St Michael Coconut Grove (M&S) By @Cinabar

A week or so ago, I wrote about Sparks, one of the other M&S re-releases of old bars from the 1980s, in near-identical packaging to when they originally came out. Here we have Coconut Grove, and this one too looks wonderfully retro.

I did a little bit of searching on the internet to try and find what the original packaging looked like for this one, but I couldn’t find a photo, which is weird. There are loads of photos of retro Cadbury and Mars chocolates dating back multiple decades, so for this one we will have to take their word for it that the packaging is similar to the original.

Talking of similarities, this bar consists of a milk chocolate coating around a soft coconut filling. It is similar in concept to another well-known high street bar, and if you were to list the similarities, I’m sure they would be quite bountiful!

Anyway, the milk chocolate is lovely and thick and has a good bite, while the coconut filling is full of flavour. It is firm but not too much, with a sweet and creamy coconut taste. I really enjoyed it.

It has a lovely tropical taste, and I always feel coconut is a bit underused in British confectionery, so it is nice to have more choices on the shelves.

Oreo BTS Brown Sugar Pancake Flavour (Tesco) By @Cinabar

Oreo have joined up with BTS, the Korean boy band, to introduce these Oreo BTS Brown Sugar Pancake Flavour biscuits. The flavour is based on a popular traditional Korean sweet street food and sounded fab. The biscuits are also bright purple in colour, which is the official colour of the BTS fan community.

I opened the pack and they are seriously purple. They are very bright! The biscuits all feature BTS logos and designs, and I have to say this feels like a proper collaboration rather than just a new-flavoured Oreo. The aroma is lovely and sweet, with plenty of vanilla. Inside, there are two cremes: brown sugar and vanilla pancake.

I gave one a try and these hit my sweet tooth at full blast. The flavour is pure sugary goodness, with lots of vanilla and caramel. There are also little sugar crystals mixed in, just to make absolutely sure maximum sweetness has been achieved.

I have a sweet tooth, so I loved these, and they were perfect with the contrast of a coffee. I’m not entirely sure about the purple colour. I do love the colour itself, but food-wise it implies a berry flavour. Then again, if they had gone with pancake brown, we’d basically be back to the ‘Golden Oreos’, and that wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun.

I can see these selling out fast, but in the sleepy end of town where I live, there was a full card display case of them. So, if you want to give them a try and can’t find them locally, it’s worth looking a little further afield.

Pokémon Krispy Kreme Doughnuts - Sainsbury's UK [@NLi10]

 Attention fellow trainers - Krispy Kreme's Pokemon range has now landed in the UK!  There are 6 flavours to choose from in America, but two of the colours are banned on the rest of the planet so we have one Starter, and two wild Pokemons and a regular ball.

And this is what they look like.

My store only had one of the boxes in stock - and I only got that because we happen to go to the store at the same time as the Krispy Kreme van every week to pick up Nanna's shopping.  I was tempted to take a picture of the guys stocking up - but I'm already struggling to beat the Team Rocket allegations by depriving kids of the lovely box...

Realistically though - the doughnuts themselves are available freely - for some reason the boxes are reselling on eBay already so it looks like people are swiping them. Madness. Mine is covered in grease and goo because we are humans so I think we shall keep it.

First up - Pikachu!  The most recognisable of all the Pokemans and only a starter in a few games after kids decided he was the best.

Lemon Sherbet Kreme is a good choice, sizzling electric flavours and lemony goodness to balance out the sheer sugar. 

Overall this is a hit.  They could keep this in the range and it'd sell. Not perfect, but pretty darn good.  Maybe a bit too gooey to cut open and share - just like a real Pikachu!

Next up - Jigglypuff! A pain of a wild Pokemon due to it's tendency to sing and put your team to sleep, but once caught great with Rollout & Pound

This is the Pink offering - and while it's just a basic glazed ring I thought that the pink bits were fun and I enjoyed them.  My partner detected an artificalness to them which she didn't like, but I was fine with it.

Solid but very much a special edition not a keeper.

The Pokeball is the same doughnut but with a white glaze and red sprinkles.

Oddly that little line of chocolate is the star, it just adds an extra dimension to it which would make me happy to have these as a change.

Next up we have my original 1998 starter - Charmander!  I had Pokemon Blue but chose this lad because I assumed you'd get them all eventually.  Oh how naive I was!

Inside it's the most interesting of all the flavours, both dolce de late and caramel, with the outside being a flavour of caramel and sparkle sugar - goodness!

A braver company would have put cinnamon on top and had this in first place, but as it stands it's a sophisticated little doughnut that doesn't earn it's fire-type and comes in 2nd to the Pikachu.

Over all - for £9 (with an odd 4p discount with the nectar card) it's not a bad offering - especially with the cute box that once cleaned and lined could hold pokemon cards or be sent to be graded.  A good treat and hopefully one that doesn't create too many family arguments over who gets the best one.

Love Lane Pale Ale (Morrisons) By @SpectreUK

I have fish and chips tonight. Not takeaway fish and chips from the local Chippy, but it’s Friday, so I’ll settle for the oven kind. I fancy a nice Pale Ale with my dinner. Something citrusy with a little sweetness.

I found this Love Lane Pale Ale in my cavernous beer fridge. At 4.3% in volume, it’s mix of Citra and Falconer’s Flight hops should give it a citrus, fruity and floral taste, with biscuit flavours and further fruitiness from the Golden Promise, Caramalt, Amber Malt, and Malted Wheat.

On opening the can there was a citrus herbal hop aroma, followed by sweet malts. On tasting this Pale Ale there was a crisp herbal and floral flavour, followed by a citrus bitterness, and then sweet caramel biscuit malts into the aftertaste. Very nice indeed with my oven fish and chips. Cheers.

MOMA Oat - Raspberry and Blonde Chocolate Drink (Ocado) By @Cinabar

I bought the MOMA Oat Raspberry and Blonde Chocolate Drink because I liked the sound of the flavour, rather than because I needed an oat-based alternative to regular milk. Basically, I'm all for a new milkshake flavour, and I don't mind what dairy or alternative milk it uses, as long as it sounds interesting. This is a summer limited edition.

I chilled the drink before pouring some into a glass. It isn't the pretty pink colour shown on the carton, but more of a beige colour, which made me check the use-by date (it was fine). The drink smelled okay too, but when the colour and smell don't quite match what you're expecting, you do start to worry.

I gave the drink a sip and found the flavour was good. It isn't too sweet, but there is a nice combination of berry and caramel, and mixed with the oat flavour, it tasted a bit like pink wafer biscuits, which is really nice.

I found it very easy to drink, and most of my tasting sips seemed to almost finish the glass, so I almost immediately needed a top-up, which is always a good sign. Definitely one I would buy again.