Orion Studentská Pečeť Duomix: Nestle's White & Milk Chocolate Bar with Peanuts, Raisins & Jelly

Last week I popped into one of Hereford's Eastern European Deli's, one that I don't often visit due to its location. In it I found a number of chocolate bars that I've not seen before, by a brand I'd also never come across - Orion. However, when I picked up one of the bars out of sheer curiosity (I hope you'll understand why) I soon discovered that Orion is a nestle brand. Ahhh. Now I didn't give into temptation at the time, but posted a couple of stories about the range on my instagram. Within minutes I was inundated with messages about how great the bars were. I was going to have to try this unusual chocolate...

At £1.29 for 180g the bar was excellent value too - at least I thought so until I realised it was a month out of date. Oh well, it wasn't about to kill me. The Reese's cups that were 15 months out of date didn't anyway. Not being able to speak Czech or Slovakian I'm afraid I couldn't be sure of what the bar entailed. Google translate (of Orion's website) paints a very odd picture... 

"DUOMIXCan not you decide if you have a taste for a white or milk STUDENT CARE? Duomix offers a bit of each variation, while the tongue dissolves so quickly that you want to taste another dice."

I was met with a very aesthetically pleasing bar when I retrieved it from is foil wrapping. Made primarily of white chocolate, each cube was topped with a milk chocolate topping, whilst the underside was heftily nobbled. I hadn't seen a bar this interesting for a long time -if ever. 

Unfortunately the quality of the white chocolate wasn't all that great. It tasted chalky and whilst I wasn't expecting the creaminess of luxury Belgian white chocolate, I did expect it to be on par with Nestle's Milkybar. The milk chocolate topping tasted more like a smooth praline to me. The hazelnut flavour came as a welcome surprise though and complimented the white chocolate beneath.

But what about the pieces within the bar I hear you ask? Each cube provides a different textural experience thanks to the the abundance of chopped peanuts, raisins and jelly beans. Both the peanuts and raisins worked well with the chocolate. The peanuts of course added salinity and crunch, whilst the raisins added moisture and a slight chew. 

Those jelly beans though. They're the main reason I don't buy the Cadbury Marvellous Creation bars. Jelly in chocolate just doesn't work for me, and seems to be a cheap filler to bring down the cost of production. I find that they're obtrusive little pests that offer little in the way of flavour but seem to wedge themselves frustratingly between teeth. Perhaps that's just me though. 

All of my complaints make it sound like I didn't enjoy this chocolate bar, when it some strange way I did. There's a certain charm to it - perhaps because it's so unusual, or maybe it's because it didn't leave me out of pocket. I wouldn't rush to buy it again, but If you spot it and fancy something completely alternative to what we've got in the UK then give it a go! 

6/10

NEW! KitKat Chunky NY Cheesecake (Tesco)

It's been just over a year since we last had a new flavour to the KitKat chunky range. Have you tried the Cookie Dough version? I must admit that I wasn't taken with it. In fact I haven't bothered buying it since that review. The KitKat peanut butter bites were a pleasant surprise however, so I tried to hold back my preconceptions and get excited when I saw that Nestle had released NY Cheesecake Chunkys. The new KitKats are currently stocked in Tesco and are part of their very handy 3 for £1.20 mix and match chocolate bar offer (or else they're 60p each). 

"Crispy wafer with a New York Cheesecake flavour topping (19%) covered with milk chocolate (60%)."

As normal, the Chunky comprised of three segments. Within these segments were the bottom layers of wafer topped with that "New York Cheesecake" layer. Now I've only recently mentioned by ambiguity towards NY cheesecake, and it's lack of identifiable flavour. Was this going to be just another cover up from Nestle, another marketing ploy for what was essentially a pretty dull vanilla topping?

Well kind of. It was vanilla-ry but there was a slight sour tang to it that I've not tasted on any KitKat before. I mean, it wasn't groundbreaking and it certainly didn't make me squeal with delight, but it wasn't resigned to the bin either. The ingredients list includes "powdered soft cheese", so there is some authenticity to the title, but without any hint of biscuit (digestive, graham cracker or otherwise) can it really be labelled as cheesecake? In any case, the topping worked fairly well with the standard KitKat milk chocolate and wafer layers; i.e. it didn't jar, but didn't provide something entirely new or interesting either.

