Cadbury have gone a bit mad. No, they haven't changed their Dairy Milk recipe again (Or have they? Hmm!) but instead released about 37 NEW Chocolate Bars in the past few weeks. I lie, it's only 5 really but still, that's a pretty big increase! Also, the term NEW should be used very loosely as todays trio of Big Taste Bars as well as the Medley duo* are direct copies of those by Milka who just happen to also be owned by Mondelēz International.. So all in all and as usual, the whole things a sham.. Onto the review!
I picked up the Dairy Milk Triple Choc Sensation, Oreo Crunch and Toffee Whole Nut in Sainsbury's after having searched high and low for the things. The Bars weigh in at a chunky 300g each and are priced at a hefty £3 a pop which means yes, I did spend £9 on chocolate. This is what my life has become.
Triple Choc Sensation
Milk chocolate with white chocolate (42%) and dark milk chocolate (25%).
There isn't a lot to say about this bar that isn't already in the description - It's Milk chocolate, White chocolate and what they've called Dark Milk chocolate.. What is Dark Milk chocolate? Is it Dark or is it Milk? I'm confused. Popping a triangular chunk into my mouth, it tasted how I expected.. Chocolatey! The Dairy Milk wasn't particularly stand out with the White being lost completely but the "Dark Milk" definitely added the most flavour in terms of cocoa-y tones, if you can really call them that! A semi decent melt was apparent, resulting in the layers seperating, which was quite enjoyable but it was hardly enough to redeem such a mediocre bar. It's a 2.5 out of 5 from me.
Oreo Crunch
Milk Chocolate with a vanilla flavour filling (40%) and biscuit (16%).
Moving onto something with a little more action going on - The Oreo Crunch. As suggested in the name, this bar packed a serious munch and was a real, pleasant mouthful given its chunkiness. The signature Oreo flavour also came through which went well with the very sweet set vanilla filling which although wasn't quite that of the kind you find sandwiched in between the actual biscuits, it was fairly tasty! Encasing the lot was of course the chocolate.. It was sweet, generic and as expected, not a patch on the Dairy Milk of years previous. It was also relatively thin in comparison to the filling which left the whole thing borderline, biscuit bar rather than chocolate - I am not sure this would go down well with the chocolate fanatics but I didn't mind personally.. I couldn't take much more of the "DM"! A 3.5 out of 5 from me.
Toffee Whole Nut
Milk chocolate with toffee flavoured filling (32%), Caramel (10%) and hazelnuts (8%).
Lastly, the Toffee Whole Nut. It smelt pretty delightful with a strong, buttery "warm" Caramel scent that just screamed "Eat me!". I did as ordered and basically fell into heaven. Breaking through the same lack lustre, although perhaps marginally thicker chocolate than above, the muted cocoa flavour was a pretty decent carrier for the pure hit of toffee from the soft filling. The runny puddles of sticky caramel only added to the sweet, deliciousness and was a good contrast in texture to the firmer aforementioned elements - Usually I would say this about the nuts which in this case were fresh and crunchy but the liquid-y caramel really helped things from being to "dry". Amazing - A 4 out of 5 from me.
Overall and unfortunately, these Cadbury NEW Dairy Milk Big Taste Bars are a bit of a waste of time. The Toffee Whole Nut** is amazing if you like super sweet things, there's no two ways about it and the Oreo Crunch isn't disastrous by any means so I haven't marked them awfully.. (Unlike the Triple Choc Sensation which we shan't even mention) But these are meant to be CHOCOLATE Bars and they fall way short. The quality of Dairy Milk leaves a lot to be desired and quite frankly, it's embarrassing to the point where I am not entirely sure what Cadbury are playing at.. I mean, sales are down thanks to them messing with recipes and possibly doing the worse thing ever (If not selling to Mondelēz International in the first place) in switching the Creme Egg from Dairy Milk to their cheaper recipe and it's leaving a bitter taste in a hell of a lot of peoples mouths. I can't help but feel that one day, it is going to come back and bite them on the bum.. Yes, there may be the loyal customers who continue to buy their products but for how long? Cadbury just isn't what it use to be. And I'd like my £9 back, please.
*Nibs is the Medley Maiden.
Wow nice review. I think I'm going to try the toffee one for that sweet spot hit. The other 2...meh...Cadbury and also Thorntons are both so stingy these days..the main ingredient is usually something like vegetable oil/fat. Its very rare they get my money these days.
ReplyDeleteI would - It's super duper sweet and if you're a toffee/caramel fan, it will be right up your treat! :D You're absolutely right.. It's such a shame that the quality of these brands seem to have slipped so drastically. There will be no good chocolate left at this rate! xx
DeleteOthers will fill the gap they've left and the competition will cut into their profits - if the markets work as they should.
DeleteSo fingers crossed there's new (or some!) good chocolate left XD
The triple one is an interesting idea, I may try it. It's inspired I suppose by a box of Neapolitan chocs (y'know, individual white, dark, milk squares). Personally I really like combining squares of the 3 types of chocolate in one hit, I wonder how this Cadbury fusion bar compares to buying my usual 3 Lindt (etc) 100g bars , hmmm!
ReplyDeleteLet me know what you think if you do - I know someone who is loving it! Personally, I've never been a fan of such chocs and they are usually the ones left in the box lol. I don't think anything is ever going to come close to Lindt.. The quality with Cadbury just isn't there. xx
DeleteThank you for reviewing these bars.
ReplyDeleteI noticed them in my local Sainsbury's today. They had the Oreo and Toffee Wholenut variants on sale.
Are they worth £3? No. The Oreo one won me over more-so than the Toffee bar; I never liked Nestlé's Toffee Crisp block which the Wholenut version reminds me of.
Despite using the Dairy Milk name I'm noticing Mondelèz are using Milk Solids with no reference to the Cocoa Solids in the bar. That and the fact it's a Milka product re-wrapped? Sheer laziness. Even the new Medley launch is merely Milka Collage!
Sometimes I wonder if they forget that nowadays people have access to a whole array of chocolate.. Once upon a time we would have been none the wiser to a direct copy and relished in its newness but these Companies just can't swing that anymore. The worlds a small place, as is chocolate land and Brands need to up their game.. And heaven forbid, use some imagination! :D xx
DeleteCadbury is a giant US sugar poison pusher now.... eat at your own risk.
ReplyDeleteCadbury is a giant US sugar poison pusher now.... eat at your own risk.
ReplyDeleteWho is the target market for all?
ReplyDelete