Lindt HELLO Sweet Popcorn

Lindt and Sprungli launched their HELLO range back in 2013, a selection of bars, blocks and gift sets based around four flavour combinations: Crunchy Nougat, Strawberry Cheesecake, Caramel Brownie and Cookies & Cream. Just recently they announced two additional flavours to join the range: Dark Chocolate Cookie and Sweet Popcorn. Today we'll look at the latter.

Lindt Excellence Raspberry Intense

The newest addition by Lindt and Sprungli to the Excellence 100g chocolate block range is another fruit flavour: Raspberry.

Lindt Excellence Zest of Lime

While in the last few weeks, Lindt has exploded with new flavours across many of their subranges, I'm still struggling to catch up! A new addition to the ever-expanding Excellence range, Zest of Lime was released mid-last year.

Gossip: New Mars seasonal release, new Sour Patch gummis, and more!

I have new releases coming out of my ears! Let's jump right in.

Lindt Creation Sublime Mint

Last year, Lindt & Sprungli added yet another version of their Swiss chocolates to their constantly growing range: Creation. The initial release of the flavoured 100g blocks included Velvety Vanilla Almond, Creme Brulee, Divine Hazelnut and Sumptous Dark Orange. The first three are milk chocolate, while the later is made using dark chocolate. Recently Lindt added another dark chocolate block to the range: Sublime Mint.

Follow the link to read more!

Gossip: Lots of new Cadbury flavours, plus more!

It's been a bit quiet here at Lolly Addict as I've been busy in school, but the confectionery and chocolate companies have kept the new releases rolling! Expect to see reviews of these in the coming weeks.

Cadbury is getting the party started with five brand new flavours to their large block range, plus the return of fan-favourite Black Forest. The new flavours are Dairy Milk and Picnic, Cherry Ripe, Dairy Milk and Toffee Crisp, Dairy Milk and Strawberries and Cream, and Dairy Milk and Milk Crackle.

Cherry Ripe has already landed (as part of the 90th anniversary of Cherry Ripe), and Picnic has just arrived. The other new flavours are sure to be close behind!

(This isn't official gossip, but while in IGA a few weeks ago I spotted some Dairy Milk and Tropical Pineapple blocks with fresh expiry dates (2015)  but old packaging. Any theories as to the sudden and silent appearance of these? They may just be old(er) stock that IGA has bought to clear out the warehouse. Who knows?)

Lindt's Excellence range just keeps on growing. This time around is a unique flavour - 'Zest of Lime' with dark chocolate.

Nestle's Wonka subbrand has just put out a new flavour and a new size - 'Cookie Creamery' in a medium bar (45g).

I also just discovered today that Cookie Creamery will also be released in the larger ~140g blocks, so that suggests to me that we may also see the other Wonka block flavours released in the medium bar size too.

I'm starting to think that Woolworths has some sort of deal going on with gummi manufacturer Haribo. Late last year we saw the pallet lot of The Smurfs come and go; now we've got three new (to Australia at least) flavours.

Finally, way back in August of 2012, Starburst released 'Mixed Berries' as one of their Limited Edition bags, which I reviewed. It seems the flavour has made a comeback into the regular lineup, as spotted at an IGA store recently. If you'd like to read the review, just click the link there.

Lindt HELLO Crunchy Nougat

To wrap up my reviews of the Lindt 'HELLO My Name Is' range, let's take a look at the Crunchy Nougat 39g bar.

Head after the jump for more!

Lindt Lindor Strawberries and Cream

Lindt & Sprungli have sneakily released a new flavour to their Lindor ball range just in time for Easter and Mother's Day, in Strawberries and Cream. Head below the jump to read the full review!

Gossip: New M&M's, New Skittles Tropical and new Starburst!

It's all happening at the moment!

Reader Chris has already spotted the brand new M&M's seasonal release in the wild, and the flavour is 'Vanilla Shake'.

Interesting! I love vanilla so I'm looking forward to reviewing it! Thanks for sharing, Chris!

In addition, Starburst (distributed by Wrigley's) also have not one, not two but three new releases out on the shelves already! Photographed below is 'Very Berry Chews', 'Snakes and Ladders' and 'Noughts and Crosses'. The latter two are an interesting play on the classic games.

I didn't even know Skittles were releasing a new seasonal release, but I suppose it is that time of year! New 'Tropical' flavour mix is in a bright blue package. Have you tried it yet?

Lastly, I have new releases from Lindt and The Natural Confectionery Company that will be reviewed very shortly - stay tuned!

Lindt HELLO Cookies & Cream

The third installment of the new Lindt HELLO chocolate range is Cookies and Cream. This is an common flavour in the market - most brands have tackled it in one version or another - so let's see if Lindt's creation is better than the others.

