Ritter Sport – Marhaba Yogurt Honey Hazelnut
As someone who gets bored easily, companies that can crank out limited run seasonal flavours or new ones constantly are ones I end up paying a lot more attention to. Maybe bored is not the right word, but wanting to try new things is probably a better way to spin it. I guess that’s why I like Japanese brands more, as they go real crazy with the limited editions and seasonal flavours. So much so I can’t keep up.
Ritter Sport is a brand that does this really well, and they’re not afraid to try out new, interesting flavour combos on a near constant basis. The flavour today is another one of their seasonal limited flavours, and as such there’s a good chance they may not release it again unless it sells. As a sucker for anything new or limited edition, I had to pull the trigger. That and some primitive part of my brain reads limited edition and I panic and think “Oh no! I have to get it before it runs out!” only to pay a premium and find out it gets re-released the next year because a truckload of other people had the same primitive response as me. Not that I mind, since the ones that come back usually are pretty tasty.
Going off smell, you wouldn’t know there’s anything different about this. I guess the milk chocolate exterior belies all the craziness that must be going on in there. Much like me, this bar puts on a brave face to shield the outside world from the crazy, colourful thoughts that go on. Only those adventurous or daring enough to look past the chocolate wall will be rewarded with the filling.
There’s a lot going on here – you’ve got the yogurt filling, with pieces of chopped hazelnut, as well as piece of honey crisp. Yogurt flavours tend to be my favourite when it comes to what Ritter Sport has to offer, so it’s no surprise I like the tangy, somewhat sour dairy taste that the yogurt filling brings to the bar. The hazelnuts are more for texture, but the honey crisp pieces add a nice distinct sweetness to it that reminds me of a nice, refreshing bowl of Greek yogurt with honey. It’s fairly simple, straightforward, and tasty. Hard to go wrong with a winning combo like this.
Similar to their other bars with yogurt based filling, the texture is fairly soft. It isn’t so soft you get a globby mess when you pick it up with warm hands, but it’s soft enough that I usually let it sit in my mouth for a bit and let the flavours melt together. This bar has a bit more going on though, with the hazelnuts and honey crisps. Hazelnuts add a nice somewhat soft crunch to the experience, and the honey crisps pieces are similar to what you would find in honeycomb candy. They’re little bits of crisp honey candy that kind of stick together the more you chew. They have a tendency to stick together, but don’t end up clutching on to your teeth like a burr on pants like jujubes do. But your mileage may vary. It never hurts to have a toothpick handy.
Am I sad that these are limited edition? Absolutely. Do I think they will make a comeback? I can only hope. As Ritter Sport becomes more and more popular in my neck of the Tundra, I find that getting these is becoming easier and easier. A part of me is sad since part of the fun was hunting them down, but it’s more than offset by the fact that I can find these readily available in the North. If you happen upon these the next time you’re in a grocery store, grab them. Maybe get two in case you end up liking them.
