Bottle Green PARTY - Apple & Elderflower Sparkling Drink

As you can see from the photo, 8-year-old Sophie was absolutely ecstatic this Christmas to be allowed to drink champagne out of a real wine glass at the dinner table. OK, it wasn't really champagne - it was Bottle Green Party, their new Apple & Elderflower Sparkling Drink, but she still felt very grown up - especially as little sister Juliette didn't like the bubbles and opted for orange squash instead !

Reading the information on the bottle, this is exactly the reaction that Bottle Green were hoping for. "Here at bottlegreen we have received lots of emails from kids claiming that their parents won't share their bottlegreen drinks with them. This got us thinking, so we decided to create bottlegreen PARTY for all you youngsters out there who want your very own bottlegreen drink." Sophie even went so far as to say she loved "her" Bottle Green "because parents aren't allowed to drink it" ! (That's what she thinks ! )

As this was the first Bottle Green drink to be sampled (there will be more !), and also the first time we (yes, I ended up drinking it too !) tasted anything elderflower-flavoured, I wasn't sure what to expect and to be honest, I didn't really think I'd like it much. Here in Northern France, flower-flavoured cordials are very popular, including violet, rose and poppy, but they taste somehow artificial and I'm not all that keen on them. Well, I was pleasantly surprised. It tastes fruity, not flowery - which is not surprising when you look at the list of ingredients and see that the main ingredients are carbonated water and apple juice (from concentrate). The list is reassuring short, the only other ingredients being sugar, elderflower, citric acid and natural flavouring. There are no artificial flavours, colours, sweeteners or preservatives so you can't blame your kids going loopy on the contents of their glass ! It's sweet but not unpleasantly so and reminded me very much of Shloer, although possibly slightly lighter and not quite so sweet. (That possibly depends on what you're eating with it though !) It's only 35 calories per 100ml which isn't as bad as I expected either.

The bottle is really pretty and looks fabulous on the table - Sophie actually asked to keep the empty bottle and put it in her room. The bottle designs were apparently created by textile design graduate Rachel Pitman following a nationwide talent search by Bottlegreen, so her entry certainly deserved to win.

Bottlegreen Party is advertised as "the only occasional drink currently available on the UK market aimed specifically at 8-12 year olds". Sophie fits perfectly into that bracket but I drank it too, and would recommend it as a non-alcoholic party drink for pregnant or breastfeeding mums or those who will be driving home and don't want to drink. For me, the gorgeous bottle is the big plus point for dinner parties that really makes it stand out from the other similar drinks on the market.

star rating : 5/5

RRP : £2.99 for 250ml

available at Waitrose

Raquet Bug Zappa

Before I start this review, I'd just like to point out that I am not at all sadistic and if I can, I always avoid squishing insects wherever possible ! I get stroppy when people start whacking at wasps with rolled up magazines when all you have to do is open a window and let them fly out by themselves. I complain when people stomp on spiders, much preferring to place a glass over them and wait for someone to come and rescue me ! But there comes a time when I say enough is enough and do whatever is necessary to get rid of the bugs.

At the moment, the battle lines have been drawn up and war declared on the flies that are constantly buzzing around our dining room. Yes, I know it's the middle of winter and we shouldn't have any flies now but try telling them that ! They've been here for months and we just can't get rid of them. I've cleaned and disinfected the rabbit's cage. The fruit bowl has gone. The table cloth has been washed. Kim & Aggie say that you don't have flies if they haven't got anything to eat so I attacked every possible surface with the hoover and a bottle of bleach (if a forensics expert came in, he'd probably think I was trying to cover up a crime scene !). My mum and dad got me worried about something having crawled in and died somewhere (I had a horrible thought about a missing puppy for a couple of seconds !) but I've checked everywhere and there's nothing maggotty anywhere (luckily - I have a maggot-phobia !). I thought the fortnight away would sort them out - no people, no dogs, no rabbit so nothing to eat. When we got back after New Year, we walked in and - yesss ! - there wasn't a single fly buzzing about. An hour later, I served up dinner and suddenly they were back - I don't even know where they'd been hiding all that time !

