Review: White Toblerone

This is another white chocolate that I looked forward to dig into. It is described as “Swiss white chocolate with honey (3%) and Almond nougat 10%” Cocoa(butter) contents not given.

Graphically the box clearly indicates that we are dealing with a white chocolate, though the nougat/honey part is not graphically represented. And I think it could be. The chocolate itself has a nice smooth white colour. Appearance: 7, 5 out of 10.

The aroma is nice with white chocolate and citrusy notes (acid) and “cake” notes (probably stemming from the honey). Aroma: 7, 5 out of 10.

Toblerone’s classic triangular shape gives a very compact piece of chocolate. In my opinion it is too chunky and massive a texture. The almond nougat is very finely ground, and adds, in my opinion, too little in terms of texture. The compact nature of this offering ensures that crunch is not sorely missed. The chocolate is very waxy and therefore its melt and mouth feel isn’t the best in my opinion. Texture: 7 out of 10.

This bar strikes a good balance, not being too sweet and has a pleasant aftertaste of honey. However, the white chocolate itself is unfortunately not very exciting. It is too milky. Nevertheless the honey does good job in adding a bit of depth, flavour wise. In my opinion the honey is indeed this bar’s strong point, though in my opinion a better executed white chocolate flavour might turn this into an excellent proposition indeed. Aroma: 7, 5 out of 10.

Average: 7, 375 out of 10

Other reviews

Jim's chocolate mission review

Review: Nestlé Die Weisse, Finest Swiss Chocolate (white)

As I have stated several times on this blog, I am a sucker for white chocolate and I was hoping that Nestlé might have produced a decent offering. The bar, named “Die Weisse”, is described as the “Finest Swiss Chocolate” (cocoa contents not given). The bar comes in a 100g size and so I suspect the target group is people looking for a quick sugar fix. In other words, this is not a family or “sharing” size bar as, say, the Marabou 200g bars.

The wrapper looks OK, and certainly gives a good idea of both the bar and its famous Swiss origins. The chocolate has an excellent white/yellowish colour and appears looks very smooth. Appearance: 7, 5 out of 10

I have to admit I did not like the aroma of this one. It smells very buttery with only a hint of cocoa butter (which is otherwise fairly characteristic) and vanilla in the aroma. Aroma: 6 out of 10.

The texture is quite soft and has no real snap (even for a white chocolate). The mouth feel is much too greasy and sticky, and in my world it could and should be be more elegant. Aroma: 6 out of 10.

The flavour is quite sweet but perhaps passable. However, the flavour is real flat and there is very little flavour besides sweetness. It is as if Nestlé has produced a white chocolate that does not really have the character of white chocolate. While this may be pleasing to many consumers I for one was disappointed. Aroma: 6 out of 10.

Average: 6, 375 out of 10.

Other reviews:

Jim’s Chocolate Mission review

World in Chocolate’s review

Review: Lindt Excellence Dark Chilli

I still have to be convinced that chilli and chocolate is a good combination. Let me modify that. In the savoury kitchen I am a believer. However, in the sweet kitchen I remain a skeptic as I a look for something sweet and find that the hotness of the chilli ruins the sweet or “dessert” experience. Also, I was wondering how sweet or intense the chocolate would have to be in order to strike the right balance with the chilli. As it turned out this offering was rather on the sweet side and the chocolate had very little in terms of intensity. Thus, there was no conversation between the fruit in the chocolate and the power from the chilli. For the record I should state that the chocolate is not the same as that of Lindt 70%.

It is described as a “dark chocolate with chilli extract”. With 49% cocoa solids min. According to declaration this bar contains both butterfat and flavouring. Perhaps chilli extract is defensible (longer shelf life, no specks of chili?) though, as I have written before, I do not think butterfat should play any part in a chocolate described as dark. And then I am not sure what flavouring means in this context. If we are talking about natural flavouring such as vanilla or salt then I guess it's OK. But then again why not declare it as vanilla or salt? If, on the other hand, we are talking about artificial flavourings such as vanillin or something else, why not declare it as such and let the consumer judge for him or herself?

Appearance wise the box is nice and gives a good idea of the content. The chocolate itself appears nice with a very smooth and light brown colour for a dark chocolate. It has Lindt engraved. Appearance: 7, 5 out of 10.

The aroma is sweet with nice depth. There is only a hint of chilli in the aroma, though one immediately feels in the eyes. Aroma: 7, 5 out of 10.

The chocolate has a decent snap, good mouth feel, as well a nice melt. Texture: 7, 5 out of 10.

The chocolate is very sweet and the chilli is moderately hot. It is an OK chocolate but not very spectacular no hints of fruit or nuances in the taste. Also, the chocolate is not very intense. It could use a little salt. Flavour: 7 out of 10.

Average: 7, 375 out of 10.