If you're intrigued by the bar then please do give it a go, at least there's no new product premium to pay -as is so often the case nowadays- and it's inoffensive. As the Cookie Dough before it, I probably won't bother with it again though -  I'd much rather the double caramel, peanut butter or white chocolate KitKats. Well actually, I'd rather that Nestle brought over the Raspberry Cheesecake Duo KitKats that our Australian cousins are lucky enough to have - of which you can read Nat's review here.

7/10

Nestle White Chocolate Crunch (Poundland)

I often moan about the lack of white chocolate bars on the market. Are the sweet-toothed big kids among us really that far and few between? In any case, none of the primary mass-manufacturers of chocolate in the UK seem to be that interested in it, with one exception to the rule - Nestle. I can't help but feel disappointed by that, namely because I don't really like Nestle's chocolate. Except Milkybar. The release (or rather re-release) of the Smarties Milkybar was a great idea on Nestlé's part, but I fear that that's about as exciting as the white chocolate market is going to get over here for now. 

Luckily, my instagram feed is full of fellow chocoholics who also love finding unusual/lesser known bars...

...and this is how I came to find this white chocolate Crunch bar. I'm aware that some newsagents sell smaller versions of it, but I haven't seen any in eons, and I don't think I've ever actually tried it before - hence the review.

The bar was imported from the Netherlands, and I found it after spotting this post by junk food genius Niki. Poundland it was, post-haste! 

Who didn't grow up on Rice Krispie cakes? If memories of sticky fingers (or every body part in my case) whilst pouring a box of puffed rice into melted chocolate wasn't a staple part of your childhood I feel sorry for you. For some reason we never made white chocolate versions, and that seems like a shame. 

Luckily Nestle have gone some way to rectify this mistake with this Rice Krispie filled bar. I loved the craggy shaped blocks and the big lettering down the smooth side - which I assume is there in case you forget what you're eating. The underside looked like it had contracted a nasty case of acne. Wait, that's not a very appetising description is it? 

Don't let my gruesome analogy put you off though, the bar was yummy in a cheap yet nostalgic kind of way. I mean, it was a far cry from the likes of the luxuriously silky Choc Affair bars. It tasted slightly chalky and especially sweet -but was also oddly comforting. The texture lived up to expectations; delivering a crunchiness that wasn't off-putting whilst simultaneously invoking memories of Sunday afternoon 'baking' sessions with my siblings. 

If you're a fellow sweet toothed white chocolate lover than this bar is well worth a trip to Poundland for! It's not about to win any awards, but it's sure to make you smile. 

8/10

NEW! Nestle Milkybar with Smarties Review(Morrisons)

I've been lucky enough to try some high quality chocolate recently, and yet I'll still proudly hold my hands up to the fact that I still love a good old Milkybar. Could it be most childish of all the chocolate bars? Possibly, but I know that Milkybar buttons are guaranteed to put a smile on my face. It's the small pleasures. Anyway, Nestle have decided to treat us with a new version of the iconic bar, and one that might be even more childish than the original...

Meet The Smarties Milkybar. 

"White chocolate with mini Smarties® (19%) (milk chocolate in a crisp sugar shell)."

As far as I'm aware, the new 100g bars are currently only available in Morrisons stores, but I'm sure they'll pop up elsewhere in the coming weeks. At £1 each they're not bad value either! 

What a pretty bar! Do any of you remember the little pyramid shaped bags of mini Smarties? I've not seen them

In years and the sight of the brightly coloured sugar coated chocolates reminded me of my childhood. Anyhoo, there was enough of them to be visible, without overtaking the white chocolate.

The Milkybar tasted just as I remembered: creamy but with a little chalkiness. The Smarties offered little in the way of extra flavour, but they added a lovely crunch. The addition was far more successful than the Reese's Pieces Peanut Butter Cups (which, since my review I've seen likened to toenail clippings, a thought I can't shake*) and I kind of liked it. The Milk and Cookies Milkybar is a tastier variant on the original chocolate, but this is by far the more attractive of the two!

