Out of this universe! - Mars Galaxy Minstrels! (Mars Galaxy Minstrels)

Member Name: beckles88

Product:	Mars Galaxy Minstrels
Date:	10/11/09 (130 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice sweet and creamy chocolatey taste!

Disadvantages: Can't think of any!

**Overview**

I'm definitely a bit of a chocoholic and I tend to have a chocolate hit most days, however I never gorge on chocolate and prefer chocolate that allows you to have lots of little tastes. Therefore Mars Galaxy Minstrels are a really nice treat. The old slogan for these heavenly chocolate drops was 'they melt in your mouth, not in your hand!' I'm sure if you held it there long enough a minstrel would melt in your hand but mine certainly don't last that long.

**What is in Minstrels?**

A Minstrel is 76% 'smooth and crispy milk chocolate' in a 'crisp shell.' The ingredients are as follows: Sugar, Cocoa Butter , Skimmed Milk Powder, Cocoa Mass, Lactose Vegetable Fat, Whey Powder, Milk Fat, Dextrin, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Starch, Glazing Agent (Carauba Wax), Colours (E104, E122, E124, E132), Vegetable Oil, Flavourings, Natural Vanilla Extract. Milk Chocolate contains milk solids 14% minimum.

**Nutritional Information**

Per 100g

Energy: 503 kcals
Carbohydrate: 70.5g
Protein: 5.1g
Fat: 22.2g
Fibre: 1.1g

**Packaging**

Minstrels come in three different sizes: an individual 42g bag, a 170g bag for sharing and a new even larger £2.90g bag for sharing. No matter which size bag you buy the packaging is always quite similar which is good branding and makes them instantly recognizable. The packaging is a really nice creamy chocolate colour which instantly makes my mouth water, the bags have the galaxy logo on which is a more recent addition and is probably to emphasis how the minstrels will taste. 'Minstrels' is obviously on the bag and there is an image of some of the chocolate minstrels themselves. The back of the packet contains usual information such as ingredients and nutrition and there is also a list of other products by Galaxy.

**Taste**

Minstrels are about the size of a pound coin they are like a spaceship shape, the crisp coating of Minstrels is a shiny dark chocolate colour which is smooth to the touch. When you put a Minstrel in your mouth it feels smooth and if you roll your tongue along it there is a slightly glossy texture. If you choose to bite into the minstrel you get a crackly crunch from the shell (a soft crunch, nothing near enough to damage your teeth) and a crisp texture as you then bite down through the chocolate in the middle. You may wish to suck your Minstrels once you get through the crisp outer layer of the chocolate you get a creamy smooth texture on your tongue from the inner chocolate. I suck my Minstrels to start with and then get impatient and bite into them.

I find that the shell gives you a nice sweet chocolately taste (not sickly) and the chocolate inside gives you a richer but still nice and creamy chocolatey taste, this combination of flavours is really nice. The combination of the crisp texture and sweet taste is also really nice and these almost remind me of an inside out malteaser, crisp and crunch on the outside, creamy chocolate on the inside. Thinking about other chocolates can anybody remember Vice Versas I think they were made by Nestle they used to be white and brown with the white being a white chocolate shell with milk/dark chocolate inside and vice-versa! I used to love them when I was younger and then they just seemed to disappear. Perhaps

**Price**

The three different bags are priced roughly as follows: 42g bag is around 45p (often in two for 90p deals), a 170g bag is around £1.75 (I have seen these in 2 for £2 deals) and a 290g is around £2.65 (often on offer 2 for £4).

**My Opinion**

Minstrels are fab as a chocolate treat and if you have the will power you could limit yourself to a few a day as a diet treat. I know that I don't very often have this will power so I tend to buy the individual bags, also I don't like the idea of sharing, the Mistrels are all mine! I love the sweet crisp taste of the shell in combination with the creamy chocolate inside and I love the texture of these treats on my tongue. A definite recommendation from me and in my opinion probably the best Galaxy product.

Summary: These are all mine, so don't expect me to share!