Top 5 Best Chocolate Bars

 

At the beginning of the year, I completed a goal from The List:
064: Eat 50 different chocolates
It took a while, since I started it in May 2014 and finished in January of this year!

Since it all feels far away now, here are my Top Five Chocolate Bars of the fifty I tried.

5. Montezuma's Open Sesame
Slightly crunchy, with an easter egg chocolate kind of taste!

4. Rococo Chocolates Chilli Pepper 'Bee Bar'
Great quality chocolate and a subtle chilli taste that builds with each bite!

3. Kernow Chocolates Caramel Sea Salt
Soft, caramel flavoured chocolate with a saltiness that balances out the sweetness!

2. Waitrose Seriously Nutty Pistachio, Hazelnut & Almond Milk Chocolate 
Satisfying chocolate with tiny bits of nut for that extra crunch! 

1. Vanini Dark Chocolate with Rosemary 
A chocolate bar with a really surprising flavour; not only was it delicious but it evoked a feeling of a warm kitchen on a cold day, and home-cooked food fresh from the oven.
It's rare for a chocolate bar to cause a feeling like that, therefore it's my number one bar!

Vegan pick: 
Moo Free Mini Moos: Lily-Lu's Minty Moo
Tasty vegan chocolate with mint!

Sugar Free pick:
Klingele Chocolate: Balance Milk Praline
Smooth and flavoursome chocolate. Hard to believe it was sugar free!

Honorable Mention: (because 'top 5' wasn't enough)
Pana Chocolate Fig & Wild Orange
Soft and flavoursome raw 70% cocoa organic chocolate with no added sugar and amazing flavour.


That's it! I'm done with chocolate!
Of course, I'll still eat chocolate, but this is probably the last you'll read of it on here. I'll be going back to naughty, more run of the mill treats like Double Deckers, Wispas, and Lidl's version of Twix ;)

Check my chocolate tag for all chocolate tried for this goal!

Put Some Whisky In It

So here it is: my final selection of chocolate for goal 50!
It's hard to believe that I've tried out 50 chocolate bars now! It seems that not long ago, I was watching Heston Blumenthal at a chocolatier's on TV and thinking, 'Chocolates? Now there's an idea'
Whilst some have been the same flavour, different brands have created that in different ways, or put a new spin on how the flavours are combined.

Anyway, here are the final three chocolate bars!

Chocolate Orange (But Not As You Know It)

I'm coming closer to my goal of trying 50 new chocolates, and only recently have I really hit on the idea of trying them in themed selections!

This group of bars are all flavoured with orange, and in some cases go that little bit further to provide a unique taste.

More Weirdass KitKats

 

Hyper Japan was only a few days ago, and I've already eaten all of the snack food I bought there... Oh dear!

On the plus side, that includes the tiny KitKats, so I can make another chocolate post!

I seriously think Japan wins for picking the most random flavours for its chocolate...

Tea is a Herb!

So I've been eating more chocolate for goal #64 (any excuse, really): to try 50 chocolates that are new to me.
This time around, I'm deeming tea a herb, and proclaiming this post all about herby chocolate.
Well...tea is green...like herbs...right...?
The chocolates I've tried this time include green tea, basil and real rosemary...

Have a (tiny) Break...

 ...with the tiniest KitKats!

I picked these Japanese KitKats up at a stand at Kitacon, but hadn't eaten them until now, so that I could blog about them!

Also, I procrastinated over trying to figure out what one of them said...

Three Chocolate Bars

It's been a couple of months since I posted anything about chocolate!
The bars have been mounting up recently, as I've not been eating so much of it. But the goal is still ongoing--here's bars 32-34/50, which come from as close as the next town and as far as Japan!

Lindt Kirsch

Milk chocolate with a kirsch liquid filling.

This is packaged in silver foil, inside a red and gold box, so it seems quite luxurious.

Alright, so I love Lindt chocolate as it is, and I enjoy alcohol, and I like cherries, so all in all this seemed like a good idea!

I didn't read the packaging properly so didn't realise the filling was liquid until I bit into a piece, which made it surprising. There's what appears to be a layer of crunchy sugar stuff on the hollowed where the kirsch is; not sure if it's where the chocolate has been sitting in my cupboard during the heat, or if it's meant to be that way. Either way, it's delicious.

Sugar-Free Chocolate?

Wow, has it really been months since I last blogged about chocolate? Blimey!
You'd think with the amount I eat, I'd a) be fat b) have blogged about more by now ;)

This post has been ready to go for a while actually, but I had lots of other things to post about - such as everything I went to during Brighton Fringe - and then I, uh, forgot. Oops.

