Chocolate and Love Filthy Rich 71% Dark Chocolate

Chocolate and Love Filthy Rich Dark Chocolate

Today's review is for a bar I've had in the archives for a while, the Great Taste Award winning Chocolate and Love Organic Filthy Rich, which is fairtrade, suitable for vegans, contains 71% cocoa solids and is available from Sainsbury's. I chose the bar purely based on the name - I do love some rich dark chocolate! (I've previously reviewed their Coffee Dark Chocolate here).


I've tried a few brands of dark chocolate over the years and I have to say this is definitely one of the better ones. The chocolate is great quality, tasting...rich (thank goodness!) and flavoursome as well as sweet and smooth. It has a nice balance of all elements, so it's neither too bitter nor too sweet, and certainly doesnt lack flavour. I can see why it's won awards! As much as I like Green & Blacks for their 85% dark chocolate this is a step above.

Overall, if you are a darker chocolate lover and want something a bit more interesting than Green & Blacks then this is a good bet. Also do check out some of the other flavours in their range, there's the lovely Orange and Mint varieties which are also also dairy free and vegan.

8 out of 10.

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, whole cane sugar and vanilla pods. Cocoa: 71% minimum. No preservatives, colouring agents or emulsifiers like soy lecithin.

Suitable for vegetarians, vegans and coeliacs. Certified Kosher. GMO free as all organic certified products. May contain milk, hazelnuts, almonds and peanuts.

Tesco Finest Free From Belgian Chocolate Brownies

Tesco Finest Belgian Free From Brownies

It's hard to find a good brownie when you're gluten free, but over time there's been an increase in the quality of gluten free products. Costa's Gluten Free Brownie is probably the best, and Aldi's Gluten Free Brownies are also pretty great too. When I spotted these Tesco Finest Belgian Chocolate Free From Brownies I wondered if they'd be just as excellent - Tesco do have a reputation for some tasty products in their Finest range after all.

Tesco Finest Belgian Free From Brownies

Containing pieces of Belgian white chocolate, these come in hefty thick chunks and are perfectly stodgy when bitten into - the perfect texture in fact, not too gooey and not too firm. I loved them. Taste wise they were delicious, very rich with a lot of cocoa flavour, and the white chocolate breaking up the taste with hints of creaminess. I really enjoyed these; they felt like a luxurious treat especially for gluten free brownies!

Overall, whilst these may not be quite as excellent as the Costa Gluten Free Brownie or the Aldi Gluten Free Brownies, they're still some of the best around in supermarkets. The addition of the white chocolate chunks makes them a little bit more naughty - perfect if you really want to spoil yourself.

8 out of 10. 

Lindt Excellence 90% Cocoa Dark Supreme Chocolate Review

Lindt Excellence 90% Cocoa Supreme Dark Chocolate

Today's review is for a bar not many may have tried due to its very high cocoa content. It can be somewhat bitter to those who aren't used to it, even lovers of 70% chocolate may find it overpowering, but it's one I often end up eating when trying to reduce my sugar intake but still need a little choccy fix. It's currently on offer for £1.50 in Tesco stores so I've been buying it quite a lot recently.

Lindt Excellence 90% Cocoa Supreme Dark Chocolate Review

It comes in the same style blocks as all Lindt Excellence bars, with the Lindt logo printed on and with a nice glossy finish. There's vanilla in the ingredients which gives it a subtle, smooth aftertaste. I have to say I do enjoy these bars for a richer chocolate fix, they're not quite as flavoursome as Green & Blacks but they're still pretty rich and smooth. The vanilla is the key ingredient that prevents these from tasting too bitter. A few squares is definitely all you need though, any more than that and it becomes a bit too much!

Overall, this is the perfect bar for those trying to reduce their sugar intake or anyone on a low carb, paleo, ketogenic style diet. Failing that it also comes in handy for making rich chocolate brownies!

8.5 out of 10. 

No & More Sugar Free Spring Waters Review


A big thank you to No & More for sending me some of their new drinks range to review recently. I've previously reviewed their NuVa Watermelon Water and enjoyed it, so was thankful indeed when they sent me this newly revamped range. They've changed their name from NuVa to No & More to better communicate what their range is all about, which is a good move in my opinion. Their waters are all sugar-free and only contain natural flavourings, making them suitable for any diet.