8/10 

*Stay tuned for a review of the new Reese's Cookie Crunch Cups!

NEW! Milkybar Milk Slices (ASDA)

White chocolate. Its adored by most dark chocolate dodgers, yet is still vastly under-utilised in the U.K. The only white chocolate bar currently available in most newsagents is Milkybar, and that's marketed at children. Still, there's something quite comforting about eating children's food. I don't trust anyone who doesn't enjoy a plate of McCain's smiles with Birds Eye fish fingers. I did feel a little silly buying these Milkybar cake slices, but realised soon after posting my Instagram post last night that I'm not the only adult with an affinity towards kiddie junk food.

I used to regularly buy the Nesquik chocolate milk slices, but haven't had them in a while, opting for chocolate cake/ muffins instead. To be honest, I'd all but forgotten about them until these Milkybar versions were released. At £1 for four from ASDA they weren't too badly priced though, and they're good to eat up to 6 hours from the fridge.

"Sponge Cake with White Chocolate Filling"

Oh, well they're not the most appetising looking snacks are they? The thin squares of cake were only a couple of millimetres thick and disconcertingly smooth. Perhaps cutting it in two would make it look prettier. What do you think?

The cake itself was solid and reminded me of rusk as opposed to the sponge it promised of. It didn't have any noticeable flavour either - no butteriness or even egg to it. Hmm.

The situation improved slightly with the filling, which was whipped and moussey in texture. Like white chocolate it was very sweet, but that's where the similarities ended. The filling had a generic vanilla ice cream flavour, with the merest hint of white chocolate, but it was certainly no MilkyBar.

I don't think I'll bother with these again.

5/10

NEW! Nestle Curiously Cinnamon Granola (B&M)

I recently rediscovered my love of granola thanks to the Max Protein Shreddies Granola released last year. Nestle's decision to transition it's traditional cereals into granola format must've proved fruitful for the corporation, because they've recently started manufacturing Curiously Cinnamon and Cheerios varieties too. The only trouble is, they're seemingly impossible to get hold of. The only reason I knew they exist was down to @productsinstore' photo of her find in Home Bargains last month.

The trouble is, our local Home Bargains taunts me. I often see evidence of their exciting new products on Instagram (looking at you again @productsinstore) and eagerly trek across the city on a mission to buy said treats, only to be left disappointed by their lack of availability in sleepy ol' Hereford. Nestle's new cereal hybrid caused an embarrassing amount of frustration -again and again I would search the aisles and come home empty handed.

On Sunday I persuaded Bert that we needed a trip to B&M for dog food, knowing full well that it's next to Home Bargains and that he'd let me pop in on my usual mission. Yet again it was unsuccessful and so I trundled into B&M miserably...

..Where I spotted a lone box of Curiously Cinnamon Granola and a load of Cheerios Granola for just £1 per box! Halle-flipping-lujah! Now the Cheerios granola didn't excite me all that much; it was the Curiously cinnamon that really tickled my fancy. Every U.K cinnamon lover can appreciate the deliciousness that is Curiously Cinnamon (although the Santé cinnamon stars are equally delicious). Add oats clusters into the equation and surely Nestle are onto a serious winner.

Yes, yes they are! There was a good even mixture of oats and cinnamon squares in the box and the warming scent was inviting. The granola isn't as heavy as some others either thanks to the rice flakes also gracing the mixture. As for the flavour, it's an intoxicating mixture of oats, wheat and spice that I absolutely loved. Ultimately the texture of this cereal gives it the edge, with the softer squares that go soft in milk whilst the clusters remain crispy.

The following evening I decided to top banoffee skyr (made using skyr, banana flavour drops and toffee sugar-free syrup) with the cinnamon granola and fresh sliced banana. Oof, it was delicious! I wasn't overly keen on ASDA's White Chocolate & Raspberry Granola with yogurt, but strangely much preferred the Curiously Cinnamon served this way.

Cinnamon & oat lovers rejoice: Nestle have nailed this one!

