Kev's Snack Reviews

Many thanks to Bring Back Banjo Chocolate Bar for once again sending some lovely chocolates my way! I've been sitting on these for a while and unfortunately they melted somewhat. Not because of me sitting on them... but because of the heat-wave we had recently! So my apologies that I can't do these justice...they were definitely intact when I received them.

First up is this Peanut Butter bar from Wawel...that Polish company I'm not best friends with, since I've had a few duff chocolates from them in the past! Maybe they could woo me back with their peanut butter chocolate...?

Opening the wrapper I wasn't too excited...not only because of the melted chocolate, but because it had that distinctly "cheap" aroma that Wawel chocolate is known for. Still, I was hoping the peanut butter filling might save it.

Looking at the ingredients list didn't offer me much hope...the bar contains vegetable fat, sunflower oil and other nasties.

Biting into a piece, I was first met with the waxy chocolate...if it can be called chocolate. It tasted rather greasy and flavourless, I couldn't detect much cocoa at all. Luckily the peanut butter filling was much better - it had a nice salty, savoury flavour and was very moreish and creamy thanks to the vegetable fat. I didn't feel it was all that healthy though so didn't eat too much at once.

Overall, despite the poor quality chocolate this was still a tasty bar, but it doesn't compare to Reese's at all!

RATING: 7 out of 10.

Fin Carré Gianduja Milk Chocolate (Lidl):

I was surprised to find this bar was actually much tastier and better quality than the Wawel bar; the chocolate had a decent cocoa flavour and was very creamy, with the gianduja hazelnut giving it a deliciously moreish Nutella flavour!

Despite the fact it was all melted, I still scoffed it down pretty quickly! For cheap chocolate from Lidl it was pretty great quality, and far nicer than most cheap hazelnut milk chocolates I've tried.

RATING: 7.5 out of 10.

Thankyou as always to the lovely Bring Back Banjo Bar for sending me these chocolates - she always finds cool chocolates in Polish shops that I have never come across before! Please do take a moment to sign her petition to bring back the much-missed Banjo Wafer bar :)

Bring Back Banjo Petition
Bring Back Banjo Facebook

Many thanks to Beech's Fine Chocolates who recently sent me some bars from their new bar range to review. I was excited to receive them as I've been curious about Beech's Chocolates for ages now...I always see them in local department stores and wonder what they're like. Seems I was missing out!

Beech's Fine Chocolates have been making quality Traditional British Chocolates from their factory in the centre of Preston, Lancashire since 1920. Their chocolates are made using only natural colours and flavours, all are suitable for vegetarians, and their dark chocolates are suitable for vegans too. As well as that, all Beech's products are gluten-free!

To receive a 15% discount from Beech's Chocolates this month enter code ‘BFC11J1415’ at checkout.

Their bar range consists of Lime & Chilli Dark Chocolate, Natural Ginger Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, and Anglesey Sea Salt Milk Chocolate. Each 60g bar costs £1.50 which I think is very reasonable considering the high quality. Below are my thoughts on each bar...

Milk Chocolate:

A rich and creamy 30% cocoa milk chocolate with a smooth melt. I couldn't fault this at all...it's definitely up there with the higher quality milk chocolates I've tried. Much tastier than the leading UK chocolate brand that is made with palm oil, and I think we all know what I'm talking about. I'd rather have this any day! 8.5 out of 10.

Anglesey Sea Salt Milk Chocolate:

Chocolate and salt combinations are very in vogue at the moment, and it's easy to see why: it's such a moreish combination! This version from Beech's was amazing; beautifully soft and creamy milk chocolate, with the delicious sea salt giving it a moreish kick. If you haven't tried salted milk chocolate yet this is definitely one you have to try! I will admit...I ate this bar far too quickly. 10 out of 10.

White Chocolate:

Smooth, deliciously creamy, melt-in-the-mouth...just what you'd expect from a good white chocolate. It contains plenty of cocoa butter and isn't overly sweet like mainstream white chocolates. Forget what the snobs say...there's always a place for white chocolate in the chocolate world, and this one will no doubt bring back many comforting childhood memories! 8 out of 10.

Dark Chocolate:

This dark chocolate contains 55% cocoa solids so it's more of a bittersweet chocolate. It was very tasty but personally I prefer darker chocolates (I regularly buy 100% cocoa bars now!). If your'e a fan of milder, sweeter dark chocolates you can't go wrong with this though - there's no harshness or bitterness and it has a nice rich flavour. 7 out of 10.

