30 September 2009

Hot Chocolate Cubes (Cutting Cake Patisserie)


I would like to start with a big thank you to Katie from Leeds Grub who very kindly picked up these lovely hot chocolate cubes for me. Earlier in the year I tried Dairy Milk Hot Choc Chunks and as much I loved the concept found the drink to be a little flavourless for my taste buds, I had high hopes these might just be the dream product.
I actually purchased whole milk especially for these drinks, and ensured that I measured the correct proportions when making them (i.e. I put aside my huge Disney mug, and used a regular sized one instead)! I heated my mug of milk in the microwave, and added the hot chocolate cube on a stick. Both types took a few minutes for the chocolate to melt while I patiently stirred, but good things come to those who wait.
First up was the milk chocolate variety. I was very impressed by this; it gave the drink a wonderful sweet creamy flavour with a mellow cocoa taste. It wasn’t overly strong, but nobody could argue that the chocolate wasn’t present. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and found that it was perfect cure for any chocolate craving.
The dark chocolate variety on the other had had a stronger cocoa hit, and wasn’t as sweet, giving the flavour a more mature grown up taste. I loved the richness of this one, and felt that it was my favourite, but it was a close call!
Frankly, either would be perfect for a soothing winters night drink. Lovely stuff, thank you Katie!

29 September 2009

Kit Kat Petit Strawberry (Cybercandy)


Well after writing about Kit Kat Ramune the other day, I pledged to bring you more flavours of Kit Kat which are hard to locate within this country. Next up is this mini tiny Strawberry version from Japan via Cybercandy. The Ramune Kit Kat was a mini Kit Kat, and this is a box full of tiny single sticks the same size, making them seem even smaller! They are really sweet to look at, and I think would make a lovely gift as they are so different.
There is no layer of strawberry inside this bar, but the chocolate coating smells sweet and fruity so that is where the flavour gets added. The taste isn’t as natural as it could be, but reminded me distinctly of strawberry milkshakes, as it has a creamy edge too. Strawberry and chocolate work really well together and I thought everything about this product was just lovely. I am enjoying tracking down all the different flavours available, and will be writing about other interesting Kit Kat varieties very soon!

28 September 2009

Nik Naks Pickle ‘N’ Onion (Sainsbury’s)


I would like to start with a brief moan about the name of this new flavour. I realise that it is a tradition that Nik Naks have an ‘N’ in the middle of their name, eg Nice ‘N’ Spicy, and that is fine. Sometimes though you have to accept that it isn’t going to work. These crisps are not pickle (e.g. Branstons) and onion flavoured, they are pickled onion flavoured, it even says so in the small print on the back! Therefore calling them Pickle ‘N’ Onion just doesn’t seem right.
Okay, I have that off my chest, so I can continue. Every time I have tried Nik Naks previously I have always been taken by the strength of the flavour, so I was expecting an almighty hit of taste. Curiously enough these were actually quite mild in taste, there is a hint of vinegar with a gentle onion flavour and the crisps are really really nice. I was surprised though that I could even taste the corn, as it is so unusual to be able to do that with Nik Naks. If you have never tried Nik Naks these would be a good place to start, they have a lovely texture from the corn that is both crunchy and fluffy, which I think works really well. There is an impressively well balanced flavour on this new addition to the Nik Naks range.

PS Many thanks to David H for alerting me to this new product. I really appreciate all the emails I receive tipping me off about new/interesting items, it all enables me to do my daily update. So thank you all!

27 September 2009

Kellogg’s Special K Chocolatey Pretzel (Cybercandy)


I guess this was a bit of strange find in Cybercandy. I usually associate the shop with sweets and chocolates, not cereal bars particularly, but I just couldn’t resist. I do like my cereal bars and tend to have them as a quick breakfast at work, so couldn’t resist these when I saw as they are such an unusual flavour.
The bars do have a fair bit of pretzel distributed on top of them visually, but I’d be lying if I said I thought they contributed very much to the flavour. They did add some though and they added crunchiness to the texture too which was nice. Having said that, these bars did taste different to regular Special K bars, notably I thought they tasted nutty, despite there being no obvious signs. I liked them as I could taste what I thought was peanut and toffee with my chocolate, and as those are flavour I just love, I really enjoyed the bars!