The Cucumber and Mint variety shown above was...interesting. I'm not really a fan of cucumber and mint so I can't say I liked it that much, although I'm sure some people might find it refreshing. I'm afraid this gets a low 5 out of 10 as it's just not my kinda flavour.


The Raspberry & Blueberry was more up my street - who doesn't like Berry flavoured drinks! There's only a hint of it but it's enough to make the water taste refreshing and interesting without giving you any added sugars or calories. If you're on a health kick be sure to give this a try. 8 out of 10.


Last but not least the Tangerine and Mango flavour, a more zesty variety, this is another I enjoyed and the hints of mango and tangerine gave it a refreshing edge. It's nice to see tangerine being more widely used in drinks; i prefer the flavour over Orange. Worth picking up if you're in a dash and need a low calorie drink. 8 out of 10.

Overall, despite my not liking the mint variety I do think these drinks are  a great idea. They'd be particularly good for the January season when everyone is on a weight loss kick I imagine. They give you a nice taste of interesting flavours to make water just a little bit less boring.

Ritter Sport Dark Whole Hazelnuts Review

Ritter Sport Dark Whole Hazelnuts

This is one I've had in the archives for a good long while now - I don't know how on earth I missed it! I'm usually quick to review anything new and Ritter related if I see it in a UK store, and this was one I snapped up at the bargain price of 69p in Heron Foods when they were on clearance. Containing whole hazelnuts and dark chocolate, this promised to be very special considering Ritter's track record with nutty chocolates.

As expected, the nuts were nicely roasted and whole, sticking out of the side of bar when broken into:

Ritter Sport Dark Whole Hazelnuts

And combined with the dark chocolate they were perfect! Ok, maybe it's not as tasty as the milk or white chocolate versions, but for something a little less sweet and richer, this is a pretty tasty bar. You just can't beat Ritter's nutty bars...no other mainstream brand is quite on par. A shame they're not more widely available in the UK.

Ritter Sport Dark Whole Hazelnuts

Overall, whilst not the best Ritter Sport bar out there, for a dark chocolate and nut combination this is pretty fine. If you love such combinations it's definitely worth a try - and I believe it's now stocked in some WH Smiths stores (I've seen it in my local train station store anyway).

8 out of 10.

Tiana CocoTop Coconut Snacks Sweet & Savoury

Tiana CocoTop Sweet

A big thankyou to Tiana Fairtrade Organics for today's post, who kindly offered me some of their new CocoTop "Organic Coconut Snacks" to review, an offer I couldn't refuse! There's two varieties in the range, which is available from Amazon in 50g pots. You can buy both varities together or the Savoury and Sweet versions by themselves. Both contain only natural ingredients, are suitable for vegans, organic and gluten-free. They're lightly toasted to reduce fat content.

Tiana CocoTop Savoury:

I tried the Savoury variety first, which are coconut chips "lightly salted with unrefined sea salt". I do like the little tubs these come in, they're super handy, and unlike other coconut chips on the market you can re-seal them and save some for later. No messy bits falling out into your bag!

tiana savoury cocotop

The coconut chips are nicely toasted and taste very fresh and good quality. They would certainly make for a nice salty cinema snack in place of popcorn, with a lot more nutrition in. I could imagine these being even better with some pepper or spices added.

7.5 out of 10.

Tiana CocoTop Sweet:
tiana sweet cocotop

Now these were the ones I was most excited about. Because, sugar! Coconut nectar to be exact, which is a lot healthier and lower glycemic than white sugar, meaning you don't get the sugar crash later on. They had a lovely golden appearance and tasted seriously, seriously gorgeous; the coconut nectar gives a moreish caramel edge which is perfect blended with the toasted coconut chips. The perfect combination! As tasty as they were, I didn't feel the need to eat the whole tub because they felt very satisfying (also, no sugar crash, yay!).

8.5 out of 10.

Overall, I have to say Tiana are winning with these new CocoTop snacks! Not only are they super tasty they're perfectly portable and make for satisfying, nutritious and tasty eats. If these appear in any local shops I would definitely buy them regularly, they're actually much better than other brands of Coconut Chips I've tried thus far!