Lime & Chilli Dark Chocolate:

I'm not the greatest fan of chilli with chocolate so wasn't sure about this one. Luckily, the chilli flavour wasn't all that strong and it was the lime that really stood out in the flavour. It tasted very light and refreshing and complimented the dark chocolate perfectly. 8 out of 10.

Natural Ginger Dark Chocolate:

I'm not a great fan of ginger and chocolate either, so wasn't expecting to love this bar. Luckily the ginger wasn't too overpowering and simply added a subtle spicy kick to the rich dark chocolate. Not something I would buy again personally, but definitely one for those who love chocolate and ginger. 7 out of 10.

Overall:
I have to say I was surprised and delighted by these bars; all are excellent quality and the Anglesey Se Salt Milk Chocolate is one I could see myself purchasing regularly. I hope to see Beech's Chocolates more widely available...I'd love to pop into my corner shop and purchase one, but alas, we don't live in such a world. I'm more likely to find 50p Euro Shopper chocolate instead. Sad times :(

Luckily these chocolates are available online, and Beech's do an excellent range of traditional British favourites such as Turkish Delights, Thins, Fruit Cremes, Chocolate Brazils, and even the "marmite" of the chocolate world...Coffee Creams!

Beech's Website: http://www.beechsfinechocolates.com/

To receive a 15% discount from Beech's Chocolates this month enter code ‘BFC11J1415’ at checkout.

*Products sent for an honest review.

Mondelez are cranking out new products at alarming speed right now, and the latest to join their ever-swelling range are these Terry's Chocolate Orange Pots of Joy. "Pots of Joy" are usually associated with Cadbury's, but since Mondelez also own Terry's it seems they've deemed it OK to add these to the range too.

They're described as "Smooth and creamy desserts made with melted milk chocolate with a rich orange flavour under-layer" and are currently on offer for £1 at Asda.

Like all Pots of Joy they're rather dinky little pots, so it's likely most people will eat two at once. Unless you're a hamster I suppose...

The chocolate upper layer tasted creamy and very smooth, although I would've liked more chocolate flavour. The orange layer however was a letdown...it just didn't taste right. It was too citrusy and sickly, and as a layer by itself just doesn't work. I don't really get why it's seperated from the chocolate layer as it kind of defeats the point of "chocolate orange"... ie. chocolate AND orange blended together! It was almost like eating orange yogurt with a layer of chocolate on top. It just doesn't work.

Overall, I found these Terry's Chocolate Orange Pots of Joy disappointing. I was expecting to love them but they're rather sickly and don't work that well in practice.

Have you tried Chocolate Orange Pots of Joy? If so let me know your thoughts in the comments!

RATING: 5 out of 10.

Price: £1 per 4-pack at Asda (introductory offer).
Suitable for vegetarians?: No.
Allergy Information: Contains milk & maize starch. May contain nuts.
Nutrition (per pot): 150 Calories, 7.4g Fat, 18.2g Carbs, 17.6g Sugar.

Whilst in B&M Bargains today I spotted this bar of Hershey's Symphony chocolate. I've never seen or heard of this bar before so thought I'd give it a try out of curiosity. It's described as "Creamy milk chocolate, almonds and toffee chips", which sounded like a simple but tasty proposition.

Sadly, the chocolate was far from the deliciousness (yes that is a word!) I was expecting...in fact it was rather sickly, and had that faint taste of "vomit" that many have used to describe Hershey's chocolate as having. It was very weird indeed. Despite the odd flavour, there was something compelling about the chocolate....the thinness of the bar, combined with the crunchy almonds and toffee pieces was strangely moreish. That said, the constant undertone of weird-tasting chocolate ruined it somewhat!

Overall, I wouldn't really recommend this bar unless you're really curious or a fan of Hershey's Chocolate. If you've tried it yourself please let me know your thoughts in the comments!

RATING: 5.5 out of 10.

Found at B&M Bargains - £1 for a 120g bar.

When I saw these Peanut M&M's in 99p Stores recently I got rather excited...they were in an orange wrapper, contained orange-colored M&M's...and the packet said "Oranje Editie" on it! So of course I assumed they must be an orange-flavoured edition. "How exciting...a new M&M flavour!", I thought.

