Neuhaus Speculoos Milk Chocolate With Cinnamon
This Speculoos bar has been hanging around my chocolate collection for a few months now and with the constant stream of top quality chocolate coming through my door I’ve just not had enough time (or inclination) to review it. But seeing as I went through the whole lot and organised it into Best Before Date order I thought I should actually review it before it deteriorates.
I must admit that I’m prejudiced when it comes to Neuhaus. When I visited their store at 4 Molton Street I thought it was pretty well turned out, but a touch soulless. It felt a bit too commercial and clinical. The problem is that before this bar, I’ve only actually tried their Feuilletine Bar which wasn’t too bad. And I think this bar falls into the same category.
It looks like the perfect “last minute chocolate gift” kind of bar. A bar that you could easily buy your loved one if you’re walking to the tube station and realise that you said you’d get your loved one a gift – but you didn’t want to spend too much. Well at £5.25 for the 100g for pretty average milk chocolate, it’s your call if it’s worth the money.
Even though I’ve got a bit of a downer on the brand, the taste of the chocolate is pretty good. It’s sweet and engaging. But that’s about it. It engages with you on a chemical level, but not an emotional one. It seems that it’s chocolate by committee rather than crafted by an artisan. Normal people, myself included, could easily shovel their way through this bar without a second’s thought. But chocolate should be more than a mindless experience.
And if you wanted any proof of the lack of personality present here, just take a look at the back. There are ingredients in seven languages. This is a commercial operation rather than for the love of chocolate.
The milk chocolate offers a typical sweetness but no depth of flavour. The only variation from a mundane norm is the crushed cinnamon cookie pieces – but even they’re almost unnoticeable. It just attempts to be interesting but, sadly falls short.
I will return to the Neuhaus shop and try and pick up something else this month and see if it can offer some excitement. There must be something worth trying?
