I find it almost impossible to not try any kind of new chocolate that I come across, whether that’s scrolling past an advert on social media or walking down the aisle of a shop.
Some may use Easter and Christmas as the only excuse to sample such things, but I like to treat my taste buds all year round.
That’s why when I saw Tesco had brought out their own flavoured chocolate bars that screamed luxury with a budget-friendly price, I had to see what they were all about.
Tesco's £1.80 chocolate bars rival Tony’s Chocolonely without the soul-crushing price
When it came to trying four of the new Tesco core collection chocolate bars “inspired by new popular favourites, as well as iconic classics,” they reminded me of the famous Tony’s Chocolonely bars.
As someone who may or may not have tried every flavour from the Dutch brand, the thick Tesco chocolate combined with the “trendy” fillings were very similar.
However, the supermarket version has a pretty impressive creamy taste considering they are £1.80 per 180g bar, compared to Tony’s Chocolonely bars which are priced at around £3 at Tesco for the same size.
I was also relieved they didn’t taste like baking chocolate (the non-melt-in-the-mouth kind), which is often the case for some cheap alternatives.
From the new Tesco chocolate bar collection, I tried:
- Pretzel & Salt (£1.80, 180g)
- Crispies, Caramel & Almond (£1.80, 180g)
- Biscuit & Raisin (£1.80, 180g)
- Whole Hazlenut (£1.80, 180g)
The only one I couldn’t get my hands on was the Pecan & Honeycomb.
Each bar had just the right amount of filling, meaning I could taste the chocolate without my taste buds being overwhelmed by all the additional flavours.
This included the likes of biscuit, caramel, almonds, hazelnuts and crispy bits (what a selection).
Meanwhile, it might sound ridiculous but I hate biting into chocolate that feels as though my front teeth are going to snap.
As pretzel and salt filled anything is one of my favourite sweet treat flavours, I particularly liked how the fillings weren’t too hard and had enough crunch without the need for a trip to the dentist.
Additionally, I was quite surprised at how much I liked the Biscuit & Raisin chocolate as I would usually avoid this selection at all costs, mainly due to my detest for raisins.
Yet this chocolate bar wasn’t swamped in the wrinkly dried fruit and if anything, I liked the hint of extra sweetness.
When it came to the Whole Hazelnut bar, I was gutted to see that the chocolate wasn’t milk because me and dark chocolate just don’t get along.
For example, when it came to trying the new Tesco Finest chocolate bars, as cute as the Tesco Finest Dark Ecuador Chocolate bar looked with the 'Finest’ imprint, the taste simply reminded me of petrol and I instantly spat it out, but this is 100% a "me" problem.
But those who can’t resist a bit of dark chocolate should know each bar features single origin cocoa from South America or West Africa, which is blended with the “finest” of ingredients, “to create a rich and refined chocolate experience with intense flavour”.
Recommended reading:
- Tesco announces major change coming to stores for Clubcard shoppers
- Doritos recalls popular crisp flavour from Tesco & Poundland due to allergy risk
- The UK's most popular chocolate bar has been revealed - do you agree?
The new Tesco Finest collection also includes other flavours from the Côte d'Ivoire Mint Chocolate Bar to the Côte d'Ivoire Orange Chocolate Bar - all priced at only £1.60 for 100g.
A weird yet maybe useful thing to note is the packaging of all the chocolate bars – I was a huge fan of this as I liked how the chocolate bars could be wrapped up with the tin foil again and be easily slipped back into the cardboard sleeve ready to be nibbled at another time.
I thought this worked well instead of flimsy wrappers that usually split, causing some chocolate bar segments to sadly escape in kitchen cupboards.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel