Montezuma's Absolute Black Easter Egg with Cocoa Nibs & Buttons

A huge thankyou to Montezuma's for sending me this Absolute Black Easter egg to review recently! Since I first heard of it I was eager to try it; I do enjoy Montezuma's Absolute Black bars - they're a godsend when trying to cut back on sugar intake and still enjoy some chocolate. So in Easter Egg form it makes the perfect treat for anyone wiahing to stick to a sugar free diet over the Easter period! Not only is it made with 100% cocoa chocolate, the shell contains cocoa nibs and there's a sachet of 100% Dark Chocolate buttons with it too.

The egg was silver foil wrapped, a nice touch compared to some of the shiny plastic wrappers found on many Easter Eggs.

Ripping open the foil, the egg looked super shiny - I didn't want to break it!

But it had to be done...for reviewing purposes! The shell is nice and thick with the cocoa nibs peeking out in places. Biting into a piece, there's the classic rich cocoa flavour of the Absolute Black Dark Chocolate punctuated with some earthier notes from the nibs, which do a great job of breaking up the texture and preventing it becoming boring, as I imagine it would without any additions at all. The buttons make for a nice accompaniment to nibble on separately, although due to the rich nature of them you won't be eating a lot at once. They're nice to have a few with a cuppa.

I do think it would have been nice if Montezuma's had included some other kind of addition, like coated nuts or something, although that would be unfair to those with allergies. This egg is certainly king when it comes to being allergen free - no sugar, dairy, nuts, gluten or soya, so it caters for everyone! It's made in a factory that processes dairy and nuts, of course, so if you are super sensitive please be aware of this.

Overall, in my opinion this is a superb egg and probably better than the Hotel Chocolat 100% Dark I reviewed last year. Although that one was nice, this one is a bit smoother in taste and easier to eat.

If you're avoiding dairy or sugar - this is the egg for you! Find it on montezumas.co.uk (they deliver within 24 hours, so hurry if you want one by the weekend!)

On the topic of Easter Eggs, if you've ever wondered why we eat Eggs at Easter here's an article from Montezuma's that explains all! https://www.montezumas.co.uk/blog/2017/04/why-do-we-eat-eggs-at-easter-2/

8.5 out of 10. 

Montezuma's Absolute Black with Almonds/Orange & Cocoa Nibs

Being on a low sugar diet it's hard to find many interesting chocolates, yes there's the lovely Montezuma's Absolute Black but sometimes you want some added crunch or flavour. Luckily Montezuma's have come to the rescue with not one, but two new Absolute Black varieties - the first 100% cacao bars on the market with added flavours. These are not available in major supermarkets just yet, but you can get them online from www.montezumas.co.uk. Luckily Montezuma's kindly sent me boith to review.

Absolute Black 100% Cocoa Solids with Almonds:

This bar is sugar free, vegan, and contains 80% chocolate and 20% almonds. Opening the wrapper the bar has the standard Montezuma's design - blocks make up half of it, with a thicker piece on one end with the Montezuma's logo. I've said it before but I do love the block design, it's nice to have the smaller pieces as well as a nice thicker piece to munch on!

The almonds are clearly visible when you snap off a block, although not evenly distributed throughout the bar unfortunately. I suspect it's difficult to make sure there's a piece in every block since they're whole rather than chopped almonds.

Taking a bite of a piece with the almonds in, it was lovely; the chocolate is rich and flavoursome, with a slightly fruity cocoa edge. It's not bitter like some 100% chocolates can be. The almonds bring a bit of chewiness as well as a creamy, nutty edge that really compliments the chocolate, and in fact tones it down a little. I loved this bar, it's the perfect mixture of more intense cocoa flavours with sweeter creamy almonds. My only gripe is that there weren't more of them distributed throughout the bar, but overall this was my favourite out of the two! 9 out of 10.

Absolute Black 100% Cocoa Solids with Orange & Cocoa Nibs: 

This bar is also sugar free and vegan, containing 93% chocolate, 7% cocoa nibs and orange oil. The nibs are fairly distributed throughout the bar so you get plenty in each bite. The chocolate had a pleasant zesty aroma when I opened the wrapper.

Taking a bite, this was a very crunchy bar indeed, the nibs give it the perfect texture. The orange oil gives it a welcoming citrus flavour, that almost reminded me of Chocolate Orange, but much better. The nibs are a little harsh in taste so it's good the orange oil counteracts their bitterness. I enjoyed this bar, and the crunchy texture is great, but I did find the nibs a bit too harsh to properly appreciate it overall. It's a shame because the orange flavour is lovely. I was torn between this and the almonds bar as to my favourite, because I love this one for the orange flavour and the almond bar for the lack of harshness. I think an almonds bar with orange oil and no cocoa nibs would be the ideal combination - but that's just me! I will still buy this if I see it in shops for a sugar free treat. 8 out of 10.

Overall...I have to congratulate Montezuma's for creating these two bars for those of us who are sugar free, they sure make life a lot more interesting! I hope this is the start of a new trend towards 100% chocolate with added flavourings, it's one that would be very welcome to many and would help people stick with lower sugar and low carb diets longterm. I'd like to see a bar with coconut or perhaps dried berries added...there's so many options to choose from. Please keep up the good work Montezuma's!

Available from: Montezumas.co.uk.

Nutrition (per 25g):
Orange & Cocoa Nibs: 13g Fat, 2g Carbohydrates, 3g Protein, 4g Fibre. 
Almonds: 14g Fat, 2g Carbohydrates, 3g Protein, 4g Fibre.