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.

£20 Waitrose Easter Egg - The Cracking Pistachio [@NLi10]

 I saw this online way before Easter and thought - well we are having that one!  And we happened to be in Waitrose that same week and picked it up.  Then I saw it in the Motorway services Waitrose for £20 - I think we paid £15 which is frankly still a lot.  But people do like the reviews - so we went ahead with it - but unfortunately we decided to eat all the cheap eggs first so have only just cracked this open.

So - what is it?

Stealthy white chocolate outer, but with caramel in it - and the inner claims to just be pistachio chocolate.

It comes in a safety sphere, and looks like something from the film Alien

The chocolate is thick - and it costs as much as two eggs because it really is just two eggs.

The outer layer is like a light Caramac.  Not too sickly like standard white chocolate, and very sophisticated.

The inner is the main event - bright green and full of nuts.  This isn’t hopping on the Dubai trend so much as showing why most of those bars are a bit naff.  This is the quality stuff.

I’ve not looked online to see if these ended up in the sales like we’d usually risk for the Christmas range (they always over order locally - what a shame) but even if they are only reduced to £10 this feels like a steal.  Perfect for parents and partners alike - especially as both are likely to be generous and give you a bite.

The Curators Pork Puffs Chilli Lime (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I miss pork scratchings. I broke a tooth on one some time ago, and very rarely dare to have a packet of pork scratchings just in case I break another. I do love pork puffs as an alternative.

I have tried most of the Curators’ pork puff flavours. My favourite flavour so far has been the Salt & Vinegar. I haven’t tried this new The Curators Pork Puffs Chilli Lime, with Tajin chilli lime.

I decided to try these The Curators Pork Puffs Chilli Lime with a pork and apple sauce sandwich for my lunch. On opening the packet there was a salty pork puff aroma from the reddened puffs inside. I was pretty surprised, as the pork puffs themselves looked like they were on fire.

On taste there was an instant chilli heat from the crunchy pork puffs. There was also a lip-smacking sourness from the lime that quickly mixed with the chilli burn. Gosh, these The Curators Pork Puffs Chilli Lime are tasty and exceptionally moreish.

Information on the packet; The 25g bag contained 130 calories, with 6.3g of fat, 0.2g of sugar, 17g of protein, and 1.2g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Iced Coconut Strawberry Matcha Latte (Costa) By @cinabar

There is a lot on social media about the health benefits of matcha. I have seen everything from it fixing your skin to giving you an energy boost. It does contain antioxidants, which are good for you, but I have no idea how valid most of these claims really are.

The main point is that matcha has become popular online, even though it has quite an acquired taste. It is very leafy and almost grassy. Some people love it, but this feels like Costa aiming for people who do not. The approach here seems to be to soften the matcha by adding plenty of flavour, and that is exactly what this drink does with coconut and strawberry.

The drink itself looks great, with distinct layers. Red at the bottom, white in the middle, and green on top. I was not sure whether you are meant to mix it or drink it as it is, so I just went straight in.

The first hit was strawberry, with a strong jam-like flavour. Sweet, fruity and really enjoyable. The coconut added a creamy element, while the matcha was not too overpowering. It was slightly sweet, with that familiar fresh, leafy taste.

I enjoyed this one. The strawberry was the standout for me and helped balance the bitterness of the matcha. This definitely feels like a matcha drink for people who are not fully sold on matcha yet.