It's Like a Milky Bar in Liquid Form AND it's Low Calorie! Options Wicked White Choc (Options Wicked White Choc)

Member Name: foreveramber

Product:	Options Wicked White Choc
Date:	25/11/08 (191 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious, tastes luxuriously rich and creamy, easy to make

Disadvantages: None, I won't hear a word against it!!!!

I'd just cleared out the last of my food/drink type reviews when I decided I just had to write about this amazing drink I'm drinking right now. I have to search high and low to find it though. You'd think living in London it would be easy to find products, but I've must have visited about 10 supermarket branches before I found a supplier. I thought, I just had to write about it, pass on the message, tell people how good this is and hopefully more stores will stock it.

Actually, this particular flavour from the Options range of instant hot drinks, is one of their 'Limited Editions'. This can be quite annoying if you take a particular fancy to one flavour because once the time is up, that's it, they're gone. They may put in a reappearance, but don't count on it.

I originally purchased a bottle of the Options Wicked White Choc from Sainsbury. They were selling nice large 220g jars of the stuff, which lasts me about a week. When I returned a couple of weeks later, they were gone from the shelves and replaced with individual 11g sachets. I grabbed as many as I could at the time, thinking I'd just buy more next week. However, the following week, they were completely gone, even the label on the shelf had been replaced with something else. Typical.

Searching online I found it available at Tesco, but only in individual sachets. I haven't been able to find the jars anywhere else except Waitrose.

Perhaps I'm wasting my time reviewing this if no-one can buy it. But then again, I don't know the availability in other parts of the country. So here goes.

Firstly, I've just had a look at the Options website and in their handy list of 'frequently asked questions' is the following:
Question: Why are limited edition flavours limited?

Answer: We have a limited edition range so that we can keep bringing you exciting, new flavours! They're only out for a limited time so we can see what you think before making room for the next new flavour.

So there you go. I immediately filled in their form to let them know how delicious this flavour is and to please keep producing it.

~~The Packaging~~~

The Options range of low calorie hot chocolate drinks are generally availably in two types of packaging: a 220g plastic jar so you can add as much powder as you like when making your drink; or they're available in 11g individual sachets so it's all ready measured and calorie counted for you. The jar states you'll get 20 mugs worth of drink out of it.

The plastic jars are colour schemed according to the contents. In the case of the white choc, the jar is pale yellow at the bottom gradually swirling into a pale blue colour near the top. They're indented in the middle of the jar, probably to create an image of a woman's waist line - low calorie so no worries about your waist. The shape also makes it easy to grab hold of when you're opening it. The sachets don't have a whole lot of powder, 11g isn't much, about 3 teaspoons. There is a slightly perforated edge near the top for easy opening. Although some instant sachets are difficult to open, these can easily be torn where indicated without the need for scissors.

~~~The Contents~~~

On opening the jar, you'll find it's filled with a cream coloured powder that does indeed smell just like white chocolate. The smell is very rich and sweet. The powder itself it fine but you can heap a lot onto a spoon without it falling off.

~~~How to Make it~~~

If you're the type of person who likes to follow instructions, then it's all quite simple. Either tear open the sachet and tip the contents into a cup or mug. Or, take 3 teaspoons of the powder and drop it into a cup.

Then just fill up with hot water and give it a stir. The powder dissolves completely into the water leaving you with a slightly foamy top layer on your drink.

The jar recommends, well, not the jar itself, the instructions recommend adding a dash of milk for an extra creamy drink. This is exactly what I always do anyway. Only I mix the powder with some milk first, then slowly add the hot water. This way I get a lovely thick topping. However, making it this way does mean either the drink is more watery as more of the powder is floating on top, or I have to add more for a more concentrated drink.

~~~The Taste~~~

Well, what can I say. The taste is the whole reason for this review. It's a delicious, creamy, white chocolate flavour, akin to a milky bar. It tastes like something horrendously calorific which makes it all the more enjoyable. Options have really excelled themselves with this flavour and it's gone to the top of my favourite hot drinks list.

Some people may even find this a bit sickly, but if you like white chocolate, you'll like this. I haven't seen another brand offering anything similar.

What more can I say, except perhaps to mention the nutritional information. If it's made according to the instructions, then you'll receive 45 calories, 5.5g of sugar, 1.2g of fat and 0.38g of salt.
The ingredients contain, not surprisingly, white chocolate, in addition to whole milk powder, whey powder, glucose syrup, cocoa butter, sugar and some lovely stabilisers and artificial sweeteners. (I don't mind these for myself if it means I can enjoy such delicious drink with low calories).

Thanks for reading.

Summary: A Delicious Low Calorie White Chocolate Hit