Nestle Club Cashew Nut & Cherry

Nestlé have repackaged their Club Dark chocolate range and some of my favourites (sob) didn’t make the transition. Farewell, dear Mandarin, Club Cappuccino and Mild & Creamy – it was nice knowing you! But a new player has arrived, Cashew Nut and Cherry. Will it be able to fill in the large void left by those venerable Club stars that went before it?

Firstly let’s talk about the packaging. Both Nestlé and Cadbury have switched from plastic/paper/foil wrappers to a thin cardboard box. However, unlike Cadbury’s envelope flap at the back:

…which can be opened, a few rows sneakily snapped off and then put back on the shelf only to be purchased by an innocent, unsuspecting shopper (ie ME). The Nestlé back flap is less likely to disguise the treachery of tampering hands:

This difference may seem minor, but it’s pretty annoying to get home, plonk down on the sofa ready for some mainstream chocolatey indulgence to find that some stranger (ie not me) has touched the chocolate and you have no idea what else they’ve done with those hands, let alone to the chocolate. Erk.

Anyhooo. Back to Nestlé Club’s new flavour, Cashew Nut and Cherry. When the foil is ripped away, a richly sweet, berryish aroma does waft gently up into one’s eager nostrils.

Yes, it’s delicious. Very much so. Smooth, creamy (even though it’s a dark chocolate) and the lovely chewy cherries and crunchy slivers of cashew are expertly partnered together. The chocolate is a lovely smooth and sweet introduction to dark chocolate and the recipe has recently changed to include ‘butter oil’ to make the darker chocolate smoother in texture.

Also it’s very addictive. Their ‘treatwise’ label on the back suggests a serving of 28 grams but it’s too easy to discover that half the block (90 grams) is gone before you realise it! Damn their easy-snap rows of chocolately heaven!

Nutrition panel-wise you’re looking at 30.5 grams of fat per 100 grams and 47.6 grams of sugar per 100 grams but hey, do we really care if we’re happily enjoying it?

The ‘red cherry pieces’ are Nestlé’s usual optimistic description seeing as they’re actually concentrated apple and pear puree with 1.4% cherry puree but they do taste nice.

There’s also a few shreds of dessiccated coconut following closely behind the cashew nut pieces which adds to the interesting texture and perhaps makes the cashew ‘crunch’ go further. Whatever the case, it’s a beautiful block.

Still, can Club Cappuccino or Mandarin come back too?