It's Back! TRIO Toffee Chocolate Biscuit Bar

Trio was a very popular chocolate biscuit back in the 1980's, which was probably better known for the shouty "I want a Triiiioo and I want one NOW' adverts than for it's flavour. Seeing as I'm slightly *ahem* older than most snack bloggers out there, I can vouch for just how iconic and memorable those adverts were. 

Along with the 54321 chocolate biscuit bar, the Trio was one of my favourite chocolate treats as a young child. Although, I didn't actually realise that the Trio was still around until as late as 2003, I thought this brand had disappeared much earlier than that. 

I like the fact the the new Trio bars are wrapped in gold foil with an outer red paper wrapper, rather than plastic. It enhances the retro and nostalgic feel of the experience and it's certainly how I remember the Trio from back in the day.

The Trio is so named because it's made up of three elements; chocolate, biscuit and a toffee flavour cream layer. It also consists of three distinctive and chunky segments. The best part of the original Trio for me was just how thick the outer chocolate layer was and I'm pleased to see that's still the case here. In fact the whole thing instantly brought back memories of eating these as a kid. The inner layers are both really tasty, with a light and crunchy biscuit base and a caramel leaning toffee flavour, but it's the thick chocolate that makes these so memorable for me. 

I do remember the toffee as being a bit lighter in colour and creamier then it is here, but I'm not sure my memory can be relied on after all this time! Regardless, the Trio is still a delicious biscuit bar and one that I'm very glad to see return. I hope this is a limited edition that will be around for a little while longer! 

Grocery Gems Review: Trio Chocolate Biscuit Bar

RATING: 9 out of 10.

Buy them again?: Yes!
Nutrition: 124 calories each.
Purchased: Asda.
Price: £1.00p for six 23.6g biscuit bars.

Snack Haul & Bring Back Banjo Chocolate Bar!

A while ago I was sent a gorgeous parcel of goodies from the lovely @BanjoChocolate who's running a great campaign to get Mars to bring back the much missed Banjo Chocolate Bar. More support is always needed so please take a look at the dedicated Facebook page and sign the petition HERE. Retro comebacks are growing in popularity all the time and I really do hope that the Banjo can have a new release too!

Here's a closer look at the amazingly tasty selection of snacks:

Eridanous Soft Nougat Selection: This was available during Lidl's "Taste of Greece" week. There are three flavours of soft nougat included; Cranberry, Strawberry & Hazelnut.

I've never really tried flavoured nougat before so this whole product was a real revelation to me. The nougat has a lovely soft and melt in the mouth texture without being too sticky. 

The different varieties were all incredibly good too, with plenty of added fruits and nuts providing plenty of flavour and crunch. My favourite was the super sweet strawberry!

Flipz White Fudge: If you read this blog regularly then you might assume that I've tried most the big-name confectionery from the US, but the truth is that there are plenty of popular snacks from both sides of the Atlantic that I haven't tried yet. One of those is the Flipz range of pretzels - it's one of those products that I keep meaning to try but just hadn't got around to yet.

And I'm so glad I finally tried them because they're just my type of sweet and salty treat. The white fudge coating on each snack is quite thin but still provides a super sweet contrast to the inner salted pretzel. These are just too good, I could easily have eaten the whole bag by myself.

Walker's Banana Split Eclairs: @BanjoChocolate described these as being similar to the long gone banana flavoured Toffo sweets. If you were a fan of the Banana Toffos then you really need to find these Walkers Banana Split Eclairs. They're soft buttery toffees with a delicious sweet banana flavoured filling - so delicious and perfect for any banana fans.

Tesco Crispy Seedy Nutty Bites: These are deliciously crunchy biscuits made with sunflower seeds, peanuts, sesame seeds, hazelnuts, oat flakes, honey and currants. I was expecting these to be quite hard in texture but the crunch is very satisfying without being too dense. The flavour is very sweet and sugary but so good at the same time. They're a bit like Sesame Snaps but with added nuts and currants - dangerously moreish!

Thank you so much to the wonderful @BanjoChocolate for sending me such an awesome selection (and I still have the Polish Limited Edition Lindt to try!). All these products were incredibly tasty and I thoroughly recommend giving them a try if you spot them.

Once again please take a look at the Bring Back Banjo Chocolate Facebook page - all Likes, Comments, and Shares are greatly appreciated!

Review: Limited Edition Kit Kat Toffee Treat

It's great to see a new Kit Kat flavour in the UK that isn't for their Chunky range. I much prefer the regular four-finger variety and I was excited to spot this new Limited Edition Toffee Treat Kit Kat. At first I though this might be just a larger version of the Toffee Treat 2 finger variety that came out last year (available at Tesco in multipacks - see a review here), which was half toffee and half chocolate, but as you can see from my photos this Limited Edition appears to be a bit different.

Once I opened up the Toffee Treat I was greeeted with a toffee flavoured white chocolate covered Kit Kat. On the packaging the chocolate is actually described as "a blend of toffee flavour white (53%) and milk (13%) chocolates". It looks so appealing and completely different from any Kit Kat I've reviewed before. It reminds me a little of some of the awesome Kit Kat flavours from Japan.