Other reviews

Mikey's kitchen review

Jim's Chocolate Mission

Zomgcandy's review

Candyaddict's review

Review: Ritter Sport Strawberry

This offering is described as a “Filled milk chocolate with a cream (42%) of skimmed yoghurt and strawberry, crispy rice (1,1%) and strawberry pieces (1%)”. Milk chocolate: cocoa solids: 30% min.

I was supposed to review this one around Christmas, but never got around to it. Why Christmas? Well, the wrapper’s colour – rather than the strawberries – seems most appropriate for the Christmas season. I have to admit that I was suspicious about this combination as yoghurt and chocolate is a combination that is not easy to get right. Also, since dried rather than fresh strawberries are used in this type of bar, you run the danger of adding “wineguims” to the bar which does not really go well with chocolate. I have to say, however, that I was pleasantly surprised and indeed Ritter, really coped well with these challenges to produce a nice bar.

The wrapper looks nice indeed and plainly conveys what this offering is about. As with many other offerings from Ritter the graphical overweight is on the right hand side which is compounded in the German edition. The milk chocolate has a very attractive light brown colour. The only drawback in presentation is the filling which has no really “clear” colour but is somewhere between white and pink. The strawberry pieces are very bright and red appear almost like chilli. Appearance: 7, 5 out of 10.

The aroma is rather hard to define as it has no clear direction, perhaps the milk chocolate, the yuoghurt filling and strawberries are vying for first, but the result is a somewhat artificial or perhaps “childish” or “blended” aroma with no clear direction. Aroma: 6, 5 out of 10.

The texture is nice and soft and melts quite nicely. The rice crispies add a little crunch giving it a just enough texture for a good balance between softness and crunch. The strawberry pieces are not discernable in terms of texture. Texture: 7 out of 10.

It is very hard to taste the milk chocolate as it does not come through the sweet and tangy filling. The filling has a nice acidic youghurty twang to it but is a little too sweet for my taste. It is less artificial than what might have been feared. It has notes of almonds. All in all it is nicely done. Aroma 7, 5 out of 10.

Average: 7, 125 out od 10

More reviews

Candyblog's review

Foodjunk's review

Zomgcandy's review

Chocablog's review

Jim's Chocolate Mission review

Marabou with Hazelnuts

Chocolate and (hazel)nuts is an excellent combination and has in fact proven itself as one of the best selling items. The top 3 best selling Ritter Sport flavours, for example, are all whole roasted hazelnuts with milk, dark and white chocolate. And in fact this is a combination that is relatively well executed by the mass producers. This offering from Marabou is described as a "Milk chocolate with chopped hazelnuts”, with cocoa solids of min. 30% and 17% hazelnuts.

The wrapper looks OK, not too fancy if a little bombastic. It does give an excellent idea of the type of proposition. The chocolate itself has a nice and light brown colour and good shine. In cross section it looks nice with the nuts. However, some nuts protrude the top of the bar which is not really attractive. Appearance: 6, 5 out of 10.

The bar smells very nice indeed, of dairy and chocolate and toasted nuts. Aroma: 8 out of 10.

There is good crunch from the nuts that have been chopped in a nice and rough manner. The drawback of this bar is the waxy texture of the chocolate. Apart from not being so nice in and off itself it also makes the melt too slow and while a slow melt might not be a bad thing the waxy texture ruins it. Also, the waxy texture makes it stick too much the mouth and thus not making for a very good mouth feel. Texture: 6 out of 10.

A mild and sweet milky taste with nice flavour from the toasted hazelnuts. However, the milk chocolate has an off aftertaste which ruins what otherwise might be a taste that would probably appeal to many. Flavour: 7 out of 10.

Still I think this is a bar that could have a wide appeal and if the aftertaste and waxy structure could be improved it might compete with, say Ritter Sport with nuts. However, I think Marabou, which comes in 200g slab, caters to a different audience than the 100g Ritter Sport, though now Marabou has chosen to produce 100g bars and perhaps this will cater to the "munch immediately" market and thus compete with Ritter Sport, at least in Scandinavia. Still, I feel that the Ritter Sport whole nuts with Milk chocolate, I reviewed here, is preferable to this Marabou offering.

Average: 6, 875 out of 10

See also Cocoa Heavens review here.

Review: Nestlé Princessa Milk Chocolate

This offering, along with its sister bar, the Princessa coconut and white chocolate (which I reviewed here), was sent to me by a reader for a review. And while the coconut bar was a relatively novel proposition, this bar is more traditional. At least, if Google Translate and I have correctly understood the the wrapper's text as it is described as a “Cream wafers with fluffy cocoa cream covered in milk chocolate”. The Milk chocolate makes up 37, 2% according to the declaration.