Well, I did go mad and spray pretty much a whole can of fly spray around the room but, firstly, it didn't work (aaaggghhhh) and secondly, I did worry a bit about the effect on animals, kids and babies.

So when the opportunity to review a Raquet Bug Zappa came up, I jumped at the chance. It's quite sadistic really - it's basically a tennis racket that you use to swat flies (and other flying insects, from mosquitoes right up to wasps) that will fry them alive by sending 50,000 volts through them ! OK, that was a very slight exaggeration - I'm not sure how much current you'll get from two AA batteries but in fly-terms, it's got to be a lot. (Judging by the fact that some of them smoke and smell of burning, I'd put money on it !)

My in-laws have got a similar product but this one has three huge advantages. Firstly the grid part (the "tennis strings") has tiny holes so no sneaky flies can fly through the gaps and escape. Secondly, it has a cleaning brush (cleaning off the aforementioned fried flies is disgusting, however much they've annoyed you beforehand !). And thirdly - and most importantly - it has a child safety feature that means you have to push buttons simultaneously for it to work. This actually makes it harder to use, and more tiring for your fingers, but if it avoids your children picking it up and zapping themselves, it's got to be worth it (and they will - believe me. They both have done with the in laws' one at some point. It doesn't cause any lasting damage but it does hurt.)

We still have flies but at least I can now go and attack them in a chemical-free, harmless (for everyone except the flies!) way when I get too annoyed. Anyone for tennis ? Who needs a wii-fit ?! (And if you've got any advice on how to get rid of flies, let me know in the comments box and I'll love you forever !!)

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £9.09 (was £12.99)

Window Bird Feeder

As you're slipping and sliding around in all the snow and ice, spare a thought for the poor little birds in the garden who will have a much harder job trying to find things to eat. According to the Garden Bird website, "Your birds need your help NOW. With temperatures expected to remain below zero across the UK, the food you leave out for the birds is all they have to eat. Help your birds survive, feed them today !"

Well, that's all well and good, but what can you do if you haven't got a garden ? Well, this clever little bird feeder gets around that problem because you can attach it to your window with suction pads, so even if you live in a block of flats without so much as a balcony, you can still do your bit to help the birds and try to attract wildlife to your window.

I'm always very dubious when I hear the word suckers in a product description. Most of the time they don't stick for any longer than 30 seconds and the biggest sucker is yourself for spending money on something that doesn't work. Well, I tried out this window feeder and it did stick very easily and stayed firmly in place without budging at all, despite the wind, rain, snow and ice. So if it works in those kinds of conditions, it should be OK all year round ! It does have a string that you can attach to it to pull inside and close the window on it so that, should it fall, you won't lose it - it's good to see that the manufacturer has thought about this potential problem and offered a simple solution.

When it arrives, it looks quite unimpressive and a bit complicated and you will need the little instruction sheet to work out what goes where, especially for the aforementioned string "safety rope" and the green plastic fat ball holders, but if you follow the guide, it does all slot together very easily. Once it's in place, you can leave the suckers in place and remove just the base for cleaning and refilling. It's not overly sturdy - it is made of plastic after all - but it is very well designed and thought out.

One big advantage of the plastic is that it's totally transparent so you can clearly see any birds that are attracted to your window. I think this would make an absolutely fantastic gift for any elderly people who can't get out and about, especially in the current weather, and who can enjoy wildlife and nature from the comfort of their very own armchair. It's also a great introduction to birdwatching for small children, who would love to attach the feeder to their bedroom window. If you give them the responsibilty of keeping it clean and filled, it's like having a pet without all the hassle !

The feeder is compact but has space for water as well as food and two fat-ball holders. The website says it is "suitable for all foods except loose peanuts". I'm not sure why that is, but I'm assuming they mean peanuts in bags and the weight would pull the suckers off ??? It also has a roof to protect your little feathered friends from the rain while they peck away at your tasty offerings !

