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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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