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...

Another day, another review of Green & Blacks Velvet Edition. Why do I do this to myself? I should have learnt my lesson from trying the Velvet Edition Orange & Almond  and Mint Dark Chocolate varieties, but as a dark chocolate lover I'm often tempted by special offers in supermarkets. When Green & Blacks 85% bar is on offer I'l buy it, but on this occasion the Velvet Edition range was on offer at £1.50 a bar in Tesco, so I thought I would see how the 70% tastes...naked so to speak, free from other flavours or nuts. One thing I do like about these bars is that they contain no soy lecithin, which is always a plus. They're also dairy free and suitable for vegans (except for the Salted Caramel variety). I like the designs of the bars, too - they have nice clean squares that are easier to break than the likes of Lindt or regular Green & Blacks bars. This variety contains vanilla bean powder in the ingredients, so I was curious if this would enhance th...

Mondelez have done a few questionable things in recent years, but perhaps the most questionable yet is their move away from organic chocolate within the Green & Blacks range. It remains to be seen if all G&B bars will no longer be organic, but so far they've been giving this new non organic Velvet Edition range quite a push in supermarkets. After the disappointing Almond & Blood Orange bar I wasn't going to bother trying any more of the range, however curiosity got the better of me with this Mint version. I do love a minty chocolate, and was curious how this might compare to the regular mint chocolate bar from G&B. The range is reduced to £1.50 at the moment in Tesco, which is still too much for inferior chocolate if you ask me. The bars contain 90g which I believe is less than a regular Green & Blacks bar. So not only are they non organic they're giving you less too. Way to go Mondelez! Do forgive my grainy photo, I took it as I was exiting...

I've been skeptical of this new "Velvet Edition" range from Green & Blacks since it suddenly started popping up on shelves over the last month or so. It seems to be a ploy to move away from the Organic ethics of regular Green & Blacks bars, since these are not organic or fairtrade certified. Instead they are part of the "Cocoa Life" program, that supposedly invests in sustainable farming and improves the lives of communities. Exactly how much they pledge towards such projects is anyone's guess. Velvet Edition chocolate is supposedly crafted by "Taste Specialists" using the delictate character and soft texture of the finest Ghanian cocoa balanced with sweet Madagascan vanilla. It has "a rich cocoa content yet exceptionally smooth flavour". This variety is combined with Sicilian blood orange oil and chopped caramelised almonds. It contains no soy lecithin, which is a plus for those with soy allergies. I found it in Waitrose o...

I must be honest, I've never much seen the point of this THIN range from Green & Blacks. Their chocolate is already rather thin anyway, all they have done here is made the blocks thinner and flatter, so they're similar to Lindt bars. Maybe that's the idea. Either way, I rarely buy them, although the Salted Caramel variety is pretty tasty I must say. However I'm always game to try a new product, so when I saw this new Anglesey Sea Salt Dark Chocolate variety recently in Sainsbury's, straight into my basket it went! This contains "organic crunchy dark chocolate with sea salt from the Anglesey Coast", contains 60% cocoa solids and is suitable for vegetarians. It also appears to be gluten free and suitable for vegans although it "may contain milk". I'm not sure what I was expecting from this, but I don't think the flavours worked that well. I normally like a lick of salt when it's paired with intense sweetness, such as w...

I've always liked Green & Blacks chocolate but found the price off-putting, so when I saw their bars reduced recently in Sainsbury's I thought I should take the opportunity to try a few I've never had before. One was this Milk Chocolate and Almond bar, which contains 37% cocoa solids organic milk chocolate with chopped roasted almonds. After trying other nutty bars recently like the Dairy Milk Chopped Nut and Ritter Sport Hazelnuts I was curious how this would compare...I know hazelnuts and chocolate work beautifully together but it's a while since I've had some with almonds in. Unwrapping the bar revealed a nice slab with very small blocks, which smelled lovely and rich with a savoury nutty edge. The almonds are very plentiful in the bar indeed, there were a lot more than I was expecting.  The chocolate tasted delicious...rich yet creamy, with a good cocoa flavour, and the almonds bringing a moreish savoury nuttiness to the bar. They w...

Green & Blacks recently launched a range of "THIN" chocolate bars, amongst them flavours such as Salted Caramel ( which I reviewed previously ), Dark, Mint and this 37% Milk. The range is currently on offer for £1.50 at most Tesco Express stores. This Milk variety contains 37% cocoa solids, which is a little higher than the  average milk chocolate. As with all G&B chocolates all the ingredients are organic and they use raw cane sugar, giving a more "rustic" flavour. The squares are fairly large, and I found two to be a nice amount for a cocoa fix. The chocolate was very flavoursome, much richer than regular G&B milk chocolate and Lindt's Creamy Milk chocolate. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it, I was expecting it to be very milky but instead the milk took a back seat and the cocoa flavours were more prominent. As a fan of rich milk chocolates from the likes of Hotel Chocolat I was really pleased by this! I found a few squares very satis...

When I first heard about these new "THIN" bars from Green & Blacks/Mondelez I had to laugh..."how are they going to sell thinner chocolate?!", I scoffed. Turns out I shouldn't have been so skeptical...this is  seriously delicious chocolate and nicer than any G&B bar I've had before. They're a bit late jumping on the "salted caramel" trend, but better late than never I guess! The bar is described as "Organic milk chocolate with salted caramel pieces". The salt is apparently anglesey sea salt, and the chocolate contains an impressive 37% cocoa solids. The bar was indeed "thin", although no more than a standard Lindt bar so I'm not sure why G&B are playing it up so much. It tasted amazing though! The caramel pieces were very reminiscent of Daim; extremely crunchy and moreish, with an added lick of salt. The chocolate is richer than an average milk chocolate thanks to the higher cocoa percentage. I...