Oreo Cadbury Crème Egg biscuits (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

I have to admit that I hadn't tried Oreo biscuits until a year or so ago. I've always preferred Jam and Creams myself. I have, however, liked most of the Oreo biscuit flavours I have tried.

These new limited edition Oreo Cadbury Crème Egg biscuits smelt amazing on opening the packet. They smelt of sweet gooey Cadbury Creme Egg fondant and chocolate Oreo biscuit.

As you can see from the photographs, these Oreo Cadbury Crème Egg biscuits twisted off with the yolk on one side, and the white on the other. Both have slightly different flavours of sweetness, with the yolk being sweeter. Both are backed up by the traditional chocolate Oreo biscuit base. These were fantastic, it seems a shame they are limited edition.

Hot Cross Bun Cookies (Morrisons) By @Cinabar

It is officially hot cross bun season, and this year seems to be full of creative spin-offs on the classic. One that caught my eye is the Hot Cross Bun Cookies from The Best range at Morrisons. You get eight cookies in a box, which feels like a decent amount for a seasonal treat. Naturally, I had to dive straight in and give one a try.

The first thing that stands out is how buttery they are. They have a rich, indulgent flavour that leans more towards a proper bakery-style cookie than anything overly sweet or artificial. There is plenty of cinnamon running through them, giving that familiar spiced warmth you expect from a hot cross bun.

Texture-wise, they strike a nice balance. The cookies are firm, but not hard or crunchy. They give slightly when you bite into them, which makes them feel fresh and well made rather than dry or overbaked. There are also plenty of juicy currants dotted throughout, adding little bursts of sweetness and a bit of chew. A subtle hint of orange comes through as well, which lifts the flavour and keeps things from feeling too heavy.

They really do capture the essence of a hot cross bun, just in cookie form. At the same time, they feel like a slightly indulgent excuse to keep enjoying those cosy cinnamon flavours well past Christmas. A solid seasonal treat, and definitely one worth picking up if you enjoy a twist on a classic.

Blueberry Cheesecake Hot Chocolate (Whittard) By @Cinabar

I really do have to say how much I love Whittard when it comes to their more unusual hot chocolate flavours. They’re always trying something different and there’s such a wide variety to choose from. Their latest release is this Blueberry Cheesecake Hot Chocolate, and I couldn’t wait to give it a try. It sounded like such an exciting flavour.

As it happens, we were having fruit and cream for dessert, so this paired quite nicely, although that’s not something I usually plan! Opening the tub, the powder had a sweet berry aroma and was mostly white in colour. Once mixed with hot milk, it turned a lovely lilac shade, which looked fantastic. I’m really glad I poured it into a glass mug as it showed off the colour perfectly.

Taste-wise, this is a sweet and soothing drink with a solid white chocolate base and plenty of fruity flavour. It’s surprisingly complex. It starts with a zingy blueberry hit, almost with a hint of lemon, before smoothing out into a creamy cheesecake flavour. Right at the end, you get a buttery biscuit note that really completes the experience.

It was an absolute delight. Whittard hot chocolates aren’t cheap, but they really do deliver on flavour. I’ll definitely be having this one again.

Counter Culture - Rhubarb + Hibiscus Kombucha [@NLi10]

 We visited a lovely Japanese shop in Shrewsbury recently and I picked up a drink - but it’s actually more local than that!

It’s in one of those fantastic modern textured cans that gets funny looks in public as it looks like you are drinking beer.

But it’s actually made in Bristol so hopefully I can get more of these.  It’s a lot more tame than my usual Kombuchas and very refreshing - you could have a much bigger can of this and not go cross-eyed.

It’s a nice crisp refreshing taste and you can get hints of both the rhubarb and hibiscus, and I’ll certainly hunt for more of these.

Impossibrew (Tesco) By @SpectreUK

I have been selling toys at comic cons and toy fairs as a sole trader for three years now. This weekend I am part the way through trying a market stall for the first time. It's a wood cabin at a local zoo, so I have left all my stock there overnight, after a particularly cold, wet and quiet day.