Feeding the birds is rewarding at any time of the year but in the current cold spell, it really could help them survive. Since the feeder has been attached to our window, the girls are constantly checking to see if anything has been eating the seeds or whether they'll catch a sneaky glimpse of a bird so if it gets them away from the TV and interested in wildlife, I'm all for it. And even I have been yelling "oooh come quick there's a robin" or "if you hurry up, you'll see a sparrow" so it's fun for all the family !

star rating : 5/5

RRP : £12.99

Killer - Dave Zeltserman

Reading Killer is a bit like watching The Godfather or Reservoir Dogs. We enter the cold, emotionless, horrifyingly violent world of the mob where loyalty (when it really counts) and scruples (at any time) are unknown concepts. Nothing or nobody matters, except pulling off the next hit to stay alive and keep on the right side of the Mob. Targets are just names and ruthless hitmen don't want or need to know anything about them, their families or their lives - not that it would make any difference to them if they did.

Leonard March was exactly this kind of ruthless hitman for years, unbeknownst to his wife and family, until he betrayed his Mafia "buddies" and boss Salvatore Lombard, becoming a state's witness in return for a Get-out-of-jail-free card. Taking advantage of this immunity, he confessed to eighteen murders during his time with the Mob, knowing that he would only have 14 years' hard time to serve before walking free. Those fourteen years have now passed and Leonard is a free man again.

As can be expected, Leonard reenters the free world with absolutely no friends - his wife died of cancer while he was inside and his kids have disowned him - and a whole lot of enemies : Lombard's men, the victims' families, even members of the general public who have learned about his horrific crimes in the media. He may be free but he still has to keep lookig over his shoulder.

But the cold, calculating, vicious thug we expect to see turns out to be more of a bumbling, tired, surprisingly likeable 62-year-old. As he struggles to wash the smell of prison off his skin and tries in vain to rebuild a relationship with his children, we can't help but see a less despicable side to his nature. Especially when we learn that many of his victims were not as "whiter than white" as the media would have everyone believe (yet another Dexter-style "I only rid the world of scum" justification !) and he even confuses everyone by becoming a hero and preventing an armed robbery.

The constant switching from tales of his vicious past life to seeing him trying to fit in as a hard-working janitor in his new life constantly throw us off balance and we never really know quite what to make of him. Good guy or bad guy ? Probably a bit of both but in which measures ? Our viewpoint keeps on changing as the author toys with our affections.

Leonard spends the whole of the book looking over his shoulder, trying to spot one of his enemies out to get him - and I had the feeling that I spent the whole of the book looking over my shoulder for some action. The flashbacks provided lots of Tarantino-esque stakeouts, beatings and murders but apart from cleaning toilets and eating in coffee shops, nothing much seems to happen in Leonard's new life, so the book seems sluggish at times.

I found the end to be a bit of a let-down. It wasn't what I was expecting and in just a few short lines, it seemed to wash away everything I'd just spent the whole book trying to pinpoint, namely my feelings for Leonard. It was certainly an ending with a twist, but for me it wasn't convincing or complex enough for me to not feel cheated and manipulated.

The flashbacks to the dark doings of the Mafia and Leonard's crimes provide lots of high energy scenes and excitement but the chapters dealing with Leonard's new life and the ending left me feeling that this book went out with a whimper rather than a bang ! This is the third in Zeltserman's 'badass gets out of jail' series so if you've enjoyed the first two, I'm sure you'll love it.

star rating : 4/5

RRP : £7.99

Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Serpent's Tail (7 Jan 2010)
ISBN-10: 184668644X
ISBN-13: 978-1846686443

Monster Puffs - Sugar Puffs Bars

Getting the kids ready for school in the morning is always a rush, especially as I'm now back at work and still breastfeeding so I have to somehow fit a feed for Pierre into the usual manic mix of hairbrushing, clothes coordinating and toothbrush squeezing. Add on top of that the "I'm not hungry"/"I don't like Nutella any more" / "I don't want cornflakes" discussions and it's all too easy to face the prospect of sending the kids off to school with no breakfast inside them. Or just a chocolate biscuit and a Capri Sun, which is hardly any better really !

Well, these Monster Puffs bars are ideal. They really appeal to the kids, partly because they taste really nice and partly because of the cute Honey Monster picture on the shiny blue packaging. OK, I admit it, even I like the Honey Monster ! I still remember him on TV from when I was a kid ! Anyway, enough reminiscing ! The best part is, they are individually wrapped bars so they can easily be scoffed on the way to school and you can feel better for getting cereal into your kids before school, even if it didn't come in a bowl !

