Nestlé Quality Street: My orange bar

Product name: Nestlé Quality Street: My orange bar
Purchase details: £0.60 for a 35g bar or three for £1.20 (Tesco)
Calories: 98 per half bar (196 per bar)
Country of origin: UK

 

Having enjoyed the Nestlé Quality Street green and purple bars, I really wanted to try the new My orange bar which was the same idea but made use of the brand’s Orange chocolate crunch sweet – one I like but tend to forget exists!

Presented in an on-theme purple and orange glossy, festive wrapper that included an image of the bar, the ‘milk chocolate with an orange flavoured filling and orange flavoured crunch pieces (9%)’ was split into four hexagonal segments with engraved bows for decoration. The filling looked quite grey in comparison to the chocolate (containing a minimum of 14% milk solids), but the crunchy pieces added something a bit different, with a glassy kind of appearance. Cutting a piece in two also allowed the chocolate shell to lift off and I quite liked being able to see the two layers in more detail.

As I’d hoped, the bar had a nice, tangy chocolate orange scent, and it also tasted of sweet orange chocolate – it was lovely. The orange aspect was definitely from the centre which meant the taste was more sugary and cocoa-focused than the Terry's Chocolate Orange (milk bars), and this was particularly noticeable when allowing a piece to melt. When doing this, the texture of the filling felt very grainy, but I did like crispy bits which felt a bit like a shattered lollipop and added more of a tang to the flavour.

When chewing the bar, the centre felt a bit more like a truffle, but I was surprised at just how many crispy pieces there were within it. I’d say the balance was spot on, actually, because they made a pleasant difference but there weren’t so many that they became a nuisance. The orange flavour was also a lot stronger throughout, when chewing, but there was still a milky element from the chocolate too. As much as I enjoyed both methods of consumption, I did find that this more traditional option had me salivating for the next piece before I’d even finished the one I was on!

I think I’ll be paying more attention to the Orange chocolate crunch sweets in future as I really enjoyed this bar. I just wish it had been bigger – I would have thought it would be impossible to stick to the recommended two-piece portion!

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 8/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 8/10

Nestlé Aero: Bubbly mousse (orange & choc)

Product name: Nestlé Aero: Bubbly mousse (orange & choc)
Purchase details: £0.50 for a pack of four mousses (Asda)
Calories: 84 per 58g mousse
Country of origin: UK

I tried the white chocolate and mint versions of Nestlé Aero: Bubbly mousse a couple of years ago so, when I saw a limited edition orange version was available, I couldn’t wait to try it. My relatively recent enjoyment of the orange bar helped too, as did the great price!

The packaging’s design was very much linked with the wrappers found on the chocolate bars. There was also an image of a spoonful of the mousse and, although I liked the look of the chocolate swirl, I did think the combination of the consistency and orange colour was a bit unnerving! However, the colours weren’t artificial, and I knew that the orange flavour was also natural. In addition, the mousse part of this ‘orange flavoured bubbly dessert with chocolate sauce’ made up 88% of the product and, within that, 68% was whole milk – not exactly a scary prospect!

In the end, the actual mousse did have a generally attractive appearance, but it really reminded me of Hallowe’en because the chocolate ripple looked a bit like a spider’s web on an orange backdrop. Unfortunately, I hate Hallowe’en with a passion, so this wasn’t a good thing for me!

In better news, the mousse had a nice orange aroma, although it was more subtle than the chocolate bar's scent. I also really enjoyed the way the soft, foamy texture melted in the mouth.

 

Initially, the flavour didn’t grab me. Rather than tasting like orange chocolate, it was like milk with a hint of orange and stronger cocoa hints. I also felt that it was a bit artificial, despite the evidence to the contrary. Thankfully, though, the flavour improved as I went on, and I particularly enjoyed the bits which contained more of the chocolate sauce – I’d never really appreciated before just how important the chocolate is in orange-flavoured chocolate!

On the whole, I thought this was a great product for the calories. The serving size was decent, both in appearance and, despite the air, in weight. I would have preferred a stronger orange flavour with more of a kick but this was still great as an everyday kind of snack.

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.25/10

Terry's Chocolate Orange (milk bars)

Product name: Terry’s Chocolate Orange (milk bars)
Purchase details: £1.00 for a multipack of four bars (Poundworld)
Calories: 210 per 40g bar
Country of origin: UK

This is going to seem like a really lazy review but there’s not much to say about these Terry’s Chocolate Orange bars that I didn’t say in my post about the original Chocolate Orange Milk – this was essentially the same Mondelez product but in an easier serving style!

I was instantly hit with the usual, amazing smell when I opened the wrapper but I was a bit disappointed by the size of the bar. Despite containing six pieces of chunky chocolate, it was short and narrow, although it did have a unique appearance as a result of the way the segment-shaped pieces had been joined together. The overall attention to detail was the same but I would have preferred the bottom piece to have matched rather than just being plain with the Terry’s logo.

I loved the fantastic, familiar flavour, and the texture was pretty much the same too. However, the narrower wedges did make the depth of each one feel thicker, causing the melt to feel a bit different – slower, I guess. I also had to eat them in reverse (rind and then centre) due to the layout...but I managed!

This bar format of Terry’s Chocolate Orange didn’t quite produce the same excitement within me as the whole orange does but it was definitely a handy way to get one of my favourite confectionery brands on a non-special occasion!

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 9/10
Taste: 8.5/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 8.13/10

McVitie's Digestives: Milk chocolate & orange

Product name: McVitie’s Digestives: Milk chocolate & orange
Purchase details: £1.00 for a 300g packet (tesco.com)
Calories: 84 per biscuit
Country of origin: UK

I vaguely remember these McVitie’s Digestives: Milk chocolate & orange biscuits being released previously but I know I never got around to sampling them. Thankfully, they’re now back, so I was looking forward to trying another incarnation of one of my favourite flavour combinations.

Made by United Biscuits, the pack contained an average of 18 Digestives, and they came in a ginger wrapper which reminded me of an old cat of ours! The product image looked like standard chocolate digestive biscuits, and I noticed that these particular ones contained 30% chocolate, had no artificial flavours, colours or hydrogenated vegetable oil in them, and they also supported British farmers and rural communities.

The biscuit bases were quite pale in colour and the chocolate toppings looked quite milky in appearance. The latter also had a tendency to look and feel a bit melted in the heat we’ve been having! The biscuits had an ingrained orange scent too although, unfortunately, one that didn’t waft.

Texturally, this snack was as you’d expect: the biscuit itself was really crispy, if a little dry, but the chocolate really lifted it. They were particularly good dipped in tea as the orange-flavoured chocolate melted and was just lovely.

Speaking of which, the orange taste was delicious and stronger than I’d dare hope for. I have nothing against the flavour of plain digestives but the orange on offer here completely masked that much blander element and produced a very tasty treat.

I hope these will stick around this time!

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 7/10
Overall score: 7.38/10