Review: Vegan Go Max Go Chocolate Bars - Jokerz, Mahalo & Twilight

A trio of vegan chocolate bars for review today. I was lucky enough to get a lovely foodie gift basket from my vegan brother for my birthday. He included loads of interesting vegan treats that I've never tried before but he assured me were just as good (or better!) than the real thing. 

These Go Max vegan bars are all made in the US and have simple, yet distinctive, packaging. These are often sold as vegan versions of the popular chocolate bars - Bounty, Snickers and Mars Bar (the Milky Way Bar in the US).

Twilight: The Twilight bar is described as 'layers of chocolatey nougat and caramel in a chocolatey coating'. I've never been a fan of the regular Mars bar but the Twilight bar is a different story. The nougat is soft and delicious whilst the generously thick caramel layer is extremely satisfying. The outer chocolate is impressive for a vegan bar and adds enough cocoa flavour. The overall bar is very sweet but I really enjoyed it.

Jokerz: The Jokerz is described as 'caramel, peanuts and peanut nougat in a chocolatey coating'. I really loved the peanuty nougat in this one, the hint of saltiness from the peanuts really helps to balance out the sweetness of the nougat and chocolate. Maybe I'm greedy, but I would have liked a few more peanuts in the filling but overall it's a great vegan replacement for the classic Snickers bar.

Mahalo: Lastly is my favourite of the bunch! The Mahalo is described as 'coconut and almonds in a chocolatey coating'. This is billed as the vegan Bounty bar but in my opinion it's much superior. Even though I love coconut I don't like Bounty's at all, especially their horrible texture. The Mahalo bar in comparison has a gorgeously fudgey texture alongside the sweet coconut flavour. The combination of almonds too is a lovely addition. I'd take the Mahalo over a Bounty any day! 

Find the Go Max Go range from many online vegan stores. My brother bought them from www.veganstore.co.uk. They're quite pricey at £2.39 each (I assume because they're US imports) but they're also free from artificial ingredients of any kind or hydrogenated oils . Even my husband, who's not usually a fan of vegan chocolate, enjoyed all of these bars - they're definitely a treat but worth a try!

Grocery Gems Review: Go Max Go Chocolate Bars

RATING: 8 out of 10 (with 9 out of 10 for the Mahalo).
Buy them again?: Maybe next birthday - but YES.
Vegan: Yes
Purchased: www.veganstore.co.uk.
Price: £2.39p each.

Review: E. Wedel Polish Chocolate Bars: Karmel Love Wafers & Dark Chocolate with Coconut

The lovely @Banjo_Chocolate recently sent me these two chocolate bars from Polish brand E. Wedel - and as always she's managed to find some delicious treats! Take a look at some of my previous posts courtesy of the Bring Back Banjo Chocolate campaign, from this Chocolate Megapost to even more Polish treats. 

One chocolate bar that you can't find any more in the shops is of course the much missed Banjo Chocolate - if you remember this bar from the 1980's then be sure to take a look at the Bring Back Banjo Chocolate Facebook Page and please sign the petition here. There seems to be a trend for bring back retro snacks and chocolates so let's make it happen for Banjo too!

When I first saw this I thought that I had already reviewed it before, but on closer inspection this Karmel Love with Wafers is different to the salted nuts version I tried previously here.

The Karmelowa Z Wafelkami has the same sweet and creamy caramel flavoured base, but also contains little pieces of wafer throughout, which add a lovely light crunch. This is such a delicious sweet treat, I found myself unable to stop from having just one more piece! I love the super sweet caramel flavour here - it's definitely one for fans of Caramac. RATING: 8 out of 10.

The E. Wedel Gorzka Kokosowa is a dark chocolate bar with a coconut filling. As a fan of anything coconut flavoured this is instantly appealing!

This is another wonderful chocolate bar. The inner filling has a lovely creamy flavour that is combined with dessicated coconut to give it a deliciously natural flavour. The dark chocolate coating here is just amazing; it has such a rich dark flavour that perfectly compliments the sweet and creamy centre within. I just loved everything about this one and I'd recommend it for any coconut fans. RATING: 10 out of 10.