Head after the jump for more!

Lindt Excellence Cherry Intense

Lindt is well-known for their quality Swiss-made chocolates, and also for interesting flavour additions to their chocolate block range. The Excellence 100g blocks have a wide variety of flavours; some that I have reviewed in the past include Passionfruit Intense and Strawberry Intense. One of my favourite flavours in this range is the Touch of Sea Salt blocks, where tiny grains of sea salt beautifully complement the rich dark chocolate.

Head after the jump to read the rest!

Lindt HELLO Strawberry Cheesecake

Earlier this week I reviewed one of the flavours from Lindt's new HELLO range, Caramel Brownie. Today it's time for the second flavour that caught my eye - Strawberry Cheesecake.

Head after the jump to read more!

Lindt HELLO Caramel Brownie

HELLO is the new range of milk chocolates from Lindt & Sprungli. With decidedly female packaging, the range includes four main flavours - Cookies & Cream, Caramel Brownie, Crunchy Nougat and Strawberry Cheesecake - spread over a range of blocks, bars and gift packs. The range is made in Germany, and available in varous places around the globe, but has only just launched here in Australia.

Today's review will be looking at the Caramel Brownie flavour, in the form of the 39g rectangle bar.
 

Jump in for more!

Lindt Creamy Milk Chocolate Creme

The Lindt Creamy Milk range was launched late last year with three varieties. A fourth flavour has just been launched: Chocolate Creme.

The paper wrapper describes the block as 'milk chocolate with smooth chocolate nut creme filling'. (The ingredients list this mystery nut as almonds and hazelnuts. Interestingly, there is also coffee in the filling as well (albeit not much as it is the second-last item on the list.)

As with all Lindt blocks, the finish is rich and unblemished, and the chocolate a lovely warm brown tone, less milky-looking than your average Cadbury Dairy Milk block. It smells rich and creamy - the scent of Easter, although perhaps without extra sugar. The 25 pieces snap nicely with a bit of resistance. Unlike the graphic on the front of the package, however, it's difficult to tell the creme filling from the rest of the chocolate. (It's obvious in the photos, but to the naked eye the filling may as well not be there.)

At first the bite tastes like regular Lindt milk chocolate, but then the nut creme filling steps up - and there is no mistaking the almost praline-like flavour. It's bold and stays in the forefront of your mouth, dominating the milk chocolate outer a little. Thankfully, neither the chocolate nor the filling are overly sweet - in fact, I would guess that a block like this would fare much better alongside a non-sweet drink that would allow the nut flavours to develop more.

Don't worry - there is no nut texture like you might find in the Lindt Lindor Hazelnut balls. The mouthfeel is silky and smooth and coats the mouth, but disappears quickly when you are finished.

I found this block quite enjoyable, and typical of the Lindt experience - smooth, delicious and satisfying.

The Lindt Creamy Milk Chocolate Creme block contains a minimum 30% cocoa solids and 20% milk solids. There is no allergen statement on the package, however, the bar does contain 3% hazelnuts and 9% almonds.

Lindt Lindor Caramel Block

Another of Lindt's phenomenally popular products is the Lindor range. Available in both balls and blocks of pieces, each little piece has an incredibly smooth flavoured centre just melts into molten delight in your mouth. The balls come in a wide range of flavours, while the 100g blocks are constrained to three flavours: milk, white and dark chocolate. Until now. Lindt has just released a brand new caramel block to join the ranks.

Housed in a lovely yellow-amber coloured box, the caramel block is made from 'Swiss milk chocolate with caramel with a smooth melting filling'. I found this a little ambiguous - was there a caramel centre? Was the chocolate just caramel flavoured, or was there something else going on? Time to investigate!

The Lindt Lindor blocks aren't a block as such, but rather 18 individual pieces on a cardboard tray. The top of each piece is emblazoned with the Lindt dragon and crest logo (I think this is new; the last time I bought one of these blocks they used the word 'Lindt' instead). As expected, the chocolate is a light milky brown, slightly glossy and each piece is perfect with very little damage. (Mine are the weeniest bit heat affected, but we all know that doesn't affect the chocolate at all!) The block smells divine - very warm and rich with toasted notes of toffee and burnt sugar.

I wasn't too far off with my guesses: the caramel is mixed in with the chocolate, in both the exterior and interior. Surprisingly it's not an overly sweet combination, but it does have lots of depth and it invites you to sit and taste and concentrate on the flavour mix. I bet this would be delicious with a hot chocolate on a cool evening.
 

Definitely don't eat the whole block - a serving is just 25g (four pieces) and eating the whole block will cost kilojoule counters 2600kj. The milk chocolate in this block contains 31% cocoa solids, and 20% of milk solids. It may contain traces of hazelnuts and almonds.

