Zotter - Ananas mit Cashewnüssen (Cashew nougat and pineapple)

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Ananas mit Cashewnüssen (Dunkle Bergmilchschokolade gefüllt mit Cashewnougat (24%) und Ananas) - Mountain milk chocolate with cashew nougat (24%) and pineapple filling
Main ingredients are raw cane sugar, dried pineapple (15%), cocoa butter, cashew kernels (12%), cocoa mass, pineapple concentrate (8%), whole milk powder, glucose invert sugar.
Cocoa content: minimum 50% cocoa in the chocolate.

Manufacturer

zotter Schokoladen Manufaktur GmbH, Bergl 56, A-8333 Riegersburg, Austria

Packaging

The 70g chocolate bar is wrapped in aluminium foil and a paper envelope.

Look

The chocolate is dark to middle brown. The pineapple layer is the top layer of the filling and it is dark yellow. The cashew paste below is very light brown.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with clear snap sound (after removing the filling).

Smell

The whole bar initially smells of old, dry bread before aromas of sugar and dried pineapple take over. The chocolate itself smells of sweetness and cocoa. The pineapple layer also smells sweet and intensely of dried pineapple. The smell of the cashew filling initially reminds of dry bread before cashew aromas become more identifiable.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate melts quickly and evenly into a fine liquid. The filling takes longer to smoothen. It feels somewhat grainy with pieces from shred dried pineapple and cashew nuts. The filling is not sticky but it is a bit chewy.

Taste

The chocolate on its own has a sweet flavour with notes of cocoa and nuts and some hints of coffee. The pineapple layer combines the sour flavours of the dried pineapple with sweetness. The cashew layer has cashew flavours and flavours of dried bread as well as hints of salt. Eaten as a whole, the initial flavour is dominated by sweetness. Later, the pineapple and in particular its lime-like sourness and sweetness unfold. There are only notes of chocolate when it hits the tongue and gums. The cashew flavour is reduced to rare hints.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste of the chocolate is mainly sweetness and some reminiscence of the nutty cocoa flavour. The aftertaste of the whole product is dominated by the pineapple filling's sweetness and sourness with only little to no presence of the cocoa or the cashews.

Summary

This chocolate bar is a dried pineapple filling with dark-ish whole milk chocolate coating. There are only tiny hints of the cashew and cocoa flavours. However, after opening the package, the cashew aromas dominate for a while.

Verdict

The chocolate bar uses a nice and well-conched dark whole milk chocolate. However, the flavours are dominated by an intensely sweetened layer of dried pineapple. The smell is initially dominated by a dry bread aroma from the cashew filling. The cashews and the chocolate do not contribute much to the flavour of the product. The chocolate melts nicely but the filling becomes chewy and has some smaller pieces in it that are too small for being 'chunky' and to big for being smooth. 2 Stars.

Dates

Best before 12/06/2007, tasted 24&25/05/2017

Konditorei-Cafè Fritz Roog - Whole milk chocolate with hazelnuts

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Whole milk chocolate with hazelenuts (Vollmilchschokolade Haselnuß)
Main ingredients are cocoa mass, cocoa butter, sugar, hazelnuts, whole milk powder, vanilla, soy lecithin.
Cocoa content: minimum 38% cocoa

Manufacturer

Konditorei-Cafè Fritz Roog, Mittelstraße 89, 32805 Horn-Bad Meinberg, GERMANY
It's a bakery with a café and small chocolate outlet.
(The typo in "Café" is not mine but as presented on the packaging.)

Packaging

The chocolate is wrapped in single aluminium foil and covered with a printed paper sleeve. The packaging says 100g but it actually was around 130g of chocolate.

Look

The chocolate is light middle brown with a shiny surface.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a thud sound.

Smell

The chocolate smells of milk, sugar and some notes of roasted hazelnut with light hints of cocoa.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate melts slowly in the mouth. It melts into a sticky paste before dissolving into a fine and very smooth liquid.

Taste

The initial flavour is a light sweetness. The chocolate quickly releases fresh milk flavours with a more intense sweetness and a mild notes of cocoa flavour. The typical roasted hazelnuts flavours are covered by the sweetness and leave a very light roast and hazelnut flavour.