Thank you again to @Banjo_Chocolate, for sending me these chocolate bars. Please don't forget to like the Bring Back Banjo Chocolate Bar Facebook Page and sign the petition here! Thank you :)

Grocery Gems Review: E. Wedel Chocolate Bars

RATING: See end of each individual reviews above.
Buy them again?: Yes - both!
Purchased: Check out your local Polish grocery shops or Tesco Polish section.

Review: Oykos Oh So Heavenly Vanilla or Devilishly Delicious Salted Caramel Yogurts

Oykos have released two new four-packs of yogurt this summer - the Oh So Heavenly Vanilla and the Devilishly Delicious Salted Caramel. I've been wanting to try both these flavours so I was delighted to be sent a few packs to review. 

Oykos Devilishly Delicious Salted Caramel: This is a tempting combination of Greek-style yogurt over a thick layer of Salted Caramel. The yogurt here has a deliciously creamy and fresh flavour. It's not as tangy as my usual Greek yogurt - this is more of an indulgent creamy treat. The Salted Caramel layer adds to the indulgence with it's smooth texture and buttery, rich, slightly salty flavour that is not overly sweet. This is a really gorgeous treat that tastes more like a dessert than a yogurt!

Oykos Oh So Heavenly Vanilla: This is described by Oykos as the more angelic one with it's simpler combination of Greek-style yogurt with ground vanilla beans. I'm always on the lookout for vanilla flavoured yogurts made with real vanilla because it's a flavour that the whole family can enjoy. I often buy larger tubs of vanilla yogurt from other brands, but these individual four-packs are much more convenient. The yogurt here has lots of visible flecks of vanilla bean which add a deliciously sweet and creamy flavour to the Greek yogurt. I'll definitely be buying these in the future.

Grocery Gems Review: Oykos Luxury Greek Style Yogurts

RATING: 9 out of 10 for both flavours.

Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition: 162 calories (Vanilla), 172 calories (Salted Caramel).
Vegetarian: Suitable for vegetarians.
Purchased: Available in all major retailers until mid-October.
Price: RRP £2.39p for 4 x 110g.

PR Samples

Review: Cornetto Caramel - Limited Edition Retro Pack

In the summer months I usually keep a box or two of Cornetto ice creams (or the supermarket own brand equivalents) in my freezer and I always look out for any new flavours. The Cornetto Caramel Limited Edition Retro Pack caught my eye on a recent trip to Asda. From the "retro" inspired packaging I assume it's not a new variety but it's still not one that I've tried before. I know there is a Cornetto Enigma Caramel and also a Caramel flavour in the Mini Cornetto packs, but they are both quite different to this one. 

The Cornetto Caramel is a combination of vanilla and caramel ice creams, with a caramel core centre, topped with a chocolate coating and decorated with caramel flavour white chocolate curls. The flavours are all fairly simple but I immediately liked the caramel curls on top alongside the vanilla ice cream and solid chocolate coating.

However, it was only when the inner caramel core and caramel ice cream were revealed that the Cornetto Caramel became more interesting. I really enjoyed the thick and gooey caramel centre with it's sweet and buttery flavour. It doesn't run all the way through but there's enough of the caramel sauce to make an impact. When it comes to the ice cream, I was pleased to find that the caramel ice cream actually has a distinctive caramel flavour that contrasts nicely with the vanilla ice cream. Overall, it's still a simple flavour combination but one that provides a satisfying caramel hit. 

Grocery Gems Review: Cornetto Caramel

RATING: 7 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition: 215 calories.
Purchased: Asda.
Price: £1.89p (box of 6).

Around the World: Israel - Elite Taami Chocolate Bar

If you've a regular reader of my blog then you may have noticed the "Around the World" tab at the top. I started this challenge, to review snacks/chocolate from at least 80 countries, with a lot of enthusiasm, but I have to admit that it's been a long time since I last featured a new country. One of my blog resolutions for 2015 is to pick up this challenge and complete the initial stage of 80 countries by the end of the year. 