Anyway, I was on a health kick a few months back and decided to try out some chocolate that used alternatives to sugar. Here's how I got on...
 

Balance Milk Praline

With sweetener from Stevia plant.

I decided to try this as I wanted to test out some chocolate that was sweetened with something other than sugar. Of course I have nothing against sugar, but was curious to see if there was much difference.

This bar is made by Belgian company Klingele Chocolade, so of course the chocolate is lovely! It doesn't smell as strongly as some other bars I've tried, nor is it as sweet - so evidently stevia adds a more subtle sweetness to chocolate.

Something I really liked about this bar was the fact I can really taste the nutty flavour of the praline. Whilst I don't like chocolate with big pieces of nut in, I enjoy praline!

Overall this is a great little chocolate bar and it was all I could do not to gobble it all up before writing this!

Chocolate World

A couple of months have passed since my last chocolate-related post. When it comes to eating chocolate, I've been pretty 'good' lately and haven't gobbled so much of it. 

Last time, I posted about vegan chocolate. 

Today, it's chocolate from around the world (well, sort of. Does Ikea count...?)

Ikea Hazelnut Chocolate

My Dad Went To Ikea And All I Got Was This Chocolate Bar.

The packaging is typical of Ikea's simple yet stylish approach: a yellow wrapper with a dotted illustration of hazelnuts, and the type of chocolate bar written across the centre in nine different languages. Saves having to change packaging for different countries, doesn't it? 

Anyway. This is a bar of milk chocolate with little bits of chopped hazelnuts! Usually I avoid nutty chocolate, but as this bar has chopped pieces of nut rather than whole ones, it's enjoyable. The chocolate is firm and just sweet enough to compliment the flavour of the nuts.

I've not eaten it all yet, but I don't think it will last long. Yummy!

Своге Апетитна Ябълка (Svoge Apetitna Yabŭlka / Svoge Appetising Apple)

I Went to The 99p Shop And (almost) All I Got Was This Chocolate Bar.

This caught my eye because I couldn't read the text on the front! Much copying-and-pasting from wikipedia and a little visit to Google Translate informed me of what it said, and the fact it is in Bulgarian! 

Vegan Chocolate Isn't Boring

Once again I've been munching my way through various chocolates that are new to me, all in the name of reaching a goal!

This selection is thanks to Lilia (Paracosm of Lilies) and is all suitable for vegans!
People seem under the misconception that vegan food is bland and boring, but these certainly aren't. I'm not vegan, so I'm used to chocolate containing animal products, but honestly I couldn't tell the difference.

Thanks for the chocolate, Lilia!

Choices Caramel Flavoured Choices

This comes in a little box of individually foil-wrapped chocolates, like you'd get in a selection tin. Being vegan, these chocolates are dairy free but as with the other vegan chocolate I've tried, the flavour is barely any different.

These chocolates are actually good news for anyone with food allergies or sensitivities, being free from dairy, wheat, gluten and egg.

The caramel inside the chocolates is soft and smooth, without being too runny or sticky. It's fairly sweet without being overly so, and two chocolates (a serving, according to the pack) is just enough to sate a chocolate craving!

Moo Free Original Organic Bar

If the name of the bar didn't make it obvious enough, this is an organic, dairy-free chocolate bar! According to the information on the back, it is also lactose free, gluten free, wheat free, egg free, casein free, and of course suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

The chocolate itself smells gorgeous--as soon as I opened the packaging, the scent of cocoa wafted out to greet me. Though I don't drink coffee, I would imagine this chocolate to be an excellent accompaniment, as the flavour isn't overly sweet or too 'chocolatey'. However, it's just as nice with a cup of tea :)

Mini Moos Lily-Lu's Minty Moo

Another chocolate bar from Moo Free Chocolates, and once again brilliant not only for all you vegans and vegetarians out there, but also those with food tolerances--like with Moo Free's Original Organic Bar, this is also free from dairy, lactose, gluten, wheat, egg and casein.

The smell of mint catches you the moment you open the package, and it tastes just as good. As well as lovely smooth chocolate, the bar also has little crunchy bits which enhance the texture.

This bar is as delicious After Eights (and I'd happily eat an entire box of those in once sitting). The difference being that this chocolate bar has a cute mascot, Lily-Lu Lemur, on the front. I'm sold on this one!

