which will be featured on Sunday.

The wrapper design does not reveal what type of bar we are dealing with, though it appears as a simple and inexpensive bar. It has an OK looking light chocolate covering and also appears nice in cross section view. Appearance: 7, 5 out of 10.

Nice mild aroma of milk chocolate and caramel with nutty tone and a little fruit. Aroma: 7 out of 10.

The texture is exceedingly soft. When the chocolate has melted away the soft yet chewy caramel remains and this does not, in my opinion, seem to work so well. Also, the softness makes it rather one dimensional and the normally hard texture of French nougat is, for some reason, absent. Having said that the texture is not altogether terrible, though I think here is a good opportunity for improvement. Texture: 7 out of 10.

The most prominent flavours are those of caramel and chocolate bar with notes of malt and vanilla. One can taste the French nougat though it does not taste like what normally is sold under the label French nougat. The chocolate tastes strangely artificial and the sweetness makes it too one dimensional even if there are several flavour notes present. Having said that if you liker a sweet and very soft bar this you will certainly be happy with this one. Flavour: 7 out of 10.

Average: 7, 125 out of 10.

Review: Ritter Sport Praline

According to JCM This bar comes in second on the Ritter top 3 in Germany just behind the Milk with whole hazelnuts I reviewed here.
This offering is described as “Milk chocolate with Praline filling (42%)” with a cocoa content of min. 30%. Praline – in this case – nougat is a paste made from roasted hazelnuts and sugar that goes extremely well with chocolate. Perhaps the only pitfall of this combination is that it might be too sweet, particularly if the praline filling is enrobed in milk chocolate as is the case with this offering from Ritter Sport. However, I think Ritter Sport did a good job of striking a good balance.

The wrapper has a nice purple colour and I have only two small issues with it. As with the other wrappers using this layout there tends to be overweight in the right hand side graphically speaking, detracting aesthetically. A slightly more serious issue is that the wrapper does not provide a sufficiently clear idea of what this offering is all about. The chocolate itself has a nice light brown colour and a nice shine. Were it not for the wrapper it would have scored an 8. Appearance: 7 out of 10.

The aroma is nice of dairy chocolate and hazelnuts and has a typical Ritter Sport aroma profile. Aroma: 8 out of 10.

This is a soft chocolate with a soft filling which gives it an excellent melt. The downside here is that the praline or nougat is very sticky and slightly floury in its texture. Since the texture is so soft one might suggest to make a variant with something crunchy such as nuts or perhaps a dark chocolate covering with a snap to provide a contrast in terms of texture. Serving it slightly chilled improves texture a little, though I suspect many consumers will buy this product for immediate consumption. Texture: 7 out of 10.

There is nice flavour from the nougat, though I would have liked it to be more intense in flavour. The chocolate is a little bland and it too should have a bit more character in order to play along with the nougat flavour. This offering is perhaps a little on the sweet side, but certainly not overly sweet and personally I think Ritter Sport has struck a good balance (at least if you don't eat the whole bar in one go). Perhaps a little salt might improve on and open up the flavour a little.

Average: 7, 25 out of 10.

Previw of this week’s reviews

Trying to ease my way back into blogging mode after the holidays I post a preview of the reviews to appear this week in order to be motivated not to skip any. This week will be devoted to a mini theme on nougat/toffee chocolate: Tuesday’s review of Ritter Sport Praline will fulfil a reader request and Thursday’s review is going to be of one of the all-time most popular bars, the Mars bar. Sunday will round up the week with the classic Yankie bar, produced by Tom’s confectionary group for the American armed forces during World War II. These reviews should be great fun so be sure to check in during the week.

Review: Marabou Premium 70% Cocoa Mint

There are generally two types of mint or peppermint chocolates. Those filled with a mint cream and those in which the mint is an ingredient added to the chocolate itself. This offering from Marabou Premium is of the later type and is described as a “Full bodied dark chocolate with mint crisps” of which the mint crisps make up 8%.

Mint and chocolate may be a good match. However many a manufacturer exaggerates the mint and the bar ends up tasting too much of toothpaste. Unfortunately I have to conclude that this is also the case with this offering.

