Sparkling J2O Apple and Raspberry (Ocado) By @Cinabar

Fizzy drinks are nothing new for J2O, although you wouldn’t necessarily know that from the packaging. They have sold a large 750ml fizzy Pear and Raspberry drink for quite some time. What is new, however, is the classic Apple and Raspberry flavour now being available in a sparkling version. As someone who rarely drinks alcohol, I do enjoy a J2O, so I was more than happy to pick up a box of these new cans.

I poured a can into a glass and it had a lovely fizz, while still keeping the same deep colour as the regular drink. On first taste, I was impressed by how strong the flavour was. I think I expected it to be a little watered down because of the added fizz, but it still delivers that full-on fruity sweetness, just with bubbles added into the mix.

It being sparkling is a nice touch and, if you already enjoy the regular Apple and Raspberry J2O, you’ll know exactly what flavour to expect here. I think these will make a really refreshing drink over summer, and I can definitely see myself mixing a few sparkling cans in with the usual still versions.

Aero Pistachio (Tesco) By @Cinabar

Pistachio is still absolutely everywhere at the moment, so it was only a matter of time before Aero joined in with the trend. Their latest big bar flavour is this new Aero Pistachio, which I picked up in Tesco. The wrapper is a muted green shade rather than the loud bright green used for mint, and there is also a competition on pack for The Devil Wears Prada 2.

Inside, the bar has Aero’s classic bubbly texture with a milk chocolate shell surrounding a pistachio flavoured aerated centre. The filling itself is also green, again a subtler shade. 

Texture-wise, this is exactly what you would expect from an Aero bar. The bubbles make it light, chunky and easy to bite into, while the chocolate melts away quickly. I have always liked the texture of Aero and this version works particularly well because the pistachio flavour comes across as soft and creamy rather than overly nutty.

Taste-wise, it is pleasant and surprisingly balanced. Personally, I still think peanut or hazelnut are stronger pairings with chocolate overall, but the pistachio here has a creamy richness that works nicely with the milk chocolate. It feels quite smooth and mellow rather than intensely nutty.

Overall, this is a tasty addition to the Aero range and definitely worth trying if you are fully on board with the pistachio craze. It may not convert pistachio sceptics, but for fans of the flavour trend it is an enjoyable chocolate bar with a lovely light texture.

Gingerbread Latte Imperial Stout (Morrison’s) By @SpectreUK

The weather has been pretty up and down this week. It seems pretty cold, rainy, but sunny, then hailing so hard it makes my blue car go white. Typical English weather you may say. So, I fancy a warming spicy beer with my dinner.

I have steak and curly fries tonight for a treat. The first use of a new grill pan after burning some particularly fat burgers murdered the old tired griddle. I do like a good stout with my steak dinner, and so I have decided to blog about this warming sounding Gingerbread Latte Imperial Stout.

Brewed by Vault City, this 11% in volume Imperial Stout has lactose, brown sugar, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla and coffee added in the brewing with a mix of malted barley, hops, oats and yeast. That’s quite an ingredients list, but what does it taste like?

On opening the 330ml can there were hints of chocolate malt, coffee, vanilla and spiciness. On taste, there was sumptuous chocolate malt to begin with, then a hint of coffee, with milky creaminess from the lactose and sweet vanilla, and oodles of warming ginger and cinnamon into the aftertaste with all that luscious chocolate and cream. Yum. Perfect with my steak and curly fries, and I left a little for my chocolate tea cake dessert.

M&S Ultimate Cappuccino Teacakes (Ocado) By @Cinabar

We quite often buy chocolate teacakes as a sweet treat to have with a cuppa or as an afternoon snack. Marks and Spencer have recently added some new flavours to their teacakes range, and this packet of M&S Ultimate Cappuccino Teacakes is the first I’m going to try.

I love coffee and chocolate together and often think there aren’t enough coffee chocolate bars around, so seeing these cappuccino and chocolate teacakes made me very happy.

There are six in the packet, and they are a decent size. I chopped one in half and you can see the chocolate biscuit base, the generous layer of cappuccino marshmallow, and the chocolate coating.