26 September 2009

Kit Kat Ramune [Blue] (Cybercandy)


Some of you may have noticed my feelings on Kit Kat and their lack of interesting flavour here in the UK, well I think all the cool flavours are in Japan. Some of you may also remember the post I made back in January about the Japanese Ramune soft drink, which is a popular brand of a lemonade style pop. Well this Kit Kat is Ramune flavoured. Not only that, the Kit Kat itself is slightly blue in colour. Oh my. Thank you Cybercandy for bringing these lovely items to us here in the UK; where we have ‘Caramel’ as our most adventurous flavour.
Anyway, did I mention this Kit Kat is blue??? It is a little off putting, but only for a second or so! Essentially it is a white chocolate Kit Kat though, with a delicate hint of blue, and flavoured with Ramune, i.e. there is a sweet lemon and bubblegum flavour mixed in. Despite the potential I didn’t think it was at all sickly, but then I have an impressively sweet tooth! In fact the Ramune flavour is quite sweet but still very refreshing, which makes the whole bar work. I absolutely loved this mini Kit Kat and humbly ask Nestle to release some more interesting flavours for us to try in Britain. In the meantime though, I intended to do a little research and see what Japanese Kit Kats I can get my hands on. Watch this space for my finds!

25 September 2009

Jacob's Crack 'O' Bites (WH Smiths)



Having tried and enjoyed the Barbecue crackers fairly recently, I have kept my eyes open for other flavours in the range. I'm pleased to say I have found both the Cheese and Sour Cream & Chive varieties.
The Cheese flavour had a good strong taste, but I felt the cheese tasted a little musty. They were by no means bad, and I enjoyed the bag, but I thought they were missing that bit of magic moreishness. The flavour was good, but needed o be a little sharper. They didn't live up to how good I felt they could be after tasting the Barbecue variety.
The Sour Cream & Chive ones were absolutely lovely. A really nice creamy but zingy onion chive flavour and a good strong taste too. These were moreish and I thoroughly recommended them.
All the packs in this range are baked not fried too, and actually stand up to regular crisps impressively well. The texture is crunchy, but light and I could very easily get used to that. Tasty healthier snacks are always nice to see, I wonder if these will catch on?

24 September 2009

Pringles Xtreme Take Away Smokin Ribs (WH Smiths)


These Pringles have come out in the same range as the Chilli Sauce pack I wrote about earlier in the week. These are quite different though, as instead of having the full heat rating on the pack, these only reach two flames on the scale. Roughly translated by my taste buds this equates to almost no heat at all.
Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed the crisps, and all the depth there is in the flavour, from sweetness through to a salty smoky edge. There was also warmth from what I felt was tomato, paprika and even Worcester sauce. There was however no more heat than that which you would expect from a pinch of paprika. Lovely crisps, but I’m not sure how they qualify as ‘Xtreme’.

23 September 2009

Warheads Extreme Sour (Cybercandy)


These sweets were recommended by my boss at work, who felt that if I thought Shigekix Super Lemon Sweets were sour then I hadn’t really experienced sour. He was right; these things are in a different league! Inside the box are five flavours of sour sweets, all individually wrapped and just waiting to be tried.
The initial sting of each of these was about the same, it involved around thirty seconds of mad intense flavour that made my jaw hurt. That last sentence does not do the strength of these things justice, these things are seriously strong! They blaze. They zing. They are the sourest sweets available in Cybercandy (I checked). These are not for amateurs.

An account of the flavours, thirty seconds after eating.
  • Blue Raspberry – Not dissimilar to Slush Puppy Raspberry
  • Black Cherry –Surprisingly sweet mellow cherry, after a hefty kick of sour
  • Apple – A bit disappointed with the apple taste, natural, but far too light.
  • Watermelon – This was nice, the least sour and a lovely refreshing natural taste, we need more watermelon flavoured sweets!
  • Lemon – Pleasant sweet lemon taste, but again needed a stronger fuller aftertaste.
What I noticed was that my jaw hurt slightly after trying them all. I think it was the muscle strain in my mouth where part of me was trying to ‘cope’ with the sweet and part of me was trying to escape! It was like my jaw was trying to retract backwards and slyly run away from the ‘sweet’ in my mouth! The back of my throat also burned a little by the end of the exercise. Having said that, if you can stick with each sweet, after around thirty seconds the flavour subsides and the sweet becomes perfectly acceptable. Keep a clock near, and notice just how long that thirty seconds feels! Just so you know where to start, the watermelon had the mildest sour taste, and the cherry the strongest. I would also like some credit readers for the fact that I tried every flavour on your behalves, I’m such a professional! ;-)

