McVitie’s Harry Potter Cookies Butterbeer Flavour (Ocado) By @Cinabar

With the Harry Potter series back in the spotlight after recent casting news, it feels like the brand is everywhere again. One of the most iconic treats from the books and films is Butterbeer, so it was only a matter of time before it turned up in biscuit form.

These McVitie’s cookies caught my eye online as they sounded a bit different. Butterbeer flavour is not something you see every day, so curiosity got the better of me. On closer inspection though, they are essentially butterscotch flavoured cookies with white chocolate chips, which does make a bit more sense.

Once opened, the first thing I noticed was the size. They felt a little smaller than expected, but that might just be my preference for a chunkier biscuit.

Flavour wise, they are pleasant enough. There are hints of vanilla and caramel coming through, giving that sweet, slightly creamy profile you would associate with butterscotch. That said, the flavour does not quite hit the richer, deeper notes I was hoping for. The white chocolate chips do a lot of the heavy lifting, adding both sweetness and a nice bit of texture.

I do have a sweet tooth, so these worked well for me, but I cannot help feeling they played it a bit safe. With a name like Butterbeer and the Harry Potter branding, I was expecting something a bit more distinctive or indulgent.

Still, a nice enough biscuit, just not quite as magical as the packaging suggests.

Pick N Marks Milk Chocolate Malt Balls (Marks and Spencer) By @Cinabar

When you think of milk chocolate malt balls, let’s be honest, Maltesers are the first thing that come to mind. I struggle to think of another major brand doing quite the same thing. This Marks and Spencer version feels a little more upmarket, which is exactly what you would expect.

These Milk Chocolate Malt Balls come in a dark pink bag and are part of the classic chocolate treats range called Pick N Marks, which is clearly a playful take on Pick n Mix.

As soon as I opened the bag, the first thing I noticed was the size. These are properly big, a real treat rather than something you just mindlessly snack on. I took a bite and immediately loved them. The larger size makes them feel really satisfying and nicely chunky. The chocolate is Belgian, and you can tell. It is creamy, smooth and generous, coating a crisp, crunchy malt centre. The malt itself has a slight salty note, which works beautifully with the sweetness of the chocolate and gives them a bit of an edge.

I genuinely loved these and can see them becoming a regular treat. They take that classic malt and chocolate combination and push it up a level.

Purple Potatoes! Lay's Taro Chips - Lime Flavour [@NLi10]

2026 is the year of the root vegetable - with purple Ube drinks being the hotness - and purple Taro crisps close behind.

Legends in Birmingham has loads of Chinese products and is my main source of Pocari Sweat - but I spotted these from the international brand Lays

And they are pretty alien looking.  My Grandmother (98) was very freaked out by it and pulled some amazing faces.  She did try a second one too though.

Ingredients a bit faded, but it's basically just Taro, Palm Oil (boo) and lime flavour

And look at the close up.  I've no idea why it's both brown and purple, I'm sure someone can explain.

The lime flavour is not a British one.  It's both sweet and sour, and not in expected ways.  It's kind of like eating a boiled sweet crisp - and it's great.

I'm not sure you'd sit and eat a bag - but to share it's a great conversation starter and to see some funny faces.

And I have a pepper flavour one to try later!

 

Tango Zero’d Thirst Trap (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I haven’t written about pop or soft drinks for a while. I say ‘pop’, because that’s what we generally call soft drinks in these parts.

I noticed Cinabar had bought this eight pack of Tango Zero’d Thirst Trap, which is sugar free. ‘Sugar free’ helps keep my calorie count down so I can eat more chocolate. I have a few Easter Eggs I need to polish off.

This new Tango Zero’d Thirst Trap is an apple and peach drink, with orange pineapple flavouring. On opening the can there was a predominantly peach aroma from the pink fizzy liquid inside.

On drinking this pop is strong in sweet peach and pineapple, with a light sourness from the apple and a little orange at the back of the flavour.

This is a very thirst quenching pop drink to rival other fizzy tropical drinks on the market. It certainly has a different flavour to the others. It tastes almost like it could be a child’s chewy sweet. I reckon It’s great as a drink all the same.

Reese’s Dipped Pretzels (Morrisons Daily) By @Cinabar

Friday snack duty kicked off early today. The plan is a film later and probably some games, so I was on the lookout for something easy and snackable. I only made it as far as Morrisons Daily, but that was enough to spot something new: Reese’s Dipped Pretzels.

This is a sharing bag, though I’m not convinced it will survive long enough to be properly shared. Inside are small pretzels coated in a peanut butter layer and finished with milk chocolate stripes. They actually look really neat, almost too good for a random corner shop find. First impressions after trying one: very good crunch. The pretzel has that proper snap to it, which works really well against the softer coating. Flavour-wise, it is heavily peanut butter led, as you would expect, but the saltiness of the pretzel comes through nicely and stops it being too sweet. The chocolate adds an extra bit of balance rather than taking over.

The main issue here is how easy they are to keep eating. I only meant to try one and somehow the bag is already open properly. They are definitely moreish, which is a polite way of saying they are disappearing faster than planned.

Safe to say, if these are meant for sharing, someone is going to have to be quick.