Leonidas Dark Chocolate Assortment Part 4

Oh no!! Very sadly (for me) it's the final four chocolates from the Leonidas Dark Chocolate Assortment Box. Part One, Two and Three have to be some of the tastiest chocolates I've eaten and this is certainly the best box of chocolates I've had in a very long time.

I know my normal modus operandi is to eat worst to best but I couldn't help myself with the chocolates in part three so I was left with four that while I knew they'd be good, if I had to share some, would probably have been the four I'd give up. 

I Love You

Awww, I love you too Leonidas! I'm not sure what lemon, a normally quite sharp and bitter taste has to do with love but what do I know? If you're up to date with my Leonidas posts you'll know citrus flavours aren't usually my cup of tea but Leonidas aren't playing by my rules so far.

It seems I might not have left the worst, in fact this could be one of the best! I did not expect to taste a delicious sweet lemon, I'd assumed a sharp tart flavour but it wasn't at all. The sweet fruity flavour was the perfect accompaniment to the rich dark chocolate.  

Tosca

As well as citrus flavours, I usually eat around the alcoholic ones too. Way back in part one there was a rum filled chocolate which I loved although there have been a few since then with the familiar harsh alcohol flavour I'm not too keen on. 

The chocolate casing seemed thicker than of late and was just as good as ever, a nice strong flavour until the Brandy kicked in. Wow, it's strong although maybe a little too authentic for me. It's very tasty and it's not that I disliked it, its just so... 'real' tasting that I think it'd need a proper Brandy fan to truly appreciate it. 

Mosaique

Cranberry is a fruit I shy away from, not because of a dislike but because it makes me think of things that do not need to be written about on a food blog thank you very much! 

The crispy praline is wonderful, a soft thick filling with crisp crunchy pieces dotted throughout. The flavours were good too, it tasted a lot sweeter overall than the vast majority of the other chocolates. One negative (or positive depending on where you stand) is that the flavour all came from the sweetened praline, not due to any cranberry. To tell you the truth I couldn't see, let alone taste any cranberry pieces but regardless it was good. 

Cerise Emballee

The very last chocolate in my whole box is the only wrapped one. 

I usually prefer my cherry to be of the sour variety, covered in sugar and in gummy form but I'll eat it in chocolate, if I have to... The attention to detail in the whole box has been lovely, from chocolates shaped like coffee beans to Greek characters embossed on top, they've thought of it all and the very last is the cherry on top...

..Literally! I can't go any further without saying, just look at that! If you read the description on the menu you might be thinking "that doesn't look like cherry liqueur cream?" And you'd be right, because I ate it. It was nice but nothing compared to what you can see above. 

The runny, sweet juices came from the whole Morello Cherry sitting nicely inside. Its large, juicy, a little chewy and sweet with the most vibrant cherry flavour. The liqueur cream left a very boozey aftertaste behind, but the good kind and I'll admit - I literally licked the plate clean afterwards. Incredible. 

Rating:

What a box of chocolates! There were lots of flavours I assumed I'd hate and some I thought I'd love. Some I was on the money and others surprised me but what I can say about every single chocolate is that what really shines through is the quality of the ingredients. Even if it was a flavour I normally hate, there was no denying the stuff's good.

 It's my birthday in a few months Mr.1T - I'll try the milk next time please!!

9/10

Marks & Spencer Hot Cross Buns

Hot Cross Buns are one of the few cakes (buns to be specific) I enjoy. The word enjoy doesn't do justice to my love of the sweet, sticky balls of dough - adore, covet, obsess - these are all more appropriate words. Of course they're sold all year round unlike other Easter treats but the special ones are saved for the few months between Christmas and whenever Easter falls. 

You can't beat a normal Hot Cross Bun, I don't think there is a bad way to eat one - plain, with butter, toasted, untoasted, for breakfast, lunch or a snack they are pretty much a perfect food! 

Last year I tried (though I dont think I reviewed) the Tesco fresh bakery Double Chocolate Hot Cross Buns but I had vouchers to use up this year and so Marks & Sparks it was! I picked up two different flavours as a 2 for £2.50 promotion and got 8 decent sized buns for my troubles. 