22 September 2009

Green Tea Candy (Mount Fuji)


This is a bit of a curious idea, it is a hard boiled sweet flavoured with Green Tea. Before I tell you about the sweets themselves, let me tell you about the packaging. In the picture you can see the word ‘tab’ at the top left hand side, well if you pull that it rips a thin thread along the pack and opens it. The bag is then left in re-sealable state, and is an absolutely lovely way of having a zipper on a bag. Surprisingly though, the sweets inside are also individually wrapped for freshness, and for extra freshness there was a sachet of something to prevent dampness, the wrapper was in Japanese but I would guess something along the lines of Silica Gel? I have never seen that in a bag of sweets before!
The sweets then are hard boiled and green, and do taste of sweet green tea. This taste is not something my taste buds are used to, but it tastes like the smell of fresh grass, or tea leaves. They are not unpleasant, but they are also not the first thing I would rush for as they taste almost medicinal. I think this may be because when I drink green tea I don’t add sugar, and so I’m not really used to having the flavour mixed with sweetness. There a note on the back of the packet about how the extracts from Green Tea are really good for you, and that these sweets are full of them, so I will finish the pack! Has anyone else tried these, they can be found in Japanese import shops? Would love some second opinions!

21 September 2009

Terry’s Chocolate Orange – Volcanic Popping Candy (Sainsbury's)

It is lovely to see a new edition to the Terry’s Chocolate Orange range, as it was December 2008 when I last wrote about a new item from them. In fact last year we had the Mint, Hazelnut edition and the White Chocolate Snowball, the latter of which is also back on the shelves and was sitting next to this Popping Candy version.
So this edition looks and smells just like the regular Terry’s Milk Chocolate Orange, except for the fact that the wrapper is a rather nice pink and purple colour. In taste the popping candy doesn’t change the expected sweet orange flavour, but there is an added crunch in the chocolate. After a couple of chews the magic crackling also begins, and the popping candy sets in. It lingers too, making crunching and snapping noises for a few moments after the chocolate is finished. This Chocolate Orange is a novelty, but a rather nice one that would be fun to share with friends.

20 September 2009

Pringles Xtreme Flamin’ Chilli Sauce (WH Smiths)



I was recommended these Pringles by someone who hasn’t tried Nando’s Hot crisps, but reckoned these were some of the hottest crisps on the market. The packet has a heat-o-meter on the side, and these are at the level requiring a fire extinguisher, which is at the top of the scale!
These crisps have the wonderful Pringles moreishness and goodness, and a decent kick of chilli too. The majority of chilli crisps on the market are disappointing, but I can’t complain at these as they have a lovely heat about them, and leave your mouth tingling. There is also an aftertaste of garlic and onion and they are seriously nice!
The heat in these may put some people off, but they are by no means as hot as Nando’s Hot crisps. I recommended that the person that suggested try these, try Nandos and let me know what they think. However, if you want something with a really good chilli heat but find Nando’s a bit over powering, these are well worth a purchase!

19 September 2009

Sarotti Coconut Cream Bar [Coco Creme] (Germany)



This is another of the lovely chocolate bars which my dad bought back from Germany for me. It does strike me that there are so many nice and interesting bars available abroad that it is a shame that they aren’t more accessible here in the UK.
This bar consists of a milk chocolate with a coconut filling. The chocolate is surprisingly British in flavour, as it is sweet and creamy and not that dissimilar to the likes of Dairy Milk. The filling couldn’t be more different to a Bounty though, which was what I had been expecting. The contents is a cream, like a very light mousse, and almost liquid in its consistency. Within the cream are flakes of coconut too, which add nicely to the texture. I really liked this bar, it is a rich but creamy treat that was thoroughly enjoyable.

18 September 2009

Swedish Fish (Cybercandy)


This is a slightly strange product, why are they fish shaped, why are they labelled as Swedish when they appear to be made in the USA?
The Swedish part I can answer, as these sweets originated there, the fish shape probably has the explanation of "why not"? Rowntree Randoms don't offer any explanation as to their curious collection of shapes, so why should Swedish Fish?
The sweets themselves are all one flavour and are quite fruity. The flavour isn't quite defined enough for me to declare them as being strawberry, but there is a distinct fruitiness about them. They also have a wine gum taste, but are a little softer that British wine gums. A pleasant chewy sweet that are tasty and easy to eat.

