Kev's Snack Reviews

It's that time of year when all the new products are being launched - hurrah! Let's celebrate with another Spotted In Shops post... First up is the above bar of Bournville Orange Dark Chocolate which I spotted in Iceland Foods. It costs £1, is Dairy Free and has a "New Old!" label on...because this isn't the first time Cadbury have made this bar. It was around many years ago (2009!) along with an Old Jamaica Bournville , just before Cadbury were taken over by Kraft.  Other new developments from Cadbury are their Darkmilk range; a rich and creamy chocolate with a higher percentage of cocoa than Dairy Milk (but still containing milk, obviously). Currently available for £1 from Tesco in an Original variety... Plus Roasted Almond. Does this sound like your kind of thing? Let me know in the comments! A rather strange product Cadbury have launched is this Sweet Shop style bag of chocolates, that includes Dairy Milk, Caramel, Fudge and E...

Today's review is for a bar not many may have tried due to its very high cocoa content. It can be somewhat bitter to those who aren't used to it, even lovers of 70% chocolate may find it overpowering, but it's one I often end up eating when trying to reduce my sugar intake but still need a little choccy fix. It's currently on offer for £1.50 in Tesco stores so I've been buying it quite a lot recently. It comes in the same style blocks as all Lindt Excellence bars, with the Lindt logo printed on and with a nice glossy finish. There's vanilla in the ingredients which gives it a subtle, smooth aftertaste. I have to say I do enjoy these bars for a richer chocolate fix, they're not quite as flavoursome as Green & Blacks but they're still pretty rich and smooth. The vanilla is the key ingredient that prevents these from tasting too bitter. A few squares is definitely all you need though, any more than that and it becomes a bit too much! Overall, ...

There's been a few new additions to the Lindt range in the UK recently, not only have we had a small bar of Lindor Orange, there's also a new Lindt Excellence Raspberry Dark and this; Roasted Hazelnut Dark. Described as "Fine dark chocolate with roasted hazelnuts from Piedmont", this is something I simply had to try - I love any chocolate with hazelnuts in! The bars were on offer for £1.60 in Sainsbury's recently, although usually cost around £1.99. The chocolate contains 47% cocoa solids and milk fat, so unfortunately isn't suitable for vegans. The Piedmont hazelnuts make up 9% of the bar. It had a yummy strong hazelnut flavour, somewhat remiscent of Nutella, with the richer flavour of the dark chocolate complimenting the nuts perfectly. A few squares of this go perfectly with a cuppa, however I did feel it would have been better had it been either 70% cocoa dark chocolate, or just milk chocolate. I get that they're trying to appeal to fans of b...

I've been gradually making my way through Lindt's Excellence Dark range recently - they do some excellent bars, and have recently added a Raspberry Intense to the UK range too. However for today's review I've chosen something that's been on shelves for a while - Lindt Excellence Caramel with a touch of sea salt. Salted Caramel is still a trendy flavour in confectionery, so how does Lindt's version fare? Like most of the Excellence range, the chocolate here is semisweet and comes in at 47% cocoa solids. It contains crunchy caramel pieces with a touch of sea salt from France. The chocolate is very nice; sweet and slightly creamy whilst also tasting rich. The crunchy caramel pieces and sea salt bring a welcome sweet and salty taste that contrasts nicely with the chocolate. This is a very moreish bar indeed - it's very easy to eat one square after another and it's perfect with a cup of coffee! Overall, this is an "excellent" bar (s...

Continuing with the Lindt Excellence reviews, today's is one that has been a favourite of mine for a while now. Lindt Excellence Mint Intense is a simple dark chocolate bar, described as "Fine dark chocolate with a delicious hint of mint". Like many of Lindt's Intense bars, it contains dairy so unfortunately isn't suitable for vegans. It contains 47% cocoa solids, making it more of a semisweet chocolate than a true "dark" chocolate, which is perhaps what makes it so tasty and palatable. The bar has a sweet, minty aroma. It tastes smooth, sweet and with a hint of creaminess that gives way to a refreshing minty flavour. It's perfectly balanced, with enough mint and enough sweetness - it's never bitter or unpleasant. It's a comforting bar indeed if minty chocolates are your thing! Overall, for mint lovers this is a bar I would highly recommend, it's more of a grown up mint chocolate bar that fans of quality chocolates will r...

Lindt have brought out a few new interesting bars in the UK recently in Sainsbury's. They've just started selling Lindt Raspberry Intense and Lindt Roasted Hazelnut , both of which I want to try but am waiting for a bit of a price reduction first! So for now, I'm delving back into the snacks archive to review this Lime Intense, described as "Fine dark chocolate with pieces of lime zest". Unfortunately, this is not a dairy free chocolate so isn't suitable for vegans, as it contains milk fat in the ingredients. These cost around £2 or so in Sainsbury's and Tesco. The dark chocolate is pretty nice, rich and sweet with a hint of creaminess from the milk. It contains 47% cocoa solids so is more of a semisweet chocolate rather than true dark chocolate. The lime pieces bring a welcome sweet zestiness that compliments the dark chocolate perfectly. Lime can be a bit too tart by itself but here the flavour is balanced really well, and kept me reaching ...

There's so much festive stuff in the shops right now it's hard to keep track of it all, but luckily I'm here to save the day with some of the best chocolates, sweets and novelty gift ideas! Only 2 weeks left until the big day so let's get cracking... Reese's Giant Peanut Butter Cups: First up, this is a must for any peanut butter addict! Scoff them all to yourself... or you could share them. Available from Debenhams and other department stores. Lindt Excellence Classic Assortment: If you know someone with a taste for the darker side of chocolate you can't go wrong with this Lindt Excellence assortment...it contains their best dark chocolate bars plus a Creamy Milk bar. Available from Debenhams. Sweet Shop Giant Gummy Cola Bottle: If you've always had a hankering for a giant version of everyone's favourite childhood sweets aka cola bottles, now is your chance! Available from Debenhams/online. Giant Gummy Rat: I don't know why a...