Gone fishin...Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all! I will be back after Easter with more reviews. Next week will feature a review of the Snickers Maximus limited edition as well as an offering from MilkyWay.

Review: Änglamark Organic Milk Chocolate

I have previously reviewed Änglamark's dark chocolate bar here. This review is of the milk chocolate variety. As with the dark chocolate bar, 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.

It is simply described as an “Organic milk chocolate” with a minimum 32% cocoa contents and comes in a 100g bar. In addition to being organic it is also Fairtrade certified, containing
72, 48% Fairtrade ingredients.

The box looks quite nice and the chocolate itself has a clean and attractive appearance. Appearance: 8 out of 10.

The aroma is nice and sweet of dairy and cocoa and the cocoa is clearly discernible. This is nice as it it is not always the case with milk chocolate. Aroma: 8 out of 10.

The bar has quite a good snap for a milk chocolate and a very nice creamy and smooth texture. Texture: 8 out of 10.

This bar has a pleasant and sweet flavour with notes of caramel and vanilla and perhaps the only minor drawback is the sweetness. While this bar certainly lacks the complexity of high end chocolates, it is clearly a quite nice no frills bar. And thus is a decent and cheaper alternative. Flavour wise it should have e a broad appeal. Also, this chocolate can be used for cooking as it melts to a nice shiny liquid. In other words this is a versatile bar. Aroma: 8 out of 10.

Average: 8 out of 10.

Other reviews:

Bitten by chocolate's review

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: Galaxy Caramel (Mars)

This bar from Mars is for some reason not commonly available in Denmark, though I was able to pick it up at a small convenient store, where it caught my attention. It is described as a “Milk Chocolate with a soft caramel filling (40%). It is ranked second (with a bunch of other offerings) over at Jim’s Chocolate mission (link below).

The wrapper clearly communicates the caramel part of the proposition. However, it seems a little dull and for one I missed a more graphic presentation of the proposition. The content is divided into two bars, each with three pieces. The colour has a standard not too exciting light brown colour. Appearance: 7 out of 10.

The aroma is not very strong though there are scents of caramel andmilk chocolate. It is in my view simply too uninteresting and lacking in character. Aroma: 6 out of 10.

This is a very soft bar with a sticky caramel and only a hint of a snap in the chocolate. I find the texture too one dimensional in its softness and I think it could be vastly improved with a superior snap. Texture: 6 out of 10.

This is a very neutral – and perhaps also a little bland - tasting bar. Initially it is not too sweet (though it eventually becomes sweeter) and it takes a little while for the flavour to kick in. The little flavour there is, is mostly caramel and not very exciting at that, in my opinion. It simply lacks character and distinctiveness. Flavour: 6, 5 out of 10.

Average: 6, 375 out of 10.


Jim's Chocolate mission review

Chocablog's review

Review: Confiserie Heidel, Milk Chocolate

I have to admit that I have never heard of Confiserie Heidel, who manufactured this bar. Confiserie might be traslated as candy store, which seems quite right for an Easter chocolate for kids. A friend presented this bar to me in order that I review it. I was not sure what to expect of it. On the one hand the wrapper did not signal a high quality bar, but on the other hand it did boast of having 37% cocoa a relatively large amount for a milk chocolate. I know that the percentage is not in and of itself a sign of good quality. However, I thought that a manufacturer who is willing to invest so much relatively expensive cocoa in a milk chocolate bar would not do so without also caring about making high quality chocolate.

The bar is described as a “Whole milk chocolate of high quality”, with a minimum of 37% cocoa solids. It does contain vanillin (artificial vanilla) which strikes me as a bit odd considering that the manufacturer used a whopping 37% cocoa and then opted for artificial vanilla.

I will refrain from evaluating the wrapper of this Easter offering. However, as I mentioned I do not think that the wrapper signals high quality. The chocolate itself does have a nice shine and a nice light brown colour. Appearance: 7, 5 out of 10.

The aroma is nice and sweet and dominated by dairy and cocoa. Aroma: 7, 5 out of 10.

The snap is almost non-existent in this one and disappointing even for a milk chocolate. Otherwise it has a nice and light texture which is not too sticky and often a problem with milk chocolate. Texture: 5, 5 out
of 10.

The flavour of this chocolate is a rather bland, which strikes me as odd, as this is not usually the case with milk chocolate offerings that are normally rather sweet. It does have a very, with slight hint of caramel and a slightly bitter aftertaste, again something not usually found in milk chocolate. Flavbour: 7 out of 10.

Average: 6, 875

Review: Toms Orangebuer (orange arches/or bows)

These orange arches (or bows) from Tom’s Confectionery Group is described as a “Dark chocolate with orange flavour”. This is simply dark chocolate flavoured with orange oil in a roundish shape, with an arch. The chocolate has 50% cocoa and contains both milk powder as well as artificial vanilla (ethyl vanillin).

The box is OK looking, though the orange theme might, from a graphical perspective, have been more explicit. The appearance of the chocolate itself is attractive with nice, smooth and shiny surface. Appearance: 7, 5. out of 10.

As soon as you unwrap the plastic that is before even opening up the box you are greeted wit a strong orange aroma. I very much like the aroma of sweet cocoa and orange. Aroma 8 out of 10,

The snap is quite good as is the melt. The only drawback in terms of texture is that the chocolate is a bit on the dry side. Were it not for this fact it would have scored higher. Texture: 7, 5 out of 10.

Initially the aroma is sweet and pleasant, though there is not too much in terms of orange which is disappointing, especially considering the strong orange aroma. However, after a few moments the flavour turns bitter and off in a very pleasant, and this ruins the entire experience. Flavour: 6, 5 out of 10.

Average 7, 375

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.