Since I always try to find these international snacks in local shops or grocery stores around London, rather than ordering from specialists online, I decided to take a closer look at the World Foods section in my local Tesco. They have quite a large selection of kosher groceries and I was immediately drawn to this Taami Chocolate bar. It's described as a milk chocolate bar with puffed rice and nougat-caramel cream filling. 

The Elite chocolate factory was established in 1933 in Ramat Gan, Israel, and merged with a company called Strauss in 2004. The Elite Taami is one of their classic chocolate bars and it seems that it is especially popular with teenagers and younger people - if anyone has further information please feel free to leave a comment below!

From the description (milk chocolate, nougat, and caramel) I thought this chocolate bar might be a bit like a Mars bar, but with added puffed rice. It turned out, of course, to be quite different, without any of the chewy texture of a Mars Bar. Instead the Taami chocolate bar is filled with plenty of puffed rice within the sweet nougat layer, which gives the bar a crispy, almost wafer-like, texture. The layer of caramel on top is quite soft and adds a lovely contrast to the crispier layers underneath. The outer layer is made up of a thin covering of milk chocolate which is very sweet but has a decent enough cocoa flavour. The overall combination of crispy, crunchy layers and sweet caramel with chocolate all creates a very tasty chocolate bar indeed and a great success to rekindle my Around the World challenge.

If you've tried the Elite Taami chocolate bar before then I'd love to know what you thought in the comments below. Thank you!

Around the World: Elite Taami Chocolate Bar

Country of Origin: Product of Israel.
Rating: 8 out of 10.
Nutrition: 203 calories per 40g bar.
Purchased: Tesco.
Price: £0.70p.

Butterkist Salted Caramel Popcorn Limited Edition

Butterkist have released quite a few interesting limited editions in the past year, such as the summer Strawberries & Cream variety and even a Sea Salt & Balsamic Vinegar earlier in the year. Even though I enjoy flavoured popcorn, I haven't really been tempted into any of these limited edition flavours from Butterkist until I saw this Salted Caramel pack - this one was a MUST try! 

The popcorn has the familiar Butterkist appearance, with a thick layer of caramel on many of the pieces. The caramel flavour is quite similar to their regular toffee variety but with a smoother and more buttery edge to it. The addition of the salt results in a lovely sweet and salty balance in the caramel that is extremely tasty. It's a bit like the Butterkist Sweet & Salty popcorn but with added caramel - so much sweeter but even more enjoyable!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Butterkist Salted Caramel

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition: 104 calories per 25g serving.
Purchased: Tesco.
Price: £1.49p.

New Kit Kat Chunky Double Caramel (UK)

There's a new Kit Kat Chunky in town - the Double Caramel! It's a really interesting chocolate bar that has two contrasting fillings; a smooth caramel side and a crunchy caramel pieces side. It reminds me of the Australian Kit Kat Chunky 3 range which also had each chunk with different filling (I reviewed the Cookies & Cream version HERE in the early days of my blog), and it's great to see a similar idea making it to the UK.

Crunchy caramel versus smooth caramel - it's such a great idea! 

Unlike most Kit Kat Chunky bars, the Double Caramel is made up of two large chunks, rather than three smaller ones.

The two different sides both have a generous amount of filling on top of the wafer, although the smooth caramel side is not as deeply filled. 

The crunchy caramel side consists of a sweet cream that is filled with very small crunchy pieces. These caramel bits reminded me of Daim pieces, with the same initial crunch followed by a slightly chewy texture. I really enjoyed the delicious combination of these caramel pieces within the smooth cream, alongside the classic element of a Kit Kat Chunky - simple wafers and thick outer milk chocolate. I'd quite like to eat a whole bar made up of just this crunchy caramel side! 