I should've known better. Because for some annoying reason M&M's constantly repackage their products based on various colour combinations, but never change up the actual flavours...and these are no exception. They're simply a bag of peanut M&M's with orange-coloured shells. Pointless really.

They tasted as moreish and addictive as you would expect from M&M's....but without any traces of orange flavour. Why they couldn't have added some is beyond me...it can't be all that difficult, and I'm sure they would fly off the shelves!

They're made by the Polish arm of Mars, so who knows what this "orange edition" is in aid of...if any of my Polish readers can enlighten me please do leave a comment!

RATING: 6 out of 10.

Whilst in Asda recently I spotted these new Choco Caramels from Mentos and thought they sounded rather odd, since Mentos are usually known for chewy mints and fruity sweets. It seems they want to expand into toffees now.

They're actually very similar to something I reviewed briefly in one of my Pick & Mix reviews...Meller toffees, by Perfetti Van Melle. Perfetti make both Mentos and Meller so it seems they've just re-branded them. Clever!

They reminded me of Toffo (which, according to Nestlé, are never coming back - boo!) I used to love those as a kid! (Here's a Facebook petition for their return)

Back to the Mentos...I was surprised to find I enjoyed the "Choco & Mint" version the most. The caramel was buttery, with a nice firm chewiness, and the chocolate centre had a nice rich minty flavour. I haven't eaten minty toffees in ages (probably since Toffo were axed, in fact) so it was a nostalgic experience. The ingredients list is a bit worrying...the caramels contain hydrogenated fats which I thought weren't even allowed in confectionery any more. Still, I tried to overlook this considering how moreish they were!

The "Choco & Caramel" version was also very nice, but a little boring compared to the mint variety.

Overall, these Mentos toffees are pretty tasty and at 3 tubes for £1 you really can't grumble. If you were a fan of Toffo as a kid you might just enjoy these more than the average person - they're definitely worth a try!

RATING: 7.5 out of 10.

Price: 3 packs for £1 at Asda.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Not stated.
Allergy Information: Contains milk & soya.
Nutrition (per 100g): 411 Calories, 8.8g Fat, 79g Carbs, 60g Sugars.

Hello everyone! It's me William from “William's Blog” and before any of you think I've hacked into Kev's Snack Reviews I haven't. Myself and Kev have been talking quite a lot over on Twitter recently and he asked me if I'd like to write guest reviews on his blog and I could not possibly refuse! I'm still unsure how often I'll be writing on here as it is yet to be discussed but I hope you enjoy my upcoming reviews. Before I ramble on, let's get straight to the review...

Coca-Cola GB announced back in June the launch of “Coca-Cola Life”, a lower calorie soft drink sweetened from natural sources with a third less sugar than the original Coca-Cola. This is the first new Coke to be launched in the UK since the arrival of Coke Zero in 2006 and to be quite honest, I really don't see what the big deal is?

It's essentially Coke with a little less sugar and a fancy new green label. The packaging is visually appealing and very eye catching on the shelf though. Taste-wise, it's only very slightly different to the original Coke; it has a more fresh taste with a few minty notes. What I like best about this cola is that it isn't as overwhelmingly sweet like the original Coke, it has quite a mild sweetness. This cola beverage is for the sort of people that want the great taste of the original Coke but don't want to be consuming as much sugar. But overall, I am quite disappointed with Coca-Cola Life as it's not enormously different to the other Coke brands although it's a nice new addition to the Coke range and I'm sure over the next few months this will become quite popular.

Since trying Coca-Cola Zero Raspberry from the Coke machines in Burger King I've been wanting Coke to launch it in bottles!? Now that's something I'd like to see! I just think there needs to be more flavour variants of Coke on the shelves like Cinnamon, Peppermint, Blueberry or even Pineapple? Coke Life is available now and it is currently sold in 500ml bottles, 330ml cans, 1.75l bottles and 330ml can multipacks.

If you would like to see more posts from me, head over to my blog abitofwilliam.blogspot.co.uk, but otherwise, I'll still be writing guest snack reviews on here every now and then!

RATING: 6.5 out of 10.

From: Morrisons Local.
Price: £1.25.
Recommend?: Not really, unless you want a lower calorie Coke that isn't completely sugar free.

TWITTER: @abitofwilliam
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/abitofwilliam
BLOG: www.abitofwilliam.blogspot.co.uk

Following on from my review of the Hershey's Symphony bar, I also found this Nestlé Baby Ruth at B&M Bargains. It's a bar I've never tried before as I generally avoid most American snacks...the inclusion of ingredients like "high fructose corn syrup" and such usually has me running for the hills! But for once I thought I would give one a try if only to prove myself wrong.

