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| YOU ARE HERE : Home > Categories > Food > Confectionery > Donovans Feijoa Milk Chocolate | |
| ProdID: 3961 - Donovans Feijoa Milk ChocolateManufactured byProlife Foods | Product Score: 8.6 |
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Donovans Feijoa chocolate is lovingly crafted by Chocolatiers Mark & Paul Donovan in the Waikato - heart of New Zealand dairy country. Being rather clever kiwis, they've popped one of their local favourites into the mix. Sweet, slightly tangy and utterly yum! |
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Let's face it, in a world already packed to the brim with chocolate it is very hard for a chocolate bar to stand out from the crowd. However, Donovans launched a bar which contained feijoa- uniquely Kiwi and divisive, which immediately caught my eye. I am a complete feijoa lover, and I know that they aren't for everyone, but for those of us who love them, the months without them in our lives can feel like a lifetime. It may have been that it was November and I hadn't seen the little green fruit for a good number of months, or it may have been that it was 12:30 and I was ready for some lunch,, but I was immediately drawn to this bar. The packaging is beautiful and unique- you certainly know what it is with a quick glance. However, I also had a number of reservations- what if it was too strong and perfumey, what if it didn't taste of feijoa at all? I decided it was worth a try, so into my trolley it went. I have to admit, I was so excited by it that I was tucking into it in the car park. Initially I was surprised- the bar didn't contain feijoa-flavoured pieces like I expected, but was a smooth chocolate bar. I was already heartened by the fact that I could smell feijoa before I tasted it- 'at least it will taste of something' I thought to myself. That first bite was a complete revelation- deliciously smooth and creamy chocolate which melted gloriously into a mild and delicate feijoa flavour. Not too pungent and strong, but just strong enough to enjoy it without completely losing the character of the chocolate itself. My one square which I told myself I would eat in the car park quickly turned into four, five....... thank goodness that the bar was of a size that I didn't feel too guilty for finishing the whole thing off before returning to my day. I cannot think of a single negative about this chocolate. I love the taste, texture, the packaging, the fact that it's produced by a small company and the pack size. I really would recommend this to any feijoa fan- it's the perfect pick-me-up to transport you to those long summer days in even the dreariest of winter moments. |
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I'm a feijoa fan, not just your regular fan in fact maybe a little obsessed. I could easily sit and eat a bag full in one sitting which makes me oh so sad that the season is so short. I'm always on the hunt for anything with some sort of feijoa flavour. Thank you Donovans for bringing feijoa season all year round. First bite and you're instantly transported to feijoa heaven although it's not overwhelming and you still get the delicious creaminess of Donovans chocolate. The pack size is good, just enough so you're satisfied and don't over indulge. I was also impressed by the price, it's a luxury chocolate at the fraction of the price. I've also found it's a really great birthday gift, thinking of you gift or cure for stress. Considering i'm such a fan of feijoas I may be a little biased but I definitely think it's the best flavour from their range. Let's face it the confectionary aisle can be pretty overwhelming and there are so many choices when it comes to chocolate but no one else has done it, so if you're a feijoa fan give it a go so the season can go on and on. |
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When I saw that feijoa chocolate was up for review I just had to apply. It is very rare to get something feijoa flavoured, let alone something feijoa flavoured that actually tastes like it's meant to. When it arrived I took it in to Playcentre with me and shared it around to get an idea of what others thought of it. Some liked it but weren't fond of the after taste, others thought it could be creamier or have plain chocolate with a liquid centre, all were observations I had to agree with. My first thoughts were that the packaging was attractive and the way it was sealed inside was brilliant, no way for it to go stale before you had a chance to eat it. Upon popping a piece in my mouth I was impressed at the true to life flavour but quickly felt that the flavour overwhelmed the chocolate making it just a carrier for the flavour rather than part of the experience. Personally I'm more a fan of flavoured chocolates having a liquid/cream centre or visible pieces rather than the chocolate itself being flavoured. The after taste was strange, somewhat perfumey and not at all what I would have expected. I didn't get creative and bake with it which may have helped the flavours, I tend to prefer to stick with unflavoured chocolate in my baking anyway. I probably won't go out looking for it to purchase however it hasn't turned me off Donovan's, perhaps it's just changed my expectations of what I'll be tasting if I try a different flavoured chocolate of theirs. |