The smooth caramel side is a much more straightforward affair, consisting of a simple soft caramel layer. It's very different from the previous Kit Kat Chunky Caramel, from a few years back, which turned out to be more of a fudge than an actual caramel. The soft caramel layer in this new Kit Kat Chunky Double Caramel is much more appealing! The texture itself is a bit firmer than the caramel in something like a Wispa Gold, it's quite soft but not runny or too gooey. The flavour is good too, it's not rich and buttery like you might find in a more expensive chocolate bar, but it's comparable to most other mainstream caramels. It has a vague butterscotchy undertone to it that I liked. 

The whole thing is of course, VERY sweet. This Kit Kat Chunky Double Caramel is definitely one for the major sweet tooths out there! I don't buy Kit Kat Chunky's very often (unless they are new!) because I do find them too sugary for me, but I'm still impressed with this new release. I know it's not as interesting as some of the Kit Kat flavours from the past (or even the ones in Japan for that matter) but the dual format is a winning twist and one that I hope Kit Kat will use again in the future. 

Grocery Gems Verdict: Kit Kat Chunky Double Caramel

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: I'm sure I will pick another one up at some point.
Nutrition (per ½ bar): 109 calories.
Purchased: Local Premier Stores newsagent
Price: £0.70p.

New Lindt Hello My Name Is Salted Caramel

Is there any better greeting than - Hello, My Name is Salted Caramel...? I think not. I first reviewed the Lindt Hello My Name Is range back in July 2013, and at that time it consisted of four core flavours (see review HERE). I really enjoyed most of the flavours back then so I'm excited to see the Salted Caramel variety join the range in the UK (I believe it was already available in Germany). The whole range is on special offer in Tesco for £1.50p per 100g bar.

I must just mention the lovely packaging. Each chocolate bar is wrapped in gold foil and presented inside a cardboard envelope. I love little packaging touches like this, they seem quite rare in mainstream chocolates, and gives it a more luxe feel.

The Hello My Name Is Salted Caramel bar itself consists of ten large milk chocolate pieces, each filled with a salted caramel centre. 

As you can see the centre is gorgeously gooey, although not as runny as the photo would suggest (I had to cut the segments in half which is always a messy business!). The milk chocolate contains 30% minimum cocoa solids and has a sweet but rich, slightly malty, flavour. It's the ideal backdrop for the extremely delicious salted caramel filling. I absolutely loved the flavour here! It's really has quite a salty edge but this just tastes amazing when combined with the sweetness of the caramel and the chocolate. It's my new favourite salted caramel filled chocolate by far and it probably goes without saying that this is getting full marks from me!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Lindt Hello My Name Is Salted Caramel

RATING: 10 out of 10.
Buy it again?: Yes! 
Nutrition: 516 calories per 100g. 
Purchased: Tesco. 
Price: £1.50p.

New Kellogg's Special K Biscuit Moments Caramel

Kellogg's have added to their Special K Biscuit Moments range with this new Caramel variety. I've wanted to give them a try ever since I saw them reviewed by Erin on the Guilt Free Veggie blog here, and I finally found them on offer today for £1.00 at Tesco. 

The Biscuit Moments range is great for providing sweet treats that are slightly lower in calorie. Each box comes with five individual packets, each containing two biscuits. The biscuits themselves are thin pockets with a sweet filling. The Caramel filling here has a really enjoyable flavour, a buttery caramel, that is surprisingly not overly sweet. The texture is perfect, not too gooey or too hard either. It tastes delicious against the simpler flavours of the outer biscuit. Previously my favourite Biscuit Moments was the Blueberry variety but this Caramel has now taken over my affections!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Special K Biscuit Moments Caramel

RATING: 8 out of 10
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition per 2 biscuits: 96 calories, 1.2g protein, 18g carb (7g sugars), 2.3g fat.
Purchased: Tesco.
Price: £1.00p (special offer).