9/10

Macros per 100g: P7.7/C:73/F9.5

NEW! Morning Pops Subscription Box (Online)

At the beginning of July I was contacted by a brand new British company who told me about their exciting new subscription box, and wanted to know if I'd like to try the first shipment when they launched. Morning Pops sources a monthly collection of fun cereals from around the world and delivers to them to your door (with no delivery charge). The team have been scouring the globe on the hunt for innovative cereal to pop in upcoming subscription boxes such as Milo from Australia, and Oreo cereal from Korea.

If you follow my blog and/or Instagram you'll know that cereal is something I really enjoy -and eat a great deal of. My evening is never complete until I've had my pre-bed bowl. I also love trying international treats, so Morning Pops sounded right up my alley and I gleefully accepted their kind offer.

Last week the company launched and my Morning Pops Box arrived; I couldn't wait to see what lay within. Inside was three large individual serving bags of international cereals:
Kellogg's Froot Loops (USA)
Hershey's Cookies n Crème (USA)
Nestle Chocapic Duo (France)
The parcel also contained their own limited edition mix: Chocolate Pillows & Marshmallows (UK) and a mini Reese's peanut butter cup.

The only cereal I'd tried before was Froot Loops (I was addicted to them for a while a couple of years ago!) and I was eager to try the others. I just hoped that they still tasted fresh and the transference to clear wrappers hadn't resulted in stale or soft cereal.

Froot Loops
Nostalgia hit me of my trip to Miami when I opened this pack and the super sweet synthetic scent wafted into my nostrils. It never fails to amaze me how America can get away with using such artificial colours.

For anyone who hasn't tried these before, I warn you, they're so sugary that they always make me feel like I could jump on the sofas with sheer hyperactivity for half an hour after eating (not good when you have them before going to sleep). That said, I think they're scrummy and i love the fact that they taste so different to anything we have over here (UK Fruit Loops included!).

8/10

Hershey's Cookies & Creme
I was most excited to try this cereal, it's been on my must try list for quite a while, especially given how much I love Reese's Puffs -and indeed the Hershey's candy bar from which it is derived.

It didn't disappoint either. Both the cookies and Creme flavours were represented well in maize form. The little cereal balls retained their crunchiness too, and they imparted a creamy sweetness into the milk. Yum yum yum.

9/10 (nothing can beat Reese's Puffs).

Chocapic Duo
Now I only knew about Chocapic through Instagram (where else?) but I've seen it highly praised everytime I'd seen it posted, so was looking forward to discovering what all the fuss was about. The cereal comprised of a roughly even divide between white chocolate and chocolate curls. I couldn't really smell much, but poured my bowl and got stuck in.

Meh, both chocolate and white chocolate were tasty, but nothing special. White chocolate often doesn't translate well into other products -Tesco's white chocolate and raspberry ice cream cones for example- and this was no different. Of the two, the milk chocolate clearly dominated, and it was a pretty standard chocolate cereal taste. Texturally it was crunchy, despite its lengthy soaking in milk whilst I faffed about taking photos. I imagine that children would love the colours and flavour of the Chocapic Duo, but it's not one I'd considering importing especially.

7/10

MorningPops Exclusive Mix
I'll be honest here. An exclusive mix has so much potential, so chocolate pillows and mini marshmallows seems a little thoughtless -and dare I say it- lazy. Looking at the ingredients (printed on a label on the bag of each cereal packet) showed that the cereals indifferent to that of Tesco's Choco Nut Pillows. Even I can add a few jazzy marshmallows to that without a huge amount of imagination!

Despite my grumbles, it was yummy. The mixture of chocolate, hazelnut and fluffy marshmallow works like a dream. Of course it was very sweet and again probably not the best thing to munch on before bed, but I enjoyed it never the less.

6/10

I enjoyed my Morning Pops subscription box, and think it's a novel idea. At £8.95 per month it's perhaps a little on the steep side (especially when one of the cereals is mainstream and from the UK) however If cereal is your jam, then why not spoil yourself or even that person you love? Take a gander over to www.morningpops.com where you'll find the full low-down on what the company has to offer, and if you use the code BLOG25 you'll even get 25% off your first box order.

Many thanks to MorningPops for sending me a sample box to try.