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I was very excited to find I was allowed the opportunity to review Donovans Feijoa Chocolate. I have never tried feijoa before and am always up for trying new things. And anything combined with chocolate cant be all that bad Not only had I never tried feijoa before, this was the first time I would be trying Donovans chocolate too. I am not unfamiliar with Donovans, I absolutely love their chocolate fudge and rate it very highly. It is my all time fav fudge, however I have always only bought the fudge never venturing further down the sweets aisle to find the chocolate lol As I said earlier I have not tried feijoa or Donovans chocolate so upon arrival I had to test immediately. The bars are divided into large smooth, shiny, lovely looking pieces so i broke off one piece which I then broke into four pieces so my 3 children could try also. I handed a sample to each of my youngest children. My son declared instantly he did not like it,it was weird and odd and not good lol. My little girl said it was yum. Next to try it was my oldest boy and myself. At first (try) I wasnt sure what to think. The chocolate itself seemed to dance across the tastebuds ever so slightly but there was a stronger more distinctive somewhat musky flavour that I assume was the feijoa (?). I did not try anymore insead poped it in the fridge as I just wasnt really sure what to think. My son declared later he thought it tasted like mouth wash, haha, so that must mean its got to be good for ya ;) The chocolate sat in the fridge for 2 days with no one asking for any. Then while cruising round facebook I discovered something on the Donovans page...they suggested melting down their chocolate and pouring over popcorn. I now had a use for the last of the chocolate. Donovans thank you for the suggestion it was absolutely yummy and we have repeated this again. The block is smaller than a standard family size block even tho it looks the same size. A family block is around 200 or so grams but these are just 100g, the difference in grams even though appearing same size is because Donovans choc bars are thinner, but this just made them easier to break pieces off. Although initially dissapointed in the bar size especially when considering the price I actually think the 100g is more than enough. The chocolate is very rich and devine so the bars do not need to be huge to be worth it. |
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Well this was def a WELL worth review to try. I love chocolate and well love feijoas. Now putting them together i have never thought about but of course Donovans had and its here, a nice choc bar and a great amount too. Now if i eat a whole bar of choc like this bar i feel ill, i feel sick and i really cant eat any more, this choc though i could happily keep eating it piece after piece. It wasnt too rich and sickly tasting, it also wasnt over powered by the feijoa but it was there and really good. I could taste and feel the little pips i guess they are called in the feijoa which adds to the texture and I loved it. If you just let it melt in your mouth you get a full mouth of flavour and thats awesome. My hubby who likes feijoa didnt like this choc at all. Guess its more for me ^:) It comes in a nice box of 100grams the pieces are 4 across and a bite size. You could happily put them on top of a cupcake or do what i did and just eat it. I did take it to a friend's and share with her ^lol. What makes me happy is the declaration on the back of the box about Gluten saying that no gluten is in this product but the factory is also used for gluten containing products, which lets me decided if my kids can have this or not. The box is easy to get into and easy to close if you decided to save some of the choc for another day/night. The price I wont complain about its a very reasonable price for something so yummy, yup i recommend this even to those that dont like feijoas, take a piece of a friends and try it out. |