Toffee Fudge & Belgian Chocolate

First up had to be these. If I had to pick 5 of my favourite confectioneries , toffee, fudge and chocolate would be three of them (that would be purely confectionery - junk food in general I wouldn't know where to start!)

My excitement to eat these only grew once I'd got a look at them out of the wrapper, they're quite large and had that glistening sticky look which meant I knew before I'd even tried that these weren't going to be a stodgy dry bun. 

They mainly smelt of normal Hot Cross Buns, though once I'd actually got up close and personal I could smell some deliciously chocolate undertones. 

 Sometimes appearances aren't deceiving and you should judge a book by its cover.. It was just as moist (shudder) as I expected, with a thick, quite dense mouth feel but it was far from stodgy. My first bun didn't have that many additional pieces to be fair, so around half of it was just a plain hot cross bun - the toffee, chocolate and fudge are in chips and pieces - and to be truthful, I'd have been perfectly satisfied with just this! It's sweet with the usual spices that aren't so strong to be overwhelming but enough to have that unmistakable Easter taste. 

I'll be straight, in the first I was seriously lacking on the toffee front to the point I didn't taste it at all, but I didn't miss it in the slightest. The first and stronger flavour was the Belgian chocolate, dark and rich with a delicious flavour it complimented the spices of the bun and the sweetness of the fudge perfectly. The fudge pieces were an odd one, they provided the sweetness to wrap the overall flavour up neatly and while I could taste a milkiness to them that the Belgian chocolate chips didn't have, I'm not sure I'd have known they were Fudge had that not been in the name, I'd have probably guessed a milk chocolate. They were very tasty either way! Mr.1T's buns and the second one I had were chocked full of Toffee though, so I think its luck of the draw.

Speaking of the second bun, my God I should have tried it this way first!! I toasted it literally for seconds, just so it was warm but still soft and squidgy and it was even better. The extra toffee and fudge pieces were delicious, sweet and both had the appropriate flavour but the dark Belgian chocolate stole the show. It melted immediately into pools of gooey rich chocolate, its going to be a pain in the backside to clean my toaster but it was oh so worth it. Amazing. 

Rating:

Delicious!! I have another M&S gift card left, would it be wrong to spend it all on chocolate buns??

8/10 

Berries & Cherries 

We'd have both been quite happy with just the chocolate buns but pushed the boat out as we weren't paying and decided to take M&S up on their 2 for £2.50 offer. There were a few other choices, but the idea of apple or orange in my Hot Cross Buns didn't seem to appealing and we went with the fairly safe Berries & Cherries option - raspberries, cranberries, blackberries and cherries. 

They don't look as tempting as the previous pack, but stick some chocolate on top of nearly anything and I'll want to eat it! That said, the actual bun looked drier and I pinched the juiciest looking ones for myself before Mr.1T noticed. The berries and cherries stood out, except for the blackberries which looked a lot like raisins, and a lot of the dough had been stained various shades of red. 

They were the complete opposite to the Toffee, Fudge & Chocolate flavour - whereas that smelt like a Hot Cross Bun with a little chocolate this had a much fruitier scent and the spices of the bun seemed like an afterthought. 

As before I tried each flavour twice, the first was un-toasted and I was a little surprised. Considering these should be the same base bun just with different ingredients (the chocolate/fruits) it had a completely different feel. I did eat the chocolatey bun the day before the fruity but there are still 4 days before the use by date. Where the bun was beautifully moist before it had a stodgier, chewier feel in the berries and cherries. It seemed a lot more work eating it if that makes sense, it probably wouldn't have seemed inferior if I'd eaten these first but the quality seemed poorer and I'm not sure 24 hours would make that much difference - and I picked the juiciest looking! 

Texture aside, it seemed to have less of a Hot Cross Bun flavour to it too, the traditional spices were a lot duller and the dough tasted less sweet too. 

The fruits were good though, very vibrant, juicy and fresh tasting. Happily there were four clear individual flavours and it didn't all mesh into one big vaguely 'red berry' flavour - they are the star of the show for sure. 

Unlike the previous buns, the Berries & Cherries didn't taste very different toasted, the only real change was in the texture. Toasting it seemed to make it feel less doughy or stodgy so it was a slight improvement but not enough that if there were any more left I'd move my lazy arse off the sofa to the toaster! 

