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

Wernli - Jura Waffel-Gaufrette

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Jura Waffel-Gaufrette
Main ingredients are sugar, vegetable fat, wheat flour, low fat cocoa powder (5.7%), dextrose, dried milk products, wheat starch, corn starch, cocoa mass (1%)
Cocoa content: estimated to 6.7% cocoa

Manufacturer

Wernli AG, 4632 Trimbach, Solothurn, Switzerland

Packaging

The little waffle cubes are arrayed into a larger cube, set in a cardboard tray and sealed in plastic wrap with a handy opener.

Look

The cocoa waffles are light brown which is darker than typical ice cream waffles. The filling is dark to middle brown.

Sound

Breaking or biting the waffles makes very loud crunch sound.

Smell

The waffles have a warm smell of roasted hazelnuts and nougat.

Mouthfeel

The waffles feel light and crunchy. The thin waffle coating immediately starts melting and sticks to the tongue. Nevertheless, they maintain crunch and lightness throughout.

Taste

The initial taste is of the airy baked waffles. After the first waffle layer, the filling tastes like sugary sweetness with flavours of nougat.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is most strongly perceived at the front of the tongue as sugary sweetness but it also includes some roasted hazelnut flavours at the rear of the mouth.

Summary

These waffles are very airy and light, have nice warm smell of roasted nuts. They are crunchy but their flavour is mainly sugary sweetness.

Verdict

The crunch and the smell of the waffles is very promising but their flavour does not live up to that as it is mainly plain sugary sweetness. 1 Star.

Dates

Best before 13/06/2016, tasted 06/03/2016

Christine Berger GmbH - Sanddorn in Vollmilchschokolade (sea-buckthorn in whole milk chocolate)

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Sanddorn in Vollmilchschokolade (sea-buckthorn in whole milk chocolate)
Main ingredients are sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cream (8%), cocoa mass, sea-buckthorn liqueur (3%)
Cocoa content: minimum 38% cocoa in the whole milk choolate

Manufacturer

Christine Berger GmbH & Co. KG, Fercher Straße 60, 14542 Werder OT Petzow, Germany

Packaging

The chocolate is sold on a golden coated card board tray. This is sealed in plastic wrap and covered with a printed paper sleeve. The content is 75g.

Look

The chocolate is light brown from the outside and some of the filling is visible at the edges. There is a second inner chocolate coating which is much darker. The filling is yellow-ish.

Sound

The chocolate layers are very thin and break almost without any sound.

Smell

The bar has aromas of vanilla cake, sea-buckthorn, sugary sweetness and alcohol. Separating the chocolate is hardly possible and it has taken on the aromas of its filling.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate melts very quickly. Though it feels like a rough surface initially, the liquid is very fine and spreads through the mouth. The filling initially feels slightly more sticky with a rough surface and it melts slower than the chocolate. However, it melts nicely and dissolves into a surprisingly fine and smooth liquid.

Taste

The thin layer adds a subtle chocolate taste that frames the experience as a whole. The filling has an intense sugary sweetness and sea-buckthorn flavour. It also has a tiny hint of alcohol.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste sticks to the rear of the mouth and is mainly sea-buckthorn. In addition, a surprisingly intense sweetness lingers at the front of the mouth.

Summary

This is a sweet sea-buckthorn filling surrounded with a thin layer of chocolate. The packaging rightly emphasises the sea-buckthorn rather than the chocolate.

Verdict

This sea-buckthorn chocolate is very sweet. It melts nicely, has good mouthfeel and tastes of sea-buckthorn and sugary sweetness. You have to be aware that there is alcohol in the product. 2 Stars.

Dates

Best before 20/05/2016, tasted 06/03/2016

Whittard of Chelsea - Vanatu 44 Milk chocolate

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Vanatu 44 Milk chocolate
Main ingredients are sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, milk powder, vanilla flavouring
Cocoa content: minimum 44% cocoa solids

Manufacturer

Manufactured in Belgium for: Whittard of Chelsea (Whittard Trading Limited), Windrush House, Windrush Industrial Park, WITNEY, Oxfordshire, OX29 7DX, United Kingdom

Packaging

The chocolate is wrapped and sealed in shiny plastic wrap. This package of 90g in then placed in a cardboard envelope.

Look

The chocolate is middle brown.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a clear "snap" sound.