The toffee chocolate itself is very creamy and sweet. It has a subtle caramelised sugar edge that gives it a smooth caramel like flavour. It reminds me a bit of the sugary sweet Caramac bars with their caramel flavoured chocolate (although I haven't had one of those for years so I may be wrong!), which might be a plus point for anyone who misses the Kit Kat Caramac bar of a few years ago. The whole thing, whilst very enjoyable, is extemely sweet, almost a little throat burningly so. Luckily I was sharing this bar, so I could really enjoy the few pieces I ate. I recommend having a strong cup of coffee to hand when eating one to counteract the sugariness!

Have you tried the Kit Kat Toffee Treat? I'd love to know what you thought of it in the comments below.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Limited Edition Kit Kat Toffee Treat

RATING: 8 out of 10 - sugary sweet but still awesome.
Buy them again?: Yes (already have!).
Purchased: Local newsagent.
Price: £0.70p.

Review: Walker's Yummy Banana Toffee

This Yummy Banana Toffee by Walker's was sent to me recently by @Banjo_Chocolate, who always seems to find the most wonderfully different snacks! I love anything banana flavoured so this is right up my street :) If this is the first time that you're reading one of my posts from Banjo Chocolate then please take a few seconds to take a look at the Bring Back Banjo Chocolate Bar Facebook page and sign the petition here. It's a campaign to get Mars to bring the much missed Banjo chocolate bar back in production - quite a few brands from the 80s have been resurrected so it can be done!

The first thing I noticed about this Walker's toffee was that it's quite an odd shape. I appreciate that it's segmented but it's a very hard toffee so it's not as if the pieces can be snapped off. There is only one way to approach a hard toffee slab, even a small one like this, and that's with a hammer... or in my case a heavy book. 

Smashy! Seriously though, the banana flavour in this toffee is simply wonderful, it's similar to the flavour in a banana milkshake. I love this banana flavour here combined with the creaminess of the toffee, the classic flavours work together really well to create a super sweet treat. Now, if only they could put this flavour combination in a softer caramel or fudge - that would be heaven.

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!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Walker's Yummy Banana Toffee

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Purchased: Check out your local sweet shops.

Review: Thorntons Special Toffee Slab Range

There are quite a few foods (and drinks) associated with Bonfire Night, but one of the most well known is Bonfire Toffee. Traditionally this was made from black treacle and was often supplied with a little hammer to break up the hard toffee slab. These days toffee apples seem to be more wide available than toffee slabs so I was happy to be asked to sample some of the new Nostalgia range at Thorntons. It includes three flavours of Special Toffee Slab; Tutti Frutti, Apple Crumble and Chocolate Brownie!

I couldn't wait to try the Apple Crumble flavour first, no doubt because of the Toffee Apple association, it just seems like an ideal pairing for a toffee slab. The slab itself looks very appealing, there are plenty of dried apple pieces on the top, and a sprinkling of the crumble. The apple scent was immediately inviting, and I couldn't wait to get smashing and tuck in!

Believe me I had a LOT of fun whacking the toffee with a hammer to break it up! The toffee itself had a gorgeous texture, not too hard, but with a decent chew and a lovely soft melt. There is a strong apple flavour running throughout the toffee, not just in the apple pieces. It's quite a fresh tasting tangy apple flavour, so it provides a lovely counterbalance to the sweetness of the toffee itself. It's a satisfying combination, and I especially loved the full on apple flavour!

The Chocolate Brownie toffee slab is quite unusual but looks fabulous with it's dark glossy colouring. The bits on the top are "chocolate biscuit crumble pieces" rather than brownies but the whole thing does look very effective as a chocoholics treat.

I found this toffee much harder in texture than the previous Apple Crumble, even though it was at room temperature. I would recommend breaking (or rather whacking) this one up into smaller pieces that can be eaten directly, rather than attempting to take a bite out of a piece - you have been warned! The flavour is impressively chocolately, much more so than I was expecting, and once it starts to melt in the mouth provides a gorgously intense chocolate flavour. The rich, almost dark, chocolate flavour melts to reveal the deliciously buttery flavour from the toffee.

There is also a Tutti Frutti flavour available. It's described as a tutti frutti flavour toffee decoarted with coloured tutti frutti flavour fudge pieces. I'm mainly saving this one to enjoy tonight with our fireworks but I've had a quick nibble and it has a distinctly tropical fruitiness. The flavour is mainly of a sweet pineapple with some added citrus zestiness. It's completely unique and I'll update with some more photos soon!

This is a fabulous range of toffee slabs from Thorntons. I loved the traditional feel and quirkiness of the packaging, which captures the essence of the nostalgia theme. (Look out for the fun "Key to Toffee Making Machine" on the bottom of the boxes!). They're perfect for Bonfire Night and many other nights too :)

I received these products in order to write an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Thorntons Special Toffee

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes - especially the Apple Crumble!
Vegetarian: Yes.
Nutrition (per 100g serving): 513 cals (Apple), 511 cals (Tutti Frutti), 512 cals (Choc).
Available: From Thorntons stores or online HERE
Price: £5.99 each.