Rating:

It sounds like I'm really slating these but they weren't that bad, sadly they'd just suffered the fate of being eaten after the delicious Toffee, Fudge & Belgian Chocolate Buns! 

7/10

The Collective Duples - Black Cherry

In my opinion, The Collective yoghurts are the best out there. Not only has every flavour I've tried been delicious but they're good for you too - filled with cultures, a very reasonable excuse to eat as much as I can! 

Up until recently you could buy 500g or individual pots of the flavours and small pouches called Suckies which are aimed at kids with no bits or pulps. They've just released these new Duples though which are basically The Collectives version of a Corner or Split Pot. 

There are three available; Scottish Raspberry + seeds, nibs'n'coconut, Passionfruit + toasted granola and the tub I chose, Black Cherry + dark Belgian choccy curls. 

I tried each part alone before mixing them all together, I wasn't suprised to find the yoghurt itself up to the The Collectives usual standards, plain but still creamy tasting, thick and rich. 

The Black Cherry compote on the bottom was good, a sweet cherry flavour that wasn't that strong in the tiny spoonful I scooped out but I didn't want to eat too much before I'd stirred it in. 

The chocolate was lucky it wasn't eaten completely before it got a chance to be tipped in the other section of the tub! I do like a nice bit of dark chocolate and this hit the spot. A small amount of sweetness and not quite bitter (it's only 53% so toward the lower end of a dark chocolate) but it's worlds away from a milk. The difference between the chocolate here and the chocolates used in other corner type yoghurts is ridiculous, this tasted like chocolate I'd happily eat as chocolate, not sugar and fat flavoured like chocolate thrown in as an afterthought to a yoghurt. 

It doesn't look very attractive all stirred up together but these things never do! 

Once I wasn't scared to get a proper spoonful I found the cherry flavour was perfectly strong enough and was fighting with the dark chocolate as to which was strongest. The sweetness of the cherry won out through the plain yoghurt but all I could taste for ages afterwards was the rich dark chocolate. I also found that the compote was 'bitty' which I loved and not only were there little pip like pieces but whole chunks of cherry which came as a very welcome suprise. 

The chocolate really benefits from being stored in the fridge as it keeps a lovely, crunchy bite which both compliments and contrasts against the cherry compote and thick yoghurt. 

This is another winner for me, both in taste and texture and I'm looking forward to trying the Passionfruit + Granola. I'll give the Raspberry a swerve though - yuck coconut! 

7/10 

J20 Bon Bons

I am officially on a mission to find the best tasting Bon Bons and thankfully for me, this retro sweet seems to be making a bit of a comeback. I've reviewed a few Bon Bons before, and the Sunkist ones are top of my leader board at the moment. I tend to stick to the more traditional flavours when it comes to a Bon Bon - strawberry, lemon and toffee and I like one with a good, solid chew. 

So with that in mind I thought I'd push the boat out and go for some more unusual flavours with these two J20 bags. 

Neither bag contain any artificial colourings or flavours, just remember this when you see what they look like!

J20 Exotic Fruit Dual Flavours 

A mix of dual colour and flavour chewy Bon Bons in your favorite J20 drink flavours - Apple & Blueberry, Apple & Mango, Orange & Passion fruit and  Apple & Raspberry

Lots of apple in this bag and come to think of it, I haven't actually tried an apple Bon Bon before. 

No single scent is immediately noticable, there is just an overall fruity smell to the sweets. 

They aren't the most appealing Bon Bons to look at, I think its all that green but I've not let appearances put me off before and I wasn't about to start now. The texture was spot on, a good, long lasting chew that stopped just short of jaw ache. 

The Orange & Passion Fruit were mainly orange to be truthful, I couldn't really taste the passion fruit but it wasnt quite a full on orange flavour - not as orange tasting as just an orange Bon Bon if that makes sense! Theres a hint of a little something else at the end of each sweet but it doesn't scream passion fruit. They are nice though. 

The Apple & Mango are very tasty, neither flavour is stronger than the other and again being completely honest neither were 100% identifiable as the fruit they were supposed to be but the mix together was lovely. 