Aftertaste

The milky aftertaste is mainly present at the rear of the mouth and sugary sweetness more central to the mouth.

Summary

This is a light and sweet milk chocolate with whole hazelnuts. The hazelnut flavours are almost entirely covered by the sweet milkiness of the chocolate. The chocolate is very soft and smooth.

Verdict

The sweetness of the chocolate almost entirely covers the roast and hazelnut aromas. The chocolate is very smooth but goes through a period of stickiness before melting nicely. 3 Stars.

Dates

Best before 27/09/2016, tasted 11&16/08/2016

Hotel Chocolat - Hazelnut Chocolate Spread

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Hazelnut Chocolate Spread
Main ingredients are hazelnut paste (65%, hazelnuts, sugar, sorbitol, soy lecithin), cocoa solids (cocoa mass and cocoa butter), sunflower oil, sugar, soy lecithin, vanilla.
Cocoa content: The manufacturer lists 70% in the dark chocolate but it is not mentioned in the ingredients list. The amount of cocoa solids is not mentioned, thus no ratio is reported.

Manufacturer

Hotel Chocolate Ltd, Mint House, ROYSTON, Hertfordshire, SG8 5HL, United Kingdom

Packaging

The 150g chocolate spread is in a plastic jar which is sealed with the label.

Look

The chocolate spread is middle brown with hints of read.

Sound

Not applicable.

Smell

Opening the pan releases an intense hazelnut aroma which is mixed with roast aromas.

Mouthfeel

The spread is very soft and disperses immediately in the mouth. Once it has reached a surface it sticks to this briefly as if the spread had become mire dry once it arrived in the mouth. However, this sensation quickly disappears as the spread dissolves again. The spread is smooth but occasionally has some small particles.

Taste

The initial taste is a light sweetness that quickly merges with roasted hazelnut aromas. The sweetness remains present throughout. This makes the roasted hazelnut flavours comparably light.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is dominated by a light sweetness and some hazelnut flavours.

Summary

This is a light and smooth, sweet hazelnut spread. It does not emphasise the roast and cocoa flavours but appears rather light and sweet.

Verdict

The hazelnut spread is well made towards the light and sweet flavours. It disperses velvety in the mouth and initially almost feels fluffy to the tongue. But it some very small particles in it. Not taking into account that the label argueing that there is more cocoa, less sugar and makes a statement about 'dark chocolate' which is not in the ingredients list, it is nice hazelnut spread. 4 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: 16108, best before: 11/2016, tasted 31/07/&02&05/08/2016

Hotel Chocolat - Gianduja bombe

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Gianduja bombe - Hazelnut praline sealed in a dark chocolate shell, dusted with cocoa powder
Main ingredients are cocoa solids (cocoa mass, cocoa butter), hazelnuts (25%), sugar, cocoa powder, soya lecithin, vanilla flavour.
Cocoa content: minimum 70% cocoa in the dark chocolate

Manufacturer

Hotel Chocolate Ltd, Mint House, ROYSTON, Hertfordshire, SG8 5HL, United Kingdom

Packaging

The 6 "bombes" (60g) are wrapped and sealed in transparent plastic wrap.

Look

The chocolate is powedered with cocoa with dark brown colour with black-ish spots.

Sound

The chocolate is very smooth and breaks almost without any perceivable sound.

Smell

The chocolate shells have an intense roasted hazelnut flavour with cocoa aromas.

Mouthfeel

The cocoa coating feels hard and solid initially but quickly melts away into a fine liquid. The chocolate is very smooth and melts faster than the almost creamy hazelnut filling.

Taste

The first flavour is of the cocoa powder with a rich, dark cocoa aroma. The dark chocolate shell tastes of dark cocoa notes, roasted hazelnut and very subtle hints of a bitter earthiness. The hazelnut filling comes with an intense roasted hazelnut and dark cocoa flavour.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is mainly of roasted hazelnut and cocoa that lingers surprisingly long on top of the tongue.

Summary

This is rich dark hazelnut praline. It comes with rich roast, hazelnut and cocoa flavours and a hint of earthiness.