The bars are available as either single bars or in multipacks and come in both milk or milk chocolate varieties. Sophie couldn't get her head around solid milk (and I had no idea how they make it either ! ) and kept telling me it was white chocolate so there's proof that they taste as yummy as sweets ! They only contain 84 (milk) / 86 (milk chocolate) calories per bar too so they are ideal as a healthy(ish) snack at any time of day - certainly much better than crisps or chocolate anyway, on the nutritional front. The label says they are low in sodium, suitable for vegetarians and contain no artificial colours.

Tastewise, they're sweet but not sickly and they retain a bit of crunch, which is better than the soggy and/or totally rock hard stuck-together mass of squished cereal that ends up at the bottom of the big box if you don't finish them up quickly enough ! For over-stretched mums (and dads), the convenience aspect is a Godsend - Juliette can serve herself and eat it all up without getting covered in milk which necessitates another last-minute change of clothes, not to mention trying to disentangle the rogue bits of cereal that always somehow get stuck in her hair !

"Tell them about the honey mummy". Oh OK, I will then ! I don't know if the Honey Monster even still says that but they do still contain honey, so that has to be a good thing too - honey bees are big news at the moment so get your kids eating honey and you can even do your bit to help their survival !

The packaging says they are "cereal-iously good" (groooan !) and I have to say I agree with them. They got the big thumbs up from both Sophie and Juliette anyway. Even more good news, they are currently on offer in Poundland at £1 for a pack of 4 so it's the perfect time to try them out.

star rating : 5/5

RRP : single 20g bars 45p, multipacks of four bars £1.49

Yumberry

I always love trying out weird and wonderful exotic fruit I've never heard of, so I was certainly game for testing out these Yumberry fruit drinks, especially with a name like that ! The fruit's real name is Yang-Mei but say it with a Chinese accent and it does sound incredibly like Yummy - how cool is that ?! The blurb on the packaging explains, "When we first came across it, the name sounded so much like yummy that we started to call it the yum-berry and thus our name was born". I've tried lots of tropical fruits but I have to admit, I'd never even heard of Yang-Mei. As they say on the bottle, "Yang-Mei has been known in China for 5,000 years but has been a secret to the west all this time." The website explains : "The yang mei is a spherical red dimpled fruit with a soft skin and flesh and a hard stone in the middle." Judging by the picture on the bottle, it looks vaguely like a lychee, but has a dark red colour.


There are two different Yumberry drinks available - a pure organic juice and a blended juice drink. I started off with the pure option, tasting the 100% organic Yang-Mei juice (made from concentrate). It's very sharp but not unpleasantly so, so if you like grapefruit and other acidic fruit, you should like it. To be perfectly honest, if it had been served in a glass without the bottle in view, I would have assumed it was cranberry juice because to me, it tasted very similar to that. They even say on the website, "It has a unique taste that has shades of many red fruits such as cranberry, cherry and pomegranate". I liked it straight from the bottle, chilled in the fridge, but the girls found it a bit too tart and preferred it with a generous splash of orange juice so if you use your imagination, you could come up with some very funky cocktails (with or without alcohol) !

This similarity with cranberry juice made me wonder if it offered the same health benefits - I know cranberry juice is recommended in urinary tract or kidney infections and is packed full of healthy antioxidants. Looking on the website, "In yang mei fruit we find a range of nutrients. Tests have shown that the fruit contains vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, C, E and folacin. In fact 100g of yang mei fruit gives you nearly a quarter of your recommended daily allowance of vitamin C as well as 13% of your folacin and 12% of your biotin RDA. In addition, yang mei contains selenium which enhances the activity of vitamin E when consumed in conjunction with it. More than this, scientific evidence shows the presence in yang mei fruit of ellagic acid, quercetin and myricetin." I have absolutely no idea what all that means but I do like the sound of this bit : "Yang mei fruit has been used in Chinese folk prescriptions for many years now and is an essential part of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In the great masterpiece of Chinese Medicinal literature the Ben Cao Gang Mu the yang mei is said to "cure muddle head condition". Now that definitely has to be a good thing !!