Ritter Sport Karamell + Keks (Caramel Biscuit)

I've been wanting to try the Ritter Sport Karamell + Keks ever since it was released earlier this year so I was thrilled to receive a (massive!) bar from the lovely people at Monster Sweets. Check our their full range of Ritter Sport bars here. The Ritter Sport Karamell + Keks is filled with a caramel cream embedded with caramel biscuit pieces. It's a fairly simple flavour combination but even so, it's not one I have come across before.

This is a 250g bar which doesn't sound too big but is more than double the standard size Ritter Sport (shown above next to a 100g Ritter Sport Knusperkeks). I've seen these large Ritter Sport in Lidl but only in standard flavours. 

How many pieces? This is seriously big and it will take a long while to get through it. Good job that it's so tasty!

I usually enjoy chocolate and biscuit combinations and this one is no different. The caramel filling has a creamy toffee like flavour with a very sweet edge. The biscuit pieces within didn't really add too much flavourwise, as they have a similar caramel flavour to the filling, but they do make their presence known in the crispy texture they provide. They almost seemed to be bits of wafer within the creamy layer, rather than hard biscuits, probably because the pieces are quite small. The whole thing is wrapped in the recognisably sweet and creamy Ritter Sport milk chocolate, which provides the perfect background to the rest of the flavours. If you're a fan of the Cadbury Dairy Milk Nutty Caramel then I would highly recommend the Ritter Sport Karamell + Keks - it's like a biscuit version of that bar! 

Take a look at Monsters Sweets online to view their full range of US and European chocolates and sweets. 

Product sent for an honest review. 

Grocery Gems Verdict: Ritter Sport Karamell + Keks

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy it again?: Yes.
Purchased: Available at Monster Sweets
Price: £3.30p.

Review: New Cadbury Marvellous Creations Banana Caramel Crisp

Cadbury have released some innovative flavours under their Marvellous Creations range. Starting with the Jelly Popping Candy Shells and Cookie Nut Crunch, and who can forget their madcap Cola Pretzel Honeycomb? I'm not sure how I feel about this Marvellous Creations range. On the one hand I applaud Cadbury for bringing adventurous flavours to the confectionery mainstream market. On the other hand, even though I excitedly bought one of each of the original flavours when they first came out (almost a year ago now), I have never purchased another since. Of course the release of the new Banana Caramel Crisp Marvellous Creations was enough to rekindle my interest!

The Banana Caramel Crisp is a combination of Dairy Milk chocolate with Banana Flavour Candy Pieces (8%), Caramel Pieces (5%), and Malted Cereal Balls (3%). The bright yellow of the banana candy pieces are visible through the milk chocolate (see above), but disappointingly, the chocolate did not have a banana scent when I opened the wrapper.

The large white pieces in the photo above are the banana candy, and there are also visible caramel and malted cereal pieces. 

Below is a close up of the banana candy pieces as I'm sure most people will be most curious about these. The photo makes them look really big but actually they seem quite small within the chocolate itself and it's possible to eat whole chunks of the chocolate without tasting any banana pieces at all.

Even though the banana pieces look very chewy, they lean more towards a soft crumbly texture. The banana itself has an artificial candy like flavour, which I enjoyed, but this flavour is limited to any chocolate chunks with actual banana pieces in it. The caramel pieces didn't have much flavour at all, but do contribute to making this chocolate bar super sweet, much sweeter than the other Cadbury Marvellous Creations. Luckily the malted cereal pieces are delicious, a bit like even maltier Maltesers and were my favourite part of this bar - I'd love Cadbury to do a bar with just these in it! 

The combination of all these elements in one bar is interesting but quite separate from each other; sometimes a crispy malty bite, sometimes a sweet banana, sometimes the Dairy Milk chocolate itself. I personally would have preferred there to be a more consistent banana and buttery caramel flavour throughout the whole chocolate. Overall, it's a tasty enough chocolate and it's definitely worth a try - but probably more for novelty value than anything else. Let me know in the comments if you've tried the Cadbury Marvellous Creations Banana Caramel Crisp and whether you think it's one you would buy again! 