That's another three down on my goal of 50 new (to me) chocolates, bringing the total to 25! I'm halfway there, and far from having tried all the chocolate on the market. Hurrah!

Read about more of the chocolate I've tried here

Sea Salt, Chilli and Troika

It's been a couple of months since I last blogged about any chocolate, but I'm still working towards my goal of trying 50 new chocolates (goal #64 on The List).

Here's the latest three, which involve sea salt, chilli and marzipan!

La Luscious Rocky Road

So, I've been eating more chocolate. Hurrah! Once again this counts towards goal #64: to try 50 new chocolates. This includes chocolate bars, and individual chocolates. This post covers chocolate 17-19...I wonder what will be next?

La Bruja Turrón de Chocolate

'Crispy Chocolate Turron'

When I bought this chocolate bar (another treasure picked up at the 99p store!) I didn't quite know what to expect, only that it would be crispy, as the gold and green packaging told me so ;)

Google informs me that 'turron' is nougat, but this doesn't look or taste like any nougat I've had before--possibly because of the little pieces of crispy rice. This bar also contains hazelnut paste and almonds; the hazelnut flavour is especially prominent.

The Rocky Road of Love, and Other Chocolates

It's been over a month since I last posted about any chocolate! I hadn't forgotten this goal, but warm weather meant melted chocolate, and attempts at eating more healthily meant less chocolate. But never mind that. Chocolate is good for the soul. And these bars are good for the taste buds, too ;)

Chokablok The Rocky Road of Love

Rocky road in chocolate bar form!

This bar is mostly milk chocolate, with cute dark chocolate hearts, marshmallows and biscuit pieces. The packaging doesn't keep the look of the bar a surprise, as it's a piece of cardboard and clear plastic wrap. I actually like this about Chokablok bars--their chocolate bars all look special, so it's good to see what I'm getting before buying!

One bar gives you 80g of chocolate, and it's actually pretty hard not to eat it all in one sitting. The chocolate is smooth, the biscuit crunchy, and marshmallows wonderfully squidgy. I imagine that this would be the perfect bar for dunking into hot chocolate during the winter! 

A Nutty Viennese Bee

It's chocolate time again!

This time I tried out some chocolate that I've had for a while - as far back as Christmas! - but never got around to eating. Until now. ;)

A Happy Package

Recently I received a happy package from my friend Lilia, who blogs at Paracosm of Lilies! It was (mostly) filled with chocolate, yay!

Lilia knew of my goal of trying 50 different chocolates, so kindly contributed to my efforts!

This bundle of chocolate included chocolate bars that were:

• Gluten Free
• Wheat Free
• Dairy Free
• In a bar
• Like a cake
• In bits and pieces
• Delicious! (Of course!) 

I have now tried all that she sent me, and have written about them here, so read on to find out about the delights that came in my happy package...

Cookies, Fruit & Marmalade

Although it's rather terrible of me to make a third chocolate-related post in a row, I'm going to anyway!

Once again I've been eating chocolate (do I ever stop?) and have three more bars to write about. This time includes chocolate from Lithuania!

Rich, Smooth and Intense

Alas I am not talking about a man, but chocolate!
Following on from my previous post about trying 50 new types of chocolate, I began to try out what the world (okay, Waitrose) has to offer!

Originally I was going to update with every 5 chocolate bars eaten, but so far I've only eaten three, from well-known brands: Thornton's, Green & Black's, and Lindt.

I'm writing about these in the order I ate them*

Eat ALL the chocolate!

 

A few more goals have been added to The List! Inspired by the chocolate episode of Heston's Great British Food, the most recently added goal is:

064. Eat 50 different chocolates

I should point out this is chocolate that is new to me! I won't go to the newsagent and buy one of everything!
...but I'll probably nip into Waitrose for a bar or two occasionally, as they do more than the usual assortment of Mars, Double Decker, Dairy Milk etc (all delicious chocolate bars that my taste buds are well acquainted with!)

So I'm now intent on finding fifty different flavours of chocolate, chocolate bar, and maybe even hot chocolate (but only if it's the real stuff with the chocolate flakes you add to hot milk!)

At the moment I have:
Thornton's Sicilian Lemon bar
Thornton's Viennese bar
Waitrose Seriously Nutty bar
Thornton's Chilli dark chocolate bar
Willie's Cacao Luscious Orange bar
Green & Black's Butterscotch milk chocolate bar
Roccoco Chilli Pepper Bee Bar
Lindt Strawberry bar

That's probably enough to be getting on with, isn't it!

...should I have made it one hundred new chocolates?