Marks and Spencer Fairtrade 36% Milk Chocolate & with Sicilian Sea Salt

Marks and Spencer's Fairtrade 36% cocoa milk chocolate comprises of cane sugar, dried milk, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, milk fat, emulsifier and vanilla. These bars were manufactured in Italy (I believe by Agostoni) and retail at £2 for 100g

Milk Chocolate

The aroma was almost identical to the Nero & Bianco milk chocolate (that too made by Agostoni) though it seemed more cocoa defined, sweeter, richer and more vanilla-ry. It was buttery, vanilla and caramel. The taste was like the aroma: vanilla, caramel and slightly nutty. It wasn't anything mind blowing, but it was good. The texture was phenomenal, feeling incredibly smooth in the mouth

The Sicilian Sea Salt had the same traits but with a slight differentiation. The salt would lightly touch the tongue and enhance that sweet, sweet flavour. There was the occasional crunch of sea salt and I was so thankful that it didn't result in an overly salty taste (a common mistake made by many manufacturers). I chose this bar in lieu of the Salted Butterscotch bar and I certainly do not regret doing so

Marks and Spencer's milk chocolate tastes high quality, and being Agostoni it guarantees the cocoa is high quality. Mark and Spencer's packaging design is as wonderful as ever. A really enjoyable milk chocolate!

Nero & Bianco Milk Chocolate

Reading that Nero & Bianco started up their chocolate venture with the imperative idea of being Fairtrade and organic, I was only hoping that taste and quality was their paramount interest. This niche brand buy their cocoa from the Dominican Republic, Peru and Ecuador, and their bars are manufactured by an Italian chocolate company (I believe Agostoni)

This 39% cocoa milk chocolate is an organic and Fairtrade Dominican Republic and Ecuadorian cocoa blend. It's of 30% milk solids, it doesn't include an emulsifier and its sugar (grown in Paraguay) sits 3rd on the ingredients list. Nero & Bianco, on the packaging, also mention the co-operatives from where their cocoa and sugar is grown. Loaded with all this positive information about the chocolate I was about to taste, it really seemed as if it was going to be an "indulgence with conscience"

The aroma was creamy, a soft cheese, butter and nut with the lightest cacao background. The sugar had a sharp caramel, vanilla sweetness but it was far from overwhelming. The creaminess really mellowed the sugar and I found the aroma to be so captivating. It smelt very much like white chocolate. It had an immensely soft snap and bite

The taste was creamy with the sweetness being almost quite earthy. There were notes of nut and cheese. It had a long melt which had a pleasant enough texture compared to when chewing. As when chewing, because it was vastly high in cocoa butter, it felt fat and viscous in the mouth and as the chewing required some effort it made the taste to go unnoticed at times. With all this cocoa butter, it was a real surprise that the melt wasn't that smooth

Before tasting this chocolate I knew that there was a significant difference between the cocoa butter and mass. As "cocoa butter" was first on the ingredients list, followed by milk powder then cane sugar; and then penultimately "cocoa paste" (or 'liquor' approx. 53% cocoa butter). The aroma also indicated the little cocoa mass within, it wasn't so much cacao I could smell...more a white chocolate vanilla cheesecake. The taste actually reminded me of Willie's white chocolate, the sugar being soft and delicate with the natural, earthed flavour of cacao butter

The colour and mould of the chocolate wasn't the most attractive but I really fell for the aroma. And because of how calm it was, I enjoyed this milk chocolate and would happily have it again. Despite its limited distribution, if you do see this 60s psychedelic inspired packaging, I really do recommend you try it (£2.30)

I must say that I would have preferred more cocoa liquor/mass for texture and taste reasons; I wanted more of an expressive chocolate flavour. It is interesting to see how the ratio of butter to cocoa mass differentiates chocolate bars, for example Nero & Bianco has more cocoa than Green & Black's 37% milk chocolate yet isn't as cocoa defined

Go*Do Organic Chocolate

Godo, in Italian, means a moment of pure pleasure. After being sent Go*Do's collection of chocolate bars to taste and write up on, I decided to do a little research into the bean-to-bar company. The chocolate bars are outsourced for manufacture, but Go*Do control each step of the production. The chocolate is made from beans grown in Ecuador, Dominican Republic and Peru

White Chocolate
30% cocoa solids

An incredibly creamy aroma with distinctive vanilla. The flavour happened to be even sweeter. It was nice, not sickly sweet. The sugar tasted dark, resulting in a beautifully rich flavour. The vanilla flavour didn't taste artificial

Milk Chocolate

This bar had a different mould to the white. The aroma was mildly earthy and dark, thus, I was expecting it to taste far darker than it did. This 34% cocoa solids chocolate had a natural flavour that is to die for (when it comes to milk chocolate), the flavours were well balanced. First you notice the sweetness, then those dark earthy undertones come through, bringing more dimension to the chocolate. This was a winner, and quite literally as it has won bronze by the Academy of Chocolate

Milk Chocolate Hazelnut

The hazelnuts smelt and tasted fresh. During the melt, the chocolate felt very cool against the warm hazelnuts (this was quite refreshing). The nuts were of bite size and provided a lovely sounding crunch. The sweetness of the milk chocolate counterbalanced the bitter hazelnut

Dark Chocolate Sicilian Almond

A promising 60% cocoa solids, which proved of a silky melt. The aroma seemed slightly smokey. The almond was very subtle in taste as the chocolate overpowered. It's only when you're left with an almond piece that you actually acknowledge the Sicilian almond and this still appears to be very subtle. This chocolate was probably my least favourite one, but the thing is - it was still good. This one too won a bronze award from Academy of Chocolate

Dark Chocolate Espresso Coffee

Again of 60%, with that slightly smokey aroma seeming consistent, but there was the obvious coffee aroma dominating. It wasn't bitter, and as there was ground coffee dispersed within, it enhanced the natural flavour whilst also providing a gritty, but compelling, texture. I really enjoyed this bar

Dark Chocolate 60%

It smelt like an intenser version of the milk chocolate, with those earthy (and now smokey) notes. When tasting, I sensed this very high hitting rich flavour which was very elegant. When chewing this chocolate, the flavour evolved. Starting with wood-smoked notes then a subtle saltiness which provoked the final sugars to finish the flavour

I thoroughly enjoyed these chocolates. Go*Do should be proud of their chocolate: taste and texture wise, and to the fact that they produce from the bean and that it's all organic. The roast of the beans is so influential and noticeable, which just then complements each flavour balance so perfectly, resulting in such fine tastes