I thought I wouldn't like the blended juice drink as much as the pure stuff but it is equally as nice. It's still a very natural drink, containing 50% yang-mei juice (from concentrate), water, fructose and citric acid. In other words, it's watered down and sweetened up so if you find the pure juice too sharp, try this one instead. It still tastes like cranberry juice to me and is neither too watered down nor overly sweetened. The girls preferred it so it's probably more kid-friendly than the pure juice.

The fact that the label says the product is grown and packed in China suggests that this is an authentic, exotic drink - for once, "made in China" on the packaging has positive overtones ! They also say : "We hope that you enjoy this uniquely flavoured fruit and look forward to bringing you many other new and unusual flavours soon." I'll definitely be looking out for the other new drinks to see what unknown flavours and fruits I can discover. It's certainly a lot more exciting and exotic than the usual boring glass of orange juice in the morning anyway, and it is so tangy and fruity that it leaves me feeling really refreshed and wide awake. Maybe that's what they mean by the cure for muddle head condition ! It's a healthier alternative to caffeine-laden energy drinks so gets a big thumbs up from me.

star rating : 4/5

RRP :
£2.29 Yumberry Yang Mei Juice Drink (500ml)
£2.55 Yumberry Organic Yang Mei Pure Juice (300ml)

vintage-style English toiletries and home fragrances from Brown & Harris

Brown & Harris - even the names are classically English ! And the same is certainly true of the products. If you imagine the sort of traditional scented products that you would find in Past Times stores or quaint little country village gift shops, you won't be far off the mark. The press release talks of "a beautiful new heritage collection of quintessentially vintage-style English toiletries and home fragrances", but think vintage as in products of days gone by that your granny probably used to use (and still does !), not funky new "vintage" designed to be trendy for people too young to remember the originals !

The collection offers a selection of bath and beauty products as well as home fragrance products, in three classic floral signature scents - rose, lavender and lily of the valley. "Lie in a bed of rose petals strewn across dewy grass with English Rose, dream of bright summer days with Lavender and walk through a fresh forest amid Lily of the Valley". The scents are delicate, not at all overpowering and smell natural - if you close your eyes, you could actually be walking through an English country garden rather than sniffing something in a bottle or a sachet. It is therefore hardly surprising to see how much work goes into creating the perfect perfumes : "Each fragrance with its own top note – English Rose washed over by a delicate sprinkling of vanilla bean creates a warm, sensuous fragrance. Lavender, indulged with a hint of Cabbage Rose, gives it velvety warmth to enhance the tantalizing floral top notes. Next, Lily of the Valley, with powdery tones produces a soft, delicious scent as fresh as the first day of spring. Each aroma is custom-blended by an individual Perfumer to ensure every one conveys its different personality."

The bath and beauty products are lovely. They look very posh on the shelf (well, they do sell them in Harrods, I'll have you know !) and add a splash of luxury and romanticism to your bathroom shelf. The packaging offers you a few lines of classic English poetry to get you in the mood while your bath is running - and the relaxing flowery scents will do the rest. The body lotion leaves you with lovely soft, delicately perfumed skin but no greasy residue. The handwash cleans your hands with lots of lovely fragrant lather but also seems to moisturise them at the same time, which is an added bonus in the cold weather. The foam bath is perfect for a long, relaxing soak in the tub to help wind down after a long, stressful day of work, and the soothing fragrances will soon waft your troubles away. The packaging and the fragrances reminded me of other luxury brands that I've tried which are often a lot more expensive than these Brown & Harris products.

If you've been won over by the fragrances, you can buy the same signature scents as drawer liners and wardrobe sachets. You can extend the sensuous pleasure by slipping out of your warm lavender-infused bath and into a pair of pyjamas delicately fragranced with the same smell. It could even be an ecological - not to mention economical - advantage if you replace your fragranced laundry softener with the long-lasting drawer and wardrobe smellies to perfume your clothes.

The whole range is beautifully presented, luxuriously fragranced and quintessentially British, so it will appeal to foreign visitors or family living abroad who want a reminder of home. It will appeal to people of all ages so don't just limit yourself to buying some for your granny - it would be a real waste !