17 September 2009

100* Cheese Curlies (WH Smiths)


This is from the range I wrote a little while ago called ‘100*’, and they sell snack items with exactly 100 calories. I was impressed by the size of the bag, as I thought if you were trying to keep a crisp style snack down to so few calories, it would be tiny. There seemed to be lots in this lovely big bag though.
The snack itself is reminiscent of Cheesy Wotsits. The flavour isn’t anywhere near as strong as those, and I thought there was just a hint more salt in this snack. The texture was fairly good, they were light, crunchy and melted nicely. However I did think they were a little drier on the palette than I would have liked. Given the low calories, nice flavour and the lovely big bag this snack is a guilt free treat.

16 September 2009

McCoy’s Sizzling King Prawn (WH Smiths)



Sitting neatly at the top left hand side of the packaging is a label stating “30% less saturated fat”. The label is visible enough, but I felt that it was still somewhat understated. They may not be overly drawing attention to it, but a healthier snack is always appreciated, providing the taste isn’t diminished.
This flavour is “Sizzling King Prawn” and I wasn’t sure what to expect in taste. I did feel that these could be compared to Prawn Cocktail flavour crisps, but without the sweetness that I would usually associate with that taste. There is however a rather nice spice with them, that I wasn’t expecting. These crisps are by no means hot, but the added spice tingle is a lovely addition. Other flavours which I think I picked up on include paprika and tomato.
These are good crisps, and I can assure you that the texture and crunch are full on. However, just for my own personal taste buds, I would have liked more of a sweetness to the flavour just to give them a bit more of an edge.

15 September 2009

Shigekix Super Lemon Sweets (Mount Fuji, Birmingham)


I realise I wrote about the sour sweets Lemonheads last week, well since then I have found some more sour sweets, and I think these may well be in a league of their own! They are also lemon in flavour, just about, but they make your face turn into the image on the front of the packaging!
I thought I would take you through the taste using a time scale so as to describe my thoughts throughout the experience.
  • 0 to 1 seconds: Wow!!! Oh boy! Why would they make a ‘sweet’ that sharp. Can lemon burn? It is ridiculously sour, and causes me to have to fight an involuntary reaction to spit it out.
  • 2 to 3 seconds: Oh my word that is sour, zingy, and tastes like a really nasty lemon flavoured acid.
  • 4 to 5 seconds: Still a very sharp flavour, but notable more lemon in taste, and like lemon rind dipped in extra strong lemon juice.
  • 6 to 10 seconds: Settles to an acceptable zingy lemon flavour.
  • 11+ seconds: It actually becomes quite a sweet lemon flavoured chew, and is very pleasant.
  • After the sweet is finished: There is a nice sweet lemon taste in the mouth, and the memory of the initial hit has gone. Accidentally reach for another sweet and repeat cycle above.
If you find these hidden away in an import store, or have tried them before, I’d love to know what you thought.

14 September 2009

Daim [Dime Pieces, Sweden] (IKEA)


It strikes me that Daim (Dime) are far more popular abroad than they are here in the UK. I put this realisation down to the fact that Daim seems to come in all different formats in foreign countries, from being a guest filling in Milka bars in Germany, through to Daim cake and these Daim pieces being available in Sweden, and therefore of course IKEA here in the UK!
Well this is yet another review of a product in a sharing bag, which seems to be the ‘2009’ way of producing products. I do have to say I was a little disappointed that the bag wasn’t re-sealable though. The pieces of Daim were far smaller than I first imagined, and compared to the way they look on the packaging. They actually ranged in size from 5mm to over 1cm and as such were tiny compared to what I was expecting. However this made for a good proportion of the combination of flavours, as you get quite a bit of chocolate in the surface area. These are the kind of choccies which you have a few of at once, and they crunch rather pleasingly as you munch! The Daim flavour (i.e. nut brittle / cracknel) is all present and correct with its nice nutty, toffee, honey flavour and they chocolate is spot on too. A lovely snack, it just needs a nicer bag that lets you seal them after you have eaten a portion. Otherwise (oh no) you’d feel obliged to finish the pack in one sitting, as they are quite dangerous when left in the bag, as it doesn’t even stand upright!