Verdict

This is a well-made, smooth and rich roasted hazelnut praline. It balances the rich hazelnut and cocoa flavours. The shell is nice in flavour but is not very snappy. 3 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: 16042, best before 09/2016, tasted 09&12/06/2016

Schönenberger - Chocolate with rice milk and hazelnuts

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Chocolate with rice milk and hazelnuts
Main ingredients are cane sugar, cocoa butter, rice glucose syrup 17%, cocoa solids, hazelnut granulate.
Cocoa content: minimum 41% cocoa

Manufacturer

Chocolat Schönenberger AG, Täschmattstrasse 10, CH-6015 Luzern, Switzerland

Packaging

The chocolate is wrapped in aluminum paper and a small cardboard box. Packaging size is 100g.

Look

The chocolate is light brown and pieces of hazelnuts are partly visible.

Sound

The chocolate is surprisingly hard to break and does so with a clear snap sound.

Smell

The chocolate bar smell of sugar and something like perfume.

Mouthfeel

The surface is very smooth. The chocolate melts into a doughy liquid before dissolving finely.

Taste

Initially, the chocolate tastes very sweet with a distinct almost perfume-like flavour. After melting, the hazelnuts contribute only little to the flavour.

Aftertaste

The aftertase is dominated by the sweetness and a hint of the perfume like flvour.

Summary

This is a rather sweet chocolate with hazelnuts. The flavour is mainly is sweet with a distinct flavour which might be from the rice milk.

Verdict

The Swiss chocolate lacks the typical richness of Swiss milk since it relies ob rice milk, They surface and smoothness of the rice milk was well mastered. However, its flavour is still challenging. 1 Star.

Dates

Lot number: 16820215D, best before 30/09/2016, tasted 03&04&10/04/2016

Hotel Chocolat - Dark egglets

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Dark Egglets
Main ingredients are cocoa solids (cocoa mass, cocoa butter), hazelnuts, sugar, cocoa powder, soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavour.
Cocoa content: minimum 70% cocoa solids

Manufacturer

Hotel Chocolate Ltd, Mint House, ROYSTON, Hertfordshire, SG8 5HL, United Kingdom

Packaging

The chocolate is sealed in transparent plastic wrap and a black ribbon is attached to the top. Packaging size is 110g.

Look

The praline is dusted with light brown cocoa powder. The chocolate underneath is very dark brown almost black-ish. The filling is dark brown but lighter coloured than the chocolate.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a clear snap sound.

Smell

The initial smell is hazelnut. Opening the egg releases an intense hazelnut and gianduja aroma mixed with cocoa.

Mouthfeel

The cocoa powder feels almost solid and melts on the tongue. The chocolate itself is smooth and melts into a fine and smooth liquid. The filling is relatively compact and melts slowly.

Taste

The initial taste is of dark cocoa which gives way to dark chocolate with intense roasted hazelnut aromas and hints of an earthy bitterness. The filling is slightly sweeter and has a very strong roasted nut flavour mixed with the dark-ish chocolate taste.

Aftertaste

The long lasting aftertaste is dominated by the nut flavour of the filling and some earthy notes from the cocoa at the rear of the mouth.

Summary

This is a very dark and smooth chocolate and hazelnut praline which emphasises the dark cocoa and roasted hazelnut flavours.

Verdict

These dark chocolate eggs are really intense, rich and satisfying. The ingredients are very well combined and immaculately crafted. 5 Stars.

Dates

Best before July 2016, tasted 03&06&07/04/2016

Helwa - Gaufrettes praliné noisette

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Gaufrettes fourrées au praliné noisette
Main ingredients are palm fat, wheat flour, sugar, hazelnut praline paste (19%, made of hazelnut and sugar), egg yolk, emulsifier.

Manufacturer

Helwa Wafelbakkerij B.V, BP / P.O. Box 18, 9074 ZL Hallum, The Netherlands

Packaging

The 110g waffles are arrayed on a cardboard tray which is sealed by a printed plastic wrap.

Look

The waffles are very light brown and the filling is similarly lightly coloured.

Sound

The waffles break with clear, very crisp sounds.

Smell

The smell is mainly of baked/roasted dough from the waffles. There is no noticeable smell of the filling.

Mouthfeel

The waffles are very crunchy and airy. The crunch remains present throughout the experience. The waffles do not stick to the tongue as much as with other products. The filling is soft, slightly grainy and floury.

