Cadbury Bournville Chocolate Bars Review: Rich In Dark Chocolate

Meals often feel incomplete without it, this undeniably makes your day better, from adding decadence to a bowl of oatmeal to a smile each time you open the refrigerator. Can you guess what are we talking about? Chocolate bars are one of the simplest pleasures of life and everyone has a favorite that they cannot get enough of.

Cadbury is an extremely popular chocolate brand that offers eclectic flavors like their Madbury range and some luxe chocolates from their Temptations range. Adding to this list, here is our Cadbury Bournville chocolate bars review. Raisin and Nut and 70% dark are the variants covered in this review.

All you need to know about Cadbury Bournville chocolate bars is discussed here. 

1. Available Variants

Initially, there were three variants in the range- 50% dark, cranberry, and raisin and nuts. A new variant 70% dark has been added recently. 

2. Available Quantities

Cadbury Bournville is offered in 80-gram bars.

3. Price Range

An 80-gram bar is priced at Rs 90/-.

4. Shelf Life

These have a shelf life of nine months from the date of manufacture.

What do we look for when reviewing a bar of chocolate? Here is an insight to our process. 

Is packaging the only ‘premium’ aspect of these chocolate bars? Let’s decode. 

1. Main Ingredients

This range essentially comprises dark chocolate. This means they would have 10-50%  milk solids, milk-based products and sugar with 50-90% cocoa-based ingredients. Does the ingredient list specify the proportions? 

Raisin & Nut – Sugar, Cocoa Solids, Cocoa Butter, Raisins (8%*), Cashew Nuts (4%*), Apricot Kernels (4%*), Milk Solids, Emulsifiers (442, 476), Lactose. 

70% Dark – Cocoa Solids (45%), Cocoa Butter (25%), Sugar, Milk Solids, Lactose, Emulsifiers (442, 476). 

2. Taste

Dark chocolates lend a bitterness that is laced with subtle sweetness. Does the taste of the variant labeled 70% dark justify the tag? 

What about raisins and nuts, do they taste fresh?

3. Aroma

Is the aroma rich and inviting? Or did we notice something odd?

4. Texture

The texture and mouthfeel of chocolate can either be explained as smooth or grainy. Unless there is an addition of nuts, the texture we look for is a smooth, silky bar.

In the 70% dark variant we were looking for a smooth mouthfeel whereas from raisin & nuts, we expected a chewy, slightly crunchy texture. 

5. Nutritional Information

Following is the macronutrient breakdown per 100 grams of the chocolate bars- 

Raisin & Nut- 544 Kcal which is divided as 55.9 grams of carbohydrates (of which 44 grams is sugar), 5.7 grams of protein, and 33.1 grams of fat. 

70% Dark- 623 Kcal which is divided as 38.7 grams of carbohydrates (24.2 grams sugar), 7.2 grams of protein, and 48.6 grams of fat. 

Related Reading- Cadbury 5 Star Oreo

These chocolate bars have a better-than-average, almost premium packaging. In a plush-looking black carton with golden borders, a deep brown-colored wrapper holds the bar.

Each 80-gram bar of Cadbury Bournville holds eight squares. Calories per serve and how the cocoa is sourced is mentioned at the front. 

1. Raisin and Nut

The squares have a shiny smooth surface on which ‘Cadbury Bournville’ is embossed. 

The bar emits a rich chocolatey aroma. Highlighting on the fact that Cadbury Bournville is a dark chocolate bar, the sweetness left us a bit confused. This tastes quite sweet which is usually not the case in a dark chocolate bar. Raisins, cashews, and apricot kernels are added to the bar. Though the raisins taste fresh and have a chewy, meaty bite, they are added sparingly. The quantity of nuts is even lower. Nut bits were found in only 45-50% of the squares. Moreover, we tasted bits of roasted almonds, but that was not mentioned in the ingredient list. 

Another aspect we think needed some detailing was the percentage of cocoa solids and butter. The brand uses 100% sustainably sourced cocoa, which we appreciate. 

What is 100% sustainably sourced cocoa?

On their website, the brand explains how sustainable cocoa doesn’t just support farmers, but also gives back to the environment in a way. 