Tomorrow I seem to have the impossible task of making my money back on the expense of the cabin for two days. After the first day I am almost half the way there. So, I decided to try this 0.5% in volume Impossibrew tonight.

Impossibrew is made from the usual malted barley, wheat and hops, and a blend of weird scientific sounding ingredients shown in the photography below called, Social Blend. What mainly interests me, is that this pale ale is also made with rye. So, I'm looking forward to some spiciness from the rye, and hoping the weirder ingredients don't get in the way of that.

On opening the can I could smell malted barley, a touch of spiciness from the rye, and something a little plant-like. There was a red flag there, and it definitely wasn't the rye.

This hazy pale ale wasn't red enough with rye for my liking. The head disappeared quicker than a jackrabbit on pouring. This pale ale had such a confused jumble of flavours that I couldn't pick a beginning or end. I did pass-by some rye mid mouthful, but it was fleeting and vanished amongst the chaos. I found this beer definitely Impossibrew to enjoy.

Romeo Coconut Hot Chocolate (Aldi) By @Cinabar

Romeo chocolate bars are Aldi’s own take on a coconut-covered chocolate bar. They are not officially linked to Bounty, but they are the go-to option for coconut chocolate in Aldi. Following on from that, we now have Romeo Coconut Hot Chocolate. This is an instant drink, so it is quick and easy to make, with eight sachets in the box.

I boiled the kettle and tried a sachet. The powder dissolved quickly without any lumps, which was a good start. I added a splash of milk to cool it slightly, mainly to avoid burning my tongue.

On the first sip, the flavour was impressive. There was plenty of chocolate, and the coconut did come through. However, the standout element was the sweetness. It is a hot chocolate, so sweetness is expected, but this felt a bit over the top. Even with a sweet tooth, it seemed like the balance was off. It would have been better if the focus had been more on the creamy coconut and chocolate rather than the sugar.

These are pleasant enough, but they do not quite hit the mark if you are looking for a richer, more balanced coconut hot chocolate.

Ferrero Pocket Coffee - Espresso shot in a choc [@NLi10]

 This is a strange one.  My mother got handed these by either a friend or a promotional person while at Crufts - and I was told only that they were 'too strong' so they made it to me.

Weirdly they also showed up in my local Italian Deli this week - at £4.99 a box!

For £1 each you get 5 little shots of Espresso - wrapped in Ferrero chocolate - so you don't have to stand by the counter and drink a lovely real shot anymore!

I'm not sure why the chocolate maker hasn't partnered with a big name coffee place - but I do like Arabica so I gave them a go.

The bit that protects the coffee from escaping inside is a really weird crystally texture, and the coffee doesn't have that much of a richness to it - but otherwise it's fine.  It's like the odd coffee liquor chocolates that I used to be given as presents, but without the alcohol.

And it did perk me up, and put me in a decent mood for the rest of the day, but now it's 6pm and I'm flagging.

Think I'd rather have one of the famous (locally anyway) Italian Deli sandwiches instead, but these will not go to waste.

Adam Henson’s Rare Breed pale Ale (Tesco) By @SpectreUK

Adam Henson Is a sustainable farmer in the Cotswolds. It's his Maris Otter barley that forms the base of this 3.8% in volume session pale ale. Rare Breed is named in homage of Adam, as he lives within a stones throw from Butcombe Brewing Company, in Bristol. 

With Cascade and Amarillo hops added, this Rare Breed pale ale promises citrus fruitiness. With the amber colour of this pale ale, I was hoping for a little spice from some malted rye.

On opening the bottle there was a deep biscuit malted barley aroma. There were spicy notes though, which I found very appealing. Although, that could have been the sheer amount of white pepper I put on my beef and Colman's English Mustard sandwich.

After the sweet biscuit malted barley and touch of spice arrived the fruitiness and a little citrus kick from the combined hops. There were then the sweet malts, wheat and that touch of spice into the aftertaste, which kept me going back for more and more. Gosh, what a lovely brew.

Gooey Spread (Crème Egg Filling) (Aldi) By @Cinabar

“Gooey spread” might not sound all that appealing at first, but when that goo is essentially the filling of a Creme Egg, it suddenly becomes a lot more interesting. With Easter on the horizon, this feels like exactly the sort of over-the-top breakfast treat you didn’t know you needed.

