Nestle Black Magic

I'm not a huge fan of dark chocolate - I usually find it bitter and much prefer milk chocolate or even white chocolate - but when I was asked to review the new Black Magic chocolates, my chocaholic streak made it impossible for me to turn down. And I'm glad I didn't because I was pleasantly surprised.



I remember years ago when I was little, my dad, in a moment of romance (or maybe he was trying to get out of the doghouse, I can't remember which !) brought a box of Black Magic home for my mum. She said "Yuck, I don't like dark chocolate" and the poor bloke took them back to the shop and changed them for a box of Milk Tray ! Well, my mum was here last night when I was taste-testing these chocolates and she ate some and loved them, so either her tastes have changed or maybe the recipe has been changed.



From doing a quick bit of research online, I wouldn't actually be surprised if it's the latter. The original Black Magic chocolates, made by Rowntree, first appeared on the shelves in 1933. After several decades on the market, the product disappeared for several years before being relaunched in 2007 with a new (shock horror !) white box and different flavours that had the diehard fans up in arms and petitioning Nestle (who had since taken over Rowntree's) to bring back the original version. Well, it looks like their complaining paid off : " After thousands of Black Magic fans bombarded the makers with letters pleading for its return, the favoured classic dark chocolate selection is making a welcome comeback. Reverting to the iconic stylish black and white box with a hint of red, Black Magic has clearly listened to its loyal fan base and is returning with six of the best traditional flavours - all set to be firm favourites once again."



The flavours available in the new boxes are raspberry parfait - almond crunch - orange sensation - whole hazelnut praline - dreamy fudge - caramel caress. The coffee creme has been dumped, which suits me just fine as I hate coffee, but this is apparently sacreligious, according to the fans of the originals, who seem to be giving the new boxes the thumbs down ! I was actually very surprised to see the negative reviews I've seen online as I loved all of the different varieties I tried - they were not at all bitter and to be honest, if I'd been tasting them blindfolded, I'd never have realised that they were dark chocolates. This is a marked improvement on the original Black Magic chocolates for me, as they taste more like milk chocolates which I much prefer, but looking around online, the new recipe hasn't gone down well with the fans of the old generation of Black Magic chocs - presumably for the same reasons that I prefer them !



In the end, it all comes down to personal taste but my one piece of advice would be, if you've eaten Black Magic in the past and not liked them, give them another go because the chances are, you might like the new version.

They are available in two sizes - one layer with three of each of the six varieties, or a double layer box with six of each.

star rating : 4/5

RRP : £3.22 and £6.23