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP :

Luxury Foaming Bath Essence - £5.99 for 500ml

Moisturising Body Lotion - £5.99 for 500ml

Conditioning Handwash - £5.99 for 500ml

Perfumed Drawer Liners - £6.99 for 6 sheets

Perfumed Drawer Sachets Twin Pack - £3.99

Silver Cross 'Little Growers Guide to Numbers’ Soft Book

The brand Silver Cross is well known and reputed for its sturdy, high-quality prams but I bet, like me, you didn't know that they also have a lovely range of baby toys. Well, it's hardly surprising, it's a brand new range that has only existed for a few months, but it's definitely worth a look. Just like the prams, the toys are sturdy and really well-made so they look like they've been built to last.

Pierre has got several soft books already, that he loves to chew and dribble all over, but this one is by far the chunkiest one. It's in the shape of a turnip, in keeping with the theme of the whole 'Homegrown' collection. "The comprehensive Homegrown soft activity range was inspired by the theme of an English vegetable garden and is brought to life by three main characters, Rufus Rabbit, Harlow Hedgehog and Bertha Bird, as well as a variety of vegetables !" Well, it certainly makes a change and who knows ? Maybe it will encourage your children to eat vegetables when they're older ! Eat your heart out, Jamie Oliver !

The book introduces the numbers from one to five, as well as showing pictures of popular vegetables and different colours on each page. The fabric pages also offer a variety of different textures for baby to touch and explore with his fingers and mouth. Even as an adult, you can't help touching and stroking the various materials to see what they feel like ! The first page also has a plastic mirror which will offer hours (yes really !) of entertainment for a young baby.

The velcro fastening actually keeps it closed, unlike some of the cheaper velcro fastenings that start peeling off or just don't stay closed, and as the book retains its round turnip shape, it could also be used as a squishy ball for playing catch or rolling around with baby on his activity mat.

All the classic soft book features are included, such as a squeaker and crackly lining. The beautiful applique and embroidery make this a lovely book to share with baby and totally justify the price, that is admittedly slightly more expensive than many similar soft books.

As the label says : "Directions for use - Take one beautiful baby, Sprinkle liberally with love and attention, Add some Silver Cross 'Homegrown' activity toys and watch little imaginations grow."

star rating : 4.5/5

RRP : £10

Little Croc's Purse - Lizzie Finlay

"One hot day, Little Croc finds a lost purse. "Finders keepers!" tease his friends, imagining a treat of lemonade and a lovely cool swim. But Little Croc is determined to find the purse's owner ... Will his honesty be rewarded ? Or will he be tempted to spend the money instead ?

A delightful, humorous tale of honesty, generosity and friendship."

The blurb on the back of the book sums it up nicely and, although the book has a very strong moral, it is in no way condescending or holier-than-thou. Little Croc does consider all the options before deciding to give the purse back and his friends all think he should just keep it, so your kids get the added message of not having to go along with what their friends say to fit in - Little Croc goes against the general concensus of opinion but his friends still like him and respect him. When he comes up against the lying, slightly intimidating Murdock, he stands his ground - a good message for anyone being bullied at school - and even gives him a gift at the end. I love the fact that although Little Croc is rewarded for his honesty and can keep the money, we also see that the owner is really happy to have found a precious locket that was hidden in a secret part of the purse - so kids get to see that sometimes, our actions can have unexpected consequences on others.

The illustrations are lovely too, with lots of details that will appeal to adults reading the story at bedtime - such as the name of Mrs Doolally or the restaurant Croc Monsieur - but also little touches that children will pick up on. 4-year-old Juliette loved seeing a crocodile with a moustache, for example.

The story is just the right length for bedtime - I didn't feel the need to skim over a few pages to speed things up, as is often the case ! - and Juliette stayed interested right up until the end. It's also the perfect length and level of difficulty for an elder brother or sister to read to their younger sibling.

It's a lovely story with great morals and values, nicely packaged with interesting, highly detailed and brightly coloured illustrations. I know this is one book that will be pulled out time and time again for bedtime reading !

star rating : 4.5/5

Red Fox Picture Books
publication date : 07/01/2010
32 pages

RRP : £5.99

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