Review: Marabou Milk chocolate

This offering is simply described as “Milk chocolate” and has a minimum of 30% cocoa. Presumably the chocolate in this bar is the basis for some of Marabou’s various offerings I have previously reviewed. So I was excited to find out what it tasted like on “its own”. The bar contains milk fat, whey product (whatever that might be) as well as flavourings and “At least 30% of the cocoa comes from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms.”

The wrapper looks OK even if it could be a little more explicit, graphically speaking, that this is a milk chocolate. The chocolate is nice looking with a nice glossy shine. Appearance: 7 out of 10.

The chocolate has a nice aroma which is sweet and mild and should not bother anyone, though perhaps there could be more in the way of cocoa. Aroma: 7, 5 out of 10.

The chocolate has a good snap for a milk chocolate. Texture wise it is a little hard initially which makes the melt much too slow in my opinion. Perhaps – though I am not in the know here – some of the milk fats act as hardening agents or inadvertently become hard. Further the texture is very waxy and sticky which is not so nice, in my view. In sum, the snap is good though the rest is less than optimal. Texture: 6, 5 out of 10.

The flavour is very sweet. It has fair notes of caramel as well as clear dairy flavours. And while the flavour is unspectacular and lacks complexity, it should still have a quite wide appeal. Flavour: 7 out of 10.

Average: 7 out of 10

Review: Marabou Premium 70% Cocoa Pistachio

I think chocolate and roasted pistachios is a brilliant idea. It is hard to think of any major challenges in the execution of such a bar, at least none that manufacturers consistently have problems with.
So I was excited about trying this offering. The Marabou Premium 70% Cocoa Pistachio is described a “Dark chocolate with pieces of caramelized pistachios”. It contains both butterfat and aromas. I think I have already commented on this issue a few times so I see no reason to say more about this.

The box looks nice and conveys that this is a chocolate and pistachio proposition. The chocolate has a nice smooth and matte finnish though it has specks of green pistachios on the surface (not simply in cross section view) which detracts from it otherwise nice appearance. Appearance: 7 out of 10.

The aroma is dominated by toasted nuts and toasted breadin a nice way. The only downside is that there is not much in terms of cocoa aroma, which is surprising given its 70& cocoa contents. With more cocoa aroma it would have scored higher. Aroma: 6, 5 out of 10.

The snap is clearly the best part of this proposition. It is quite excellent and even though the pistachios are very finely chopped they provide an OK crunch. Also, the melt is good and with the thinness of the bar it seems that Marabou7Kraft Foods has found an optimal balance in thickness to give it the best possible snap. Texture: 8 out of 10. Very nice indeed.

The chocolate is a little bland. At first, it has a tiny bit of fruit which is good. However, after the first few bites the flavour turns very off and bitter in an unnatural – an unpleasant way. Flavour: 6 out of 10.

Average: 6, 875 out of 10.

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: 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: 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

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.

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: 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: 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: 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: 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

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: Marabou Digestive

I’ll kick of this blog by reviewing a Marabou Digestive (200g bar) that has been sitting in my cupboard for a little while. It is a Swedish brand which, I think, was taken over by Kraft Foods. The brand appears to be quite popular in Scandinavia, with several varieties.

The appearance of the bar itself is OK without being anything fancy. Not too many digestives are visible in a cross section view. A look at the underside of the bar, however, reveals that quite a generous amount of digestives (20% called “Biscuit balls”) go into making a Marabou Digestive. The packaging appears quite balanced and nice. 7 out of 10

The aroma is milky chocolate, not too sweet with a recognizable buttery/fatty and cocoa element and something more indefinable, perhaps coming from “biscuit balls” and/or added aromas. I have no doubt the aroma will appeal to many. 7 out of 10.

The flavour is quite sweet and caramely and leaves a “burn” in the neck. It does lack any real chocolate flavour. Also, there is a hint of foreign fats, which gives it a slightly “wrong” taste. Here I think is where the potential for improvement is largest. 6/10.

The biscuit balls inside the chocolate provide excellent crunch in every bite and this part is really well executed. The melt of the chocolate is also good. However, there is no discernable snap to the chocolate covering. Texture: 8 out of 10.

Despite these issues I think many will enjoy this particular chocolate as the chocolate is not very intense and because of the well executed crunch added by the biscuit balls.

Test notes: I tested this bar in two different conditions. One at room temperature and the other sample was placed in the fridge for a few hours. In my opinion the room temperature sample was best by far. The cooled one was not only too tough but the biscuit balls were noticeably less crunchy. Also the cooled sample did not appear to improve its snap. Perhaps milk chocolate is not supposed to have any particular snap to it?

Average 7 out of 10.