Almond Dream Salted Caramel Non Dairy Ice Cream

Almond Dream Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Since Ben & Jerry's launched their Non Dairy Ice Creams in the UK (check out my review of the Non Dairy Chunky Monkey here), it seems that Vegan and Dairy Free products are finally making it into the mainstream. The options are variable, with the Ben & Jerry's Non Dairy range being pretty good, whilst the Alpro Non Dairy Ice Creams are rather poor in my opinion. So how does this Non Dairy Ice Cream from Almond Dream compare? The range comprises of a few varieties, such as Mint Chocolate Chip and Velvety Vanilla, and is available from supermarkets such as Morrisons, Waitrose, Sainsbury's, Asda and Ocado.com.

I saw the Salted Caramel variety reduced to £3 in Sainsbury's recently (it's usually between £4- £5) so thought I would give it a try. It's made with almonds, cane sugar, maltodextrin (from tapioca) and a few other fillers. I'm not a big fan of fillers in ice cream but I suppose being non-dairy it needs to be bulked up with something.

Almond Dream Salted Caramel Ice Cream

When I opened the tub, I was surprised to find a layer of hard caramel at the top. Is that the salted caramel? I wasn''t sure so I dug in with a spoon...it's a strange, semi-brittle texture that tastes vaguely of caramel but not quite. It tasted ok but the texture was just odd.

Almond Dream Salted Caramel Ice Cream

The ice cream below was fairly uniform, it all tasted the same with a sweet and vaguely salty butterscotch flavour. It was pretty good; it melts in the mouth nicely and is very creamy, but it was lacking something. I think this tub would be much better with ripples of salted caramel sauce running through it, rather than the hard layer of brittle on the top. But maybe it's hard to make dairy free salted caramel? Who knows!

Overall, this isn't one of my favourite Dairy Free ice creams but it's not one of the worst either. I would buy it again if there were no other dairy-free options, but I think the Mint Choc Chip might be better. This one was let down by the weird layer of caramel "brittle" on top...they need to have a re-think of that in my opinion.

Ingredients: Water, cane sugar, almonds 5%, tapioca maltodextrin, vegetable oil: safflower, brown rice syrup, stabilisers: guar gum, locust bean gum, carageenan, emulsifiers: sunflower lecithin, soya lecithin, natural flavouring, salt 0.3%, colour: plain caramel, cocoa butter, soya protein, thickener: pectin. 

Nutrition Information (per quarter of pack): 119 Calories, 5.2g Fat, 16.8g Carbohydrates, 12.4g Sugars, 0.9g Protein.

7 out of 10. 

Dean's Gluten Free Choc Chip & Stem Ginger Shortbread

Dean's Gluten Free Choc Chip & Stem Ginger Shortbread

You can't beat shortbread. It's one of those classic, timeless biscuits that's easy to make and always tastes good. All thanks to the wonders of butter. But when you're gluten free, sadly it's a lot harder to find a good quality shortbread, even if you make it yourself. Luckily, Dean's Original Family Recipes have come to the rescue! They are currently selling a few varieties of their Gluten Free shortbreads in the Free From section of Morrisons, including this: Choc Chip & Stem Ginger. By chance I found this for a mere 50p in a local discount store, so snapped up a couple of packs before they had all gone (the regular price in Morrisons is over £2 so these were a real bargain!)

Dean's Gluten Free Choc Chip & Stem Ginger Shortbread

Made with rice, potato and maize flour and butter, these also include dark chocolate chips and stem ginger pieces, for a nice warming spiciness. I don't usually go for ginger biscuits but on this occasion I couldn't say no since they were gluten free and so cheap.

Dean's Gluten Free Choc Chip & Stem Ginger Shortbread

They tasted absolutely delicious. I wasn't expecting a lot since many gluten free cookies don't taste of much, but these were just as good as regular shortbread. They were light, crumbly and buttery and very very moreish! The ginger and dark chocolate chips go perfectly together, a nice spicy and rich combination that tones down the sweetness of the biscuits a little. It didn't take me long to munch through most of the box - thank goodness I had bought another!