Grocery Gems Verdict: Cadbury Marvellous Creations Banana Caramel Crisp

RATING: 7 out of 10.
Buy them again?: I doubt it.
Nutrition (25g): 128 calories.
Vegetarian: Suitable for Vegetarians.
Purchased: Asda.
Price: £1.50p for 200g bar (offer price).

Review: Wispa Gold Hot Chocolate

I was a fan of the Wispa Hot Chocolate that came out last year and have bought it fairly regularly since it's release. That frothy top is quite something and my kids especially enjoy it. It's wonderful to see a Wispa Gold version being released, something that Kev asked for in his original review of the Wispa Hot chocolate last year (see here) so I  like to think that we have him to thank for it!

The Wispa Gold is just as frothy as it's original variety. It's great watching all the bubbles froth up as soon as the water is added. The bubbles last for a while too, they don't just disappear immediately like most frothy drinks. The flavour here has the same sweet chocolatey base as the Wispa original hot chocolate, it's very sweet with a decent chocolate taste (it's not too mild tasting like some hot chocolates can be). I loved the caramel flavour here, it has more of a melted soft caramel edge rather than a stronger toffee type of flavouring, and it's lovely combined with the base chocolate. I'll certainly be buying these again in future.

So which chocolate bar would you like to see Cadbury make into a Hot Chocolate next? I love reading your comments so let me know your thoughts below :)

Grocery Gems Verdict: Cadbury Wispa Gold Hot Chocolate

RATING: 7.5 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition (each serving): 109 calories. 3g protein, 17.0g sugar, 1.9g fat.
Purchased: Asda.
Price: £0.39p (for 27g sachet).

New Mars Hot Chocolate Pouches including Magic Stars & Galaxy Ripple!

Mars have recently launched a range of hot chocolates in convenient treat sized pouches. They offer a fun and flexible hot chocolate range which allows you to make the drink the way you like it - drink it cold, drink it hot, add milk or add water. The new pouched range includes Mars hot or cold, Galaxy hot or cold, Milky Way Magic Stars with added chocolate pieces, Galaxy Ripple with added chocolate pieces, Galaxy Caramel for milk or water, and Maltesers for milk or water. 

Everyone in the Grocery Gems household was especially excited to try the new Milky Way Magic Stars Hot Chocolate!

It has solid chocolate stars (mini sized) within the chocolate powder. These basically melt as soon as the hot water is added and ensure the Magic Stars Hot Chocolate is extra chocolately. The flavour is very sweet, the sweetest of the bunch, but it still has a lovely rich chocolate taste too. This is my children's new favourite hot chocolate by far!

There is also a more grown up version - the Galaxy Ripple Hot Chocolate with real Ripple Pieces within the hot chocolate powder. This is just divine! Galaxy is my go-to brand for hot chocolate and this Ripple version is super chocolately! Again, the added chocolate pieces just seem to add an extra boost of flavour.

The Galaxy Caramel Hot Chocolate is one that can be made with milk or with just water. Useful for making a quick hot chocolate or for when you only have access to a kettle, but it's perfect for using with milk too. This drink has a wonderful flavour from the start, it really is like a caramel filled chocolate masquerading as a hot chocolate. It's my personal favourite from this range.

I've been buying Galaxy hot chocolate for awhile now and, as I mentioned before, it's my favourite brand for hot chocolate. I love the fact that this new pouched Galaxy Chocolate Drink can be drunk hot or cold, very useful if some members of the family prefer milk shakes over hot chocolate, as there is no need to buy a separate product.

The classic Mars Chocolate Drink can also be used hot or cold. This is a chocolate and caramel flavoured drink which offers a twist on the usual hot chocolate or milkshake flavours. My eldest son loves this one as now he can make his favourite bottled milkshake at home.

The Maltesers Hot Chocolate is also flexible in that it can be made with milk or water. This has always been one of my kids' favourite hot chocolates. They love the mellow chocolate flavour mixed with a sweet malty edge. It's especially lovely as an evening drink.

The new pouched range is available from Asda and Tesco for £1.99.

Products sent for an honest review.