Lindt Creation Velvety Vanilla Almond

It is so not chocolate weather here in Perth, but Lindt has just released a brand new range of 100g blocks called Lindt Creation. Created by Lindt's master chocoletiers, the range includes three flavours: velvety vanilla almond (milk chocolate), sumptuous orange (dark orange) and divine hazelnut (milk).

I've picked up the velvety vanilla almond flavour for review, and the box-type package describes as: 'deliciously crisp almond pieces in a vanilla flavoured truffle with a caramel layer, coated in dreamy milk chocolate.' Everyone knows that Lindt milk chocolate is most definitely dreamy, but how about the rest of it?

The block is just shy of 16cm long, 7.5cm wide and each gently domed piece is 0.8cm high at the centre. There are ten squares (they're really rectangles) in the block, and each piece is large enough to satisfy the largest mouth, but will sit comfortably on the tongue. Each piece also includes the pretty Lindy logo carved in the top.

As with all Lindt milk chocolate, the first note that hits is the creamy milk scents in the chocolate. It's warm and it's inviting. Just behind it comes the warm and somewhat spicy scent of vanilla to round out the sweetness of the chocolate.

Inside each bite there is a layer of vanilla flavoured truffle, which takes up a significant proportion of the piece, and then a layer of caramel across the top. The almond pieces studded through the truffle are not large, per se, but they are visible and will definitely make their presence known when you bite in. Unfortunately, all of the pieces on my block seemed to be filled at a slant - the truffle was sloped up against one side. I don't know if this is standard or if my block is just weird.

As expected, the caramel was the first to burst out and make its presence known when I bite into a piece. It was quickly followed by the strong vanilla flavour though, and together I found they made an interesting combination that reminded me a lot of creme brulee. The chocolate definitely takes a back seat to the sweet and tasty centre, but that's A-OK with me! I found that the almond pieces did not make a huge infringement on the taste; they added texture interest to the chew but not a whole lot of flavour (in fact I couldn't taste them at all), and I don't think the block is any worse off because of it. Texturewise, the chew did feel the slightest bit gluggy and the truffle a touch stick-to-your-teeth-y, but I was happy to work through it for the delicious flavour.

This is most definitely 'absurdly good'!

The milk chocolate contains a minimum of 30% cocoa solids and minimum 20% milk solids. The block may also contain traces of hazelnuts.

Lindt Extra Creamy Milk Milk Chocolate and Cookie Crunch

Lindt & Sprungli is one of those brands that is synonymous with quality. The brand is available worldwide and is just as widely known for their quality Swiss-made chocolate products.

Recently Lindt launched a campaign with their new 'Creamy Milk' range of 100g milk chocolate blocks. The campaign even included giving away free blocks through their Facebook page. I wasn't lucky enough to win one of the blocks, but that's how I found out about their new product.

The range comes in three flavours: Milk, Cookie Crunch, and Hazelnut. I have the first two flavours for review.

Since its launch, these blocks can often be found on special for about $1.99 (half price) at the two major Australian supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths. The packaging is surprisingly cheap for a Lindt product, just foil and a paper outer layer, but it still manages to look rather dignified with a raised gold logo and a brilliant royal blue background. The Cookie Crunch features a wide yellow swatch across the bottom to help distinguish it from the Milk Chocolate version.

The blocks are broken into small rectangles rather than squares, and each has the brand name impressed into the top.The block is slightly wider than Cadbury's 100g blocks, at a hair under 7.5cm wide and 16cm long, and 5mm thick. At first glance, there seems to be little difference between the Milk Chocolate and the Cookie Crunch, although on closer inspection the cookie version is a touch lighter in colouring. And of course there is the addition of cookie pieces: from the top they are mere specks below the surface, but flip the block over  and the texture fro the tiny pieces is wonderful. The back shows the pieces are well distributed, and just about all are covered by chocolate. The reverse of the Milk Chocolate block is smooth and mostly unmarred, although not glossy like the Cookie Crunch.

There's a definitely a strong milky note to the scent of both blocks - it reminds me of the Lindt Easter Bunnies. :) It's strong and creamy, and without much of a cocoa scent to interrupt the sweetness.

The first block, the Creamy Milk, has a firm snap to it, indicating freshness. In the mouth it melts quickly and evenly, spreading the sweetness all around. It is perfectly tempered and smooth, but quite sweet.

Cookie Crunch had quite a different flavour to it. The malty cookie pieces stole the show from the first taste, standing right in front and dominating the chocolate flavours. The tiny pieces are evenly dispersed throughout the chocolate, adding great texture to the chew but also imparting a strong malt favour. I honestly could barely taste the chocolate beyond a passing background taste. It was like eating a chocolate-dipped biscuit - the biscuit is the star of the show and the chocolate is the chorus. I wasn't disappointed, but I was baffled at the amount of biscuit. Dropping the amount would allow the chocolate's taste time in the limelight.