The flavour was really good. There is a sweet, creamy coffee taste throughout and the chocolate works really well with it. The marshmallow is fluffy and slightly sticky, the biscuit is firm, and the chocolate has a nice snap. These M&S Ultimate Cappuccino Teacakes are all about the texture too.

The coffee flavour is such a treat, and I hope these stick around as I will definitely be buying them again. They are like a giant chocolate coffee cream sweet.

Damacina & Alfred Works Food Hall - Birmingham [@NLi10]

 It's hard eating two 'new' things each week to review that everyone can join in with - so unless you are in the Midlands today you probably aren't going to be able to join in - but you probably have local equivalents.

First up is Damascena which is a local food chain which they describe as the taste of the Middle East but we just think of as part of the furniture.  I'd never clicked they only have 5 locations (2 of which I could walk to, and a third which is in town) as it's just a place we go for good food.

And look at the variety on offer.  I had the lamb rolls with pink mayo, spicy potatoes and pomegranate sticky dipping sauce.  My partner had hummus & some kind of salad with crispy bits, a mushroom thing and an aubergine thing.  I didn't steal any off the inlaws but one had a kebab bowl with all sorts of wonders (my usual choice) and the other had mushroom rolls and a dip.  Naturally everything has a proper name that I can't remember.

We all had a great time and while everything has a spicy slant nothing is devastatingly hot.  We always look forwards to our visits.

Next up was Alfred Works Food Hall in the old Custard Factory in Birmingham 

I've been in before for drinks but this was the first time I'd had enough time to eat too.  I chose a Taiwanese Braised Pork (Lu Rou Fan) and bubble milk tea from Taiwei and happily could have had about 8 other things off their menu.

We spied on a table where they struggled

They had two giant black bowls from the first place you come to as you walk in, a special chicken dish from somewhere and then a rack of pudding crepes that would be enough for 4 people at the back.  We didn't spot them leave but they did not finish anything!  The dangers of the food hall.

They need to do tasting menus as this is their opening period - but it's always really busy and compared to the other new food halls has easily double digit places I'd choose to eat (compared to one in the centre of town that looks like it's a ghost town with maybe two viable options).

As it's by the best games shop & cinema in Birmingham I hope it sticks around and that the beepers range is enough for me to go to both at the same time.

Nestle Yorkie Salted Caramel Pretzel Duo (Londis) By @SpectreUK

I used to eat Yorkies all the time when I was a kid. However, I don’t eat chocolate so much these days, so I do lean towards my favourite brand of dairy milk chocolate. Cinabar saw this Yorkie Salted Caramel Pretzel Duo in the local petrol station shop, and picked it up for me.

I have been writing on this blog for nearly twenty years. I am keen on trying new snack ideas, it would be weird if I didn’t. I do like pretzels, I like the crunchy snacks, as well as the bread version. I do like salted caramel in milk chocolate bars. Mixed together they could be genius or a bit of a stretch.

On unwrapping the Yorkie Salted Caramel Pretzel Duo, there was a luscious aroma of caramel, and also a little pretzel. On taste there was a decent milk chocolate flavour, with a crunchiness from the pretzel, a little caramel and saltiness into the aftertaste. I think it was an acquired taste. You might like it though. I got distracted with picking bits of pretzel from between my teeth.

Information on the wrapper; The 66g Duo contains 171 per bar, with 9.2g of fat, and sugar 17.9g. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Fanta Grape (Tesco) By @Cinabar

We used to go to an American restaurant all the time, so much so that it took three bad experiences in a row to finally convince us to stop going. Normally we are quite fickle, and one bad experience is enough! The thing I miss most from there, though (because I can easily do hot dogs and burgers at home), is the grape soda I always ordered. I absolutely love the stuff.

Grapes in America taste quite different from the ones we get in the UK. They have a much stronger, almost medicinal flavour, and I think it can confuse British taste buds a bit, but I really enjoy it. So when I spotted that Fanta had brought out a Grape edition, I just had to hunt down a bottle.

I poured the drink into a glass and it had a deep red-purple colour with a good level of fizz. One sip immediately made me smile. This drink has that full-on tangy American grape flavour. It almost has a slight hint of Dr Pepper, but with a fuller, fruitier taste. I absolutely love it, although I can appreciate that it is definitely an acquired taste. For me, though, I am so happy to be able to enjoy this flavour again.