Baby Ruth is described as "Bursting with peanuts, rich caramel and chewy nougat" which sounded like a tasty and unique combination. We don't get many peanut butter products in the UK so I was pretty excited. Sadly, like many US candies it was a bit of a letdown. Firstly the chocolate isn't even real chocolate...it's "compound" chocolate, meaning that it's a mixture of sugar, cocoa and vegetable fat. This was evident in the taste - I couldn't taste any real chocolate influences at all. The main bulk of the bar was a slightly buttery flavoured chewy mass of peanuts. There was no real defining flavour; it was all very weak and tasted of just sugar and peanuts. It was pleasant enough if only because of the nuts, but the caramel was anything but "rich".

Overall, I found this Baby Ruth bar disappointing, but I'm not really surprised. Like many US candies it's mostly a mix of sugar, corn syrup and vegetable fat in varying proportions, which seems to be a continuing trend. It's even happening with mainstream UK chocolates now, although thankfully corn syrup hasn't started to infiltrate our products...yet. My apologies for being so negative with this review but it's something that really annoys me!

Found at B&M Bargains for 59p.

One of Cadbury's most popular products on the shelves at the moment is the 120g block of Cadbury Dairy Milk Oreo which was launched back in 2012. The combination of Oreo and Dairy Milk chocolate has lead to many other Mondelez brands collaborating with Dairy Milk such as Daim, Ritz, Maynards and even Chips Ahoy?!

Only just recently, Mondelez decided to launch the popular Cadbury Dairy Milk Oreo in a much smaller 41g format and I kind of had a feeling that this would eventually happen. I think it's great that there is now a smaller bar because it prevents you from accidentally scoffing a whole 120g block and feeling the guilt afterwards (come on Cadbury fans, we've all been there!)

It also seems the smaller bar has a higher filling to chocolate ratio and this is just what I love about this bar. The packaging is resealable, just like most other Cadbury Dairy Milk products and I think eventually Cadbury are going to use this type of packaging on all of their single bars like Wispa and Marvellous Creations because it only seems right! I must admit I did struggle a little to take the bar out its packaging but it's all worth it in the end anyway!

The bar itself looks so inviting! Each block has a barrel shape and they do look rather similar to the Milka Lila Go bars?

On the bar it has a ribbon design which doesn't look like it matches the Cadbury branding and it's more suitable for the Milka bars. Cadbury maybe should've changed the design because it's a little lazy to use the same moulds from another chocolate brand?

The smell is gorgeous, it has a very strong cocoa scent with a slight biscuity cookies and cream aroma. Tastewise this bar is quite different to the 120g blocks of Cadbury Dairy Milk Oreo and I think maybe that's because of the higher ratio of vanilla filling. The creamy chocolate melts beautifully into the sweet vanilla cream morphing into a slight chocolate ice cream flavour, and as you bite into the Oreo pieces the biscuity taste is set free leaving you with a rather delightful Oreo taste in your mouth.

Just like many other Cadbury products, this bar was incredibly moreish and I ate the whole thing in seconds! Overall, I think this bar is so much better than the 120g format as it has more flavour and a better, almost perfect ratio of filling to chocolate.

I'm sure Mondelez will also launch the Dairy Milk Chips Ahoy and Daim bars in this format over the coming months because Mondelez are so predictable. If you look at the Milka range you'll see how similar it is to the Cadbury range and if there's something there that hasn't been launched under the Cadbury name I'm sure it will eventually and usually it does.

I quite like it when Mondelez launch new products and formats but instead of copying Milka, I'd like to see them go old school and bring back Spira? Or Wispa Mint? Or even Wispaccino because I'm sure us Brits would rather buy a Wispa Mint than a small Cadbury Dairy Milk Chips Ahoy!

Anyway, if you'd like to see more posts from me head over to my blog: www.abitofwilliam.blogspot.co.uk but I'll still be writing snack reviews on here :)

RATING: 7 out of 10.

From: Co-op.
Price: 50p (But they are usually around 60p)
Recommend?: If you are a massive fan of the 120g bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk Oreo and you don't want to end up scoffing the whole block then yes but if you're an old school Cadbury fan then this might disappoint you.