Be it financial barriers or social, Cadbury made an attempt to understand the challenges faced by farmers in 2012. Under its Cocoa Life initiative, Cadbury has trained over 150,000 farmers, planted almost 20 million trees, enhancing the quality of life of farmers, among other positive changes. 

Sustainably sourced cocoa is verified to be grown and harvested through sustainable practices like paying a premium to farmers, safe labor practices, educational provisions, etc. 

Features

• An 80-gram bar is priced at Rs 90.
• It has a shelf life of nine months.
• Main Ingredients- Sugar, Cocoa Solids, Cocoa Butter, Raisins (8%), Cashews (4%), Apricot Kernels (4%), Milk Solids, Emulsifiers (442, 476), Lactose. 

Likes

• The packaging and overall look of this bar feels premium.
• In addition to cashews, we could also taste some almonds.
• The raisins taste fresh and have a chewy bite. 

Dislikes

• The nuts and raisins are added sparingly.
• This is quite sweet for a ‘dark’ chocolate bar. 

Best Suited For

If you prefer your chocolate bars with chewy and crunchy bits, this is something you could try. 

That said, these do not have the dark chocolate bitterness. 

2. 70% Dark

Price, packaging, net quantity, and the overall look are almost identical. 

In terms of taste, this variant is definitely more bitter than Raisin & Nuts. That said, when compared to a premium bar of 70% dark chocolate, Cadbury’s variant was relatively sweeter. The richness cocoa is known for was marginally lower here. As the name suggests, this has a 70% cocoa content 45% of which is cocoa solids and 25% is cocoa butter. 

What are cocoa solids and cocoa butter and how are they different?

Cocoa solids are essentially the non-fat part of the cocoa bean. When cocoa beans are put through a hydraulic press, cocoa solids and cocoa fat are separated. 

While cocoa solids lend the characteristic flavor and color to the chocolate bar, cocoa butter adds the smoothness and rich mouthfeel. 

The antioxidants chocolate is associated with is present in the former. When a chocolate bar lists its cocoa content, it is a sum total of cocoa solids plus cocoa butter. If you’re looking for chocolate to bake with, you’d be better off opting for one with a higher cocoa butter content. 

Features

• Price, net weight, and shelf life are the same as above.
• Main Ingredients- Cocoa Solids (45%), Cocoa Butter (25%), Sugar, Milk Solids, Lactose, Emulsifiers (442, 476)

Likes

• The smooth-looking chocolate squares have an inviting aroma and are visually pleasing.
• The bitter-sweet taste would be relished by a large audience.
• Melt-in-the-mouth smoothness is the texture these squares have. 

Dislikes

• When compared to premium counterparts, this chocolate bar isn’t as rich in cocoa. .

Cadbury Bournville chocolates were a decent pick. If you prefer nibbling on a nutty/chewy piece of chocolate, we recommend Raisin & Nuts. 

But if a bitter-sweet, smooth bar is what gets you drooling, go for the 70% dark variant. 

Cadbury Bournville chocolates are something we do not recommend if you’re looking for an intense dark chocolate. These chocolate bars are slightly more sweet than you’d expect. The sparsely added nuts and raisins were a let down too. 

Here are some interesting FAQs on Cadbury Bournville chocolate bars 

1. Does dark chocolate taste very bitter?

This primarily depends on the percentage of cocoa content. Higher the cocoa content, darker the chocolate. The 70% dark variant has a subtle sweetness that we liked. 

2. Are these chocolate bars gluten free? 

The ingredient list and allergen information does not list any gluten products. 

3. Do these chocolate bars contain any additional flavour enhancers?

Yes, these chocolate bars have added natural and nature identical flavoring substances. 

4. Which is the best chocolate bar between these two?

We liked 70% dark more than raisin and nuts. 

5. Do these chocolate bars require refrigeration after unpacking?

The chocolate bars must be stored in a cool and dark place.

* Food & Beverage is a constantly evolving segment with new products launched daily. Our endeavor here is to help shoppers buy better. If there’s a product you would like us to review tell us by clicking here.

* Our reviews are unbiased and all samples used during the reviews were paid for by us. Read our entire ethics statement here.