In Apple & Raspberry the flavours were better. The raspberry is stronger than the apple but doesn't overpower it completely. I could still taste both in each Bon Bon. The two blend together nicely and were another I enjoyed. 

Apple & Blueberry were my least favorite out of the bag. I wasn't even sure I'd had one until I tried an apple & raspberry and realised by default these must have been the blueberry. The plainest out of the bag and a bit confusing considering I could clearly taste the apple in the other flavours. I couldn't taste the blueberry at all either.

I did like these sweets but my main issue with them was the fact three out of the four flavours were apple & something, it would have been nice to have a more varied mix of fruit. Although they didnt taste it at the time, they must have been mega sugary as I ended up with a sugar burnt tongue. I am the Queen of Pick'n'Mix and that never happens! 

6/10

J20 Glitter Berry 

Limited Edition Grape, Cherry & Spice Bon Bons 

I'm not sure whether these are three differently flavoured Bon Bons or each sweet is a mix of all three flavours and the packet (and taste) wasnt much help so this bag is reviewed as more of a whole rather than the individual flavours. 

The smell of cherry was most obvious in the bag, but they didn't smell very strong once I'd poured them out. 

They really dont look very nice do they.. But remember natural colours and ingredients so J20 (or Monty Bojangles, both are all over the pack?) should be applauded there. 

The chew was slightly different in this bag, some were as hard and chewy as before but some were a lot softer and after one or two chews seemed to dissolve away. Although I could kind of make out three differently coloured Bon Bons i couldnt taste much difference at all. Each one had a berry flavour, even though they smelt like cherry I could probably have been convinced it was a mild strawberry or even raspberry, just that general 'berry' flavour some sweets have. It was quite a dull taste anyway and quite boring to be honest. I expected the darker ones to have more flavour but they didnt taste any different from the lighter ones. 

I think (!) I tasted grape in one of the Bon Bons but it came and went so fast I pretty much missed it. It was like someone had forgotten to put the grape and spice flavour in the machine at the factory. I'd get a berry flavour which would disappear, and Id wait for the grape or spice to appear - it never did and then the berry would be back again. I had one small Bon Bon in the whole bag that was 100% cherry, no mistaking it but that was it. One solitary, small Bon Bon that seemed to have all the flavour concentrated in its tiny chewy shell. Who knows where the spice was!!

 Disappointing.  

5/10

  

J20 Fruit Fusions

I have restraint shopping in real life but shopping online is another story. One minute I'm just looking thinking "ooh they look nice" the next thing I know there's a knock on the door and I've got 14 bags of sweets to find somewhere to put away. 

I don't think these are new but I haven't seen them in any supermarkets. They are J20 Fruit Fusions, 'exotic fruit soft gums made with real fruit juices and natural colours and flavours'.  Looking at the packet all I can see are the natural and real ingredients, no scientific words or names at all. Usually there are minimal natural ingredients but just enough to get away with using that label, here that's not the case at all. 

The idea of these sweets are to pair different flavours together and there are 21 combinations you can make, I'll just post about the individual flavours as that will be long enough as it is! 

The bag has a very fruity smell to it, nothing too tropical and nothing that stands out but they do smell good. They're solid, firm little sweets with an almost rubbery texture - softer than wine gums but a lot chewier than jelly sweets. With all the flavours I found there was no real taste until I'd broke through the outer seal so to speak, the insides have the same consistency as the outs but all the flavour seems to be concentrated there. 

Passionfruit 

The flavour took a while to kick in but when it did it was lovely. It had a strong sweet, passionfruit taste and was very tropical tasting. 

Cherry 

This was a very natural tasting cherry, nothing like Haribo cherries for example. At first I wasn't too keen - it tasted exactly like a lipgloss I had when I was about eleven! But this really grew on me and ended up being one of my favourites. 

Mango 

The mango probably took the longest for the flavour to develop. It was very plain and like chewing nothing to start but oh my it soon appeared. It's a very strong, natural mango. The strongest flavour in the bag by far and is surprisingly sharp. An unusual flavour but a welcome difference to the normal fruit flavours in sweets. Very tasty 

Pineapple

The one sweet in the bag where the flavour was apparent as soon as I took a bite. Very strong (even more so for a sweet using only real juices), very natural and very tropical tasting. Absoloutly delicious and in my opinion the best of the bunch. 