Shreddies Max Protein Cranberry & Oat Granola

I think I might've mentioned before that I've been patiently biding my time with this new cereal; eagerly waiting for it to come on offer. As always, I was lured in by the promise of 'high protein' but also was attracted to it because it's granola too. Granola is something I haven't bought I'm years, which is a bit strange really given how much I love oats -and of course flapjack. I tend to forget about the granola areas of the cereal aisle I think, normally making a bee line for the chocolate and/or sugar laden boxes instead. At £2.49-£2.79 per 400g box, I knew I could survive waiting a little while. Ok, well admittedly that and we had a bit of a glut of cereal in our house -I counted 16 boxes a couple of weeks ago and there's just two of us. Now we're down to *just* 9, and Shreddies Max is half price in Tesco I felt that I could buy a box  (thanks for the heads up on instagram @productsinstore). 

"Whole grain wheat & oat granola with malted cereal pieces & chopped cranberries."

I must first comment on the box design which -like many others- is resealable, but it tucks away neatly with no faffing required. 

A super sweet, syrupy aroma greeted my nostrils as soon as the bag was open, and I took my first peak at the granola within. The first thing I picked up on was the tiny clusters! I was expecting whopping great hunks of oats, but instead only spotted little nuggets. The second thought was regarding the Shreddies, which were dotted about between the oats. This was in line with expectations, and I looked forward to the mixture of textures and flavours. I then started to wonder where the dried cranberries were hiding, beginning to doubt their presence entirely. I shook myself a bowl, and still didn't find any, so took the childlike approach and stuck my hand deep into the bag to see what I could retrieve. Luckily I found a couple of fruity bits hiding towards the bottom, so I'm hoping that they've all sunk in transit and the last few bowls will herald a plethora of ruby treasures. Please note that the inner young Amy was disappointed that I didn't find a magic spoon in the box (currently in some promotional Kellogg's cereals). 

Given my addiction to sugar and oats, it's easy to understand why I enjoyed the flavour of the Shreddies Max Protein. A good soaking in milk turned the Shreddies soggy (just how I like them) whilst the clusters remained satisfyingly crunchy. The combination of malt and oat flavours worked in harmony, providing a slightly different taste with every spoonful.

I have to admit that a bug bear came from the high protein claim however, as 13g per 100g isn't the huge amount that its 'max' name alludes too. Shreddies Max Protein in fact contains far less protein than the 20g per 100g in Weetabix's chocolate protein crunch and 22g per 100g in the Mornflake chocolate porridge for example! Still, it's a tasty little granola and I'll continue to enjoy it.

7/10

Macros per 100g for those interested*: P13 C68 F7

*45g recommended serving size

NEW! KitKat Chunky Cookie Dough (ASDA)

It was only last week that I was wondering when a new chocolate bar would come out, and what it could possibly be. 2016 has already heralded some fantastic new entries to the market (Cadbury Tiffin and M&S' The Nutty One get in my belly!), some pretty damn good contenders (Galaxy Duet Toffee & Popcorn I'm looking at you), and others best relegated to the bargain bin (never again Cadbury Dairy Milk Fudge Medley). 

Of course there were also two new KitKats released in January too -the extra chocolatey chunky and vanilla stirred four finger- but, I was so uninspired by them that I still haven't bothered with them. The trouble with KitKats you see, as I've pointed out before, is that there's just not enough chocolate. Even the extra chocolatey seemed too wafery to me. Still, when I saw OneTreat's photo* pop up on instagram of this new cookie dough edition chunky, I just knew would have to track one down. Two trips to ASDA later, and I finally found them nestled in front of the tobacco kiosk -where else?!

 "Crisp wafer with a creamed cookie dough topping, covered with milk chocolate"

As usual, the chunky was split into two separate sections. I sliced one of the halves in two to have a good peek at the cookie dough filling. There it was: a creamy coloured paste with darker flecks. So far so good.

I realised that I had fallen into my usual pattern of  nibbling off the thicker chocolate round the edges -anyone else do this? Of course, we all know that Nestle doesn't make the best quality chocolate, but it wasn't bad by any means. The wafers were as crisp as usual, but that's not what you want to know is it? Oh. The cookie dough. How did that taste? Well, despite my efforts to dissect the KitKat, the cookie dough was a let down. I couldn't really taste it against the chocolate and wafer -probably because it made up less than a fifth of the bar. 