13 September 2009

Fiona Sciolti Botanical Chocolate Selection (Event in Warwick)



Many thanks to my dad for finding these for me at an event in Warwick. Hidden within the cute little container are six chocolates, all with rather interesting fillings:

Strawberry and Balsamic Vinegar (Dark Chocolate)
This chocolate had a soft strawberry flavour which was a little sour in it is aftertaste from the vinegar. It is by no means offensive, but it is does give the impression of tasting like mild strawberry yoghurt.

Green Tea and Cherry (Dark Chocolate)
The green tea in this chocolate added an almost herby taste, but I thought there was only the mildest hint of cherry. There was a certain pepper y edge and a slightly bitter flavour. I have had green tea in many sweet forms from ice cream thought to cake and I thought that there was more potential to enhance this one with a stronger kick of cherry.

Apricot and Almond (Milk Chocolate)
I thought this was the most disappointing of the chocolate I tried, it had very vague flavours, and I could pick up on a mild unidentifiable sweet fruit taste with a tiny hint of nut.

Scorched Caramel (Milk Chocolate)
Despite being a milk chocolate, the ‘scorched’ flavour from the centre enhances the chocolate and almost made it taste darker than it was. The filling also tastes of cream, and toffee and fudge and was actually my favourite of the selection.

Blackberry and English Apple Brandy (White chocolate)
There is a definite hint of alcohol in the flavour for this one, and it also draws in a sweet but slightly salty taste. I thought that the blackcurrant was only vague in its nature.

Lemon Verbena and Hand Candied Lime (White Chocolate)
I didn’t think that the citrus flavour was as zesty as it at could have been, although the flavour was pleasant and it felt like there was almost a hint of pepper or mint mixed in. A nice chocolate, but not what I was expecting from the name.

All in all I thought that each one of these chocolate had a good quality chocolate casing, and the texture of the fillings was wonderfully light and fluffy. The ideas for the centres were interesting and well thought through, but I did think though that the flavours themselves need to be a little more defined, at the moment they are overly mild and delicate.

12 September 2009

Aero Mint and Choc Bubbly Dessert (Asda)


The packaging on these mousses (is that the correct plural?) is nothing amazing, it is however a noticeable green. What is surprising then is that the contents within the containers are really pretty, but not visible from the outside. The mousse is green and marbled with brown chocolate sauce, if I was packaging these items I would have gone for a clear container to show them off properly.
The mousse itself is really fluffy and light, and lovely and refreshing. The minty taste is just at the right level, not overly strong, but with a good peppermint hit. The chocolate taste blends in well with the minty flavour, and it makes for a lovely light and fresh dessert.

11 September 2009

Jacob's Crack 'O' Bites - Barbecue (WH Smiths)


This product consists of mini Jacobs crackers with a barbecue flavour seasoning. I approve of the name as I find Crack 'O' Bites surprisingly pleasing to say! It was nice to see that the calories in this snack product are reasonably low, and I put this down to them being baked rather than fried.
The seasoning is really nice; the barbecue flavour seems to mingle tomato, paprika and herbs and has a sweet aftertaste.
It has well put together flavours that are lovely and moreish. I have to admit, before tucking in, the idea of crackers in a snack like this worried me. I thought that they might just be a little stodgy, thankfully I was wrong. These are light and easy to eat, yet surprisingly filling. All in all these will definitely be making their way back into my lunch box again in the future!

10 September 2009

Chewy Lemonhead & Friends (Cybercandy)


The packaging on these sweets is bright and colourful, and they are in a box about the same size as Poppets. The packaging doesn’t hint that that these sweets are actually sour sweets in disguise, but I can assure you that they are!

The colours in the box are:

Green – apple, and it has a lovely bitey sour taste
Black – grape, which was surprisingly tart and very different (I was expecting blackcurrant)
Red – cherry, which was a full flavour with a seriously good tang
Orange – orange, still sour, but not as strong as the others
Yellow – lemon, not very sweet but with a lovely kick

There is no mistaking the fact these sweets do give a lovely blast of sour, and they each had really good flavour. One thing I noted is that they are called ‘chewy’ on the box, but I didn’t think that there were very chewy at all, as the dissolve fairly quickly after a few bites. I have to say all these sweets were fantastic! I loved the grape the most, but perhaps that is because we don’t get many grape flavoured sweets here in the UK.