TWITTER: @abitofwilliam
FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/abitofwilliam
BLOG: www.abitofwilliam.blogspot.co.uk

Since Morrisons had the Almondy cake range on special offer recently I decided I had to give this one a try. It's new in the Almondy range along with the Philadelphia Lemon Almondy Cake I reviewed a few months back.

Like all Almondy cakes it's made with almonds instead of wheat and is certified gluten free, making it one of the few "mainstream" gluten-free products. Hurrah!

Unfortunately it wasn't all that special. When I opened the box I thought the cake looked quite flat, with less of a fluffy mousse layer than indicated by the image on the box.

Still it looked very cool with all the little chocolate buttons embedded on top!

It tasted pleasant enough, with a nice textural contrast between the almond, mousse and chocolate layers, but unfortunately the mousse was neither particularly rich and chocolatey nor smooth and creamy. It was somewhere in-between and quite mild in flavour. I wasn't very impressed at all and had expected a lot more, especially since the Almondy Daim cake is so tasty. The chocolatey topping was nice though and I did enjoy the overall texture...but the mousse flavour was just lacking. On the plus side, my mother described it as "very moreish" so maybe this cake just isn't for me!

I think the problem with these new Almondy cakes is that they're trying to diversify the range but they lack what makes the originals so good - it's the dense toppings and thinness, not so much the fillings that really make them special.

Overall this is a nice alternative to chocolate gateau if you're celiac or gluten-sensitive, but they could make them much, much better! I'd like to see a Black Forest variety, or perhaps some kind of dense almond chocolate torte.

Rating: 7 out of 10.

Price: £2 at Morrisons (usually £3).
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: Contains nuts, dairy, egg, soya.
Nutrition (per 100g): 420 Calories, 26g Fat, 39g Carbs, 29g Sugar.

Whilst in need of an energy fix at M&S recently I wasn't sure what to go for. A muffin? Too obvious. A sandwhich? Too boring. So I decided to look at their chocolate range and see what took my fancy. I've never tried their dark chocolates before so thought I'd give them a whirl. There was an offer of two bars for £3, so I went for Espresso Coffee and Italian Orange, two flavours that usually pair up very well with dark chocolate.

The orange variety is described as "Dark chocolate with candied orange peel" and the Espresso as "Dark chocolate with coffee flavouring". I tried both bars whilst at the park... hence the grassy backdrops in the pics!

Dark Chocolate Espresso Coffee:

The packaging for this looked kind of retro and didn't give much away about the chocolate within. Opening the wrapper I was met with a pretty basic dark chocolate aroma and a hint of coffee...nothing ground-breaking.

Taking a bite, the dark chocolate tasted pretty standard. It wasn't particularly rich or flavoursome, it was rather mild so will please those who don't like intense dark chocolates. I found it disappointing to be honest. I hoped the espresso would provide the kick I was looking for, but sadly the flavour was weak, artificial and didn't really work with the chocolate. It just tasted wrong, which is a shame because coffee and chocolate usually go very well together! Overall, a disappointing bar.

RATING: 6 out of 10.

Dark Chocolate with Italian Orange:

This had orange peel embedded in the chocolate so was thankfully a bit more interesting than the Espresso. There was a nice zesty tang from the chewy orange peel, although it wasn't enough to balance out the flavourless dark chocolate.

Again, like the Espresso bar the dark chocolate on offer was disappointing - there were no rich or complex flavours to go on, which may please those who like milder chocolate, but for me it seemed pointless. At least with brands like Lindt there's a certain richness from their 70% cocoa bars, and they cost less than these too.

RATING: 6.5 out of 10.

Overall, I feel a bit disappointed with my first sampling of Marks & Spencer's dark chocolates and won't be rushing to try them again any time soon. I've enjoyed their milk chocolates before though; so perhaps they're just better at milk chocolate?

If you've tried these bars please let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Price: £2 each or 2 bars for £3.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes (both).
Allergy Information: Contains soya, may contain nuts & milk (both).

In recent years Nestlé have converted Smarties and Rolo into Sharing Blocks, but now it's the turn of Toffee Crisp! I thought this was a bit pointless at first when I saw it in Tesco but decided to give it a try anyway, in the name of research...

I'm glad I did as it turned out to be very tasty, and actually quite different from a regular Toffee Crisp. In fact Nestlé have created something all together new with this block...it's like an amalgamation of Toffee Crisp, the discontinued Wonka Millionaire's Shortbread, and gooey caramel. Sweet, sickly...and very addictive!

