Merci's Limited Edition Fruit Set Didn't Quite Hit the Spot for Me

I received the Merci Limited Edition assorted chocolates with fruit-yogurt fillings as a gift on International Women's Day. Before the holiday, I spotted them on sale at Perekrestok for 249 rubles - that was the best price I could find in nearby supermarkets.

I loved the packaging design right off the bat - it's soft and spring-inspired. The top of the box has a protective film.

Best before 10 months

Net weight: 250 grams

Each flavor has its own ingredient list, which is super convenient. However, the chocolate and filling ingredients aren't listed separately. I noticed that all the flavors contain plant-based fats and artificial flavorings. Almost every one has concentrated juice or puree, except for the lemon. You'll find dry yogurt and cream in each one.

I couldn't find any information on the cocoa content percentage. As far as I understand, the chocolate in all the flavors is milk chocolate.

I've always liked Merci assorted chocolates, including their presentation (packaging and portioned bars). That's why I was a bit disappointed with this particular set.

As usual, there are 20 mini bars, with an equal number of each flavor.

The flavor name is written on each individual wrapper and also distinguished by a colored stripe. There are four flavors in total:

Strawberry cream, Yogurt with a lemon taste, Peach and passion fruit, Cherry cream.

I tried the Peach and passion fruit flavor first.

I'm not sure why peach is paired with passion fruit. In this flavor, I mostly sense the dry yogurt's acidity rather than the peach. The taste didn't quite impress me.

The filling is super soft and creamy. When you eat it, it melts into the taste of milk chocolate. There's a bit of a sticky aftertaste.

The second flavor I liked even more - Strawberry Cream. It's one of the most vibrant, in my opinion.

Here, you can clearly taste the tartness from the dry yogurt powder, but the strawberry flavor takes center stage. Just like the others, it's sweet in the aftertaste, and I want to drink it.

The filling is creamy, and it doesn't contain any artificial colors (it has a natural pinkish hue).

The third flavor is Raspberry Cream. It's okay, but I've tried similar combinations before.

The raspberry flavor is soft and delicate, blending in with the yogurt. There's no tartness or freshness from the berries in any of the flavors. Plus, there aren't any actual berries or berry chunks.

The filling is also creamy, soft, and smooth (without any lumps).

Lemon Yogurt was the last one I tried, and I was hoping it would balance out the sweetness of the other flavors in the Assortment.

In the end, the lemon flavor is there, but it doesn't make the sweetness any less. The citrusy tartness combines with the dry yogurt's tartness, and the aftertaste is just confusing (sour-sweet). Plus, there's no actual lemon juice concentrate - just lemon acid and flavorings.

The ingredients don't list any artificial colors, and the filling's color is more milk-white than anything else.

To be honest, I wasn't blown away by this Assorted pack - no particular flavors really stood out to me. In fact, I think I'd still rather go for the classic Finest Selection pack with eight different flavors any day. That being said, I didn't hate the fruit yogurt Assorted pack either - it's definitely a love-it-or-hate-it kind of thing.

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Here are my thoughts on some of Merci's other chocolate bars:

Merci Assorted Milk Chocolates

Merci Finest Selection

Merci Assorted with Almonds