Have you tried Fanta Grape, and what did you think?

Cluck-o-Late Drool Sweets (WH Smiths) By @Cinabar

We were at a service station branch of WH Smiths picking up some drinks when, at the counter, I spotted a box of Cluck-o-Late. I asked the person serving what they actually were, and they replied, “Chocolate that looks like chicken. I have no idea why.” Honestly, that was the perfect sales pitch, so I picked up a box straight away. Spectre double checked they weren’t dog treats, which probably tells you everything you need to know about how confusing these are.

Once home, I opened the box and, firstly, it was very crumbly. There were crumbs everywhere. Secondly, it really did look like southern fried chicken, specifically a small chicken leg. The coating looked almost identical. I chopped the bar in half to investigate further and, thankfully, this is where the chocolate revealed itself, with a marbled milk chocolate and vanilla milk flavour filling inside.

The texture was lovely to eat, and the crunch from the coating made it really fun. The coating is supposed to be caramelised biscuit, although the flavour is fairly mild and sweet. The chocolate itself was creamy and smooth thanks to the milk filling, and overall it was surprisingly enjoyable.

This is definitely a silly product, but it genuinely made me smile, and it tasted properly chocolatey and yummy too.

Weird Crisp Roundup - Walkers Chilli & Cocoa & Auchan Al Ajillo [@NLi10]

 For an Easter party a few weeks ago we had a buffet and lots of unusual crisps were brought along.  I figured they might still be available so it was worth a look.

First up is one of Walker's Easter offerings - Sensations Chilli And Cocoa.

I've seen these since then in B&M style discount stores.

They look very luxurious

Bag for sharing?  If you insist.

This rabbit is not convinced.  And neither were we.

Granted, we finished the bag, but the spice and chocolate just doesn't go well with the potato.  Each half is fine - but I think it's the cocoa and potato combo that alerts the brain to the odd situation.

There's a reason we didn't buy more of these! 

These however were another story.  Unusual as they come from the Canary Islands

Potato, sunflower oil, garlic and crinkles.

They look good, they smell good, and they go really well with a buffet style meal as the pretty strong garlic flavour is overlaid with the salad.

Will probably never see another bag from this brand in the UK, but one to look out for on the summer holidays.

Small Beer IPA (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I have a long weekend. I had a comic con today, and I have a toy fair tomorrow. Neither are too far away, but loading the car, and unloading, setting up and standing all day is wearing, but usually fun. We get to meet some interesting people, see some interesting cosplay, and make a little money if we’re lucky.

So, I fancy I light beer with my fish fingers and chips tonight. I wrote about the Original Small Beer some time ago and rather enjoyed it. This time I have Small Beer IPA to try. I do like a good India Pale Ale.

London based Small Beer Brewery used home grown hops, and Malted Barley with oats and yeast to create this Small Beer IPA. At 2.3% in volume their IPA is naturally low in alcohol and calories (at 83 calories per can), which means it won’t put me to sleep after a big day and a big dinner, and I probably have a little more chocolate for dessert.

On opening the can there was a fresh crisp herbal hop aroma with pale malts from the deep golden beer inside. On taste those crisp hops gave a refreshing bite, with a hearty body of oats behind it, and sweet pale malted barley into the aftertaste. Very nice indeed.

Mr Kipling Lemon & Raspberry Whirls (Ocado) By @Cinabar

We are definitely starting to see some new summery flavours appearing in the shops, which is always a good thing. I do enjoy fruity flavours, so I knew I had to give these Mr Kipling Lemon & Raspberry Whirls a try. There are only four in the box, but the packaging itself is smaller too, so this wasn’t unexpected.

The Whirls look really appealing, and you can see the yellow and red filling shining through the sides. I’m never quite sure whether these are biscuits or cakes. They are firm, but not crunchy, with a soft and fluffy crumb, so they sit somewhere in between. I did enjoy the texture though. They are fairly large, but still easy to bite through.

The flavours are fresh and vibrant. The zingy lemon comes through first, followed by a sweeter raspberry flavour that still has a slight tang to it. The combination works really well, and they are genuinely lovely to eat. Here’s hoping we see even more summer flavours appearing in the shops soon, along with some matching weather to enjoy them in.

