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Love it or hate it, Christmas is fast approaching. Since August I've been writing about Christmas chocolates, detailing what supermarkets and grocers are rolling out for the festive season.
But when I clocked this pair of festive chocolate bars by Tony's Chocolonely, I knew I had to give them a go.
I bought two bars. The blue clad bar is the 51% Dark Chocolate Mint Candy Cane Chocolate Bar, while the orange one is the Gingerbread 32% Milk Chocolate Bar.
Both bars sounded tasty to me but do the flavours live up to expectations? Should you be ditching those same-old chocolate tubs you always buy in favour of these chocolate bars this Christmas? Should you just get the one or are they both "game changers"?
Read on to find out.
What Makes The Christmas Bars Different?
This pair of chocolate bars are clad in festively decorated packaging, albeit in the unseasonable colours of blue and orange. Graphics of snowflakes and Christmas trees decorate the thick paper wrappers, while the gold-foiled Tony's logo adds nice touch to each.
On the rear of the fully recyclable packaging, there's an introduction to the Tony's mission, along with the ingredients and nutritional information. There's also a Fairtrade statement detailing qualifying ingredients.
Peel back the paper to find a gold foil clad bar. Printed on the reverse of the paper wrapper is a list of suggestions on how to display your Tony's Christmas tree bar, rather than the usual information about the Tony's mission. There's even imaginative ideas of hanging it from your car's rear-view mirror or placing it in a nativity scene, although why you'd want to is another matter.
Both chunky 180g chocolate bars follow the same shape, with the trademark unequal grooves to represent the deep inequalities within the chocolate industry. The grooves make way for a large Christmas tree that sits proudly at the heart of both bars. It's a nice festive variation of the trademark Tony's chocolate bar design.
There's a hanging hole at the top of the trees so that you can thread through your own ribbon and hang it on your own Christmas tree, should you wish - so long as your parcel doesn't arrive like mine did with each bar broken into multiple pieces. If you were feeling creative and your bar arrives intact, you'd need a pretty strong branch to support these weighty chocolate bars, and you might want to think twice about this if you have pets.
Tony's Chocolonely 51% Dark Chocolate Mint Candy Cane Bar Review
Tony's Chocolonely 51% Dark Chocolate Mint Candy Cane Bar ingredients:
Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, 6.67% candy cane (sugar, corn syrup, colouring agent (anthocyanins), aroma (natural peppermint oil)), emulsifier (soya lecithin). Cocoa solids: 51% minimum.
- Sugars: Just under 48%
- Vegan friendly: Yes
The snap is crisp and clear, and as I noted in my salted almond bar review, the irregular grooves and chunky nature of the bar make it tricky to portion into reasonable pieces. You'll need strength of steel to divide up this bar, and the patience of a saint as you attempt to make equal sized portions for your quarrelling kids.
The bar has a mild chocolatey aroma, with a very faint note of peppermint coming through along with a hint of vanilla and almond. Thankfully, the peppermint flavour comes through louder and clearer when you bite into the chocolate. It's the dominant flavour, although it's not overwhelming. This bar reminds me of the flavour of mint chocolate chip ice cream, or a certain chocolate that should be consumed after 8 o'clock. Likewise, this sweet bar is perfect for consuming after dinner or with a cup of coffee.
The red and white candy cane flecks inside the chocolate bar add the occasional pop of crunch to the smooth chocolate texture.
Little of the flavour of the dark chocolate successfully competes against the peppermint, but while it may not impart much flavour, it does add richness and body to the overall profile. The aftertaste is dominated by the peppermint, with faint chocolatey undertones.
Overall, it's fun, novel, and minty. It's very easy to eat this bar without really thinking about it, so don't expect it to last long once opened. If you're not a fan of dark chocolate but like mint chocolate, you'll probably get on very well with this one.
Tony's Chocolonely 51% Dark Chocolate Mint Candy Cane Bar Review
RRP: £3.98 | Tony's Chocolonely | Shop now
Peppermint leads in the flavour and pretty much masks the flavour of the cocoa. If you like mint choc chip ice cream or after dinner chocolates, you'll love this bar.
Tony's Chocolonely 32% Milk Chocolate Gingerbread Bar Review
Tony's Chocolonely 32% Milk Chocolate Gingerbread Bar ingredients:
Sugar, dried whole milk, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, gingerbread (8.33%) (sugar, wheat flour, butter, whole egg, ginger, invert sugar syrup, ginger powder, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, salt, rising agent (sodium carbonate)), emulsifier (soya lecithin). Cocoa solids: 32% minimum.
- Sugars: Just under 50%
- Vegan friendly: No, but it is suitable for vegetarians,
The aroma is rich and buttery, with just a hint of Christmas spices in the mix. Nutmeg and cinnamon sit at the forefront.
Just like the candy cane bar, the snap is clean and crisp, but portioning this bar once again requires thumbs of steel.
Bite into this and you'll be greeted with a rich, creamy, caramel and butterscotch notes from the cocoa, complimented by a spiced biscuit crunch. The gingerbread biscuit pieces are firm and crunchy, as add a nice contrast to the sweet, smooth milk chocolate. As you crunch the gingerbread it releases warming flavours of nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger, which work really well with this 32% milk chocolate.
Together, this crunchy, festive-spiced creamy, caramel-like milk chocolate is a wonderfully comforting blend. This, for me, encapsulates the key flavours of Christmas. I found this bar was very easy to eat, and it certainly didn't last long after I'd unwrapped it.
Tony's Chocolonely 32% Milk Chocolate Gingerbread Bar Review
RRP: £3.98 | Tony's Chocolonely | Shop now
The crunchy spiced biscuit pieces pair really well with the sweet, creamy milk chocolate. This tastes like my favourite aspects of Christmas all rolled into a tasty chocolate bar.
Candy Cane vs Gingerbread - Which is Best?
As I ordered the bars, I sat here expecting the candy cane bar to be my favourite, and suspected the gingerbread flavour would be fairly bland.
In reality, the gingerbread chocolate bar was by far my favourite out of the two. The crunchy, flavourful gingerbread biscuit pieces work superbly with the creamy milk chocolate and this bar strikes a perfect balance in terms of flavours and textures.
While the mint dark chocolate bar is nice enough, it doesn't conjure up images of candy canes in my mind, but more an after dinner mint. Perhaps more candy cane shards in the recipe would help enhance the festive vibes?
Where to Buy Online
You'll find the 51% Dark Chocolate Mint Candy Cane bar and the Gingerbread 32% Milk Chocolate bar on the Tony's Chocolonely website. Mint 180g (£3.98); Gingerbread 180g (£3.98).
Selected Tony's Chocolonely chocolate bars are available on Amazon here°. Bars are also available in selected supermarkets in the run up to Christmas.
I also found the mint bar at Pure Panda (£3.74), at GB Gifts (£3.99), and at the Strawberry Meerkat Boutique (£4). The gingerbread bar is available from Rainbows and Dragons (£3.75), Babipur (£3.95), and paper Tiger (£4.50).
Looking for a Tony's Chocolonely advent calendar? Check this out°.
Candy cane or gingerbread - which is the better taste of Christmas? Answers in the comments below.