Indeed I was so disgruntled that I let my other half take a bite (just in case my taste buds had gone into hiding) but he couldn't tell the difference between the cookie dough and standard KitKat chunky. Perhaps if Nestle had used a white chocolate casing then it would have stood out more? Who knows. I'll be sticking to peanut butter and double caramel KitKat chunkys when my (rare) cravings arise in future. If neither of those flavours are your bag, then I suggest you buy the cookies & cream KitKat 2 fingers instead, they're far more noteworthy. 

6/10

*Please pop along to One Treat's blog and see what she has to say about the new KitKat! 

NEW! Rolo Crack'It Desserts

The new Rolo and Yorkie 'Crack'It' dessert pots came out a few weeks ago now, but I patiently waited for them to come on offer before trying them (£1 for 2 in ASDA). I say them but, as I never buy a standard Yorkie bar, I knew I'd only ever purchase the Rolo pots. The newish Rolo mousses have become a staple in my household, and I really like the original Rolo pots so I had high hopes for these Crack'Its!

"Caramel creme dessert with a cracking chocolate layer."

I was fortunate to find that all of the caramel layer in my pot had faithfully stayed in place below the chocolate disk. My fiance hadn't been so lucky however, and told me that his had suffered in his lunchbox -which meant he didn't have to 'crack' the chocolate to get to the golden treasure. 

He wasn't missing out on much anyway. The chocolate did snap easily -but that was about its only redeeming feature. How Nestle can describe it as chocolate I'll never know, for it was gritty, bitter, and far from the quality I expected. Put it this way, I'm sure that if Rolo chocolates could talk they'd be shouting about how they were no relation to the Crack'Its. 

I hoped that the caramel layer would be akin to the delicious, silken ganache-like caramel substance used in the original Rolo pots. It wasn't. It was insipid, and thin enough to run off my spoon. The flavour was alright, but its texture meant it reminded me of cold, watery custard. Not good.

I won't be buying these again. Good idea, terrible execution Nestle.

3/10   

KitKat Ice Cream Cones (Tesco)

I've had my eye on these Kit Kat cones for a while now, but every time I think about buying them I spot a better ice cream offer and they end up being demoted down the wish list. 

Tesco have got some cracking deals in their freezer aisles at the moment, including half price Haagen Daaz, Soleros and four packs of Cornetto peanut butter cones for just £1! Amongst the bargains are the Kit Kat cones, half price at £1.49 per box. I couldn't think of a better time to purchase.

"Biscuit cone with chocolate and vanilla flavour ice cream rippled and topped with chocolate sauce and a chocolate coated wafer finger."

I was pleased to find that Nestle had been sensible with their packaging choices; each cone was not only wrapped with cardboard, but topped with a plastic cone to protect the KitKat fingers poking out of the ice creams' peak. The non-ecologically-friendly casing did the trick though, the cones looked impeccable with their swirls of chocolate and vanilla ice cream. 

I'm afraid that once again this was a case of style over substance. The 'vanilla' ice cream really meant 'devoid of flavour', and the chocolate ice cream didn't fare any better. I can't remember ever having tasted a chocolate ice cream so horribly insipid before. As for the chocolate sauce? Well I didn't even know there was meant to be any until I typed out the product description. ALDI's chocolate brownie ice creams would seem like the creme de la creme after these. Yuck.

The situation got worse with the KitKat. Whilst I thought I would pleased to find that it was a full size finger, I really wish it wasn't. The biscuit had gone limp and soggy, tasting rather rancid. Not good at all.The ice cream's only saving grace came from the biscuit cone which -unlike the KiKat- had retained its crispness. 

Put it this way: I certainly wouldn't buy these cones again and I don't even think you could persuade me to eat another one in future, even if it was free.

2/10

Nestle Butterfinger (B&M)

A few weeks ago, when I wrote about Bud's Best Butterfinger Cookies, I mentioned that I'd never tried a Butterfinger before -a comment that I received a bit of stick of for on Twitter! How could I love peanut butter and never have tried a Butterfinger, or a Zagnut for that matter? 

