Amadeo Solo (chocolate-banana)

Product name: Amadeo Solo (chocolate-banana)
Purchase details: £0.29 for a 100g bar (Home Bargains)
Calories: 537 per bar
Country of origin: Poland 

I’m a sucker for a bargain and I very rarely don’t go down the confectionery aisle when I’m in Home Bargains. On a recent visit, I saw this Amadeo Solo bar for the shockingly cheap price of £0.29 for 100g. Just as I was about to keep walking, I realised that this wasn’t just milk chocolate...it was chocolate-banana flavoured milk chocolate! I was intrigued so I had to buy it. I wasn’t expecting it to be any good, but that wasn’t the point!

The bar was presented in a yellow wrapper so I’m not quite sure why I didn’t initially make a connection with banana. When I saw it on the shop shelf, it was the music theme that I noticed due to the musical notes at the bottom of the packaging, the name ‘Solo’, and also the word ‘Amadeo’ which made me think ‘Amadeus’ which, in turn, made me think of Mozart! It was only on closer inspection at home that I realised that two banana ends were incorporated into the background of the wrapper – pretty subtle!

I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this product as no detailed description was provided. However, the image on the packaging seemed to suggest a cream-like filling. I was also a bit confused about where the flavour would come from since there was no mention of banana on the ingredients list...there was desiccated coconut though!

On removing the outer wrapper, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was an inner foil layer – something I hadn’t been expecting with such a cheap product. The bar had a very basic appearance which consisted of small squares with a simple pattern on top and I soon discovered that I was right to think it contained a cream centre – this was pale and seemed to contain white flecks, although I’m still unsure about what these were. Similarly, there were some bubbles on the base of the bar which also seemed unexplained. However, I think these were more likely to be air bubbles rather than some kind of random ingredient!

The thing that hit me first, though, was the immediately obvious banana scent. This obviously wasn’t the same as fresh banana but it did remind me of something else...banana milk, I think. Up close, the chocolate’s smell became more evident and, overall, it was a pleasant aroma.

As soon as I placed a piece of the chocolate on my tongue, I noticed that the banana taste was really strong and definitely the main flavour. The bar was very sweet but also had a creaminess to it, as well as a slightly bitter element.

When letting the chocolate melt, the cream centre provided quite a rough and thick texture rather than a smooth, silky one. This actually seemed to fit the flavour well as it was a bit like a banana’s texture but without the extreme mushiness. When chewing, this filling resulted in a soft texture, although it maintained its slight roughness. I preferred to eat the bar in this way since the outer chocolate layer provided a slight resistance before reaching the softness beneath. I found it really difficult to tell if the centre provided any additional flavour since there was such a strong banana flavour in the outer shell which far outweighed the chocolate taste. Instead, the filling seemed to have a far greater impact on the texture.

This bar of Amadeo Solo was certainly different but it was also far nicer than I thought it would be. I actually have no idea why it was quite so cheap! It provided plenty of flavour although, at times, it did feel like a bit too much (especially when eating the whole bar) and the sweetness did hurt my teeth a little bit. However, this product was certainly not unpleasant and I’d probably buy it again. 

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 8/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 6.5/10
Overall score: 7.13/10