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I'm on a budget tighter than a kina's sphincter since I live alone and am on a pension. That means that things like this are a luxury in every sense of the word. So when I was offered the chance to have a block slipped into my parcel of review stuff at no extra charge I was quick to say "Yes thank you!" The first thing I had to do when it arrived was hide it. As usual, there was a visit from the whanau just after the courier dropped this off and the mokopuna were their usual "helpful" selves, giving me a hand to unpack the parcel and then offer their assistance in the kitchen in exchange for a lion's share of the goodies. After they had scoffed down most of the other foods, they said their goodbyes and I was finally able to try this chocolate. After testing a single, very large, pice all to myself, I invited a friend over who is a bit clever in the kitchen. She took one sniff of this bar and declared that it would almost be a crime to use it in anything, but since I insisted, she gave it a go. After a lot of thinking, and sucking on a piece to test the texture, she decided the best think would be to put it through the coffee grinder to make the feijoa pieces as small as possible, then use it to make a Ganache we could pour over some ice-cream and ginger cake. This was an inspired decision, because it formed such a lovely sauce! The only down side was that the bars are only 100g and we had already eaten 20g just tasting it. Larger bars would be a great treat to buy but looking at the price I could imagine a good sized bar around the 300g range, would be quite expensive. Well worth it, but too far out of my lean budget. I would have loved to have tried a number of different options, such as using it in biscuits, shaved finely and sprinkled on freshly shipped cream topping a cake or cheesecake, or just having a few more pieces to enjoy straight out of the pack. But, always grateful what I do have, this was very enjoyable and a treat I will not forget in a hurry. Thank you KIWIreviews because I love having the chance to try products that are worth saving up for, knowing it won't be a risky gamble. |
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Who isn't a fan of chocolate??!! So when Donovan's decided to mix chocolate and feijoas together, a bar of fabulous chocolate was born! I was so super excited to try this chocolate, but before I ripped into the packet I was attracted by the cover, simple but eye-catching, showing both the chocolate squares and feijoa cut in half, and once I opened the packet I liked the fact it could be closed up again. I liked how the chocolate was sealed in a foil packet to maintain maximum flavour! The smell of the feijoa was fabulous, it was the first thing that I noted when I opened the foil wrapper. The second was the size and shape of the chocolate squares as I pulled the chocolate out of the wrapper and how easy the squares were to snap off as the chocolate bar is thinner than other brands. Once I tried the chocolate the feijoa flavour was very pronounced and the chocolate was very creamy. I started with one piece but that quickly turned into 3 pieces and the feijoa taste lingered on my taste buds long after the chocolate was eaten which I enjoyed! I ate the chocolate so quickly and enjoyed every single morsel that I didn't even give any thought to using it in baking or any other way than to consume every chocolatey square of goodness... but this way I will just have to buy more chocolate and try it out in some baking recipes!! It is on the pricer side of chocolate bars but I don't mind paying for something that is as good as this feijoa chocolate...as a treat I can justify the expense. It will definitely appear on my shopping list in the future. |
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When this came up for grabs it was only the day before I had purchased another item of Donovans to donate to the day-care raffle, so I was ecstatic to get the chance to try some myself. I purchased the raffled item due to the high quality packaging and for the fact it was NZ made and I love supporting the little guys. When this arrived in the mail I was equally as pleased with the packaging of the feijoa chocolate. High quality printing, awesome logo (with diamonds!! a girls best friend besides chocolate right?!) I really love the black and green colours. The packaging was easy to open and stayed intact when I open the tinfoil of the chocolate. Upon my first taste I really didn't enjoy it. I then put the block in the fridge and tried some a day later but still it wasn't doing anything for me. I then noticed the cream cheese sitting next to the block so a threw them in the whiz together along with some shortbread and wahlah - success, yummy truffles that were not overpowering but had a subtle hit of the unique taste. I loved that the block was thin, this gave it an air of authenticity and that gourmet feel. I think that it is slightly on the expensive side but I am a believer in 'you get what you pay for' and this, although not my favourite flavour is top quality. I can't wait for the occasion to pop up when I need to buy and try another flavour. |
