Orbital (Mars Bar)

Member Name: ButterBear

Product:	Mars Bar
Date:	23/10/07 (111 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Mix of flavours and textures

Disadvantages: Could be more exciting

I've been hearing about these Mars Planets for some time now but had until this week failed to try them, quite shocking really considering how much I enjoy my chocolate snacks especially of the Mars variety when my other half sent me off to locate a mars bar for him during our recent Asda trip I decided to treat myself too ad pick up a packet of Planets, they're lucky I chose them as they were sat right next to the Malteasers, they very nearly didn't make it.
Mars Planets-
Mars planets, naturally from the mars range, come in the same colour packing as it's cousin the Mars bar, distinctive in black with cream and red writing it is very eye catching, the main difference of course here is that the packaging is more similar in shape to another Mars product I mentioned earlier- Malteasers. Obviously with the planets being little balls of chocolate with various fillings it's easier to pack them loose like Malteasers than any other fashion. Either way the depth of the packets colour allows it to stand out amongst it competition.

The Mars planets come in 3 varieties "soft" "crispy" and "chewy" this refers to the contents of each individual chocolate, from the outside they are all very similar with a generous coating of Mars chocolate. By mixing the chocolates together in this way you get very much the same experience as you would with a packet of Revels, never really knowing which flavour you'll get until you take a bite, at least with the planets there's no risk of getting the dreaded coffee flavour!

Opening the packet you are greeted by the same sweet smell that accompanies Mars bars, no suprise really. Pouring the sweets out into your hand you will see that the sweets are of various sizes, you may automatically presume that you'll know which sweet is which, however, they are quite misleading and when I tried to predict a "crispy" sweet I got a "soft" one instead.
So what does "soft" taste like, well as you bite through the classic Mars chocolate you find the sweet gives you no resistance rather allowing you to sink your teeth straight through the other side, as you separate the sweet you notice a pale, creamy brown coloured filling, the same as you would find in a classic mars bar. It's a sweet yet subtle flavour, creamy in texture, a chocolaty nougat flavour which leaves a pleasant after taste and tempting you to reach out for more of that variety planet

"Crispy" is a complete opposite to soft, you bite into it greeted by, as you'd expect a crisp biscuity sensation, I had almost expected these to be Malteasers simply recycled into Planets however the filling of this sweet is real biscuit, very similar to Malteasers but a bit harder, almost as if you'd left your Malteasers too long and the filling had gone a bit off. The chocolate coating is quite thick on these sweets, which is good as you need something smooth to balance out the crispyness of the biscuit. Flavour wise they remind me of chocolate coated rich tea biscuits, not too fancy in flavour but providing a nice contrasting texture to the other sweets.
"Chewy" is a particularly splendid sweet, with much the same texture as a toffee Poppet but less of the "it's going to pull my teeth out" resistance, caramel in flavour it is once again direct from the classic Mars bar. It has a delicious creamy taste and is perhaps the most enjoyable of all the varieties.


Now I'm a one sweet at a time girl but you can grab a small handful of the sweets and eat them in one go, this generally provides a different eating experience each time as the selection of fillings you get will change. The 3 types mixed together provide a wonderful contrast in textures and the flavours blend perfectly together. As I said earlier the size and shape of each planet varies so while you may think you've got them figured out you'll be in for a surprise!
Now for the health conscious of you out there this is actually one of Mars more healthy chocolates, if there is such a thing. A 37g bag provides 178 calories, that's less than 8.9% of the recommended daily allowance for adults, not bad considering its cousin the Mars bar is almost twice that amount. Not so good is the 21.9g sugar or the 8.3g of fat, so as the company advise "be treatwise" and enjoy them as part of a "healthy, active lifestyle" I will also mention that they contain traces of peanut and hazelnut so wont be suitable for those with nut allergies, they're also not suitable for the lactose intolerant.

My pack of Planets cost 41p about the same as many of Mars other chocolate bars and packets, they're also available for Christmas in 108g tubes for £1.
I thoroughly enjoyed the sweets and would happily buy them again, I like the fun aspect of not knowing what filling you're going to get, you may have just picked a tiny caramel sweet and think that by choosing a larger one you'll get a different flavour only to be greeted once again by caramel. The Planets maintain the same high quality taste as other Mars products and you certainly are not let down in that respect, the planets come across very much as the girls equivalent of a mars bar, all the same good flavours but in smaller, friendlier sized bites that can be finished in one sitting or perhaps saved for later, although in my case they're gone in one sitting and I'm left wanting more, not only do they taste good but I love my chocolate and can't get enough.

There are approximately 22 sweets per 37g bag but obviously that will vary depending on the size and variety of the sweets inside the bag. I found there was a good mix of the fillings with no single variety being present more than the others, although I'd happily have had a whole bag of the caramel and not complained, they were certainly my favourite flavour.
They do lack any real excitement other than the mystery of the filling because of the fact they are simply usual Mars bar flavours in a different form, while I didn't understand the inclusion of the biscuit variety I have been informed that Mars Delight features a similar texture biscuit/wafer and this is where the inspiration for the crispy planet comes from. A novel idea I have heard to perk up the flavour excitement a little more was to buy a pack of Planets and a pack of Revels then mix the 2 together, you'd further add to the mystery of the flavour selection and get an interesting addition in flavours, hey you could even turn it into a game of who can guess the filling.

My only complaint with the sweets is that they can perhaps be a little too sweet after a whole pack leaving me to reach for something savoury, other than that they're a perfectly satisfying sweet that I would happily eat again and, if they're lucky, share with the kids………….the husbands not getting any though, he gets my last Rolo he's not sharing my Planets too!

Summary: Nice sweet but not to go rushing out for.