Overall, these are a definite win and biscuits that I would highly recommend if you're gluten free. A shame they're not dairy free, but if they were I suspect they wouldn't be half as good. Would I pay full price for them? As a one off treat, yes, I probably would! Find them in Morrisons, and if you're lucky enough possibly discount stores too.

Ingredients: Rice flour, butter (28%), sugar, potato starch, dark chocolate chips (sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, soya lecithin, natural vanilla flavouring), stem ginger (7%) (ginger, sugar), maize flour, ground ginger, xanthan gum, salt.

9 out of 10. 

Green & Blacks Velvet Edition 70% Dark Chocolate

Green & Blacks Velvet Edition 70% Dark Chocolate

Another day, another review of Green & Blacks Velvet Edition. Why do I do this to myself? I should have learnt my lesson from trying the Velvet Edition Orange & Almond and Mint Dark Chocolate varieties, but as a dark chocolate lover I'm often tempted by special offers in supermarkets. When Green & Blacks 85% bar is on offer I'l buy it, but on this occasion the Velvet Edition range was on offer at £1.50 a bar in Tesco, so I thought I would see how the 70% tastes...naked so to speak, free from other flavours or nuts.

Green & Blacks Velvet Edition 70% Dark Chocolate

One thing I do like about these bars is that they contain no soy lecithin, which is always a plus. They're also dairy free and suitable for vegans (except for the Salted Caramel variety). I like the designs of the bars, too - they have nice clean squares that are easier to break than the likes of Lindt or regular Green & Blacks bars. This variety contains vanilla bean powder in the ingredients, so I was curious if this would enhance the taste at all.

To my surprise this bar was a tad nicer than some of the others I've tried in the range. It's definitely "smooth" in the sense that there's no distinct punchy cocoa flavours, instead this is replaced by a "softer" flavour of vanilla. It's pleasant, and a nice sweet bar, but I really don't see the point of it. If you're buying a 70% cocoa dark chocolate, surely you want it to taste rich, dark and punchy?

Overall, again I have to conclude that this is another pointless product from Green and Blacks and I honestly can't see this range sticking around. They've been given a good marketing push that's for sure, but fans of G&B's regular bars won't be buying them and fans of sweeter chocolates certainly won't either. I just don't think there's a gap in the market for them.

If you've tried these bars, do let me know your thoughts in the comments!

6 out of 10. 

Biona Salted Caramel Coconut Bliss

Biona Salted Caramel Coconut Bliss

When I'm on a health kick I do enjoy eating a lot of coconut butter. It's a healthy paleo fat that tastes sweet and is very filling to boot. I usually eat it right from the spoon, but sometimes I'll mix it with cocoa powder and make chocolatey snacks from it too.

I've never known of any flavoured varieties so I was super dooper excited when I spotted this Salted Caramel Coconut Bliss made by Biona, in my local vegan store recently. It costs £4.93 which is a standard price for coconut butter, and is described as "our Salted Caramel Coconut Bliss is made from high quality coconut flesh blended with coconut milk, coconut nectar and pink Himalayan salt".

A natural salted caramel coconut product, sounds like heaven!

Biona Salted Caramel Coconut Bliss

Since it's now Winter it was of course rock solid in the jar, and some of the fat had separated from the coconut nectar leaving unpleasant looking lumpy bits. I took a spoonful whilst on the bus as I couldn't wait to try it and....it didn't taste good. I was so disappointed. I could only describe the flavour as somewhat meaty, sickly and unpleasant. I suspected the problem was the separation of the coconut nectar from the fat, so when I got home I melted it down in a pan into more of a liquid, fudgey paste.

And it tasted a lot better! In fact it tasted lovely, like a caramel coconut fudge of sorts, and was super easy to eat from the spoon. Yum! I will admit, I ate a bit too much, although compared to real fudge with tons of sugar and dairy, this was a lot more filling and satisfying. I was able to actually put it down and stop eating, haha!

Overall, I'm glad I put aside my initial reaction to this and saved the day by melting it down - in liquid form it's lovely and makes for a nice natural fudge substitute. I can see a lot of potential for using this to make various vegan and dairy free sweets, if you add nuts, dried fruit or seeds to it. Definitely worth a try if you're vegan, paleo or into healthier eating!