As with the coconut bar the chocolate covering is very thin due to the wafer’s large surface. And this makes me wonder whether it will be substantial enough. The chocolate itself looks fairly average and the bar also looks fairly dull in cross section view. The wrapper is OK looking and gives a good idea of the proposition. Appearance: 6, 5 out of 10.

The aroma is strange and fruity with a hint of cocoa. The wafer aroma is not too exciting either. Aroma: 5, 5 out of 10.

The wafer is crisp, though much too light which means it is gone too quickly and leaves you a little unsatisfied. The cocoa cream and chocolate barely hits the mouth before they melt away and there is simply too little substance in this one. Texture: 6 out of 10.

The taste is very dull and the chocolate does not taste too well as it has an off and bitter taste not otherwise characteristic of milk chocolate. There is very little flavour from the cocoa cream, which was a very nice feature in the similar – though much better executed – proposition from Ritter Sport (Butter biscuit) which I reviewed here. Flavour: 5 out of 10.

Average: 5, 75 out of 10

Online reviews of this bar

Jim's Chocolate Mission review

Review: Nestlé Princessa Coconut Maxi

This offering was along with it sister bar (see review next week) was sent to me by a TCR reader for review. The bar is produced by Nestlé Poland and if Google Translate and I have done a decent job of deciphering the text it is described as “Waffles with fluffy coconut cream covered in white chocolate”. The wrapper indicates that the white chocolate makes up a total of 34, 3%.

As a fan of both coconut and white chocolate I was quite excited to dig into this offering. Also, I like the fact that this bar offers a unique proposition of wafer, coconut cream and white chocolate (or perhaps better. a little used combo as I found a similar bar reviewed over at JCM). In fact, I found the idea this proposition so alluring it made me wonder why there is no Bounty with white chocolate.

Unwrapping it, however, made me worry. The white chocolate covering looked too thin (the wafer is visible through the covering) to give this bar enough substance. To my mind the Nestlé Chunky series has proven beyond any doubt that a thick chocolate layer is the way to go. The problem here as compared the chunky series, is the greater surface of the wafer. At any rate, the thin layer of white chocolate appears not to be of the best quality as the colour is not entirely “snow white” (or perhaps foreign fats have been added). The wrapper looks OK and in spite of the light blue used which is a bit confusing, it succeeds to give a good idea of what the offering is about. Appearance: 6 out of 10.

Immediately after unwrapping I was met by a powerful sent of coconut/palm oil which I was more familiar with from a summer day on the beach than from a chocolate bar. This is way too much and it entirely owerpowers the aroma from the chocolate. Aroma: 5 out of 10.

The wafer is crisp, though it is too light which means it is gone too quickly and leaves you a little unsatisfied. The cream and white chocolate vanishes equally quickly and there is simply too little substance in this one. Texture: 6 out of 10.

The flavour is sweet and waffery with notes of coconut. There is little characteristic of white chocolate and in a blind test I would probably have guessed it to be white frosting and not chocolate. Unfortunately, there really is not much good to be said about the flavour which lacks a leading star whether it be the chocolate or the coconut. Flavour: 5,5 out of 10.

I feel there is great potential with this combination, though there is much that has to be done better. I feel the weak spots are texture and flavour. With a Chunky style texture and more characteristic coconut flavour I think you can get an offering worthwhile to get into.

Average: 5, 625

Review: Twix from Mars

Twix from Mars has to be one of the most popular mass market chocolate bars. It is a no frills bar that is chewy, soft and crunchy and is described as a “Milk chocolate (35%) covered caramel (32%) and biscuit 26%” There is no indication of cocoa percentage in the chocolate. As such it does a decent job of satisfying the light sugar hunger, though it is not in any way particularly memorable.

The golden wrapper is quite kitchy though the image nicely fulfils its obligation to convey what type of proposition we are dealing with here. Unwrapping reveals two nice looking twigs with a light brown chocolate covering. In cross section view this bar looks quite nice with the upper caramel layer making up slightly less than half and the lower wafer making up slightly more. Appearance: 7, 5 out of 10

The aroma is somewhat odd as the chocolate has very little characteristic aroma with the biscuit being much more prominent, but this one is rather “bland” aroma wise. Aroma: 6 out of 10.

The biscuit has nice crunch and it is quite nice that the biscuit is not too light nor being too compact. The caramel is very chewy. A good thing about the texture is that the three components seem to melt at a nice and slow rate. Texture: 7, 5 out of 10.

There is very little chocolate flavour in this bar. The malt in the biscuit and the caramel are much more present. With chocolate being such a nice ingredient it is a shame that it is not felt more than is the case here. The result is a very mild and not too complex offering which will appeal to many. And while this is an OK bar for what it is, with so many similar offerings out there I think Mars has a very good opportunity to add a just a little “something” to stand out from the competition. Flavour: 7 out of 10.

Average: 7 out of 10.