This is an own-brand product from Aldi, and inside the jar you’ll find two distinct sections. One is bright orange, the other white, mimicking the fondant centre of a Creme Egg. Notably, there’s no chocolate element here at all. The white side is described as “milk flavoured”, while the orange is labelled as fondant.

I managed to spread my toast half and half to try both at once, although the swirl in the jar means there’s always a bit of crossover. Not a bad thing, to be fair.

The white side is incredibly sweet and creamy. It reminded me a lot of white chocolate and was easily my favourite of the two. The orange side is still very sweet, but less creamy, more like cake icing in both flavour and texture.

Let’s be honest, this is not a healthy breakfast. Not even slightly. But it is a very tasty one. My sweet tooth was absolutely in heaven with this. The only real dilemma now is what to do next time. Do I go all in and add a layer of chocolate spread underneath to create the full Creme Egg experience? It feels excessive… but also completely necessary.

Kit Kat F1 Car Bar (Tesco) By @Cinabar

You may have seen the news that Kit Kat has launched a life size Formula 1 car made entirely out of chocolate. Sadly, you cannot drive it, but you can visit it as it appears at various 2026 Formula 1 events. It was also on display in York for a while after it was created. A bit more accessible is this mini version available in Tesco. They have brought out a Kit Kat F1 Car Bar, letting you get a small taste of the concept without needing a race ticket.

Once I opened the wrapper, I was impressed with the level of detail on the chocolate car. It is a fun design, and even has “Kit Kat” written across the rear spoiler, which is a nice touch.

Breaking the bar in half revealed something a little unexpected. There is no wafer inside. Instead, you get a milk chocolate shell filled with a softer chocolate centre and rice crispy pieces for texture.

The chocolate itself is pleasant, with that familiar sweet Kit Kat flavour. The filling has plenty of crispy bits, which do add texture, although it is not quite as satisfying as the classic wafer.

That said, it is still a tasty bar and a fun novelty. If you are following Formula 1 this season, this is definitely a fitting snack to go with it.

Trendmaxing - Starbucks, Matcha & UBE in the same cup [@NLi10]

 I wanted to find out whether the Trendmaxing idea of putting the last hip thing in the same pot as the next big thing was a good idea or a bad one.  So - while waiting for friends my partner bought me this £6.50 soft drink that both had the Matcha Tea trend, and the Ube purple drink trend - together at last!

Now - this is from the same Cineworld Starbucks where the lady decided to be kind and add all of the matcha from the pot to my drink to finish it off (making it insanely strong to the extent that when I got home I used the matcha sludge to make a 2nd tea) - so maybe they aren't the best mixologists in the world.

That said - the purple looked correct, and the matcha was certainly frothy enough to float on top.

And both parts were acceptable.

Trouble is - when we went to Coventry we had an Ube drink there which was so much thicker and more exciting than this watery 'late'.

Fine as a cheap option, but at the premium prices this was a fairly disappointing affair - maybe there was too much ice?

It's perfectly fine as a sweet treat to drink while watching the latest movies, but I don't think you'd go out of your way to go back and try it again.

JD’s Smoked Hot Honey Chipotle Infused sauce (Tesco) By @SpectreUK

Hot Honey seems to be the in flavour this year. This JD's Smoked Hot Honey Chipotle Infused sauce is recommended with Fajitas, Tacos, Chilli, Nachos, Burgers, veggies, and everything else. So, I'm going to try mine with potato Smily Faces and a Chicken Kiev tonight.

JD's Smoked Hot Honey Chipotle Infused sauce is a blend of hot honey, and smoky and sweet chipotle chilli for a medium smoky heat. On opening the sauce, I noticed the honey had crystallised, so I followed the instructions on the label, and put the bottle in hot water for a few minutes.

There was a sweet honey aroma and the smoky heat of chilli. On first taste this sweet Hot Honey sauce has fire. There was lots of smokiness, lots of honey, and lots of chilli heat. It went perfectly well with my Chicken Kiev and also my potato Smiley Faces. This was a gorgeous sauce. I'll certainly give it a try with everything else.