Under orders to get up to speed with peanut butter bars ASAP, I went on a hunt for Nestle's Butterfinger. Returning to Tesco I discovered that they've recently amended their American range and are no longer selling them. I'm still working my way through my February American Fizz order, so I thought that I'd just have to wait. As luck would have it, and just as I'd given up, I stumbled across Butterfinger bars in B&M for a very reasonable 79p!

One of the things I've noticed about American Foodstuffs recently, is that their product names can be very vague -and the Butterfinger is no exception:

"Bolder than bold cravings can’t be contained. Especially when they’re this crispety, crunchety and peanut-buttery. So go on and indulge yourself in the one of a kind taste of an all American classic that can never be replaced."

Thanks for that insight Nestle! It's crispy, crunchy and peanut-buttery, rather similar to the Reese's Crispy Crunchy then?

The long finger bar was covered in a smooth milk chocolate covered coating. Once sliced into, I realised just how crunchy the inside was, as it splintered upon impact, sending shards of orange coloured candy across the table. 

The first taste to hit me was the overwhelming sweetness. The peanut butter centre was reminiscent of solid candy floss, which morphed into a highly adhesive toffee-like substance as soon as it reached my mouth. I mean, it stuck to everything! The peanut butter flavour was also strong, but like the chocolate coating it was completely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of sugar!

I'm afraid that I didn't enjoy the Butterfinger in the slightest. The bar contains a whopping 23.8g of sugar per bar, and it's very evident in the taste. Munching the bar made my teeth ache so much that I felt the need of a Dentist on standby. Not one for me.

1/10*

*a generous scored based on the fact that I managed to eat all of it, just.

NEW! Cinnamon Oat Crisp Cheerios (Tesco)

I'm one of those people who can eat cereal at any time of the day. I love the stuff ( I even asked for Reese's Puffs for Valentines day if you remember) and so I get particularly excited when us Brits get new varieties. What made Nestle's new release even more special for me is its inclusion of my favourite spice: cinnamon. I love the American apple & cinnamon o-shaped cereal 'Apple Jacks' but I don't buy it very often because: 

a) It's expensive 
b) It's extremely sweet

At £2.50 for a small 350g box, the new Cinnamon Oats Crisp Cheerios is far from the cheapest cereal on the market, but it's still less dear than Apple Jacks. The sugar content is quite high in the new Cheerios at just over 8g per serving, but that's also less than the 12.5g of sugar in the same size serving of Apple Jacks. Yes, I know, that's enough of the American cereal comparison -after all it's the new cheerios we're interested in today. 

"Deliciously crunchy Cinnamon flakes made with whole grain oats & mixed with light and crispy cheerios, developed to help lower cholesterol! Naturally high in fibre, low in saturated fat and containing beta-glucan from oat fibre, Cheerios Cinnamon Oat Crisp can help keep your heart healthy."

The box had a healthy mix of cheerios and crunchy flakes, although the o's seemed to sink to the bottom of my bowl. I chopped up a banana and added it for extra vitamins, and looked forward to tucking in. 

I had noticed the lack of a strong cinnamon scent when I'd opened the bag, and this also translated through to the taste. The cheerios weren't spicy -just the flakes- with a gentle warming flavour that's far less pungent than the Curiously Cinnamon for example. If you've ever had any of Nestle's 'Oats & More' cereal range before, you'll find that the flakes are the same (except for the added spice). Although the anti-sugar campaigners might not be happy with the 8g of sugar per serving, it meant that the flakes were frosted, giving the cinnamon the perfect backdrop to truly shine through. 

There's not much I can say about the o's really because they were just standard cheerios, which had gone slightly mushy at the bottom of the bowl. I did enjoy the combination of textures however, as the flakes had retained their crunchiness, which worked well with the softer cheerios beneath.  

If you're after a strong cinnamony cereal, the new Cinnamon Oat Crisp cereal might not be your bag. I really enjoyed it however, and I'm sure it'll be a cereal that I'll buy again and again -although I'll probably wait until it's on offer!

