Cadbury Old Jamaica > Reviews (8)

Cadbury Bournville Old Jamaica (180g bar)

Look what I found on the shelves at Morrisons! Well, I checked with Ciao that I could review this bar. They replied that I must point out at the beginning of this review that it is about the new bar and not the old one as this is the general topic for the product. Cadbury discontinued Old Jamaica a few years ago but now it is back by popular demand. Hooray!!! The details on the back of the wrapper say that, like the original bar, they are still using cocoa beans shipped from Ghana and the much loved raisin and rum flavours. It then goes on to say that Bournville are proud to unveil a new twist on an old favourite. I am going to have to delve deep into my memory to try and establish what this ‘new twist’ is. As with all my other reviews, I write about my experiences as I sample the product.

A Few Facts

* This bar of chocolate is suitable for vegetarians.
• This product contains soya, milk ingredient and may contain nuts and wheat.
• Made by Cadbury France for Cadbury UK.
• My bar is best before March 2010.

Packaging

I found the design of this packaging quite interesting. It is a combination of a sea faring theme, old map and compass, and a chocolate theme, splash of dark brown chocolate and a picture of a red chocolate wrapper. Well that’s how I saw it anyway. Written on the red wrapper are the words New Cadbury Bournville Old Jamaica, raisins & rum flavoured dark chocolate. On the back is the information about the chocolate, in rather small writing, and a picture of an old sailing boat.
The wrapping is of a foil type with serrated edges, which makes it easy to open. I’ve included a picture of the front of the wrapping.

Nutritional Information etc.

For those who are interested in calories etc. the information below is per 100g. Each individual piece of chocolate is about 14.5 kcal.

Calories ….. 465 kcal
Protein ………..4.2g
Fat …………..23.4g (14.3g of that is saturated)
Sugar ………..58.7g
Sodium ………0.01g

Ingredients

Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa butter, Milk fat, Emulsifier (soya lecithin), Raisins (18%), Flavouring. (Cocoa solids – 39% min.)

My Experience/OpinionThe moment I opened the foil I could detect the aroma of dark chocolate and raisins with a hint of rum. The bar measures 18cmx8cmx1cm (approx) and is divided into 32 pieces with word Cadbury indented on each piece. The chocolate is dark brown and smooth although the bottom has the occasional “bump” where there is a raisin.

The Taste?

This is the bit which is the most important. As usual I sucked an individual piece to begin with. The dark chocolate is smooth and quite sweet, and that is all I could taste at first. The flavour seemed a bit harsh really. However, after a while the taste of the rum (albeit artificial) became very apparent and mixed with dark chocolate was delicious. Then I found myself with a rum flavoured raisin left in my mouth. The combination of the three flavours works really well. It is a very pleasant taste that trickles down the back of your throat and lingers quite a while.

I always like to chomp the second piece. Some thinks are better chewed and some better sucked. As I had bought this chocolate during the heat wave I had put it in the fridge. However before trying it I left it out for an hour as it’s a bit cooler today. The chocolate was fairly soft and chewy. With the raisins now mixed in from the beginning the rum and raisin flavour was apparent straight away and was a very tasty combination.
My verdict on how best to eat it would be to chew it a bit at first and then suck it, which I did with the third square. That way you get a mixture of flavours and it lasts longer than simply chewing and swallowing.
This is a good sized bar, not one to be eaten in one go, with plenty of raisins in it. Due to the sweetness of the bar, I found myself needing a drink of water after eating four squares.

So, what was the new twist mentioned on the wrapper? To be honest it has been a long time since I’ve had one of these so it was difficult to tell any difference. But, I just had the feeling that the rum flavour seemed to be more in the chocolate now rather than just in the raisins. The dark chocolate flavour seems stronger as well.
Would I recommend it?

Yes, I would recommend this chocolate. The combination of flavours works really well. I am glad that it has been brought back and I hope that it doesn’t disappear again. On the whole I would say that this is a good quality product and good value for money. However, if you don’t like dark chocolate, raisins and the flavour of rum, it’s not for you.

Price – I bought mine at Morrisons, priced £1.00. I have seen them in other supermarkets at about the same price.

Web address – www.cadbury.co.uk

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I hope that you have found the information of some use to you.