Taste

The initial contact with the waffles elicits roast flavours of the waffle dough. Tasted as a whole, the flavour of the filling is almost undetectable apart from a distinct sweetness and a hint of hazelnuts. Tasted on its own, the filling still has a very intense sugary sweetness but also some very noticeable notes of hazelnuts.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is mainly sweetness at the centre of the mouth. There is a hint of waffle and hazelnut flavour towards the rear.

Summary

These waffles are very airy and crisp. Their flavour is mainly sweet but comes with notes of roasted waffle dough and hazelnuts.

Verdict

The waffles have a nice crunch that they maintain throughout the process. They also have hints of roast aroma and hazelnuts but this is combined with an intense sugary sweetness. 2 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: 5266 11:51, best before 09-2016, tasted 20/03/2016

Ferrero - Rocher Easter egg

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Ferrero Rocher Easter egg (big rocher: milk chocolate hollow body with hazelnut pieces and, small rocher: crispy nut-praline speciality in tender milk chocolate and fine hazelnut cream)
Main ingredients of the large rocher are milk chocolate (80% made of sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, skimmed milk powder butter fat, vanillin) and hazelnuts (20%). Cocoa content: minimum 33,5% cocoa.
Main ingredients of the smaller rochers are milk chocolate (30% made of sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, skimmed milk powder butter fat, vanillin) and hazelnuts (28,5%), sugar, palm oil, wheat flower, sweetened whey powder).

Manufacturer

Ferrero 60624, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; FERRERO Österreich, Sterzinger Str. 1, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria

Packaging

The package is designed as a super sized Ferrero Rocher. Inside the golden foil, there is a gold-ish plastic shell with a large hollow chocolate ball inside. Inside the chocolate ball, there are two smaller Ferrero Rochers which are sealed in a plastic wrap. Content weight is 125g.

Look

The outer larger rocher shell is middle brown with shiny surface. Pieces of hazelnut are peaking out. The smaller rochers look very similar with a somewhat lighter brown waffle inside and dark brown cream filling.

Sound

The chocolate of the outer, larger shell breaks with a "thud" sound.

Smell

On its own, the outer shell smells of milk, hazelnut roast aroma and sugary sweetness. The smaller rochers smell of sugar, hazelnuts and a hint of cocoa after opening them.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate of the outer shell is smooth and melts quickly into a fine liquid. This frees a bunch of roasted hazelnut pieces. The waffle shell inside the smaller rochers is airy and crispy. It maintains some of its crisp throughout the process. The creamy filling is very smooth, dense but also sticky.

Taste

The chocolate tastes of sugary sweetness, milk and a hint of cocoa. It also releases something artificial but it is difficult to say what exactly. The roasted hazelnuts add their roasted nut flavours to the chocolate once they have been released and chewed. The little waffles inside the smaller rochers taste of a mild roast aroma and some cocoa notes. The filling tastes of sugar with initial notes of roasted hazelnut and cocoa.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste of the chocolate is of roasted hazelnuts but it is dominated by its sweetness. After the initial notes, the flavour of the filling turns more and more sweet and leaves a sugary, sweet aftertaste.

Summary

I believe that this is the first large East egg style thing on the German supermarket shelf. Taste-wise this is a sweet milk chocolate with lots of roasted hazelnuts.

Verdict

The packaging is spectacular compared to the competition on the German market. The chocolate has a lot of roasted hazelnuts. But it also has an almost overly intense sugary sweetness and some unidentified artificial note to it. 2 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: LO15W-N 03:00, best before 13/07/2016, tasted 20/03/2016

Whittard of Chelsea - Cantucci biscuits with figs & almonds

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Cantucci biscuits with figs & almonds
Main ingredients are wheat flour, sugar, dried figs (18%), eggs, almonds (10%)

Manufacturer

Manufactured by Amari in Carmignano s.a.s., Via Guido Rossa, 81-83, 59015, CARMIGNANO PO, Italy for: Whittard of Chelsea (Whittard Trading Limited), Windrush House, Windrush Industrial Park, WITNEY, Oxfordshire, OX29 7DX, United Kingdom

Packaging

The 200g load of biscuits is sealed in plastic. A cardboard label is attached above the seal.

Look

The biscuits are dark yellow with a light brown crust. Whole almonds and figs are visible in the fluffy dough.