The block is described as "Crisped cereals in a caramel flavour filling, topped with caramel and covered in milk chocolate" and weighs 115g. I paid £1.40 but I imagine the price will come down to £1 as time goes on.

The bar was rather thin, and each block has the Nestlé logo printed on it. It had a sweet chocolate and toffee aroma.

It's just as well the bar was thin because the sweetness really packs a punch, and that's no bad thing at all; this bar was sugary hedonistic bliss! The filling was super creamy as well as being caramel flavoured, and tastes pretty similar to Wonka Millionaire's Shortbread. The crispy rice pieces mixed into it gave a nice crunch and were very tasty. The soft caramel on top just added to the indulgent feel, and of course provided an extra hit of sugar! The chocolate was standard Nestlé milk chocolate; milky, sweet and a nice base for the other ingredients.

Overall, this is a very sweet bar, but in the best kind of way. I really enjoyed it and I'm glad Nestlé made it different from regular Toffee Crisps. It's more of an indulgent treat, although maybe a little on the calorific side so it's just as well it's meant for sharing!

RATING: 8.5 out of 10.

Price: £1.40 at Tesco.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Not stated.
Allergy Information: Contains milk. May contain nuts & soya. Appears to be gluten-free.
Nutrition (per 2 squares): 124 Calories, 7.3g Fat, 11.6g Sugar, 13.2g Carbs.

When Mondelez launched the Dairy Milk Chips Ahoy! Cookies bar last month, many found this an odd decision since Chips Ahoy! cookies are not well-known in the UK. True to style though, Mondelez were planning to launch the brand here all along and expect it to be as popular as Oreo within the next 5 years. A tall order!

I have to say I didn't expect these cookies to be in shops so quickly - Asda are already selling them for £1 a pack on special offer. There's 2 varieties: "Popcorn Candy Chip" which I'll be reviewing today and also a "Crispy Choco Caramel" variety, which I'm saving for later!

Popcorn Candy Chip is described as "Cookies with chocolate chips, sugar-coated candy shells and caramelised lightly salted popcorn". Opening the wrapper revealed a plastic tray of 12 small cookies with an enticing biscuity aroma. There was a hint of popcorn in there too which is rather unusual for cookies!

I was surprised by how small they were, but presumably this is because they're crammed so full of extra ingredients. The chocolate appeared to have burst out of some of the "candy shells" during baking.

Taste-wise the cookies were delicious, they had a nice buttery, wheaty flavour and were very crunchy. The chocolate chips were pleasantly sweet and milky whilst the popcorn added a salty, savoury edge that balanced it out. I have to say it was unusual to taste popcorn in a cookie, but it worked surprisingly well! The candy shells added a nice bit of crunch which made the texture more interesting. Needless to say the cookies were very moreish and I easily got through half the pack...dunked in coffee of course!

Overall, I think these Chips Ahoy! cookies are a success. They tasted great and are just unusual enough to stand out on UK shelves...I don't think I've ever seen cookies with popcorn in before so this really is something new for us Brits. I hope to see more cool flavours from them in future.

Stay tuned for a review of the "Crispy Choco Caramel" variety coming soon!

RATING: 8 out of 10.

Price: £1 at Asda (RRP is £1.99).
Suitable for vegetarians?: Not stated.
Allergy Information: Contains wheat, gluten, milk & soya. May contain nuts & egg.
Nutrition (per cookie): 70 Calories, 3.6g Fat, 8.8g Carbs, 4.9g Sugar.

Coca Cola recently launched a low-sugar cola sweetened with the plant extract stevia (see review HERE), and now Tesco have caught onto the stevia trend and boldly launched this "No Added Sugar" milk chocolate. It contains stevia, erythritol and inulin, and is described as "Milk chocolate with dietary fibre and sweeteners". There's also a dark chocolate variety.

I have to applaud Tesco for launching this bar because as a large supermarket they hold a lot of clout, and anything that helps to reduce the nations sugar consumption has to be a good thing! I found the bar amongst all the regular chocolate bars in Tesco for £2.

I ate the chocolate whilst out and about...hence the outdoors pic above and only managed to save a few chunks until I got home...hence the photos below!

Opening the wrapper, the chocolate had a very nice aroma; a comforting, milky smell; just like regular milk chocolate really. The blocks are shaped differently to regular Tesco chocolate bars...perhaps so they don't get mixed up on the production line?