8 out of 10. 

Doisy & Dam Coconut & Lucuma Dark Chocolate

Doisy & Dam Coconut & Lucuma Dark Chocolate

I always love a new chocolate bar variety, so when I spotted this mini bar of Doisy and Dam Dark Chocolate in a local Sainsbury's Express recently, straight into my basket it went. Costing £1 for 25g it certainly ain't cheap, but that's because it contains organic cocoa and has won a Great Taste Award. I had high expectations, especially since I've reviewed Doisy & Dam before - do check out my Doisy & Dam Maple, Toasted Rice & Pink Salt Review.

Doisy & Dam Coconut & Lucuma Dark Chocolate

This bar contains coconut flakes and vanilla as well as lucuma, which is a type of fruit with caramel undertones. There's 4 segments per mini bar.

Doisy & Dam Coconut & Lucuma Dark Chocolate

Considering the price I was expecting something special from this, and luckily it didn't disappoint. The coconut chips add some nice toasty crunchiness, whilst the lucuma and vanilla both give it a smooth, sweet caramel-like flavour. This is balanced by the rich dark chocolate, which is good quality and has a finer taste than the likes of other dark chocolates such as Green & Blacks or Lindt.

Overall, I have to say I really enjoyed this bar! It may be small but it's super tasty. Suitable for vegans, dairy free and gluten free too. For more info and ingredients check out the Doisy and Dam website: https://doisyanddam.com/products/coconut-lucuma

8.5 out of 10. 

Madecasse Honey Crystal Dark Chocolate

Madecasse Honey Crystal Dark Chocolate

I do enjoy Madecasse chocolates, ever since I was introduced to them a few years back I've been a fan. Their range is made with Heirloom cocoa - "Earth's original and most flavourful variety of cocoa", which is quite the claim but may just be accurate. Madecasse work directly with farmers in Madagascar, making them "Direct Trade". To learn more about their story visit www.madecasse.com.

Madecasse have changed their packaging recently, and I have to say I do prefer it over the previous look. There's now a monkey holding a cocoa pod on the front which is very fitting. This Honey Crystal variety caught my eye in a large Waitrose store - but it's also available from waitrose.com. I found it on special offer of £1.99, and if you hurry it might still be on offer!

Madecasse Honey Crystal Dark Chocolate

As well as a new packaging design they are also using gold foil to wrap the chocolate, which I love - it makes the bar feel super special! The chocolate contains 63% cocoa solids, with honey granules mixed in.

Madecasse Honey Crystal Dark Chocolate

I ate it whilst on my travels and it was the perfect energy boost for a stroll in the park. The chocolate is rich and flavoursome - especially for a 63% cocoa bar, often at this percentage dark chocolates can lack a good flavour. The Heirloom cocoa sure does have a lot going for it! The honey crystals give the chocolate a nice sweet crunchiness which balances the flavour perfectly - you've got the rich cocoa flavour of the chocolate and the natural sweetness of the honey working in perfect harmony together. Sorry to sound corny, but it really does work well!

Overall, I have to say this is a lovely bar and one I enjoyed a lot more than most dark chocolates. The honey crystals make a nice and natural substitute for crunchy caramel, and combine perfectly with the chocolate. This is one I would buy again as a special treat, or maybe even for Christmas.

Ingredients: Cocoa liquor, cane sugar, cocoa butter, honey granules (6%), emulsifier sunflower lecithin. 

9 out of 10. 

Creighton's Spiced Tangerine Dark Chocolate

Creighton's Spiced Tangerine Dark Chocolate

This is Part 2 of my Creighton's Chocolaterie festive reviews, do check out my review of their Mulled Wine Milk Chocolate from a few days ago. As well as that bar they sent me this Spiced Tangerine, described simply as a "citrus flavoured dark chocolate bar with spices". This is available from Fenwicks stores as well as Creighton's Website. They have a rather lovely range of festive chocolates indeed, such as Bucks Fizz Truffles, Chocolate Sprouts, and more...do check them out!

Creighton's Spiced Tangerine Dark Chocolate

I do love a good dark chocolate, especially one with an orangey flavouring so I was very excited to try this. Opening the wrapper it certainly had a nice zesty aroma.