Sound

The biscuits are hard as cantucci should be. They make a thud sound when broken and are especially soft around the figs.

Smell

The biscuits smell like sweetened eggs and vanilla with a very strong fruity aroma and a light hint of roast.

Mouthfeel

These biscuits are light and crisp. After chewing the first bits, the crunchiness is lost but the dough is still light.

Taste

The initial taste is a sweet biscuit dough with butter and egg flavours, and some vanilla notes. The almonds are lightly roasted supporting their flavour. The figs come with a flavour of dark molasses combined with ripened plum and a little tartly and peaty note.

Aftertaste

The biscuits have a sweet aftertaste with a light buttery and egg-ish note.

Summary

These biscuits are crisp and sweet with a nice butter and egg flavour with lightly roasted almonds and richly flavoured figs.

Verdict

These are nice cantucci style biscuits. In particular, the baked figs add an interesting and rich flavour to them. However, their moisture makes it very difficult to have a crunchy cantucci. These biscuits are less crunchy than possible and they have a little a bit more dough.

Dates

Lot number: 151115, best before 04 October 2016, tasted 06 February 2016

Dallmayr - Cantucci al Cacao e Nocciola

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Cantucci al Cacao e Nocciola - Hazelnut and cocoa biscuits
Main ingredients are wheat, sugar, hazelnuts (23%), eggs, margarine, butter
Cocoa content: 4%

Manufacturer

Manufactured in Italy (hand made according to label) for: Alois Dallmayr KG, 80331 München, Germany

Packaging

The 250g load of biscuits is sealed in plastic. A cardboard label is attached above the seal.

Look

The biscuits are dark brown with a few sprinkles of sugar on the sides. Whole hazelnuts are visible in the fluffy dough.

Sound

The biscuits are hard as cantucci should be. They make a loud "crack" sound when broken.

Smell

The biscuits have a warm hazelnut and cocoa smell.

Mouthfeel

These biscuits are very crunchy. After chewing the first bits, the dough still feels light.

Taste

The initial taste is very sweet when you feel the sugar on the outside. When crunching through the biscuits, they develop cocoa and roasted hazelnut flavours.

Aftertaste

The biscuits have a light cocoa aftertaste with a mild roasted note from the hazelnuts.

Summary

These biscuits are crunchy and sweet with a nicely balanced, mild flavour of cocoa and hazelnut.

Verdict

These are well-executed cantucci style biscuits. They come with solid crunch from start to finish and are nicely balanced between sweetness, cocoa and warming hazelnut flavours.

Dates

Lot number: 070815, best before 07 April 2016, tasted 24 January 2016

Hotel Chocolate - Nutty Bûche

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Nutty Hazelnut & Pistachio Bûche (42% hazelnut paste, 5% pistachios, 5% hazelnuts and cocoa solids), suitable for vegans

Manufacturer

Hotel Chocolate Ltd, Mint House, ROYSTON, Hertfordshire, SG8 5HL, United Kingdom

Packaging

The 160g bûche sits in a small plastic tray with a lit covering its cylindrical shape. This package is sealed in plastic.

Look

The surface is dark brown, shiny and smooth. Some nuts are not covered by chocolate but are still inside the cylindrical shape.

Sound

The bûche is meant to be cut with a knife which I did. It is surprisingly solid. Smaller pieces break with a thud rather than a snap.

Smell

It smells like hazelnut, roasted hazelnut and cocoa.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate melts very quickly into a smooth cream. This quickly continues to dissolve into a liquid (with a small bite).

Taste

Directly after melting, it releases a brief note of sweetness. This rapidly changes into hazelnut, roasted nut and dark, earthy cocoa flavours. Despite the initial hint of sweetness, this bûche is much stronger, earthier and cocoa-ish than gianduja or the like.

Aftertaste

Once it has molten to the liquid state, a mixture of nut and earthy cocoa flavours is released which lingers in the back of the mouth and on the tongue for a while.

Summary

This bûche comes with rich hazelnut and roasting flavours combined with an earthy cocoa. It is more like dark chocolate and much less sweet than the initial hint would suggest.

Verdict

This well-executed bûche is a surprisingly dark and earthy cocoa experience with hazelnuts.