Ritter Sport Coffee and Hazelnuts (Kaffee + Nuss)

The Ritter Sport Coffee and Hazelnuts bar is a new addition to Ritter Sport's Winter Edition range, replacing the Caramel Orange flavor from last year. Returning for 2014 are Ritter Sport Coconut Macaroon and Caramelised Almonds. 

Place purchased: Free from the Sweets & Snacks Expo

Number of reviewers: 5

Appearance - 7.2

The Ritter Sport Coffee and Hazelnuts bar has a milk chocolate shell with a coffee flavored filling studded with hazelnut pieces. Also, the bars sold in stores obviously will not have a sticker over a generic white wrapper, as pictured. I received this bar in May, before the bar went into full production. 

C: Love the wrapper - especially the snowman! 
E: Ritter classic. 
S: Cute snowman made out of sugar cubes on package. 

Flavor and Taste - 7.9

Mild, milk chocolate is the first noticeable flavor in the Ritter Sport bar. Then the coffee flavor hits along with a stronger chocolate flavor. The flavor of the hazelnuts comes in toward the end and balances well with the coffee and chocolate flavors. 

C: The hazelnut really comes through and the coffee is a little light but comes through and works for this flavor. 
E: Flavor builds slowly. First coffee, then chocolate, then hazelnut. Could use more chocolate flavor (i.e. wish it were dark instead of milk). 
E2: Want more hazelnut! Roasted coffee note is unexpectedly delightful. 
S: Hazelnut, chocolate with slight espresso bean. 

Texture - 8.0

Both the chocolate shell and coffee filling are rich and smooth. The hazelnut pieces bring a textural contrast with their slight crunch. 

C: Creamy chocolate. 
E: Very rich and creamy with crunchy nuts. 
E2: Kind of ganache like, creamy. 
S: Creamy with nut pieces. Melts in your mouth! 

Aftertaste - 6.8

The aftertaste is mostly coffee flavor.

C: Coffee, creamy chocolate, and hazelnut. 
E: Fatty, sweet, nutty. 
E2: Small amount of sour dairy, mostly espresso/roasted coffee.

Overall - 7.8

Overall, the Ritter Sport Coffee and Hazelnuts bar is excellent. The combination of coffee, hazelnuts, and chocolate work very well together. I hope this bar becomes a mainstay in the Ritter Sport Winter Edition range. 

E: Really good, but could have been great with darker chocolate. 
E2: Has potential to be really awesome, just want more hazelnut. 
S: Delicious! 

Ritter Sport Coffee-Vanilla Creme

Ritter Sport Coffee-Vanilla Creme is one of the three limited edition bars for Summer 2014, the other two being Raspberry & Cranberry Yogurt and Strawberry & Vanilla-Wafer. This product is called Ritter Sport Eiscafé in Germany. While I received this bar during the Sweets & Snacks Expo, it will most likely be available at World Market and some other specialty grocery stores. 

Place purchased: Free sample from the Sweets & Snacks Expo

Number of reviewers: 5

Appearance - 7.4

The Ritter Sport Coffee-Vanilla Creme bar has the traditional Ritter Sport format: a 100 g square with 16 segments. The bar consists of a milk chocolate shell with a light filling with tiny coffee bean flecks. 

Flavor and Taste - 8.6

The flavor is a combination of mocha and creamy vanilla. It tastes very similar to a sweet mocha coffee drink. The intensity of the coffee flavor works perfectly with the milk chocolate. 

C: Has a nice creamy flavor, and has the flavor of latte. Can taste it, but not overpowering. 

E: Dreamy mocha flavor. If only it were dark chocolate...

E2: Nice balance between the exterior chocolate and interior filling. Maybe a little more coffee.

S: Tastes good! Slight coffee. Balanced very well.

Texture - 8.5

The filling is very smooth, while the milk chocolate exterior has a harder texture while still having soft bite. 

C: Nice and creamy, both the chocolate and inside filling. 

E: Nice firm chocolate exterior and creamy center. 

E2: Creamy and smooth.

S: Creamy, almost like a pudding. 

Aftertaste - 8.1

The aftertaste is mainly that of milk chocolate, though there is a hint of coffee flavor that comes through. 

E: Lingering sweet coffee flavor - yum! No sour or off-notes. 

E2: Delicious, lingers in mouth. 

S: Chocolate. Don't really get a coffee aftertaste. 

Overall - 8.5

Overall, the Ritter Sport Coffee-Vanilla Creme bar is probably the best Ritter Sport bar I have ever eaten (and I have tried nearly all of them that existed within the past few years), and now one of my all-time favorite chocolate bars. 

Ritter Sport Winter Edition 2013

There are three Ritter Sport Winter Edition bars: Caramel Orange, Coconut Macaroon, and Caramelised Almonds. I did not review the Caramelised Almonds bar because I tried that one last year, and I almost never buy the same candy twice.  

Ritter Sport Caramel Orange

Place purchased: Cost Plus World Market

Number of reviewers: 4

Appearance - 7.3

J: The inside should be more orange. 

Flavor and Taste - 6.5

The flavor starts out tasting like caramel flavored cream. Then it tastes like orange. It's not bad, but the flavor combination is very strange and does not work well together. 

C: Orange is the first thing I taste, but it's not too overpowering. 

J: Caramel and orange is a weird combo.

S: I didn't really taste the caramel, but the orange was subtle but apparent. 

Texture - 7.5

The filling is very soft, and the chocolate provides some bite. I wish Ritter Sport would have used caramel as the filling instead of caramel flavored cream. 

C: Creamy, mouth coating. 

J: Creamy, smooth.

S: Rich and creamy. Similar to the texture of caramel. 

Aftertaste - 6.5

Orange is predominant in the aftertaste. Once the the orange flavor subsides, there is a weak caramel flavor.

C: Lingering, coats entire mouth. 

J: Orange aftertaste is good.

Overall - 6.9

This chocolate bar is not bad, but the pairing of orange and caramel is too odd for me to eat more of it. 

Ritter Sport Coconut Macaroon

Place purchased: Cost Plus World Market

Number of reviewers: 4

Appearance - 7.6

J: Cute packaging and nice colors. 

Flavor and Taste - 8.1

The filling tastes like toasted coconut and vanilla, which works well with the milk chocolate. The chocolate and filling are both very sweet. 

C: Toasted coconut comes in at the end. Mostly creamy/chocolate on the front end. 
J: Chocolate tastes great! 
S: Like toasted coconut. 

Texture - 8.3

The cream filling contains coconut flakes and crispy rice pieces, which impart a soft crunch. 

C: Crunchy, but not too much. Creamy.  
J: Very creamy. 
S: Creamy with delicate, crunchy pieces. 

Aftertaste - 8.0

The aftertaste is mainly coconut. 

C: Pleasant, mostly toasted coconut flavor.  
J: Great taste that lasts and changes more to coconut. 
S: Maintains flavor, but does not last too long.

Overall - 8.3

This kind of chocolate bar exemplifies why I love Ritter Sport. The filling is smooth and crunchy, and the flavor of the coconut filling combined with the milk chocolate is outstanding.