Smell

The smell has aromas of cream and hints of roasted hazelnuts.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate initially feels soft and melts into a creamy liquid. A small amount of crumbles is in the chocolate. After melting the chocolate leaves the sensation of a very fine powder on the gums and tongue.

Taste

The chocolate has a milky sweet flavour with little hints of roasted nuts and caramel.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is dominated by caramel and cream flavours.

Summary

This is a creamy milk chocolate with balanced sweetness and some caramel and hazelnut flavours. It leaves the sensation of a very fine powder after eating.

Verdict

The main body of the chocolate is not well conched and there are some noticeable sugar crystals or some sort of crumbs in the chocolate. The flavour is mainly attributable to cream and (caramelised) sugar. There are hints of hazelnut. 2 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: L15258, best before September 2016, tasted 13 February 2016

Whittard of Chelsea - Uganda 80 Dark Chocolate

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Uganda 80 Dark chocolate
Main ingredients are cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla flavouring
Cocoa content: minimum 80% cocoa solids

Manufacturer

Manufactured in Belgium for: Whittard of Chelsea (Whittard Trading Limited), Windrush House, Windrush Industrial Park, WITNEY, Oxfordshire, OX29 7DX, United Kingdom

Packaging

The chocolate is wrapped and sealed in shiny plastic wrap. This package of 90g in then placed in a cardboard envelope.

Look

The colour of the chocolate is very dark brown and black.

Sound

The chocolate breaks with a clear "snap" sound.

Smell

The smell is surprisingly light with sweet, nutty aromas and an earthy note.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate quickly melts into a liquid that feels slightly floury and also has a very few larger bits.

Taste

The initial taste is bitter, earthy and perhaps charred. This is added by some bark flavours but also sweetness from the sugar.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is dominated by bitter and earthy notes as well as some lingering sweetness.

Summary

This is an earthy, bitter, very dark chocolate but also with a noticeable sugary sweetness.

Verdict

The chocolate is not well conched resulting in a partly floury mouthfeel and some small bits in the chocolate. The flavour is bitter, earthy and has hints of something charred but there is still some marked sweetness in the chocolate to counter the cocoa. 1 Star.

Dates

Lot number: L15258, best before September 2016, tasted 13 February 2016

Artisan du Chocolat - Trinidad & Tobago dark chocolate

The tasting notes reflect my personal opinion.

Name

Trinidad and Tobago dark chocolate
Main ingredients: cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter
Cocoa content: minimum 70% cocoa content, no vanilla

Manufacturer

Artisan du Chocolat, 89 Lower Sloane Street, London, SW1 8DA, United Kingdom
in Partnership with: Fine Cocoa Company Ltd, La Réunion Cocoa Estate, Centeno, Port of Spain, Republic of Trinidad & Tobago

Packaging

The chocolate comes in a tin in the shape of a steel pan drum. Inside is some packaging paper and 125g dark chocolate sealed in plastic wrap.

Look

The surface is smooth and a bit shiny. The chocolate is dark brown but more red-brown than black-brown.

Sound

The little chocolate sticks snap with a clear, distinct "click" sound.

Smell

The chocolate has a warm and rich smell with aromas of wood, earth and notes of guava and flowers.

Mouthfeel

The chocolate is initially very hard and solid and melts quickly into a very fine liquid.

Taste

The initial flavour is pure cocoa with a note of bark, oak tree and wet wood. It almost instantly unfolds a full body of fruity notes of raisins, guavas and honey dew. It has a distinct, very light, unobtrusive sweetness. The dark cocoa flavour is present all the time and combines with the fruitiness into a comparably light chocolate which is still very complex and rich in flavour.

Aftertaste

The aftertaste is dominated by darker cocoa flavours of the chocolate at the rear of the mouth whereas some fruity notes linger in the front.

Summary

This pure dark chocolate is comparably light but it has a rich cocoa flavour and complex, fruity flavours that are all sourced from the special cocoa bean. It deserves your full attention when eating.

Verdict

The fine dark chocolate lives of its specially sourced cocoa. It is immaculately crafted. The pure dark cocoa and yet fruity flavours are lavishly complex. This makes the chocolate very unique and outstanding. 5 Stars.

Dates

Lot number: 23557, best before 13 April 2017, tasted 13 & 14 February 2016