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I have to say, I have never tried feijoa flavoured chocolate before, but now I'm glad I've tried this stuff! The taste was strange at first, but soon I was convinced! Although the flavour was different to the stuff I was used to, it was still appetizing, and soon it became addictive! The balance of the feijoa and chocolate flavours was great, There was still enough feijoa to be detectable, but there wasn't enough to drown out the chocolate flavours either. After trying this, I want to see if other companies have made feijoa chocolates, and if so I am tempted to try them and also see if Donovan's has made any other flavours. In terms of display and packaging, it's great. The boxes are not very big, so we could fit a whole pile of them in the fridge and they still didn't take up much room. The picture of the chocolate combined with the doodle of a feijoa looks rater appealing to any chocolate lover, including myself, and people can tell at a glance what the flavour is. One thing I did find a bit annoying was that rather than coming off as proper pieces, like other chocolates, this stuff came off in shards, so I was hardly able to take off a single piece of this without half the row of pieces breaking off too. The price is great, it is a well-fitting price for a bar of chocolate, not to expensive, yet not too cheap. All in all, awesome stuff, well done Donovan's! |
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Ok, just to get it out of the way, the only thing that I don't really like about this product, and that is the price. The reason behind it though, is very very simple, it is so darn delicious!!!!!! The packaging is gorgeous, I love how it is so simple yet looks great at the same time, easily showcasing what is inside and that it is made in New Zealand, which is always a big big plus. The outer layer is easy to open, and I love that the inside is a plastic bag, so no irritating foil to deal with. This was so hard not to just eat in one entire go, as after my first piece I just wanted to hoover down the entire lot. The hit of feijoa was huge, and tasted amazing, so I was very surprised when reading the information on the back it said that it is 99% milk chocolate and only 1%, yup just 1%, feijoa! Most of this block was split between my husband and I as I tried to think of something to use it in. I will make chocolate chip cookies with it, when I have the spare money to buy some, but I wanted to make something different to my norm. In the end I melted some of the chocolate, stirred in some plain old vodka and poured it over a apple and rhubarb crumble that I had made. YUM!!! While I'm not a big fan of the price, you definitely get bang for your buck and when I have the money to spare next I will be buying another bar as this is one of the few chocolates that I now enjoy. |
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Our family are huge Feijoa fans. We love it in all forms, including crumbles, cakes, drinks, etc. We are also very partial to chocolate. So this flavour of Donovan's Chocolate was an absolute treat for us. I loved the box it comes in. Its easy to open and easy to seal again. Its elegant too, and would look great in a gift basket. I loved the foil style wrapper as well. For me, I hate foil around chocolate because it always rips at awkward angles and is fiddly. None of that with the plastic foil baggy, it was plenty roomy plus it was very easy to re-wrap. I still have some of my block left. I have been savouring it for a good week now. We have loved having this opportunity and I have been doing all sorts of chocolatey experiments. The first thing I tried was chopping the chocolate up to put in a batch of chocolate chip cookies. This was so easy. The bar is thin, and easy to break apart. Chopping it up was easy, there was no flying chocolate debris either. My family loved the cookies. I orginally made them for guests but they hide the remains! They tasted so much like feijoa, my husband asked where I had found the fruit to make them. The next thing I did was melt some into a vanilla custard for dessert one night. Everyone including the baby partook. Baby shook and cried in anticipation for the next mouthful. I couldn't load her spoon fast enough. It was a hit with everyone. The next dessert I made was ice cream. I used GoBake Easy Frost, water and chopped up chocolate. It was so quick and easy to make in the ice cream maker. My eldest daughter is not a big fan of ice cream unless it is straight vanilla. She ate two helpings and asked if she could finish mine! My husband was so pleased he bought me the machine for Christmas. Thanks so much for the opportunity to try this chocolate. Because of the trial, and many comments on facebook about the fudge I also went out and bought some of the fudge too. Yum yum. Donovan's is the best. |