Taking a bite, it tasted like regular milk chocolate - milky, creamy and melt in the mouth. There was a strong taste of whey powder, which reminded me of other Tesco own-brand chocolates. Some may dislike this taste but personally I found it rather comforting. Then...the stevia hit me. It's not a full-on rush to the brain like refined sugar, but a subtle, almost cooling sensation. It's very different and actually rather pleasant, allowing the cocoa and milk flavours to shine without overpowering them. Most of the flavour comes from the milk anyway and the stevia is more of an aftertaste.

Overall, I have to say I'm surprised that I rather enjoyed this bar! It tasted more subtle than regular chocolate containing sugar and was actually rather tasty. It makes a respectable alternative to regular milk chocolate if you're watching sugar intake, plus it contains more fibre and protein.

If you're trying to reduce sugar but still want a sweet treat, I would recommend giving this bar a try!

RATING: 7.5 out of 10.

Price: £2 at Tesco.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: Contains milk & soya. May contain nuts.
Nutrition (per 20g quarter of bar): 118 Calories, 8.3g Fat, 8.9g Carbs, 4.1g Sugars, 1.7g Protein.

It's September so of course that means it's officially time for Christmas products to appear on shelves! I must admit I felt a bit silly looking at the new Christmas section in Tesco recently...until I reminded myself that I'm just doing research on behalf of you, my dear readers! ;)

There wasn't much new apart from this Dairy Milk Chocolate Mousse Snowman - which joins the Vanilla Mousse Snowman launched last year - and is described as "Milk chocolate with a soft milk chocolate flavoured mousse filling".

Like the vanilla variety it comes in a simple snowman shape. Cutting into the poor chap revealed the chocolatey filling...not very snowy is he!

Whilst I thought the Vanilla Mousse Snowman was too sweet, I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this version a lot more. The chocolate flavour was pleasantly rich and comforting, and not overpoweringly sweet, plus it was extremely creamy. I had expected it to be rather plain and boring, but it actually makes a good alternative to the sweeter vanilla variety.

Overall, as simple as this flavour is it's a nice partner to the vanilla version and I'm sure many will be enjoying these over the next 4 months or so. It might not be Christmas every day...but at least you can pretend it is with these! ;)

RATING: 8 out of 10.

Price: 2 for £1 at Tesco & Co-Op.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: Contains milk. May contain nuts.
Nutrition (per snowman): 168 Calories, 11g Fat, 15.5g Carbs, 15.5g Sugar.

Whilst in Morrisons recently and in need of a snacks fix, I decided to give this Strawberries and Cream Limited Edition Butterkist a try. I've seen it around in shops for a while, in fact it was meant as a limited edition only for the Summer months, I believe. Since it was reduced in price (presumably to make way for the Salted Caramel 100th Birthday limited edition) I thought "may as well try it!"

It tasted pretty much like I expected...regular sweet Butterkist popcorn, with a vague flavour of strawberry. Nice enough, but nothing groundbreaking. In fact I would say the strawberry flavour didn't really work that well with the popcorn...I'd rather have a strong caramel or salty flavour instead. I'm reminded of the Toffee Apple Butterkist flavour I reviewed last year, which was also rather disappointing. Seems like the flavours of fruit and popcorn just don't go together very well!

Overall, this was a nice enough snack but it's not something I would buy again.

RATING: 7 out of 10.

Price: £1 at Morrisons.

Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.

Allergy Information: Contains milk, corn & soya.

I was recently sent a selection of Fruit Bowl snacks to review, and the first I tried were these "Fruit Peelers". I'm always trying to reduce my sugar intake and eat healthier so these were a very welcome snack! They're currently available from most supermarkets, I believe, plus Poundland sells most of the range too.

The peelers contain fruit concentrates including strawberry and apple, and no refined sugar. They look kind of like fruity liqorice sticks that can be pulled apart...hence the name!

I took some out with me for a quick snack and they did the job perfectly. They had a strong flavour of strawberry and gave me a nice boost of energy, although I will admit, as soon as I ate one I immediately wanted another! That said, they didn't give me a massive sugar rush like chocolate usually does.

Overall, these are a tasty, sweet snack that is far healthier than chocolate. I imagine they would make a good addition to children's lunchboxes.

RATING: 7.5 out of 10.

