Magnum signature chocolate dark with cocoa nibs

I'm not sure if you've noticed at the side of the page I have a blog roll of other reviewers I like to follow, both their blogs and on Instagram (@1treatatatime) and Kevs Snack Reviews Instagrammed a picture of some Magnum chocolate he found in B&M. The next time I was shopping in there I saw they had a dark version and I couldn't pass that up! 

This is Magnum signature chocolate dark with cocoa nibs. There is a long blurb on the back about how the cocoa Magnum use is fair trade Ecuadorian which is a pleasant bonus. The bar has minimum 50% cocoa solids so not too dark and contains 3% cocoa nibs. 

The packaging has a luxurious touch and is very similar to the Lindt Hello.. bars, first packed in a neat little cardboard envelope then with a shiny foil wrapper inside. The chocolate itself in looks and snap reminded me of the Green and Blacks THIN bars, although it's 10g smaller at 90g it's longer and wider than other block bars. It's not sectioned off into serving sizes but 3 large squares. The cocoa nibs are clearly visible through the bar of the bar and it looked like there was a fair few throughout. 

My first bite was of a section that must have had most of the nibs in as the crunch was at first more noticeable than the flavour. The taste soon arrived though and it was one I quite enjoyed. My cocoa percentage preference in dark chocolate hovers around 70% depending on my mood, so this wasn't really dark enough for me while I was looking at it as a 'dark bar'. Once I'd pushed that notion away and took it for what it was I did like the taste of this. It's not too rich yet not too milky or sweet but manages to be just a little of both (that's probably the reasoning behind 50%, why have I just realised that!). The overall flavour is very nice and does have a darker note to it. 

The nibs were a little disappointing overall, despite appearances most of my bar didn't have many, the 3% listed is probably about right for what I had. They're quite small so in flavour they got a little bit lost in the dark chocolate. My first and last bite (typical) has the most in and they were great - a crunchy chewy texture in the thinner chocolate really bumped this up in my enjoyment. 

I was quite surprised that even though this was one of the thinnest bars I've eaten it didn't melt quickly, usually when I put darker stuff on a plate I end up with smears of melted chocolate all over it but had nothing here. The thinness also gave it such a satisfying snap and bite - I love it when you get a good crack with chocolate! If I had it my way I would up the cocoa percentage on this bar a little - but that is complete personal preference. It's not a dark chocolate you can only eat a couple of little squares at a time, I found it very moreish and happily ate the lot in one go, so even if you prefer milk I'd give this a go. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy this if I fancied dark chocolate but I wouldn't turn it down if someone wanted to get me another... (Coughcough I know you're reading this)

Rating 6/10