Mandarin 

Probably the mildest all round of them all. It has a slightly orange like taste to it eventually that's not very strong. It does have a nice flavour, it's just doesn't stand out amongst the other bolder flavours here. 

Peach

Peach is a funny flavour, done well it's delicious but it's very easy to ruin. This is one of the better peach flavours I've had - probably the best actually. It's not too strong or overpowering like others I've tried but still stands it's own against the sharp mango or sweet pineapple for instance. A very natural peach, very tasty. 

I was impressed with these sweets, unlike certain brands I've tried lately (coughHaribocough) and with the exception of the Mandarin, I could identify all the flavours without looking what they were supposed to be. Not only do they all have a lovely, sweet, real flavour but J20 or Monty Bojangles have achieved it using only natural ingredients. Impressive. 

8/10 

Tic Tac Mixers - Cherry Cola

Tic Tacs haven't found their way into my shopping basket for a loooong time. I'm not sure why, but the Cherry Cola Mixers sounded far too interesting to pass up on. 

I thought there might be a few brown ones or maybe half red half brown to represent the cherry and the cola but they're all red. 

Initially they have a lovely cherry flavour, it's not very strong but completely acceptable for a cherry Tic Tac. This quickly turns into a delicious cola flavour. The cola tastes just like a fizzy cola sweet - obviously they aren't fizzy but somehow they capture that flavour perfectly! 

These are brilliant, they taste exactly as they claim to. Whenever I have bought Tic Tacs they've lasted me ages, I dip in and take a couple at a time but I was pouring these into my mouth! The box didn't last five minutes (it is small though) they were so addictive! 

Rating 8/10 as a general snack, nibble or sweet treat. 

10/10 for execution! 

Mike and Ike Original Fruits

My husband picked today's review and as it turns out I should just let him pick in future! I've not had much joy in the American stuff I've tried this week and so once again I went into the imported Mike and Ike Original Fruits with low expectations. 

I wasn't sure what they would be before opening them, on the packet they look like longer, rounder Tooty Fruitys but they're actually jelly beans. The packaging proudly States "Now with real fruit juice!" (Aswell as a quite a few scientifically named ingredients with a nice warning). The flavours in the Original Fruits were what intrigued me, Cherry, Lemon, Strawberry, Lime and Orange. Fruit flavours that I think (apart from strawberry) aren't used enough normally in English sweets - it's always a super sour version. 

They smelt fruity and you get quite a few in each bag with each flavour there pretty evenly - no hundreds of strawberries and one lemon for instance. Each bean is very juicy and chewy, the texture is spot on. 

Cherry - I wondered before trying these which was which out of strawberry and cherry as they are both a very similar shade of pinky red, one just a little darker. I needn't have though as there was no mistaking the cherry flavour. They are probably the strongest cherry flavoured sweets I've ever tried! It's quite an artificial cherry flavour though and this was the only flavour in the bag that had a weird almost chalky aftertaste to it. 

Strawberry - I actually tried strawberry first as it turns out. I was unsure for the first few as the flavour was quite mild and didn't immediately scream strawberry like the Cherry did. The strawberry jelly beans seemed a mixed bag in terms of the strength of flavour and I did get one that had huge amounts of flavour in it and it was very tasty. Just a shame they weren't all as strong. 

Lime - I fully expected this to be my least favourite in the bag and I couldn't have been more wrong. It was absolutely delicious, not sour at all just a very fruity, bright lime flavour. Some were more slightly more tart than others but all were equal in the lime flavour. By far my favourite flavour. 

Lemon - Another tasty flavour, it was strange having more of a sweet lemon sweet but still very enjoyable! They are quite citrusy and some were so tart they gave me a screwed up face and were verging on sour but the lemon flavour was delicious. 

Orange - One I expected to be near the top but actually ended up being my least favourite. To be honest it wasn't a very nice flavour, I just didn't like it and it was quite dull all round too especially compared with the vast majority of the rest of the bag. 