Both blocks contain a minimum of 30% cocoa solids and 20% of milk solids. Both may contain traces of almonds and hazelnuts.

Lindt Excellence Strawberry Intense

Remember back in December when I reviewed the Lindt Excellence Passion Fruit Intense block? Well now Lindt have come out with another variety, Strawberry Intense. (There's also a coconut version, but I'm sorry coconut lovers, I won't be reviewing that one!)

Made with mildly dark chocolate (47% cocoa solids), Strawberry Intense combines 'strawberry pieces' with Lindt's 'fine dark chocolate'. The ingredients listing reveals that the strawberry pieces are in fact pieces of freeze-dried strawberry. Silly me, thinking Lindt would use sub-par ingredients!  Actual strawberry pieces are of course a good thing, and I can't wait to see what kind of flavour they impart on the chocolate.

As with all of the Lindt Excellence range, the block is long and thin, similar in size to the Cadbury 200g blocks, although half the thickness. Still, when I open the matte branded foil I can tell from the strong chocolate-dipped-strawberry scent that 100g will be plenty! It's a delicious and warm scent. If you find the scent of plain dark chocolate to be a little off-putting like me, you should find this block's aroma inviting and friendly.

On top, the block is branded with the Lindt name and distinctive lined pattern. The back shows a surprising number of bumps from the pieces of strawberry - although the block contains1% of strawberry pieces, the rippled reverse indicates that far more is included.

Snapping off a piece reveals the pink and white strawberry pieces, bright against the rich mahogany-coloured chocolate. It reminds me a lot of the cross-section of the strawberry Froots I reviewed earlier this year. The pieces themselves are small (the biggest is around 3mm wide) but if the scent is anything to go by, the flavour they impart should be rich and strong. It's interesting to note that all the pieces are at the base of the block - there are no bumps to mar the smooth and glossy logo side.

When bitten, the chocolate starts out as the main flavour, but soon gives me to a gentle flavouring from the strawberry pieces. Surprisingly, the berry flavour isn't as strong as I had guessed - instead of tasting like a chocolate-covered strawberry, the dark chocolate is still the dominant flavour, but the strawberry adds a light, playful dimension to the normally boring high cocoa content. It's a less-serious version of dark chocolate.

For those who don't lumps and pieces in their chocolate, you may come across the occasional seed, but the actual pieces themselves crumble easily into the chocolate so as to be barely detectable.

The block is made in France, and may contain traces of almonds and hazelnuts.

Lindt Excellence Passion Fruit Intense block

Lindt & Sprüngli AG, more casually known as Lindt, is one of those brands known world-wide for their amazing range and selection of quality chocolates. The company is based in Switzerland and was founded in 1845. Their collections include the ever-popular Lindor blocks and truffle balls, the Excellence blocks, gift boxes, and seasonal releases of their all-year-range selection as well.

Lindt are very good at keeping their range fresh and interesting, and the Excellence block range is no exception.

Introduced to the Australian market within the last couple of weeks, the Passion Fruit Intense block joins other popular flavours in the Excellence range, such as Blueberry and Sea Salt. Unlike some of the other flavours, Passion Fruit also includes pieces of almond dispersed throughout the 49% cocoa solid dark chocolate block. (I must reveal to my readers here that I am neither a fan of passion fruit nor nuts. Still, in the interests of providing a balanced and interesting blog, review I must!)

It's a warm day here in Melbourne as I begin the review, perhaps a little too warm for chocolate. As I tear open the well-sealed matte foil surrounding the block, I'm greeted with a strong, almost alcoholic scent, though it doesn't have distinct notes. On closer inspection, the passion fruit scent is clear - strong, bold and sweet, clearly the dominating flavour. Despite not liking passion fruit, the chocolate smells delicious!

The back of the block is gently rippled with hints of almond slices, more than I expected. The block breaks with a mild thunk - it's definitely too warm to be reviewing chocolate - and in the seams I can see pieces of almond, big pieces and small, that promise to provide an interesting texture.

In the mouth, despite the strong passion fruit scent the rich heady chocolate notes pop up first, before quickly being replaced with the bold and summery flavours of the passion fruit. Amongst the pieces of almond I can feel tiny little pieces of what must be the 'passion fruit preparation' listed in the ingredients. When I bite them I get a strong taste of what makes me think of Passiona if it were paired with vodka.

As with all Lindt chocolate, the melt is soft and creamy, interrupted with the sharp, thin pieces of almond. Despite the summery flavour, this isn't a block that should be scoffed a la Cadbury Dairy Milk, but a few pieces should be savoured on mild summer evenings.