I have always considered Cadbury chocolate to be of a premium quality, and even on a par with Thorntons a lot of the time. The Cadbury range is very extensive, with products ranging from chocolate bars, bags of chocolate sweets and chocolate drinks. Cadbury are always bringing new ideas to the market for us to taste, and Cadbury Clusters are a new favourite of mine. Cadbury Clusters were recently on offer in my local Morrisons supermarket, and I just had to pick a few bags up to keep me going!
Cadbury Clusters
Cadbury Clusters are simply bite-sized 'clusters of crunchy flakes and juicy raisins tumbled in scrumptious Cadbury milk chocolate'. This is what the text says on the front of the packaging, and this is where we will begin. The bag is predominantly red in colour, with a flash of purple in the background of the words 'Cadbury Clusters'. To the front of the bag we also have an image of the clusters, so we get a visual image of the product in our mind and this instantly drew me in. The Clusters looked to have plenty of texture, though I have to admit that the clusters in the image are slightly larger than what you see in the bag!
The rear of the packaging contains plenty of information, from nutritional information, pack size (150g), ingredients, product description and details for securing the bag shut for freshness. The top of the bag is where it can be opened, and there is a strip which you pull off to open it up. To seal the bag to lock in the freshness between servings you simply peel the purple sticker from the rear of the bag and secure it once you have folded the top edge over.
Overall I am impressed with the Cadbury Clusters packaging and presentation of it in general. The colour is bright and eye-catching, which is what you would expect from a treat product. Cadbury are happy to put their name to the product, so everything looks very promising for the taste.
Cadbury Clusters - tasty!
The first thing I noticed when peeking into the bag were just how small the clusters were. They are not quite up to the size on the front of the bag, so I were left a little underwhelmed. The texture in my hand was surprising, with the combination of the flakes and raisins clustered together with milk chocolate. they did look appetising, and their irregular shapes make them a little more interesting.
The taste was quite an experience. The first thing you notice is the texture, which is satisfying as it is so odd. The first thing I can taste is the Cadbury milk chocolate, which has a distinctly creamy quality to it and it is instantly apparent that this is top quality chocolate. Once the chocolate begins to melt I bite through the Cluster and am met with a combination of textures. The flakes pack plenty of crunch, and the raisins are nice and juicy, so the variation of textures works very well together.
The taste is highly satisfying, and the product as a whole is unlike anything else I have tasted. Yes, this is a mainly chocolate product, though you don't often get such a combination of tastes and textures at once. Cadbury have a knack of giving the consumer what they want, and they have got it spot on with this one.
Nutritional information
The following information is based on a 50g serving, which is a third of a bag of Cadbury Clusters.
Amount(GDA)
Calories 240(12%)
Sugar 26.5g(29.4%)
Fat 11.1g(15.9%)
Saturates 6.9g(34.5%)
Salt 0.28g(4.7%)
As this is a sweet treat I think these figures are of no surprise. Unfortunately this is based a third of a bag as one serving, which at 50g is quite a mean portion size! That said, you wouldn't want to eat them all in one go if you had paid £1.99 for just a single bag!
Price and availability
Cadbury Clusters are widely available from all major supermarkets and shops in general. I got 2 bags of these for £3 on offer the other week, though they cost £1.99 for one bag usually.
Final thoughts
The 150g weight is a little on the mean size. When you open the bag it is less than half full, so at full price these are by no means a cheap product. I bought them on offer, though I wouldn't consider them unless they were on offer again, as they are very expensive for the amount you get, in my opinion. That said, the taste is quite different to other treats I have tasted, and as this is Cadbury chocolate it will always be a favourite of mine. I have to award 4 out of 5 stars, knocking one off for price.