9 September 2009

The Chocolate Society – Good Afternoon (Sainsbury’s)


Chocolate bars are often called strange things and this bar has a curious name too. It has been released amid a selection of bars designed for different times of the day. Chocolate designed for afternoon eating is really fair enough, but there is also a bar called ‘Good Morning’ which is a milk chocolate bar that goes well with fruit juice. Breakfast chocolate is a bit of a niche market, but I suppose there aren’t actually any rules for when you eat it!
This chocolate is a dark and rich 66% cocoa bar. The smell is surprisingly sharp, and I was worried that the taste would be too. However the flavour although strong and dark, is nicely balanced with sweetness. I loved the texture when it melted in the mouth as it was lovely and smooth. It is a full flavour bar that has a well defined taste. I have to confess I tried this with my afternoon coffee, and it did indeed go well with that, so perhaps the name isn’t so strange after all!

8 September 2009

Mecano (Peru)


This rather lovely chocolate circle was brought back from Peru. Many thanks to the person who thought of me while on their travels!
My first thoughts on this item were around the name and shape. The name ‘Mecano’ is almost the same as the name ‘Meccano’ which is the children’s toy. My thoughts were that the nuts (metal variety) used in Meccano look rather like this chocolate item? I may be clutching at straws though!
Anyway the snack itself is a chocolate loop, filled with caramel. The chocolate appears to be quite dark, but in taste is actually sweet and creamy, and the cocoa flavour is far mellower than I was expecting. Chocolate from abroad varies so much with regional preferences. The caramel inside is rich, dark and sugary. It isn’t as defined in flavour as that within the Wispa Gold, but is still of a good quality. This item makes a lovely snack, and I love the fascinating shape. A novelty perhaps, but perfect with coffee all the same! It was lovely to be able to try something from so far afield.

7 September 2009

Korean Pure Love Wafers (International Shop, Birmingham University)


This is another of the biscuit products purchased as in import from Korea. I think they are called ‘Pure Love’, it is hard to be sure, but this is some of the only English text on the box!
The biscuits themselves are individually wrapped in foil, which I really like as it keeps them fresh for lunch boxes etc. Inside the wrapper the biscuits are quite thin and are decorated with a pattern of white and milk chocolate on the top. There are two very thin strips of biscuit with a creamy fondant holding the two layers together. They taste a little like shortbread, but have a wafer like feel because of the thickness. The chocolate topping and fondant gives them a lovely creamy sweet flavour, and white chocolate fans should really try and seek these out!

6 September 2009

Green & Black's Organic Creamy Milk Chocolate (Sainsbury’s)


I was talking to someone today who said that one of the things that they love is putting chocolate in the fridge, as they like the sharp snap of hard cold chocolate. This particular bar of chocolate is not for them. This bar is an extra creamy, softer edition of Green & Blacks Milk Chocolate.
It seems strange to me that a company that already has a milk chocolate bar available would release a milk chocolate ‘creamy’ edition; I can’t help but think that there should be more differentiation between their products.
The chocolate itself is fairly soft to eat, and biting into the chunks is no effort at all. The flavour is very sweet and creamy, with a slight vanilla or honey edge. Honey isn’t listed in the ingredients and this really surprised me as I was so sure I could pick up on the taste. Personally I felt that as the bar is so creamy, the chocolate flavour isn’t as well defined as it could be, and I would prefer a bit more cocoa in the mix.

5 September 2009

McVities Mini Croissants [Strawberry] (WH Smiths)


I was a little bit wary of trying these as Lottie warned me that they were very sweet! The packet states that they can be enjoyed hot, and I was going to give that a go. When I read further though it suggested warming them in a pre-heated oven. I was grabbing them to try during an ad break, and couldn’t quite be bothered to pre-heat the oven etc, I just assumed they would microwave. Never underestimate the laziness of a snacker!
Anyway, as it turns out the strawberry jam is rather sweet and not very subtle. However the pastry around them isn’t that sweet, so does balance it out, but I do understand what Lottie means. I definitely preferred the chocolate variety over all, but as I said before I can’t help thinking the whole pastry should have a bit more of a rich buttery taste.

