Green & Black's Butterscotch Milk Chocolate

I fell into temptation over the words "37% cocoa". Green & Black's 37% milk chocolate is a chocolate I am so fond of. I've only tasted it once, but that one memory seems as if it'll last a lifetime (update: I now have an addiction of buying it). I'm not too sure as to why I liked it so much, but the real question was: could butterscotch enhance my beloved chocolate? I thought not, but nevertheless I knew I was going to enjoy it

I've always admired Green & Black's aesthetics: the packaging's fonts, colour schemes and gold foil that wraps the chocolate. This chocolate had a matte finish, black specks -the toffee pieces- penetrating the surface, a soft snap, and a rich cocoa and dark caramelised aroma

The butterscotch sweetly punched through the chocolate. I loved how the toffee was tasted right from the beginning and not just when bitten. Brandt Maybury, Green & Black's taste specialist, said to me a few months ago: 

"A little secret is we add some of the toffee 'dust', so that the flavour goes all the way throughout the bar"

And what a success - I love how a small detail like so is conspicuous; the flavour really was amplified. It also expresses just the passion and precision Green & Black's have for flavour

The chocolate itself had a lovely smooth melt but the toffee, with its sharp and crunchy texture, would stick to the back teeth. The taste was akin, but superior, to the Daim bar

I guess this chocolate was simply Green & Black's Burnt Toffee in a 37% milk chocolate and with a smoother melt. In terms of milk chocolate with toffee, Co-op's Toffee milk chocolate and Elizabeth Shaw's Butterscotch milk chocolate both seemed softer, milkier and more delicate in flavours. This could be down to Green & Black's using more intensely flavoured cocoa (Trinitario from Dominican Rep & Belize) as well as a richer tasting toffee

Green & Black's Milk Chocolate 37%

The dark aroma gave a feeling of there being little sweetness compared to your standard milk chocolate. It was incredibly rich and with vanilla. I fell in love with this chocolate. With such an intensely chocolatey flavour, and its dark berry overtone and deluxe treacle, you can't help but love it. The richness of such a widely available milk chocolate amazed me

The cocoa flavour was gradually intensifying. The finish was rich and chocolate and, because it was so powerful, it had an incredibly long finish. There was a creamy dairy aroma and taste, though sometimes a bit like butyric acid. The firm snap sounded clear and crisp, but didn't snap along the scoring (like all Green & Black's chocolate bars)

*8.5.15 (exactly one year WOW) update* I regularly buy this chocolate, and the bar I'm eating right now has real notes of liquorice! I've not experienced this before!

Green & Black's using Trinitario beans- sourced from the Dominican Republic and Belize- differentiates this 'everyday' chocolate from the likes of Cadbury and Galaxy etc., well that, the price and the superior quality and taste. They use raw cane sugar -which adds an exceptional deep flavour-, everything (except the emulsifier) is organic and the cocoa is Fairtrade. The vanilla has no intention of flavouring the chocolate, but simply to enhance that magnificent cocoa!

The 37% milk chocolate was the best melt I had experienced from Green & Black's, and the snapping of the egg was superb. I think I preferred the thinner form. Nevertheless, this chocolate is now a favourite milk chocolate of mine. Cracking stuff

Like I said "The richness of such a widely available milk chocolate amazed me", although a subjective matter, I think this is one of the best widely available milk chocolates... in competition with Willie's Cacao Milk of the Gods (can be found in Waitrose)

Green & Black's Mint

image: Tesco

The pungent mint aroma was far from overwhelming and rather beautiful. The subtle darkness of the cocoa really complemented the mint (& vice versa)

This chocolate wasn't as dynamic as it could have been but the peppermint oil did have a fresh, cool and potent flavour. It wasn't bitter, nor was it as dark tasting as the Burnt Toffee, both of 60% cocoa solids. Once you get into the depth of the melt it opens up an undeniable sweetness. Peppermint flowers naturally have lots of nectar, so it almost felt as if there should have been notes of honey in there (i'm only saying that because of bees collecting nectar to make into honey), this just my arbitrary thought

The texture of the melt, like all Green & Black's chocolate, was slightly disappointing. That's the only thing that really let down this chocolate, otherwise I really enjoyed it

I would never go out of my way to have a mint chocolate, but I'm glad I did with this Green & Black's as it reminded me of my love for mint. I have my own mint bush that comes alive in spring

Again, the use of Fairtrade and organic ingredients makes me highly praise Green & Black's chocolate

Green & Black's Burnt Toffee

image credit G&B

I was immediately drawn to the purple packaging and the name: Burnt Toffee. The gold shiny lettering was also very appealing. The 60% cocoa suggested that I wasn't going to have an overly bitter experience and in fact, it was very sweet

Although it's not noted on the packaging, Green & Black's use organic Trinitario beans. This chocolate being Fairtrade and for all the ingredients to be organic made me appreciate it that little bit more

On the back packaging, Green & Black's refer to the dark chocolate as "smooth"; however, I have to disagree. I always find Green & Black's chocolate fails to have a smooth melting texture, and that to me is a real let down. The chocolate is too thick for me and almost impossible to snap 

The toffee pieces within certainly were attractive, like golden nuggets in hiding. The aroma was fairly spicy. The dark and deep smell intrigued me as I had no idea what to expect in taste

The pairing of burnt toffee and dark chocolate sounds very deluxe, but how does the taste compare? Oh so very well. The sweet toffee pieces complemented the fruity toned dark chocolate. The texture when biting was satisfying, but I much prefer to be able to just let my chocolate melt in my mouth, and like I said before, Green & Black's melt disappoints me. However, when you do leave it to melt, you're left with the toffee pieces which then allows you to have a pleasant crunch. The taste of that Yorkshire butterscotch was richer and darker (due to the touch of molasses) than standard toffee and it was beaaaaautiful 

The flavours were on point, but I'd love Green & Black's to work on their textures

Green & Black's Dark Chocolate 85%

*update* this was my first ever chocolate tasting

Breaking off a piece of this chocolate proved difficult, slowly losing my patience, I eventually saw the delicate ripples on the chocolate where it finally snapped. The surface was smooth and shiny, which I believe is due to the cocoa butter being properly crystallised (during tempering)

The aroma of this 85% was incredible. I closed my eyes whilst smelling; mentally seeking through my index of smells. Oh how sweet this chocolate was to the nose. I begun sensing fruity elements: hints of cherry and plum

The taste of this Green & Black's straight away presented me with a bitter kick, in a mild and elegant way of course. Firstly there was an earthy background, with light hints of tobacco and espresso but after it begun to melt on my tongue I was pleasantly surprised with its sudden sweetness; the Madagascan vanilla and sugar exposing themselves. I really wasn't expecting that transition, the evolving flavour truly was something beautiful to experience

A harmonious journey I've been taken on by Green & Black's 85% cocoa. All the different flavours revealing themselves one after another

I do, of course, recommend this bar...but only to those who can really appreciate intensely dark chocolate. When eating this bar, I want you to take it slowly and experience each and every sensation it has to offer

The fact that Green & Black's is all organically sourced and fairtrade is just a bonus, and not the real selling point of this bar... no, the selling point is definitely the chocolate itself