Creighton's Spiced Tangerine Dark Chocolate

I broke off a chunk and took a bite. The dark chocolate is semisweet, somewhere around 50% cocoa solids at a guess (the wrapper doesn't state the percentage). The tangerine flavour is very fresh, moreso than regular orange chocolate and blends well with the spices, which are subtle and creep in in the aftertaste. They're at just the right level - not too strong that they overpower the other flavours, not too weak that you can't taste them. This made for a lovely treat alongside a cup of coffee, which is definitely how I'd recommend eating it!

Overall, another lovely bar from Creighton's, this would also make a lovely Christmas gift for anyone vegan or who can't eat dairy - it offers a unique flavour pairing that you won't find with other dairy free dark chocolates (please note though - if you have a serious dairy allergy, this is made in a factory that handles dairy).

8 out of 10. 

Creighton's Mulled Wine Milk Chocolate

Creighton's Mulled Wine Milk Chocolate

I do like Creighton's Chocolaterie. They produce some excellent chocolate bars, with unique flavours that vary season by season. I enjoyed the Pumpkin Spice Latte Bar for Halloween, so was curious how their festive offerings would compare. Luckily, Creighton's offered to send me two of their Christmas bars for a review.

This Mulled Wine bar is described simply as "mulled wine flavour milk chocolate with cranberries" and is available from the likes of Fenwicks stores as well as Creighton's Website. They have a wide range of delightful festive goodies on there, from the likes of Gingerbread Latte Cups, Rum & Raisin Truffles and the rather special Planet Tree Decorations.

Creighton's Mulled Wine Milk Chocolate

The bar is paper wrapped like all Creighton's bars which gives it a nice special feel compared to plastic wrapping. The chocolate had a lovely mulled wine aroma amongst the creamy milk chocolate notes.

Creighton's Mulled Wine Milk Chocolate

I took a bite...yum! The chocolate is super creamy and melt in the mouth, you can tell it's good quality. There's a delicate mulled spice flavour in there, it's subtle and thankfully not overpowering as I think that would have spoiled the chocolate. The cranberries are tart and chewy, bringing some welcome texture that makes it feel like a posh Fruit & Nut bar...without the nuts of course! The flavours work really well together, which surprised me as I wasn't sure how mulled spice and milk chocolate would taste combined.

Overall, for a treat that's a bit different this Christmas I would highly recommend this bar. It has festive flavour in abundance and would make a lovely gift for any chocolate lover!

Stay tuned for a review of Creighton's Spiced Tangerine bar...

8.5 out of 10. 

Black Geo Glasses - Christmas Gift Ideas

Root 17 Geo Glasses

For this festive season, rather than try every sweet product I can find I'm branching out a bit into a hopefully healthier direction. I'm not reviewing as many sweets but products suitable for general Christmas Gifts. Yay! I'm very excited because I do love a challenge, and there's so much cool stuff in shops aside from snacks. If there's anything you'd like to see reviewed, please do leave a comment and let me know what - I'll try my best to see if I can find it!

Root 17 Geo Glasses

Today's review is for some super special glasses I was sent to review, sold by Root 7. I've seen some fancy whisky glasses in my time but none quite as special as these!

Root 17 Geo Glasses

Called Geo after their geometric design, they come in either black or gold. They look almost like candle holders, not that that's a complaint, because they fit the bill as super special alcohol glasses too. They can actually be used to display your favourite succulent, which means small plant or cactus (who knew?)

Even though I'm all spirit at this time of year, I didn't have any booze on hand to try these with so you'll have to bask in their glory with my Hand Selfie photos. They look beautiful don't they? (The glasses, not my hands!)

Rest assured, once the booze is flowing over the festive season I'll do an update on these, but for now all you need to know is that they're fab and available from Root 7. Definitely one for the whisky lover in your life!

Tesco Cocoa & Orange Bites

Tesco Cocoa & Orange Bites

Tesco are taking on Nakd Posh Bits with their own range of healthier snacks made with dried fruit, oats, nuts etc but at a lower price point. How do they compare?