Review: Milka Leo and Milka Toffee Whole Hazelnut (Zack) Bars

These Milka Leo and Toffee Ganznuss bars were recently sent to me by the fab folks at Monster Sweets. The bars both feature a rather nifty quick release wrapper - they just pull off at the end - although funnily enough I don't ever seem to have trouble opening up chocolate bars!

The Milka Leo is usually packaged in a four finger format, very much like a Kit Kat. This Milka Leo Zack version appears to be the equivalent of a Kit Kat Chunky - but is infinitely nicer in terms of taste!

Here, the vanilla wafer is covered in a thick layer of the classic Milka alpine milk chocolate. It's not as sickly sweet as the chocolate on a Kit Kat Chunky, giving the Milka Leo a more balanced and enjoyable flavour. It's a simple chocolate bar but it's completely delicious.

The Milka Toffee Ganznuss (or Toffee Whole Hazelnut) is described as milk chocolate with a milk cream, caramel cream and whole hazelnut filling.

It has a distinctive look, like lots of barrels in a row. It's worth noting that both these Milka chocolate bars are a very decent size, 45g and 43g respectively.

When I first cut into a segment, the delicious toffee scent was immediately evident. The flavour here was wonderfully creamy, with lots of extra sweetness from the soft toffee layer.

As I cut through a bit more, I discovered the whole hazelnut within. Each barrel shaped segment has one whole hazelnut, which adds a lovely crunch and subtle nuttiness. The inner filling is mostly dominated by the deliciously smooth toffee, and even though it's all very sweet, I absolutely loved the overall flavours.

Monster Sweets kindly sent me these products for an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Check out Monster Sweets full range of European and US goodies HERE.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Milka Leo & Milka Toffee Whole Hazelnut

RATING: Milka Leo - 9 out of 10, Milka Toffee Whole Hazelnut - 10 out of 10 (loved it!).
Buy them again?: Absolutely.
Purchased: Available at Monster Sweets
Price: £1.09p each.

Review! New Wonka Crème Brûlée Chocolate Bar

Following on from my reviews of the new Millionaire's Shortbread and Nice Cream, I was pleased to spot the third addition to the new Wonka range - the Crème brûlée. This is described as a vanilla creme with a caramel crunch.

The chocolate bar has a very neat appearance with an appropriately quirky look. Each precisely shaped segment is topped with what looks to me like chocolate coins - some featuring a swirly W. The outer milk chocolate has the same sweet creamy flavour as the previous bars in this range. It's similar in this regard to many of Nestle's other chocolate offerings. 

The inner filling immediately has an appetisingly sweet scent of caramel which carries through to the flavour itself. The crème brûlée theme is successfully captured in the flavour here. The filling is very creamy and has visible vanilla speckles which add a gorgeous vanilla flavour. This is then followed by the crunchy texture of the little caramel pieces. I loved the flavour of these, it's caramelised but with that slightly burnt edge to it that you would expect from a crème brûlée. The burnt aspect is thankfully not overpowering to the filling or chocolate, which I've found is often the case with crème brûlée themed chocolate bars. The only negative flavourwise is that the whole combination becomes a bit too sweet very quickly. (Another major negative is the calorie content - see below!).

It's still not the most exciting of chocolate bars and I would have liked to see some more wacky flavours from to justify the Wonka name. If crème brûlée, then why not make it a flavoured version? There are lots of interesting recipes for flavoured ones out there, like orange, lemon or coffee crème brûlée. Having said all that, this simple Crème Brûlée was still my clear favourite of the three Wonka bars currently on offer. 

Grocery Gems Verdict: Wonka Crème Brûlée

RATING: 7.5 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Probably not - the calorie content is horrific!
Nutrition: 111 calories per 2 pieces! 
Purchased: Tesco.
Price: £1.50p each.

Around the World - Sweden: Plopp Chocolate Bar

Plopp is a very popular soft toffee centred milk chocolate bar from Sweden, and one that I've always wanted to try - although I'll admit it's purely because of the funny name. To British ears this is probably one of the worst names for a chocolate - I'm sure no one wants to have the word plop in mind when they're eating a chocolate bar.

Plopp is made by a Swedish confectionery company called Cloetta, and I would guess that the distinctive packaging and fun design on the chocolate itself, has remained unchanged for quite some time. Please leave a comment below if you know any more about this.

Once we'd all finished having a good ol' laugh about the name (juvenile I know), we found that the chocolate bar itself is very tasty. The outer chocolate has a sweet edge and decent enough flavour. The inner soft toffee has a very unique and moreish taste, with added vanilla in there too. It's quite sugary but still utterly delicious. The sweet centre would probably get a bit cloying after a while, but since everyone in my family loved the flavour, I shared them out and found that a couple of pieces was more than enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Plopp

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes!
Nutrition (50g): 235 calories.
Purchased: I won them in a competition, but they're available from import stores.
Price: Usually around £1.35p for 50g bar.