Fake San-Pellegrinos, the good and the mid [@NLi10]

 I do like having a San Pellegrino while out at the Italian restaurant - it feels more authentic even though it's just Orangeade (or lemonade).  So when the opportunity for discount versions at home arose I was happy.

Aldi sells both varieties in their Ridge Valley range - and while I can tell that they aren't the 'real deal' they are both nice enough that I shall continue to have them as long as they exist.

The pub yesterday had very few decent soft drinks - everything they had was just not that sugary. So I opted for a safe, but low cal, Fever Tree.  They are great at tonic, but somehow this just didn't hit the spot.

I had a much nicer grapefruit beer instead as my second - it was only 2.5% but because it's alcohol they can make it as sweet as they like without the Police getting involved.

I wish they'd stop ruining social drinks, otherwise I'll have to go back on the bottled water.

Space Raiders Saucy BBQ Flavour Cosmic Corn Snacks (Londis) By @SpectreUK

I was really excited when I saw these at the local petrol station. I was already pretty excited, as they are not far away and do the cheapest fuel at the moment. I haven’t seen these Space Raiders Saucy BBQ Flavour Cosmic Corn Snacks before.

I have been eating Space Raiders since I was a small child (and that’s a long time). To see a flavour I haven’t tried before blew my mind. Even the fact that the cashier couldn’t understand my excitement, didn’t dull my enthusiasm.

On opening the bag they smelt so good. Juicy smoky barbecue aroma followed through into the crunchy tasting. As you can see from the photograph, these Space Raiders Saucy BBQ Flavour Cosmic Corn Snacks were larger than the usual Space Raiders, and their moreish BBQ flavour just kept on giving. Yum.

Information on the packet; The 70g bag contained 149 calories per 30g, with 6.9g of fat, 1.8g of sugar, and 0.48g of salt. Please see photograph for the ingredients.

Twix Hazelnut Fingers (Tesco) By @Cinabar

I spotted a big box of these new Twix Hazelnut multipacks by the counter in Tesco and, naturally, popped one straight into my basket. The bright green packaging is a change from the usual gold, so it really stands out. I love chocolate and nuts, and flavoured Twix bars are pretty rare in the UK, so this felt like an easy buy.

Once home, I took a closer look at the packaging. These are labelled as hazelnut flavour rather than containing actual nuts, which is fine by me. I could not see hazelnuts listed in the ingredients, and it only mentioned that they may contain traces of nuts, so it does seem to be flavouring rather than the real thing. Definitely worth double checking if that matters to you.

There are nine individual Twix bars in the pack. I opened one and broke it in half for a closer look. Visually, it is just like a regular Twix, but the hazelnut aroma is immediately noticeable and quite strong. On tasting, the nutty flavour is still prominent, though a bit more balanced with the chocolate. I enjoyed it, as I am a fan of chocolate and nut combinations, but it is not subtle and the caramel gets a bit lost.

Overall, these are still a solid twist on the original. I can see these individual Twix Hazelnut bars ending up in my lunch box as an easy chocolate fix when I need a quick sugary boost during the working day.

Diddly Crisps Sausage and Mustard (Ocado) By @cinabar

These are Diddly crisps, as in Diddly Squat Farm, the farm owned by Jeremy Clarkson and seen in the TV show Clarkson’s Farm. My first confession is that I haven’t actually watched the show yet, though it has been recommended to me a lot and is apparently very funny.

I do, however, love a new food product, and as Ocado has started to list a number of their items on the site, I couldn’t resist picking up this bag of Diddly Crisps Sausage and Mustard to give them a try. These crisps come in a large sharing bag, so we had them at lunchtime. The crisps are a decent thickness, thick, but not overly so. They have a lovely golden colour and plenty of visible seasoning.

I gave one a try and loved the flavour and the crunch. The taste was both lovely and meaty (I do love a meaty crisp!), but there was also a great blast of mustard. It’s a really good flavour with a bit of heat and loads of depth to the taste. These crisps went down really well and were full of flavour.

I will have to keep an eye on Ocado to see what other products come out in the range. I may even finally get round to watching Clarkson’s Farm too! Have you tried any of the Diddly Squat Farm range from Ocado yet?