There's a few varieties in the range; Almond Bites, Cranberry, Coconut and Strawberry Bites and these Cocoa & Orange bites. The best thing about these is that they're nut free, so unlike Nakd Posh Bits are suitable for those with nut allergies - hurrah! Unfortunately though they're not suitable for vegans as they contain honey.

Tesco Cocoa & Orange Bites

Described as "A tasty blend of dates, blossom honey and cocoa nibs" and costing £1.50 for 110g, these come in cube shapes and felt a bit more substantial than Nakd Posh Bits. They have a slightly pale appearance thanks to a dusting of rice flour which isn't such a bad thing; it prevents them sticking together too much.

They tasted nice, very chocolatey and the cocoa nibs certainly give them a lot of crunch. They're a very filling snack indeed, but do become bit one-dimensional after a few pieces.

Are these as good as Nakd Posh Bits? No, to be honest they're not but they're a decent and cheaper take on the healthier snack bites. I would recommend them if you want a healthier snack but are on a budget. That said, you can easily make such snacks yourself from scratch with dates, coconut, nuts and a good blender!

Ingredients: Date Paste, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Nib (7%), Orange Powder (3%), Honey, Rice Flour, Flavouring.

Nutrition Information (per 6g bite): 21 Calories, 0.5g Fat, 3.7g Carbohydrates, 3.3g Sugars, 0.2g Protein.

7.5 out of 10.

Nakd Berry Bliss & Cocoa Twist New Recipe Bars

nakd berry bliss

Amongst the Nakd bars I was sent recently were the New Recipe Apple Danish and Banana Bread bars, as well as these Berry Bliss and Cocoa Twist varieties. They're made with a mixture of oats, raisins, cashews, dates and "fruit extract" which consists of apple and carob. All are vegan and gluten free, as well as refined sugar free. Thankfully they're not flavour free!


The Berry Bliss variety is lovely; so fruity thanks to the raspberries and strawberries, it feels like a real summery treat indeed, in fact it'd be perfect for the Wimbledon season! But it would also be good for those times in Winter when you want to remember the Summer months too, haha! 8 out of 10.

nakd cocoa twist

The Cocoa Twist bar is a more simple affair, but very satisfying and has a nice rich cocoa flavour. It's the closest to a natural brownie bar you're going to get, and makes for a very filling snack. Highly recommended. 8 out of 10.

nakd cocoa twist

Overall, these are another two great snacks from Nakd, perfect for a low sugar, gluten free vegan treat. The addition of oats makes them extra satisfying and filling compared to regular Nakd bars - I'd recommend them for a healthier mid morning snack fix!

Magnum Signature Chocolate Orange

Magnum Signature Orange Milk Chocolate

It's been a while since I first tried Magnums Signature chocolate range now, they first brought out three bars in Milk, Dark and White Chocolate - the latter two of which I've reviewed. Since then they've added more varieties to the range, including Salted Caramel and Orange. I chose the Orange one to try recently because I was curious how it would compare to the classic Terry's Chocolate Orange, which is declining in quality rapidly year on year, it seems.

Magnum Signature Orange Milk Chocolate

Like the other bars in the range this weighs in at 100g and costs 99p in the likes of Home Bargains and B&M stores. I believe WH Smiths may also stock it. There's two thick squares per bar, each one the perfect size for an indulgent treat all to yourself. Of course I ate both both!



Magnum Signature Orange Milk Chocolate

It has a nice zesty orange aroma with a stronger cocoa kick than Terrys Chocolate Orange.

I took a bite. Yum! This is seriously good quality chocolate, far far better than Terry's, no greasy or waxy texture, just melt in the mouth creamy chocolate. The higher cocoa solids (30%) give it a richer, finer flavour and the orange flavour tastes fresh and compliments it perfectly. Added to all of this is a lovely smooth creaminess from the milk powder. This is one tasty bar indeed!

Overall, if you love orange chocolate this bar is a must try. It's far tastier than Terry's Chocolate Orange is becoming, and offers better quality for the same price. If you have any Home Bargains or B&M stores locally - seek these out and stock up for Christmas, you won't be sorry! And forget about Terrys Chocolate Orange full stop. They're really not worth it these days!

8.5 out of 10.