4 September 2009

Discos New Bacon Flavour (Sainsbury's)


Many thanks to DavidH who emailed me to let me know these crisps have become available.
Discos remind me of my school lunch boxes, and I don't think I've had any for years. It was nice then to buy them, and re-discover them. The new Bacon flavour is available in the multi-pack which comes with Salt and Vinegar and Cheese and Onion, so it is good to experience more items in the range too.
The first thing I noticed was that on the back of the packet they are described as 'crunchy snacks' not 'potato snacks' a quick look at the ingredients list reveals the reasoning and it is because they contain a substantial amount of wheat too. This wheat does give them a lovely wholesome texture that seems to make them quite moreish. The flavour itself is smoky, salty and meaty and really does the job. A lovely new addition to the Discos range, and I’m looking forward to re-experiencing the original flavours.

3 September 2009

Wispa Gold (Sainsbury’s)


After hearing about this bar making a comeback I have been asking in my local branch of WH Smiths daily to see if they had any news on when it would be available. I then happen to do my weekly shop in Sainsbury’s, and there these bars were. They were just sitting on the shelf next to all the other chocolate bars, no big promotion, just a rather shiny wrapper. Obviously I picked up a stash, as it is only available for ‘a limited time’, and it’s best to be cautious!
I love the pretty shiny wrapper, and peeling it back, there was a gorgeous smell of caramel and chocolate. Okay, it is official, this bar is dangerous. The caramel section takes up nearly half of the bar, and is liquid and gooey. As you bite in, take care as the runny caramel may well try to attack. The taste is perfect though, this is proper full flavour rich, buttery caramel brilliance. This is in conjunction with a base of bubbly Wispa chocolate. The textures in this bar are just gorgeous, the outer layer of chocolate cracks to the smooth liquid caramel, and then the aerated chocolate is both chunky, but lovely and easy to bite through. Everything screams chocolate heaven about this bar, I just loved it. Perfect caramel, perfect chocolate, perfect combination of flavours. Hope I bought enough of them!
After my lack of enthusiasm for KitKat Caramel, this just goes to show how the simpler flavours can be put together to make a bar that I really can get excited about.

2 September 2009

Save Our Wildlife - KLIK Dispenser (Tesco)


Until I saw this I thought that Pez had the entire market for sweet dispensers, but it seems I was wrong. Not only is this a different manufacturer of dispenser, but this one also give 3% to charity, which I’m sure adds up! Sweets with a conscience.
Okay so the sweet themselves are as you would imagine very nice, with pleasant sweet tastes. They are made from a hard candy, and I thought are pretty much similar to Fizzers which I used to have as a kid. In fact I wonder if Fizzers would fit in these dispensers? Otherwise I wouldn’t be sure where to purchase re-fills, as I couldn’t see any sold separately. How great would a Parma Violets dispenser be? I will investigate this issue further, and let you all know if it works.
The dispenser itself is very neat. There is a lever at the top which you flick backwards and forwards to dispense sweets. My only issue with the mechanism was that when I was loading it, it didn’t click and stay open for me to put the sweets in. This meant that I had to stretch my fingers to keep the device open with one hand while attempting to load the sweets with the other, which was slightly more difficult than you might think! I do like the gadgetry over all though, once loaded it is nice watching the sweet rise before being pushed out. So assuming this works with generic sweets it gets the thumbs up!

1 September 2009

Little’s Instant Swiss Chocolate Flavoured Coffee (Gardenland, Bridgnorth)


Several years I go I had a flavoured instant coffee from a different make, and found that it produced a drink that was unidentifiable as its suggested flavour, and tasted vaguely chemical. Many years have passed since then, and I thought I would give flavoured instant coffee another shot.
I made this drink and did the smell test, and thought that the drink had a good aroma of coffee and chocolate and it seemed rather appetising. In taste though I thought the drink was just a bitter coffee drink, with a hint of something vaguely chocolaty. I didn’t think the drink was unpleasant; it was just missing that indulgent magic that I hoped for. I have a theory though, as the coffee has ‘no added sugar’ and as I don’t add sugar to hot drinks, I don’t think the way I take my coffee gives this product much of a chance. I suspect those that add cream and the essential sweetness that is needed to enhance the taste may well have a much better experience than I did with this product. In fact if anyone reading this has tried these drinks with sugar let me know what you think.