5 December 2011

Tesco Finest - Mince Pie Flavour Crisps (Tesco @UKTesco) [By @Cinabar]



I first saw these mentioned in the papers/twitter, and knew I had to track them down! Despite trying my local branch, and several smaller Tescos located near me I had no joy. I managed to talk Spectre into the long drive to the next town where there is a branch of Tesco Extra and lo and behold there they were! This was the last bag on the shelf mind, and I hurriedly claimed it! That trip to Tesco resulted in quite a few other goodies going into the trolley too! For example, you’ll be pleased to hear I also managed to find some interesting flavoured beer to torture Spectre with at a later date! ;-)
In retrospect I made a mistake when I opened the bag, because we had them as an accompaniment to sandwiches, and from the first one I tasted I realised that this wasn’t what they were meant for. The crisps aren’t really savoury, and as such would be best on their own in a big bowl with a Christmas movie on in the background. The bag smells distinctly aromatic and immediately fills your nostrils with a seasonal scent. They are a nice thick potato cut, and surprisingly sweet and flavoursome. The first crisp took me a minute to acclimatize my taste buds which are more used to savoury, but after that these were winning it all the way. I could pick up on raisin, Christmas spices such as cloves and cinnamon, and quite a strong apple taste mixed in too. The apple was a little unexpected, but did add the necessary sweetness to the overall flavour. The aftertaste was buttery, which I think was to help give the pastry effect which was a nice touch. We left the crisps until after we finished our sandwiches and had them as a sort of dessert crisp, and they worked much better that way too.
These crisps are totally different to anything else on the market, but they do exactly what they say on the bag and recreate that mince pie flavour in the form of crisps. It is different, and the first one you taste may seem a little odd, but once you get used to the concept they really grown on you. It’s just such a clever idea, and Tesco must be praised for the excellent flavour and creativity. We made a special trip to the next town for these, and I can honestly say it was worth it. I really hoped they get stocked in a few more branches and not just the Extra stores, because I want a second bag!
Have you tried them? What did you think?
By Cinabar

4 comments:

Lizzi said...

Words cannot express how much I want 500 of these in my mouth immediately!!!

cinabar said...

I have to give Tesco a big thumbs up for these - lovely stuff ;-)

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know if it's possible to buy the tesco's christmas 2011 finest crisps now?

cinabar said...

I had a bag that was in date till March 12 - so its not impossible that there would be some lurking perhaps even on discount. Hope you find some - good luck! :-)