The box is OK looking and clearly signals that this is a dark chocolate with mint. What is less clear is that it is in fact mint crisps and that the bar contains a whole lot of foreign fats (vegetable fat) as well as dairy ingredients such as butter, butterfat, skim milk powder, sweetened condensed milk as well as whey powder. If these ingredients are in the chocolate it should, in my opinion, not be labelled “full bodied” dark chocolate. I have commented on this issue before. If these ingredients solely go into the making of the crisps this is perhaps defensible. If not – and I suspect not – as even their plain dark chocolate contains butter fat – I consider it somewhat misleading and at the very least does not give the proper idea of what this chocolate is all about. Another thing which is not clear is whether this bar contains actual mint. The declarations states only “aromas”. The chocolate itself appears nice and shiny. Judging appearance favourably I rate this 7, mainly as there are too many unclear factors. If in fact the chocolate itself does contain any dairy ingredients I would score it much lower as I would then consider it misleading. Appearance: 7 out of 10.

This bar has very strong minty aromas which overpowers its cocoa scent. Also, there is a hint of rubber. I consider the mint aroma way too strong and the hint of rubber unpleasant. Aroma: 6 out of 10.

The bar has a nice snap and good melt and this is clearly the best executed part of this offering. The only drawback is the mint crisps, which are too finely processed to provide and interesting contrast in form of crunch. Texture: 7 out of 10.

Initially the flavour is very buttery. The mint flavour starts of mildly enough but soon becomes tasting way too strong and instead of being gentle and complimenting the chocolate overpowers it. After two seconds it simply numbs your taste buds and makes your mouth full of mint. This suggests to me that aroma of flavour enhancers have been added. Also, the chocolate has a nasty bitter aftertaste. A nice thing, however, is that there is a slight taste of salt which, in my opinion, is nice in chocolate. Unfortunately this is nowhere near enough to make up for the drawbacks.
Flavour: 5 out of 10.

I am not sure who the target audience is for this offering, but I have a hard time imagining that this will become a regular item even with many a chocolate mint aficionado.

Average: 6, 25 out of 10

Review: Ritter Sport Butter Biscuit

I will open 2012’s reviews with my very own favourite from the Ritter range. While it is neither on the top 3 in Germany, England or the world, this one is, so far, my personal favourite.

While plenty of manufacturers has a wafer and chocolate combination in their range I am not familiar with too many that use a biscuit in its place. In general I am not too fond of chocolate coated wafers for the reason that the wafer is often, in my opinion, not substantial enough to carry the chocolate and becomes too light to be really satisfying.

This butter biscuit proposition, however, is much better, I think, for several reasons. First, the biscuit is more substantial. Second it provides better texture in the form of crunch and thirdly, at least for his particular variety, adds smooth and delicious cocoa cream.

The wrapper is OK looking. The chocolate itself is very nice and shiny and also looks good in a cross section view. Appearance: 8 out of 1o.

The aroma of this offering is quite nice too and offers good notes of milk, caramel and cocoa aromas. Aroma: 8 out of 10.

Good crunch from the biscuit filling and very good melt and softness provided by the cocoa cream. This combination is particularly well done. Texture: 8 out of 10.

The flavour of the milk chocolate takes a back seat here and gives way to the sweet and mild cocoa cream and crispy butter biscuit. In short rather nice and certainly, in my opinion, the best tasting offering from the Ritter range I have tasted so far. Aroma: : 8 out of 10.

This is not a high quality bar using the best of ingredients in the making. Nevertheless it is a no frills bar that does exactly what it should do: namely provide a quick and tasty fix for the sugar hungry.

Average: 8 out of 10.

Sneak week preview

Happy new year to all! The blog is not dead even if I had to take a brief time out to squeeze in the holidays. Getting back to "normal" means that I will return to the usual Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday posting schedule.

Thursday I will post a review of my favourite (so far) from the Ritter Sport range. Sunday's review is not 100% confirmed yet but will probably be a milk chocolate or a chocolate/peppermint offering.

If you have any requests for a review please leave a comment and I will get in touch with you.