Chocoholic dream (Thorntons Mint Bar)

Member Name: nickwock

Product:	Thorntons Mint Bar
Date:	17/01/09 (220 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gorgeous, minty, chocolate, yum

Disadvantages: Not available everywhere

Like many people, I love chocolate! I will eat most kinds and flavours, but my absolute winner is minty chocolate. Up to now my favourites have been Matchmakers and After Eights, but these come in larger sizes, meant for sharing (although, I must confess, I can easily manage a box of either to myself quite easily!). My search had begun for the perfect mint chocolate bar (standard size so as to combat my piggishness).

I have tried many in my quest, Mint Munchies - nice, but too similar to After Eights, I'm after something different. Mint Aero, very sickly, even for me and I feel that mint chocolate needs to be a bit more classy. Dairy Milk Mint - nice enough, but the chocolate just didn't quite mix properly with the mint flavour. So was my search in vain? No way.......

And the winner is the....Thorntons mint bar!

===Appearance===

The bar itself weighs in at 45 grams and is about the same size as a cadbury's crunchy. The wrapper is chocolate brown, as are most of the Thorntons range, but with a photo of broken chocolate pieces and green mint leaves. They sell for 59p.

When the wrapper is opened the smell of mint is immediately evident, but don't worry, it's not strong enough to make your eyes water!

It is made from milk chocolate, the outer 'case' is nice & thick, with a firm truffle centre. The truffle has been flavoured with peppermint and contains tiny, crunchy, minty, sugar pieces, rather like the ones in Matchmakers. To finish, the bar has been drizzled with dark chocolate. It definitely looks the part!

===Taste===

I was suprised to see it was made with milk chocolate as most quality mint chocolates are made with dark and bitter chocolate. I thought the main problem with the Cadbury and Aero bars was because they are both made with the milk chocolate, making them a little too sickly. However, Thorntons are 'the Art of the Chocolatier' and I think this bar tastes amazing. Personally I think this is down to the quality of the chocolate which is made using at least 30% cocoa solids,compared to 20% in Dairy Milk. The chocolate definitley has a richer taste and I love the firm texture of the truffle which is so smooth and just melts in your mouth. The addition of the occassional crunchy piece is lovely and makes the bar a bit more exciting (sad I know, but as I've already explained, I love chocolate!).

The bar can be eaten at room temperature, but I find it better when cooled slightly, otherwise the bar is a bit squishy. In fact, I bought mine from Woolworths and couldn't take any decent photos to show you as it had melted and reformed in a peculiar shape. Still tasted lovely though!


===Availability===

Im sure everyone has seen the odd Thorntons shop dotted about, my nearest is about 15 miles away though so it's very helpful that they have 'branched out' and now sell in a variety of places. I've spotted these bars in Woolworths, Tescos and even in an independent newsagents near to where I work. So, not bad, but if you get stuck (and don't mind waiting a few days) they can be ordered from the Thorntons Website www.thorntons.co.uk. This obviously isn't a great option for a 59p chocolate bar as standard delivery costs £3.95! Plus it's a dangerous site for easily addictive chocoholics.

===Nutritional Info===

Each bar has 244 calories and 14.6grams of fat (11.4grams of which are saturates. Luckily, they are quite rich and very filling so you may not be tempted to eat too many.
They may also contain nuts, but on the plus side are suitable for vegitarians and are gluten free.

Summary: Mint flavoured chocolate bar made by Thorntons