Counter Culture at Glastonbury Tor for Beltane [@Nli10]

 We accidentally chose to visit Glastonbury Town during one of the years larger festivals - Beltane.  This May 1st festival is all about fertility and Maypoles.

For our trek up the Tor we decided to take some Kombucha from the local ethical supermarket.

We reviewed Counter Culture before but here we picked up some other flavours - previously I had Rhubarb and Hibiscus , but today I had the more normal sounding Raspberry & Elderflower

Here is all the technical info - but all you need to know is that the Kombucha is present but not strong enough to blow you away like some of the brands.  The flavours are interesting and it's easy to tell the difference between the two.

What it's not easy to do is take a picture of it during storm force winds at the top of Glastonbury Tor.  We came down a bit to shelter and have our drinks.

Then we had scones & Coffee back in the town

And a fresh crème Brulé and espresso macchiato in the Italian restaurant in Street in the evening. 

NU Skool - East Coast IPA (Morrisons) By @SpectreUK

I have fish, chips and a battered sausage from the local chippy tonight. I fancy a good IPA to wash it down with whilst I watch The Neverending Story. One of my favourite takeaways with one of my favourite films from when I was a kid. You could say old school takeaway with an old school movie. So, what should I drink with it?

This NU Skool is an East Coast India Pale Ale packed full of malted barley, oats and wheat, with Citra, Mosaic and Galaxy hops. So, this 5% in volume IPA should be a citrusy juicy fruity treat to wash my takeaway dinner down with.

Brewed in Scotland by Williams Bros. this NU Skool beer definitely packs a citrus punch in its aroma. On taste this slightly hazy golden IPA had a crisp citrus tropical fruitiness, with a fulsome body of oats, and sweetness from the malted barley and wheat into the aftertaste. This NU Skool India Pale Ale went perfectly with my old school fish and chips and 80s movie.

Joe & Seph’s Baileys Popcorn (Ocado) By @Cinabar

There are some really fun Baileys products appearing at the moment, from biscuits to chocolate buttons and even squirty cream. It feels like everything is getting a Baileys twist, and I am absolutely here for it. This time it is popcorn, with Joe & Seph’s Baileys Popcorn.

This comes in a proper resealable bag, which is always a win when you are trying not to eat the whole thing in one sitting, although let’s be honest that is still a risk.

Joe & Seph’s are known for their gourmet popcorn. The pieces are big, fluffy and crisp, with that proper indulgent feel rather than anything light or boring.

Flavour wise, it is sweet and buttery with a really clear Baileys kick running through it. There is no mistaking what this is meant to be. It is rich, creamy and very much leaning into that dessert-style popcorn vibe.

It is honestly a gorgeous product. If you like Baileys, you will recognise it straight away, and if you like indulgent popcorn, this is right in that zone.

Perfect for a Friday night film night, although I would strongly suggest some self-control, because that resealable bag is a bit optimistic. 

St Pierre - Croissant Loaf - Toasted Croissants at Home [@NLi10]

 I've been a big fan of pastries ever since I was young - to the extent that when I got bored of the same old bread sandwiches at school every day I swapped to taking in a croissants and jam every day.

Britain has become less 'white loaf' obsessed as time has gone on and now instead of bread for every meal of the day (including bread pudding) there are exciting options.  St Pierre has added to that with this pastry loaf creation. 

It's essentially fat, sweet bread, but combined in such a way that it layers up and has a very different texture.  It's shelf life is also two weeks which is much better than our usual loaves.

It also has the trademark croissant swirl, which kind of hints that they made a giant one and dropped it in a loaf tin.

And it works with chocolate spread and strawberries?  Result.

All I have is upside down Welsh jam and vegan butter.

I toasted it a little more than it suggested

And pilled on the goodies.

And it's fantastic.  Child me would absolutely have accepted this in his tiny yellow lunchbox, although I'd still want to add the jam etc on site to prevent sogginess.

It has the right texture, the right smells and tastes, and it's so much easier than trying to toast a pre bough croissant (or the bake at home ones that while fantastic take ages).

I can't wait to get back from my holidays to have more of this - and I hope it's not a short term product and that I can get other similar things in the future.  Loaf od Pan Au Chocolate? Yes please!