Fruit Peelers are gluten-free, dairy-free and suitable for vegetarians. For more info: http://www.fruit-bowl.com/peelers/

*Product sent for an honest review.

I was surprised when I first heard about this new "Double Caramel" Kitkat from Nestlé UK. They've done caramel Kitkats several times in the past, of course; from the Kitkat Editions Caramel that were topped with runny caramel...to the Chunky Caramel filled with a caramel flavour paste in 2009...and even the legendary Kitkat Caramac! But now they've opted for this double version which brings you the best of two worlds: a section of caramel fudge paste with crunchy caramel, and a section with a layer of smooth caramel. Hurrah for innovation!

Combining two different textures is a genius idea from Nestlé...what other chocolates can you say that do anything similiar?! You'd never get a Bounty bar with two different layers, for example!

The description on the wrapper reads "crispy wafer finger in 2 chunks topped with contrasting fillings: 1 smooth caramel & 1 crunchy side with caramel pieces, both topped with milk chocolate". Unlike a regular Kitkat Chunky it's split into just two portions.

Biting into the crunchy layer first I was met with the creamy, fudge-like paste with the crunchy caramel. It tasted somewhat similar to Daim, but with a more butterscotch like flavour. This section tasted fantastic...the combination of textures from the crunchy wafer, fudgy paste and crunchy caramel was lovely.

Biting into the soft caramel layer it tasted pretty much as I remember the Kitkat Editions Caramel from 10 years ago...sweet, buttery and very delicious. It makes me wonder why they ever stopped making them in the first place?!

Overall, this Kitkat is a fantastic idea from Nestlé - combining different textures in the same bar is a great novelty and it wouldn't surprise me if other companies start copying this idea too. I hope to see more varieties in future...maybe an Aero/Kitkat hybrid? Or one with After Eight creme? You know it makes sense Nestlé! ;)

RATING: 8.5 out of 10.

Price: 65p or 2 for £1.20 at WH Smith.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: Coontains wheat, glutren & milk. May contain nuts.
Nutrition (per half bar): 109 Calories.

Whilst in a local import food store recently I spotted this new Vanilla Cream Milka variety. I'm not sure if it's just for the Polish market but I haven't seen it anywhere else. Being a fan of both vanilla and Milka chocolates in general I just had to give it a try!

The chocolate contained a layer of vanilla cream topped with a layer of gooey yellow vanilla "sauce". It looked very intriguing; I don't think I've ever had a chocolate bar with a gooey vanilla layer before! There were speckles of vanilla seeds dispersed throughout the cream.

It tasted very nice indeed...the creme filling was very smooth and creamy, whilst the gooey sauce was very sweet and further added to the vanilla flavour. It was a bit on the excessively sweet side, but still very nice, especially if you like vanilla flavored chocolates!

Overall, this isn't something to rush out and track down, but it's still a very tasty bar of Milka which I'd recommend trying if you happen to find one.

Have you tried/seen this bar? If so let me know in the comments!

RATING: 7.5 out of 10.

Price: 99p in local import store. Made by Mondelez.

Whilst in an import candy store recently I noticed they were selling Australian sweets, which excited me greatly! There were lots of interesting things on sale but this Whittaker's Peanut Slab (which is actually from New Zealand) caught my eye, since I remember reading about Whittaker's chocolates on Jim's Chocoate Mission years ago. They're a company I've always had on my list of chocolates to try.

The bar was a small 50g block with the Whittaker logo imprinted on it. Simple and no fuss...I like it! It reminded me of a bar of gold boullion thanks to the gold wrapper.

Splitting the block in half (which was rather difficult - it's so chunky!) revealed plenty of whole roasted peanuts embedded in the chocolate. I couldn't wait to take a bite!

The chocolate tasted rich and milky, with a good smooth melt. It tasted slightly different to what I'm used to from UK milk chocolate, presumably because it's imported or because the chocolate has a different melting point in New Zealand? I'm not sure, but it was different - not bad, just different. The peanuts were the star of the show...they were fantastically crunchy and moreish, and went perfectly with the sweet chocolate. It's a simple combination but one that works beautifully.

Overall, my first introduction to Whittkar's Chocolate was a very positive one, and I'd like to see their bars more widely available in the UK. They do quite an extensive and interesting range, including a bar containing peanut butter. If I ever spot that one in import stores I'll be sure to give it a review!

For more info on Whittaker's check out their website: http://www.whittakersworldwide.com/

RATING: 8 out of 10.

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