Whittakers Toasted Coconut Slab

Posted by in Chocolate Reviews on December 28 2008 | Leave A Comment

Take pity on my poor little sister. She’s living in Germany and pining, dreaming, of Cadbury Coconut Rough. Without thinking, I said “No problem, that’s available in EVERY supermarket in Australia, I’ll post some to you”. Foolish words.

Searching high and low reveals a problem: The giant Cadbury machine does still make and sell the famous Coconut Rough. In New Zealand. And Ireland. Drat. No help at all here. From a quick check on Mr Google and the Internet, I found I can buy it, but the postage to Australia will cost more than the block of chocolate. I was not brave enough to try for the postage to Germany.

All this leads me to do a Jeremy Clarkson, and ponder: “How hard can it be?” (to make your own). I think I have a method of making it figured out, I was getting all enthused about trying it, and then the Lady Of The House came home with a mini-block of Whittakers Toasted Coconut Slab. So I’ll leave the kitchen experiment for another day.

Onward then, to the Whittakers, which as you can see is a mini-slab. Whittakers make decisions of choice easy: they sell small blocks of 50 grams, and HUGE blocks of 250 grams. Trying the small before the large seems a good way to go.

As you can see, when they say it’s a slab, they mean it. I’d been thinking maybe this could be 3 or 4 squares or small segments, but no. Whittakers seem to have the same approach to their small slab as their large: Industrial Strength Big Brutes!

Opening the pack led to great anticipation: the first whiff on opening screams COCONUT in big fat capitals. We’re off to a promising start. This is a soft milk chocolate – getting it out of the pack for the photo was a bit of a challenge, it would have been easy to push great ugly finger-prints in. This does help, though, in cutting a piece off – and seeing what the inside is like.

The ingredients list the toasted coconut as 18%, and looking at the cross-section, you can see they aren’t fooling around. The knife, cutting through, makes a strange crunchy noise. That’s coconut we’re cutting.

The taste matches the smell: soft, sweet, and lots of coconut. That coconut is nice and crunchy as well, so you get a decent texture to it. I cut the mini-slab into a few pieces and passed it around. The family are unanimous: Pretty Good. The Lady Of The House is most impressed.

After we’d tried a few pieces, I left half the slab on the kitchen table, where the two young masters discovered it. And it gradually got smaller and smaller during the afternoon.

For the coconut fans out there: this is pretty good. Now to send a kilo or two to little sis.

Information

You might also like...

Comments On This Post

  1. Susanne

    I’ve never had Coconut Rough (and probably wouldn’t, as I’m no fan of Cadbury), but as a German I’d like to recommend Romy coconut choolate to your sister. She should be able to find it in most supermarkets; I’ve definitely seen it in Norma last time I was in Germany. Unfortunately Rittersport have just discontinued their rater divine coconut chocolate. Apparently it wasn’t selling well – hard to believe. I certainly had my fair share…

  2. anabels

    Just being picky but Whittakers is an NZ company!!! Manufacture just outside of Wellington

  3. Dom (Chocablog Staff)

    Anabels – if you’re referring to the tags, then that’s my fault (as per usual!).. thanks for pointing that out. 🙂

  4. Oops, perhaps I was not completely clear. I’m in Australia. Whittakers is a NZ company, but their products are readily available here. Which is fine because I rather like them.

    The Cadbury Coconut Rough seems to be made by Cadbury NZ for the NZ market but isn’t exported – or not that I can find – apart perhaps from to Ireland. Though the Irish may well be supplied with it from somewhere else.

    So buying it requires me to do a mail-order buy over the internet from one of a number of NZ e-stores. Possible but costs an arm and a leg.

  5. Bob

    I love these! The best value and best tasting chocolate around.

  6. HEff

    Well, swiss chocolate smashes cadbury without a doubt, just across the border of Germany, there is amazing coconut chocolate.

    Whittakers is great!!! too…

  7. Chandan

    I am from India i just had one today well make it two bought it in an upmarket store was in bargain section two 50gm slab worth Rs68 approx $1.50, they were just mind blowing hope to buy more

  8. I am from ????????? and the coconut slabs are 90cents and it was the best thing in my hole life when i had it..
    OM NOM MON NOM LOL

  9. love coconut slab

    OMG!! i had been looking for this for AGES. they only had it in New Zealand before,, but i’m so glad it’s in Australia now!!

    i had it yesterday and it was by far THE BEST tasting chocolate i have ever had. 😉

  10. Eddie500

    Whittakers is a better chocolate than Cadbury’s due to the higher cocoa content. Also, you get 250 grams in their family block, unlike mean Cadbury’s who reduced their block sizes to 200 grams. I have now tried the Cadbury’s version of coconut rough and it still tastes like they are putting palm oil into it. STICK WITH WHITTAKERS FOR BEST QUALITY.

  11. hi there
    As Eddie says Whitakers is the BEST, BEST,BEST!! The coconut rough is delicious!!
    I have not eaten Cadbury’s for 3-4 years and refuse to now because 1) of the palm oil business a few years back and as a result, don’t trust them and they closed most of their manufacturing businesses in NZ and now make it in Aussie. The only choc they now make in NZ is the Roses chocs. So much for NZ made. So go for Whitakers, no Palm oil and NZ made in NZ!! And tastes primo!! Try their new Hokey Pokey and Peanut Butter………..mmmmmmm and they even have coooking cocoa nibs now………..
    GO WHITAKERS!!

Leave a comment




Chocablog: Chocolate Blog