9/10

NEW! Rolo Mousse (Sainsbury's)

I guess that for most people, dessert is an optional extra, a little treat eaten on occasion. That's not the case in our house though I'm afraid, so much so that I'm sure we'd be advocates for the anti-sugar tax (if such a campaign existed). I look forward to pudding, and most evenings we have ice cream, but occasionally cheesecake, rice puddings, trifles and chocolate mousses make their way into the shopping basket. The Cadbury Mousses are a waste of time (you can see my review of their duo pots here) but I think that Nestle have created something truly wonderful with their Milkybar mousse pots, so I was really pleased to discover that they've recently released a rolo version at long last, hurrah!

 

 

'Delicious combination of toffee and milk chocolate mousse swirled with chocolate sauce'

 

Unlike the Cadbury's desserts, Nestle haven't been stingy when filling the pots, and the mousse reached the lid of the pot. The top layer was chocolatey, and as you can see there was a lovely dark chocolate swirl throughout. The mousse had a lovely, light, airy texture that melted away in the mouth with a good cocoa flavour to back it up. Underneath, was the toffee mousse, which was just as fluffy as the top layer, with a rich toffee flavour that was reminiscent of butterscotch angel delight (the best flavour!). The two layers worked in perfect harmony to produce a dessert that was pretty damn delicious!

 

The mousses only come in at 80cals per pot, which means that they are a good chocolate fix if you're watching what you eat... If not, then like me, you might find it impossible to stop after just the one!

 

10/10

KitKat Limited Edition Mocha Flavour (Morrisons)

Sometimes I'm quick off the mark when it comes to new food releases, whilst other times I'm not so excitable and wait a long while before buying. This is certainly true when it comes to this KitKat Mocha, as they've since released two new flavours: Stirred Vanilla & Extra Chocolatey (check out One Treat's review here). Anyway, on the off chance that you've not tried the Mocha Kitkat yet either, I thought I'd give it a quick review.

The four-finger bar smelt convincingly of coffee. The chocolate was of standard Nestle quality (I much prefer both Mars' and Cadbury's milk chocolate). The coffee came through as a mild flavouring, certainly earning its status as mocha rather than espresso, which gave it a rather comforting element. The wafers were perfectly crisp, but the ratio of chocolate to wafer was rather stingy- but maybe that's only my chocoholic opinion!

Overall, this is a pleasant bar, but I wouldn't choose it regularly over a more chocolatey product. I just wish there were more true coffee chocolate bars on the market!

7/10

Caramac Breakaway Biscuit Bars

Caramac has a warm place in my heart; it was the treat my dad always used to buy for me when I was younger. As a child I relished the sickly sweet caramel flavoured bar, but as an adult browsing the confectionary aisle I'm only interested in either the milk or white chocolate, forgetting entirely about the retro Caramac. 

That said, McVities Gold bars are often a lunchbox staple in my house, and I find the combination of syrupy caramel coating and crunchy biscuit enclosed within a much better balance. 

This year, there have been two new Caramac flavoured releases: Caramac buttons (which I've only seen once and have regretted not buying ever since) and the Breakaway biscuit bars. 

In my opinion it's a good choice of addition to the Breakaway range, as I'm not normally tempted by them. The chocolate biscuit bar is a saturated market, and with delicious products such as the cookies & cream Kitkats and toffee Penguins, I think of Breakaways as being bland and boring by comparison. 

So Nestle, you've caught me, and ever a fan of nostalgic treats I decided to give these Caramac Breakaway Bars a go. 

They are smaller in size than the McVities Gold Bars, but have a nice even coating.  I tried not to compare the two products, but I found I couldn't help myself. 

As I bit into it, I found it difficult to distinguish the Caramac. The biscuit is a good digestive, but I found it actually overwhelmed the coating- which is a lot thinner than that of a Gold bar. I tried my hardest to nibble the topping off, so that I could feel the warmth from the pleasant memories I had eating Caramac as a child, but they failed to reach me. 

I'm sorry to say, but I found this to be a poor mans Gold bar, and I'll return to McVities with my tail between my legs! Although, if I spot the rare Caramac buttons in the future I won't hesitate to buy them.

4/10