Moser Roth Chocolate Liqueurs

Some throwback-feels with reviewing a product like this, a product like this being not craft chocolate! Holla! 

Waitrose Pistachio, hazelnut & almond milk chocolate

An Italian chocolate maker sources their cocoa beans from the Dominican Republic (including the Conacado co-operative) and throws in a lot of nuts! I decided to write up this chocolate bar because it tasted really good ...

The chocolate tastes like it could be Swiss with its creaminess. There's a touch of salt that just livens up each bite. The mix of nuts too is a great combination. The packaging brags 39% cocoa, but overall there is very little cocoa mass. BUT, still, it tastes great

Taste the Difference Belgian Milk Chocolate

"creamy with a hint of caramel" is spot on. I noted straight away a very creamy and soft caramel taste. The aroma, much like the flavour, was soft and sweet too. A lovely smooth melt and texture, however so rich that it was hard not to just chew 

I found myself to be feeling slightly underwhelmed by the Taste the Difference Belgian White chocolate, but this milk chocolate really makes up for it. I loved it 

30% cocoa solids, and with a high percentage milk solids, 30%, it's no wonder why it was so rich in creaminess

I really enjoyed this milk chocolate, and one I'd recommend; taste and price wise; £1.40 for 100g. Great to see the Fairtrade logo too

The Co-operative Peruvian Dark Chocolate with Dried Sweetened Cranberries

After absolutely loving and savouring each bite of Co-op's Milk Chocolate Sea Salted Toffee chocolate bar, I was pleased to see that I had another one of Co-op's fairtrade 'truly irresistible' bars - but this time it was a dark chocolate with a fruity twist

This chocolate contains 52% cocoa solids with cocoa from the Acopagro co-operative which is based in the province of San Martin in the Amazonian highlands

A distinct aroma, I hate to say it but it was hinting towards a urine-like smell... it was a real funny smell to describe. There was a rich sweetness from the dried cranberries and darkness from the cocoa too but something, maybe an alcoholic or celery smell rather than urine, caused for quite a peculiar aroma. Oh and it didn't smell bad!

As the chocolate begun to melt, I could gradually begin to feel the dried cranberries ... which had a shrivelled, chewy texture

The chocolate itself wasn't really dark tasting but it was rich, and the cranberries had a tart sweet taste. I am interested to know what the chocolate alone tastes like. Apparently the characteristics of this Peruvian cocoa is a powerful berry flavour with a strong kick and a slightly bitter finish

You would have thought a cherry and dark chocolate would have been the more likely and safer combination, so really this is quite an interesting pairing, well I certainly haven't seen it before. I didn't enjoy this chocolate as much as the other Co-op premium own-brand milk chocolate but you know what? It wasn't bad

The other Peruvian chocolate the Co-op has to offer is a Dark Chocolate (52%) with Roasted Hazelnuts and an Extra Creamy Milk Chocolate. But they also have a nice selection of Ghanaian and Dominican Republic chocolate

The Co-operative Ghanaian Milk Chocolate with Toffee and Sea Salt

This chocolate of 89% milk chocolate to 10% toffee and 1% sea salt creates a perfectly balanced flavour

The Co-op having all their Truly Irresistible label chocolate Fairtrade is something to respect, it certificates that those who grow the cocoa beans are receiving fair prices for their crops. And for this particular bar of chocolate, it's the Kuapa Kokoo organisation in Ghana!

A light aroma, nothing too stimulating. This milk chocolate was of 34% cocoa solids

A soft melt slowly separates the toffee crystals from the chocolate. The sea salt suddenly sparking as the palate clears, creating a beautiful sweetness. Then with my second bite (and so on) I was much more aware of the salt, having a greater taste as I'd crack up the toffee pieces with my teeth. Salt in chocolate never fails to amaze me, just how it can bring out this sweetness; a sweetness that would not have been appreciated if that salt wasn't there

As I came to the end of each bite it irritated me that I could not put my finger on what this chocolate tasted like! But after my eureka moment, I believed it to be similar in taste to the Daim bar though 1000 times better

Marks & Spencer Fairtrade White Chocolate with Madagascan Vanilla

The Mast Brothers-esq design, intricate patterning and attention to colour scheme makes this Marks and Spencer's white chocolate packaging look a work of art

A deep and beautiful aroma. It was rich and creamy with a delicate vanilla touch; a very natural scent. What I loved was that I could have kept on smelling this chocolate for hours. Unlike most white chocolate, it was more creamy than sugary which reflects upon the respectable "25% milk solids" stated proudly on the front  