Racer Hot Chocolate (Aldi) By @Cinabar

Racer is Aldi’s take on a Snickers style chocolate bar, packed with caramel, nougat and peanuts, so I was curious to see how that would translate into a hot chocolate.

This is a new instant version inspired by the bar, and there are a couple of other flavours in the range too. I picked up another one to try next week.

Preparation was simple, just hot water and a quick stir. It mixed well with only a few bubbles on top and, importantly, no lumps. The flavour is nicely sweet with a good chocolate base, backed up by a gentle hint of caramel and nut. It is not overpowering, but the inspiration is definitely there.

Overall, it is easy to drink and full of flavour, making it a solid and comforting option if you fancy something a bit different from a standard hot chocolate.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Crispello - From Egypt With Love (via B&M) [@NLi10]

 Cadbury's is one of Birmingham's biggest exports.  It started a short bus ride from my house, and has travelled the world. Like most international brands there are regional variations but most of it seems to make it to the UK at some point.  While in Wales we popped into B&M and spotted this - and it's new to us!

We think it's got a double-L in it so it's Crispello, but unlikely to be pronounced in the Welsh way as it's imported from Egypt. 

It even has Arabic on the packaging. Cool!

Same familiar Cadbury branding, and while it claims to be Dairy Milk crumb, it's not quite to the British taste and is a little milder than I'd expected.  This said - I've not had Egyptian Dairy Milk mix so I'll have to remember to try that when I'm over there visiting the Grand Egyptian Museum (although with the current chaos that's on hold).

What this is - tiny crispies inside a finger of dairy milk - seems like a great idea for a bar. That said, it's only a tiny 4 fingers, and there just isn't enough of the crispy bits to get excited.  Double the sizes and we are talking.  We shared one of these in the car and both felt like it was a little too slight.

I'll have to pop to Cadbury World and see if there is anything like this in the factory shop - I know the Dairy Milk Delights series had something similar.

So - not worth importing, but worth grabbing for cheap in B&M as a light bite. 

Prime Time Pear Fruit Lager - But Better (Tesco) By @SpectreUK

Spring is here and I fancy a light crisp fruity beer to wash down my Hunters Chicken and Curly Fries tonight. This 4% in volume Prime Time Pear Fruit Lager But Better was made with Nashi pears.

Nashi pears are a good source of fibre, helping to maintain good bacteria in the gut, and can help balance cholesterol. The can states that Nashi pears contain polyphenol plant compounds, containing antioxidants and enzymes studied for breaking down alcohol and reducing oxidative stress. How about that!

On opening the can there was a strong slightly sour aroma of pears, which reminded me of a dry pear cider. Deep golden in colour, Prime Time Pear Fruit Lager But Better tasted of slightly sour pears to begin with, then the unmistakable flavours of lager kicked in.

The pear flavour was there throughout each mouthful, but the lager flavours of sweet malts and fruity hops stopped my tastebuds in there tracks from thinking that this was just another pear cider. And it washed down my chicken dinner a treat. What a lovely pearing!

Baileys Strawberries & Cream Biscuits (Home Bargains) By @Cinabar

These biscuits immediately caught my eye thanks to their pretty pink packaging. They feel very much like a summer release, with that hint of strawberries giving them a lighter, seasonal appeal.

Opening the box, the biscuits did seem a bit smaller than expected compared to the packaging. They are not tiny, but there is definitely some wasted space, and it feels like more could have been included.

Each biscuit consists of a chocolate base topped with a dollop of strawberry and Baileys cream, all coated in milk chocolate. Snapping one in half, I was pleased to see a generous amount of filling, which is always a good sign.

Texture-wise, these work really well. You get a satisfying crunch from the biscuit, balanced by the softer cream layer and smooth chocolate coating. The flavour is just as enjoyable. There is plenty of chocolate, a clear Baileys note, and a gentle strawberry sweetness. The fruit flavour is present without being overpowering, avoiding that overly artificial strawberry cream taste you sometimes get.