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Short of Caramello - which, if it has been in the fridge long enough gives the gooey centre an almost chewy caramel texture - this would have to be my favourite chocolate... when I can afford it. For a 100g bar, this is not the cheapest chocolate around but when you are accepting of the adage "You get what you pay for" then the quality of this confection reasonably justifies it's price. I held on to my bar as long as I could, taking one "brick" out at a time to ensure it stayed cold, having been warned that it tends to lose it's flavour as it warms, and just after time after the seal is broken, for some strange reason. This is certainly a bar best consumed in one brief but glorious moment.of chocolated delight, and frankly anyone who is capable of "saving some" for later is... well... an alien concept to me. I just couldn't manage that! My bar's total lifespan was... about 2 minutes. So... I had to go out and buy a couple more bars so I could try and do something "interesting" with it, other than see how fast I could make it vanish. Dropping a chopped up brick into a hot chocolate drink - for enhanced flavour - turned out to be a bit of a mixed result - though the chocolate flavour was greatly enhanced, the feijoa didn't really work. So, that one got scratched. However, what did go down like a gold bar was using the choc, smashed into little chunks, in a batch of fruit muffins! The choc added that extra goodie-goodness, and the feijoa was right at home with some peach and berry flavours. A WINNER! Overall, the biggest issue I had with this choc was getting it to stop jumping up off the bench and diving in a lemming-like frenzy into my mouth. It is seriously addictive. I am sincerely hoping that we get to review some other flavours, because though they warrant their price tags, my wallet will rebel and strangle me if I try to buy as many bars as I want to. ^;) |
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I love chocolate and I like feijoas too so was really keen to try this. I have tried Donovan's fudge before and loved it so was keen to try some more of their products too. These bars are a great size, I love how they are so thin so you can have a couple of pieces without it being too sickly. I had a few pieces before I had realised how much I actually had had. My partner and my daughter don't like feijoa so this chocolate wasnt for them, and I only like feijoa's in small doses. We have about 20metres of hedges which are all feijoa trees so being the only one who eats them it gets a bit much in feijoa season. Luckily feijoas arent in season yet so I did actually enjoy the feijoa taste. The packaging is really cool, I like the cardboard sleeve as you can seal it back up in the cupboard, and the foil wrapper is good for keeping it fresh. They are also a good price for a large bar of chocolate. I have a feijoa mad friend, so I made her some choc chip cookies using pieces of the chocolate that I chopped up into small chips. The fact that the chocolate is in thin pieces meant it was real easy to make chocolate chips out of. The cookies tasted great and my friend loved them and wants to buy herself a bar of the chocolate to try. |
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Well first up I loved the packaging on this. A nice cardboard outer with clear labeling. Inside was the chocolate wrapped in a foil type wrapper but not the crinkly kind (which means no one can hear when you sneak some!) The chocolate is very slim as the bars are only 100gm but the size of the squares is good and they were really easy to separate for slow eating. The ingredient list on this meets with my approval with 35% Cocoa solids and 30% milk solids. Although it contains soy lecithin as a "number" everything else is natural and "real" ingredients. Yay! We shared this bar over a few days and all of us liked it on our initial first piece. By the second piece however Miss Two (who I confess is a sugar addict) spat it out and refused to taste anymore. Miss Six didn't want anymore and Miss Four had a piece the following day out of the fridge but still didn't like it. Hubby and I also found our liking for this diminishing with each piece. It definitely tastes better when kept in the fridge and I would definitely recommend if you have this that you do keep it in the fridge. I am not sure what I didn't love about this chocolate as I really like Feijoa's (the flavour comes from 1% Feijoa pieces) but it did have a funny artificial type aftertaste. Maybe though it was just that that is what dried feijoa ends up tasting like? So in summary I guess I didn't "love" it but I didn't dislike it. I wouldn't go out of my way to buy this flavor but if it was in my fridge I would eat it! I will definitely, having seen the ingredients list on this, now look out for other Donovan's products though as I am sure there will be flavours there that I will become addicted too...! |
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ka1yah My absolute fav chocolate! Especially love when you can buy the huge bags of this from the Donovan's shop in Hamilton for cheap :) |
| Printed at 08:26:03am on Friday 19th April 2024 |