The taste certainly did not let me down. It was of a distinct high quality, each ingredient working together in harmony... to create such an indulgent bar of chocolate

I did rejoice after taking my first bite of this chocolate but this was probably due to me trying the M&S 72% Dark Espresso Chocolate prior and being disappointed with it. After trying this chocolate again the following evening, my initial reaction seemed sufficient. It really was a powerful chocolate. Again, I loved the thickness of it as it made for the bite to seem indulgent

Purchasing this chocolate bar will only set you back £1.99 and it is completely worth it

Marks & Spencer Fairtrade 72% Dark Chocolate Espresso Coffee

The aroma fairly smoky, lacking a cocoa intensity but it definitely smelt dark. The coffee was coming through quite substantially and it wasn't too pleasant, sensing more of a 'coffee oil' opposed to freshly ground

The chunks were fairly small but had a lovely dark colouring and of good thickness. A firm snap, but difficult break. The melt was long, releasing little sweet tones. The sweetness balanced with the earthy and oaky tones. The coffee element brought a bitterness, though the chocolate remained fairly sweet - from that I presume that the 72% alone is rather sweet

I enjoyed the texture when chewing. The melt had an oily presence, but this wasn't too bad. It seemed as if I did come across some ground coffee, yet the ingredients simply stated 'coffee flavouring'

The aftertaste was not pleasant; a smoky bitterness along with a drying finish. This chocolate had a notable acidic taste to it which made it have a cooler feel on the tongue

To be honest, I was reluctant to buy this chocolate as I wasn't in the mood for a dark chocolate, and especially not an espresso flavoured dark chocolate.  But I did so anyway, and doing so was a mistake. When I first tried this chocolate I really did not enjoy it, but with my second tasting, which took place at night, I found myself enjoying it that little bit more!

I would not go out of my way to try this chocolate again, the smokiness over did it. I can not commend the coffee flavouring, but I have a feeling I would have enjoyed the 72% chocolate alone

Taste the Difference Belgian White Chocolate

The appearance of the chocolate itself looked ungraceful (almost resembling a Milky bar). But I told myself not to judge before I had engaged my other senses, as the eyes can often be deceiving

The aroma was weak, but I guess for a white chocolate that was better than it being too potent. The vanilla flavouring wasn't vanilla as I know it: rich and perfumed

The snap was soft. With 24% cocoa butter and 29% milk, the flavour was quite intense, it started creamy but then became sharp tasting to the point where it felt sickly. The sugar really dominated this chocolate. Although Fairtrade does not indicate quality, it was nice to see that this chocolate was Fairtrade

The melt was very smooth and thick. The back packaging says that the chocolate was given a long conching time...

This chocolate for £1.40 is worth a try, but I must admit that I was left feeling a little underwhelmed. I didn't really admire the softness of the chocolate when snapping and biting, especially compared to Lindt's delicate and firmer white chocolate as well as Go*Do's white chocolate. And the taste being of a high hitting sweetness just overpowered the potential of this chocolate

It's quite interesting to see that the Taste the Difference range has quite a wide range, with Belgian, Swiss, Peruvian and Santo Domingo chocolate... I must try them

Asda's Extra Special Belgian Marc de Champagne Truffles

Winning a confectionary Own Label Award: Asda's Extra Special Belgian Marc de Champagne Truffles

This specific packaging design is fairly popular with other supermarkets too when selling their own speciality truffles. Inside was a light purple tissue paper placed on top of a golden coloured bag which carried the truffles

The Marc de Champagne was surprisingly strong. It possibly tasted as strong as it did due to it being milk chocolate rather than dark, so initially it's lacking the intensity of cocoa to focus on the alcohol

I was not so keen on the teardrop appearance of the truffles. A harder coating of chocolate would have been more interesting, as I found the coating and ganache filling to merge together. I must admit that at first I did not like these truffles. That may have been because I hadn't cleansed my palate as when returning to these chocolates just days later, I found the taste to be much more enjoyable. I found them easy to eat and they weren't messy. I found myself eating them one after another

At £2 these truffles are certainly worth it. I'm surprised that they were only £2... I think Asda could definitely get away with raising up the price, but of course I'd never encourage that. I felt the quality of the milk chocolate was something to brag about (from Asda's perspective), as I absolutely loved letting the truffle melt on the tongue. It had a lovely smooth texture as well as tasting great