Kinder Bueno

Product name: Kinder Bueno
Purchase details: £0.70 for a 43g bar or three for £1.20 (Tesco Superstore)
Calories: 122 per 21.5g finger (244 per bar)
Country of origin: UK

I’ve never met anybody who doesn’t like Ferrero’s Kinder Bueno – a light yet satisfying ‘milk and hazelnut’ chocolate bar.

Presented in the brand’s familiar milk-white and red packaging, there was also a nice image of the inner product which was divided into two individually-wrapped fingers. A portion was only supposed to be one of these but I can honestly say I’ve never saved the other one until later!

Each finger was divided into four segments which weren’t too dissimilar from the Cadbury Crispello pieces. These cubes of ‘milk chocolate covered wafer’ were much fuller of their ‘smooth milky and hazelnut filling’, though, and were finished with a nice drizzle of darker chocolate too.

The bar had a light nutty scent with a hint of milk chocolate and I thought its 10.5% hazelnut content seemed pretty good going. These nuts were present in the very pale beige filling which had been smooth to cut through and also proved to be incredibly soft – hence the little dent where I accidentally knocked it with my finger! In the mouth, its smoothness continued, and it was lovely and thick too. I could taste both the milk and the nuts and this combination dominated the product’s flavour.

 

Despite containing 31.5% chocolate, this aspect wasn’t very noticeable, although it did add something a little extra to the crispy wafer and filling. It was clear from each finger’s base that the coating wasn’t particularly thick but it did still manage to provide relatively strong cocoa flavours if left to melt. Sucking each piece also provided the added advantage of the three components dissolving together.

I hadn’t had a Kinder Bueno for a while but I was pleased to find it hadn’t changed – as well as the great taste, I particularly loved how the filling had a habit of sticking to the roof the mouth. Delicious! 

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

Elvan Choc'n Roll

Product name: Elvan Choc’n Roll
Purchase details: £0.10 for an 18g bar (Home Bargains)
Calories: 93 per bar
Country of origin: Turkey

The best way to describe this Elvan Choc’n Roll is like Milky Way Crispy Rolls but with a different filling...and a cleverer but cheesy name!

The ‘compound chocolate coated roll wafer with hazelnut cream’ came divided into two fingers (which combined to make a portion) and were served in a wrapper that had nice melted chocolate imagery and an illustration of the product.

The bar had quite a basic appearance and I noticed that the wafer seemed to be thicker than the core which made sense since its scent was strong! There also seemed to be hint of sweet vanilla which was a welcome addition.

In many ways, I found this product to be like a cheaper Wafel Teatralny Classic which
I reviewed a few days ago. It had a soft crisp and the main flavour was one of sweet wafer although, in contrast, the cocoa element wasn’t really there – the compound chocolate added a different level of sweetness rather than a richer chocolatey flavour.

This Elvan Choc’n Roll was certainly inoffensive and a great little find for £0.10. It’s wasn’t the first time I’d tried one, and it won’t be the last, but I can’t say I can see it becoming a staple in my diet!

Appearance: 6.5/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.13/10

Wafel Teatralny Classic

Product name: Wafel Teatralny Classic
Purchase details: £0.69 for a 46g bar (Tesco Superstore)
Calories: 243 per bar
Country of origin: Poland

The gold, brown and red wrapper of this Wafel Teatralny Classic bar didn’t give much away about what was within but, on examining the blurb when I found it in-store, I found it was actually quite an exciting concept of ‘peanuts cream wafer in chocolate’.

The  wide and slim bar was made by Kopernik Torun and, according to their website, was a ‘theatrical wafer’ with ‘real nuts’ (can you get fake ones?!) and ‘natural chocolate’. Apparently, the thinness of their wafers was something they were particularly proud of.

As with a lot of wafer bars, the chocolate coating on this was relatively thin, despite being 30% of the overall product. It had the appearance and aroma of dark chocolate but it had been spread particularly thinly on the base and it had also suffered some blooming around the edges. The inside looked a lot more promising, though, with regimented layers of wafer and chocolate-coloured cream that emitted a slight peanut scent that blended with that of the outer cocoa.

The first thing I noticed on taking a bite was how fantastically crispy the wafers were – they were extremely satisfying. However, they were also nice if left to soften in the mouth, and they produced a surprisingly strong flavour, either way, that provided a lovely sweetness.

Based on the dark colour and rich aroma, I’d expected quite a bitter chocolate flavour from the coating but, in reality, it was pretty mild. The cocoa was much more evident than it had been in the Mrs. Freshley's Buddy Bars: Peanut butter wafers, and it did taste more of dark chocolate than milk, but it was a perfect balance with the sweet wafers rather than an overpowering taste.

Somewhat disappointingly, the peanuts (3.5%) were completely lost in this bar. I couldn’t taste them at all which resulted in an experience that was very tasty, but not unique. All in all, it wasn’t much different from eating a Nestlé Blue Riband, although the large size was a bonus!

Appearance: 6.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 8.5/10
Overall score: 7.38/10

Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky (double caramel)

Product name: Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky (double caramel)
Calories: 109 for half a 42g bar (218 per bar)
Country of origin: Bulgaria

I’ve been looking out for this Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky (double caramel) for a couple of weeks but was unsuccessful in the shops I’d visited. Thankfully, my colleague was able to locate it in a newsagent, although she refused payment so I don’t know how much it set her back!

I had been wondering why there’d been no advertising campaign around this variety but, on reading the gold-themed wrapper, I realised it had been imported by Nestlé Singapore so figured this was the reason.

The bar felt noticeably lighter and less, well...chunky, than the other varieties I’ve reviewed. It turned out that all the UK versions are 48g – it’s amazing what a difference those extra 6g made! The image on the wrapper showed that there was something else different about this bar, though, since it was split into two milk chocolate covered ‘chunks topped with contrasting fillings’: one contained smooth caramel and the other was crunchy with caramel pieces (the bar contained 3% caramel flakes overall). I was vaguely aware of this multi-flavour concept existing overseas but this was the first time I’d come across it in reality so I couldn’t wait to try it.

Still containing no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives, the chocolate looked a tiny bit paler than that used on the traditional Chunky. There was a nice, deep dent to make it easy to split the sections apart, although I did think it was silly that a portion was only supposed to be one half. The smooth side’s caramel had a lovely, gooey appearance, whilst the crunchy filling was a much milkier colour and contained lots of dark flecks. These toppings produced a really sweet scent that was more like caramel than chocolate but, if I hadn’t know that’s what it was, I’m not sure I would have made the connection.

I tried the runny side first and found that the thick, smooth caramel was properly soft and gooey. Its flavour contrasted really nicely against the chocolate and wafer and gave an overall feel of brown sugar.

I expected to prefer the crunchy side and thought it would be like a textured version of the old Kit Kat: Chunky (caramel). In reality, it was a lot sweeter than the other side of the bar, but not quite as enjoyable in comparison. However, it still tasted good, with the tiny pieces providing a buttery toffee flavour and a brittle-like texture that blended with the crispy wafer beneath.

In terms of the Chunky’s basic features, I found the smaller size was noticeable but, thankfully, the chocolate still felt pretty chunky. However, one thing that wasn’t quite as enjoyable was the wafer’s texture which was a little chewy in places. Whether this was down to a different recipe or just having softened from being in contact with the toppings, I’m not sure, but this was only a minor issue for me anyway.

Eating this bar was certainly a pleasurable experience and, whilst I preferred the smooth side, I could happily eat a whole bar of either flavour. I think Nestlé UK need to get more adventurous!

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.75/10