Chocolate Archives - Page 4 of 8

November 19, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Aero Dark Chipotle Truffle – A Nice Combo of Sweet and Spice

Candy Bars, Chocolate

Spicy chocolate is an odd combo that can be off-putting if done poorly. Done right, however, and the spiciness adds a nice warm heat that compliments dark chocolate surprisingly well.

I honestly didn’t think Aero could pull it off, but hey, what do you know — they did it.

The chipotle truffle part of the bar doesn’t have a ton of flavour — there’s a mild floral heat, but for the most part, the bar tastes of dark chocolate with a bonus spicy kick. The level of spice is mostly just a mild tingle; you don’t even notice it at first. It’s there, but it’s subtle enough that it never gets in the way or makes the bar taste gimmicky.

And the dark chocolate is quite tasty; it’s on the sweeter side (the sweetness is likely amped up by the milk chocolate interior, which complements the dark quite well), but it has a deep chocolatey flavour that’s quite satisfying. As for the texture, the snappy exterior and the classic Aero bubbliness is a delightful combo.

Manufactured by: Nestle
Nutritional info (8 segments, 40 grams): 230 calories, 15 grams of fat (9 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 5 mg of cholesterol, 15 mg of sodium, 21 grams of carbohydrates, 2 gram of fibre, 17 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Sugar, unsweetened chocolate, modified milk ingredients, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, modified palm oil, soy lecithin, natural flavour, polyglycerol polyricinoleate, annatto extract, paprika extract.

November 5, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Hershey’s Creamy Milk Chocolate – Not Exactly the Best Chocolate You can Buy

Chocolate

I’m not even sure why I bought this one. As soon as I had it in my home, I regretted it: I’m actually going to have to eat this now, aren’t I?

I mean, it’s not that bad. It’s Hershey milk chocolate. It is what it is. Odds are that you’ve eaten it and you have an opinion on it. So I don’t need to waste much time describing it to you.

It’s chocolate, so it’s basically tasty, but it has a slightly grainy consistency and an odd, distinctively sour aftertaste that, as I’ve mentioned in a previous review, shares chemical properties with literal vomit.

It certainly has its own unique personality, and I don’t begrudge anyone for enjoying it, but if I have the choice between this and pretty much any other milk chocolate, it’s not a tough decision.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Nutritional info (1/2 bar, 50 grams): 250 calories, 15 grams of fat (9 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 10 mg of cholesterol, 55 mg of sodium, 29 grams of carbohydrates, 1 grams of fibre, 28 grams of sugar, 5 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, milk ingredients, cocoa butter, unsweetened chocolate, lecithin (soy), natural flavour).

September 30, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Ritter Sport Cacao Selection: 61% Cacao Dark Chocolate – Tasty Dark Chocolate

Chocolate

I’ve found Ritter Sport to be a bit hit or miss of late, but this one — part of their “Cacao Selection” line — contains a scant three ingredients, so I figured that would be pretty hard to mess up.

And yeah, it’s quite tasty. They did not mess it up.

The chocolate has a satisfying snap, a nice creamy melt, and a good amount of sweetness. The taste is a bit more muted than you might expect, however, with absolutely no bitterness and a surprisingly subtle flavour that takes a couple of squares to really appreciate. I enjoy the punchy flavour you get from more intense varieties of dark chocolate, so I missed that here, but it’s certainly tasty enough. It reminded me a lot of Lindt dark chocolate, so if you’ve ever had that, then you have a good idea of what to expect here.

Other than that… It’s good, I don’t know. It’s hard to review plain dark chocolate unless you’re one of those “notes of tobacco, dried figs, and cherries” guys (yes, those people exist for chocolate; they’re not just insufferable about wine), and I’m not one of those guys. So I’ll just say that this was good but not great and leave it at that.

Manufactured by: Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG
Nutritional info (10 pieces, 40 grams): 240 calories, 18 grams of fat (1 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat), 0 mg cholesterol, 1 mg of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 2 gram of fibre, 15 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.
Ingredients: Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter.

September 23, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Dairy Milk Crispy Rice – A Better Version of a Crunch Bar

Chocolate

I recently wrote about my disappointment with the current version of the Crunch bar, which was bought by Ferrero, reformulated, and made thoroughly mediocre.

Crunch used to be one of my favourites, so this kinda bummed me out.

Well, here comes Cadbury to the rescue — Dairy Milk Crispy Rice is basically a Crunch bar, but without the crushing disappointment.

There’s not much to it; it’s just crispy puffed rice and milk chocolate. And of course, if you’ve ever had Cadbury milk chocolate, then you know exactly what to expect here. It’s distinctive and tasty, and aside from the rice, that’s the entirety of this bar.

The puffed rice is nice and crispy, though I wish there were a bit more of it. The ratio of chocolate to rice is higher here than in a Crunch bar, but that’s a fairly minor complaint. The contrast between the creamy chocolate and the crispy rice is absolutely delightful.

Manufactured by: Cadbury
Nutritional info (10 squares, 38 grams): 200 calories, 11 grams of fat (7 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 10 mg of cholesterol, 50 mg of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fibre, 20 grams of sugar, 3 grams of protein.
Ingredients: milk chocolate (sugar, milk ingredients, cocoa butter, unsweetened chocolate, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavour), rice crisps (rice, sugar, salt, malted barley extract, monoglycerides).

September 6, 2020January 10, 2021 Michael

Aero White Chocolate – A Tasty Combo of White and Milk Chocolate

Chocolate

I think it’s clear at this point that combining white chocolate with milk chocolate is the way to go. Stuff like Kit Kat White & Milk and Kinder Chocolate is proof that it’s a great combo. I like white chocolate, but in the absence of cocoa solids, its flavour tends to be a bit one-note sweet. Adding milk chocolate thoroughly solves that problem while still retaining white chocolate’s distinct personality.

Aero White Chocolate, despite the name, isn’t fully white — it features a milk chocolate exterior with an aerated white chocolate interior.

It’s quite good. It’s got an interesting texture from the bubbles in the middle, enough milk chocolate to give it a nice punch of cocoa flavour, and a creamy white chocolate base that gives it a pleasant milkiness. If you’ve ever had Kinder Chocolate, this is the same idea, but with the bubbliness you get from an Aero.

It’s very sweet — white chocolate does tend to be on the sweeter side — but not overwhelmingly so. The milk chocolate does a solid job of balancing things out.

Manufactured by: Nestle
Nutritional info (7 segments, 32 grams): 170 calories, 10 grams of fat (6 grams of saturated fat, 0.1 grams of trans fat), 5 mg of cholesterol, 35 mg of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fibre, 19 grams of sugar, 2 gram of protein.
Ingredients: Sugar, modified milk ingredients, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, soy lecithin, polyglycerol polyricinoleate, salt, natural flavour.