I really enjoyed the Mike and Ike sweets, and they're one I'll be buying again 100%, it was refreshing to have a mix of flavours we don't see that much over here.

Rating 8/10 

Sour Vimtoads

I don't think these sour vimtoads are new but I've had a serious craving for Haribo fizzy sour cherries this week and absolutely nowhere has had any, the bag says these are are original vimto and cherry vimto flavoured so I thought these would do.. 

I could smell the cherry when I opened the packet and they looked just as sugary as my missing cherries - so far so good. 

I bit into the first one and the first thing I noticed was the runny centre, it is enjoyable but I just wish these were a bit bigger so there was more of it. I then realised the whole reason why the liquid middle stood out . They were pretty bland to be honest, the taste was nowhere near as strong as the scent and there was a distinct lack of sour. Maybe my tastebuds are just used to super sweet and sour sweets, these are sweet - more because of the covering of sugar all over them rather than the actual flavour and I really wouldn't describe them as sour. I was expecting two clear different flavours between the two colours but they were very similar, although it is a cherry Vimto rather than an ordinary cherry, I still expected a more distinguishable difference. 

As I ate the last couple they started to get very sugary - not sweet just pure sugar which I wouldn't have minded if there was a stronger flavour to balance it out but I might aswell have just been eating sugar off of a spoon.

Rating 5/10

World Foods Part 3

E Wedel Gorzka

This is another 100g block of chocolate from E  Wedel, this particular bar was purchased in Asda but I know for a fact I've seen it on sale in Tesco and lots of newsagents in my area.

When I bought this I thought Gorzka meant dark going by the picture on the front, but when according to google translate it actually means bitter.

I really enjoyed this, I wouldn't say it was bitter as such but it has a nice dark flavour.

It's quite thick which is definitely a quality I look for in chocolate, there's nothing better than that nice crunch when you take a bite and Gorzka ticks that box.

I would compare this bar to maybe a Bournville bar, in that some dark chocolates are too much and you can't eat more than a few squares but I had no problem working my way through this bar! Very nice.

Rating 7/10

Thai Glico Strawberry Flavour Pocky

I have a shameful confession to make in that I've never had Pocky or Mikado or anything like that before, maybe I should have chosen a plain chocolate version to compare this to but never mind.

Again this is from Asda a few weeks ago but I've only just got round to eating them. I was very surprised at how many came in a pack, especially as from what I could work out from the packaging a pack is one serving.

They're quite thin breadstick style biscuits, but from the parts without the strawberry flavouring on they seemed to have a nice flavour to themselves. At first I tried a single stick and was a bit disappointed, they were nice and crunchy but the strawberry was quite dull. I've learnt now though that these need to be eaten in at least multiples of two, and then I realised why it's just one serving, wow these are moreish!!

I really enjoyed these, there's a nice mix between the texture of the crunchy biscuits and the yoghurt(?) or chocolate (I'm not sure the box just says confectionary) strawberry flavour. I think before I buy these again I will try the chocolate versions first I can imagine they're delicious.

Rating 7/10

E Wedel Gorzka Wiśniowa

This is Gorzka Wiśniowa, which I think I've worked out from the other bar and the picture on the front, means bitter cherry. Once again this is a 100g bar and there is actually an English translation on the back - 50% Dark chocolate with cherry filling.  

This is a nice dark bar, for some reason when I opened mine it looks a bit busted - I've checked the date on the pack and it's still good until November but hey ho!

When I took it out I didn't break it apart,  it literally fell to pieces which was a bit worrying considering how it looked. It doesn't really come across in the photo and I was too worried to try and break it apart again in case it disintigrated but there's a white cream labelled as cherry filling inside each square as well as what's on the ingredients list as " 1.3% jelly puree".

Worrying that this was stale was a waste of time, I should have known from the strong cherry smell that it was still fresh and wow it tasted good! I've never had a bar with a purée in it before let alone one with a purée and a cream filling but I'll definitely keep my eyes peeled for another one. The cherry flavour was very intense  and really complimented the dark chocolate. It didn't taste artificial to me either, maybe that's because of the purée, and has a lovely fruity taste rather than sugary.

A really nice, moreish bar of chocolate.

Rating 8/10