Overall, these strike a nice balance and feel well suited to a summer treat. They would be perfect with a cup of tea on a sunny afternoon.

Ube Hot Chocolate (Costa) By @Cinabar

It had been a while since we had been in a Costa, but we stopped at one in a service station while heading back from a long day out. I really wanted a hot chocolate, but as someone who always goes for anything new, I asked what the Ube Hot Chocolate was flavoured with. The lady replied, “Ube.” I think I had worked that out, so I asked for clarification and she replied, “yam”. She said it in a way that made it sound as normal as orange or mint.

I decided not to ask what it tasted like for fear of her simply replying “yam, of course”. Instead I risked it and ordered it. I had the drink made in our own cups, so the purple colour is hard to see, but it is there under the cream.

I gave the drink a sip and really enjoyed the flavour. There was plenty of milky chocolate, but the additional flavour sits somewhere between vanilla and coconut. It was sweet, creamy, smooth, and had a slight edge that veered towards coconut or a very light nutty taste. I thought it made the drink super soothing. I love the colour too. Next time I am in a proper Costa I will make sure I get the drinkin a glass holder so I can see it in its full glory.

Biscoff Everything - KRAVE Caramelised Biscuit & White Choc [@NLi10]

 I think we've reached peak Biscoff.  From the little spicy biscuit you got given with a coffee to signify that it was posh, all the way to every conceivable food.

Here we have Kelloggs KRAVE version, with a Biscoff style outside, and a white chocolate inside.

Standard branding

Standard look

And it doesn't go soggy too quickly. 

The funny thing is though - this is probably the best Biscoff thing I've had in years.  The sweetness is slightly too much for me so I mixed with cornflakes (Kellogg's of course) but otherwise the whole thing is great.

Hopefully this isn't a limited deal (we got ours from B&M) because it's easily as good as the regular KRAVE (which we only don't buy as the Asda own brand version is much cheaper and just as good).

A wonderful blend of flavours and textures - and unlike the Kellogg's spicy naff flakes from Jan - actually a pleasure to eat.

Jude’s Chocolate Guinness Cake Ice Cream (Marks & Spencer’s) By @SpectreUK

I do love a good stout, and Guinness is definitely iconic in the world of stouts. I also love a good chocolate ice cream. Someone at Jude's must have thought the same thing, and decided they wanted both at the same time. I'm purely guessing that's how this Jude’s Chocolate Guinness Cake Ice Cream was born.

The description on the back of the tub states this Jude’s Chocolate Guinness Cake Ice Cream is; chocolate ice cream infused with Guinness stout, as a homage to Guinness Cake. You get an award when you open the top of the tub, which states, "Bravo. Congratulations, you've just made the best decision of your day."

On first taste there was a rich dark chocolate flavour, followed by the flavours of Guinness stout, especially strong on malted barley. There were also tiny pieces of chocolate cake in with the ice cream. It was strangely moreish, especially with squirty cream on the side, and a couple of Cadbury's chocolate bars to accompany it after dinner. Cheers.

M&S Extremely Lemony Hot Cross Buns (Ocado) By @Cinabar

Hot Cross Bun season has been good this year and I cannot help buying all the interesting flavours I find. I am not a big fan of the savoury ones. It is not that they are not nice, it is just that I think Hot Cross Buns should be a sweet treat. If I turn a cheese hot cross bun into a ham sandwich it is really just a cheesy bread roll.

Thankfully these ones from M&S are sweet. They are the new Extremely Lemony version and I love the bright yellow cross on top of each one.

Like the Red Velvet Hot Cross Buns I wrote about earlier, these are not meant for toasting. In this case the filling is a large dollop of lemon curd in the middle. The bread itself also contains candied lemon peel throughout. I added a tiny amount of butter, although I was not sure if I was meant to. It did help smearing the lemon curd a little and spread the flavour more evenly inside the bun.

I gave one of them a try and it was like having a slice of lemon drizzle cake. It was lovely. There was plenty of lemon flavour, a little zingy but still sweet. The bread was soft and fluffy and the whole thing was a delight.

Have you spotted any other interesting flavours I should be trying?