NEW! Macabella Crunchy Choc Macadamia Spread (Sainsbury's)

There's a new chocolate spread on the block, well new to British Supermakets at least, made by  Australian manufacturers Macabella who specialise in luxury chocolate spread infused with Macadamia Nuts. To be honest, I wouldn't have given the product a second thought was it not for some spectacular food porn photographs on Instagram (you know who you are). Every morning I felt the familiar pang of envy as I saw each image of the delightfully glossy looking spread atop a slice of wholemeal toast -and I knew I would have to try it for myself pronto. So off to Sainsbury's I trotted, forking out the £2.50 introductory offer price for the 375g. But what's so special about Macabella? They say...

"Macabella Choc Macadamia Spread is infused with the unique flavour of diced and gently ground macadamias, allowing your taste buds to experience a true delight with one of the worlds finest nuts.Macadamias are a nutrition powerhouse and contain many nutrients including heart-friendly monosaturated fatty acids.Macabella is heavenly all on its own by the spoonful, but you can also enjoy the smooth velvety texture with extra crunch, spread thick onto your favourite bread or croissant. However you choose to indulge with Macabella one spoonful is never enough."

I loved the luxury design on the packaging, in fact somehow the jar looked out of place next to my jar of much loved Skippy peanut butter. My joy was set to continue once I unscrewed the golden lid too, for the spread was shiny, with lots of visible finely chopped nuts. For those interested there is a 'velvet' smooth version of Macabella too. I surprised myself for opting for the crunchy version seeing as I'm a smooth peanut butter* kind of girl -but I thought the nuts might get lost amongst the chocolate flavour if they were fully blended. 

Tastewise, the spread was rich, with devilishly naughty chocolate flavour. This was slightly unexpected considering that the only chocolatey ingredient is 6.5% of fat reduced cocoa powder. Don't get me wrong though -this certainly isn't a diet product! There was a creaminess to it that surpassed the likes of Nutella, and it melted better when slathered onto my warm soft oatcake (new obsession alert). The macadamia flavour perhaps wasn't as strong as I expected -but then the nut is known for its mild, creamy taste anyway. I also found that it made for a yummy treat used as a dip for pink lady apples; the tangy-sweet combination works extraordinarily well! 

I'm not sure I'll always buy Macabella in favour of Nutella, but it makes for a welcome change -especially as Tesco don't seem to make their fabulous Dark Chocolate & Almond spread anymore, boo. 

8/10

*But weirdly crunchy Biscoff gets my vote!