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.

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.

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.

Instant Spiced Chai Latte (Asda) By @Cinabar

This is one of those new products you spot while doing the grocery shop and feel immediately drawn to. The Instant Spiced Chai Latte had one of those green ‘I’m New’ stickers on it, which pretty much guarantees I am picking it up.

I absolutely love warming spices and we drink chai tea a lot at home. Chai latte, though, is usually something I only have when I am out. I know you can make it properly by boiling milk, adding spices, sugar and all that, but if I am honest it feels like a lot of effort when a tea bag exists.

This one does all the hard work for you. The milk is already built in, along with all the spices.

When I opened the tub the powder was much paler than I expected, which made me worry the flavour might be weak. You are meant to use four teaspoons per mug. My mug is on the larger side so I was a bit generous with it.

It mixed up really easily and, thankfully, turned into that familiar chai latte brown rather than staying pale. First impressions were instantly reassuring.

The drink itself is sweet, but not overly so. The warming spices are the star here. The cinnamon really shines through and I absolutely loved that. I could also pick up cardamom, which gives it a lovely depth and a slightly different twist compared to standard chai drinks. Overall, it is a super soothing, comforting drink. Exactly the sort of thing you want wrapped in a blanket on a cold winter evening.

Movie Night Ice Cream (Aldi) by @Cinabar

I always have to look at the ice cream section in the supermarket. It is a bit like hot chocolate, in that they are things I will eat all year, despite supermarkets thinking they are seasonal. I spotted this Movie Night Ice Cream with the green “I’m New” label and thought it sounded perfect, especially as we are watching Jurassic Park tonight.

The Movie Night element relates to the snacks you might have on a movie night, but wonderfully built into the flavour. There is toffee popcorn and milk chocolate coated salty pretzels, along with toffee sauce and a toffee base ice cream. It sounds so good.

I opened it up and scooped some out for each of us. It was not too bad to serve, although we did let it stand for a few minutes before digging in. The main flavour is a rich, sweet and creamy toffee taste that works really well. The caramel sauce mixed through is yummy and intense, a proper treat when you get a spoonful. The pretzels and popcorn make the ice cream interesting to eat, adding a bit of savoury flavour and, of course, my favourite thing, texture.

This ice cream was absolutely divine. The only criticism is that the tub was kind of small and I wanted more.

G - Pink Lemonade & Popping Candy Aldi Magnums [@NLi10]

 Familiar looking branding and shape goes a long way in the supermarket - here we have an ice-cream emblazoned with an initial letter - G - is it a Gamnug?

No - It's the Aldi version of the lovely white choc popping candy Pink Lemonade Magnum - known only as G.  It's cheaper and looks tasty

They come individually wrapped in clear wrappers and if you were not that familiar with the real deal, these look basically the same.

The insides are a little less complex, but the outsides still have that familiar summer buzz.  Perfect for sitting under a blanket in November 

Flo seemed interested so it must have a decent amount of dairy in there along with the sugar and such

An enjoyable treat and perfect for both summer and autumn.  Hopefully they continue to copy more of the popular ices to try at home.

Fiesta EATZ - Chilli & Lime Nuts & Hoops [@NLi10]

 Aldi had a mexican week a little while ago so I picked up some odd minty corn chips which I wasn't a fan of - but also these Chilli & Lime nuts & hoops from the same Eatz. range that I've loved.

Originally supposed to go alongside my Cineworld Unlimited pass I just left them on my desk and ate them while working.

As usual they are air-packed to enable the hoops to survive the journey.

Inside it's 41% peanuts, 23% Cashew, 14% almonds which means the remaining 32% is crunchy corn hoops and coating which is an excellent ratio.

The flavours are stronger than the Doritos nuts I'm reviewing on Thursday, and have a much more interesting lime too.  The variety of nuts is pretty unexciting on paper, but they work incredibly well and these will not last much longer at all - I've had to ration them.  The fact that each pour has a variety of textures and tastes really works well and I'm sad that unless I'm quick I won't get a 2nd bag.

Aldi Knock-off Passion Fruit Jaffa Cakes [@NLi10]

 What has Luna found?  Why - it's Aldi's finest imitation Jaffa Cakes - and they are Passion Fruit flavour!

Unfortunately it seems that concentrated passion fruit juice is very similar to the things they use to flavour children's medicine in England - so nostalgic - but it makes them a bit odd

Each Jaffa cake is listed as it's own portion of 12g

But its tiny!  They are good quality though - and frankly as good (and as big) as the official ones.

I think if Belmont/Aldi wanted to shock the world and sell a lot more then all they need to do is make these a little bigger to suit adult portions and tastes.  As it stands, these are merely good, but an enjoyable snack.

Amicelli Hazelnut Wafer Tubes - Aldi [@NLi10]

 I received a Christmas box of goodies - that I'm only just fully exploring.  One of these is this giant box of Milky-Way Crispy Rolls!

Ok - so not Milky Way, these are Amicelli which sounds like pasta - but is actually Ritter's version of the lovely choc coated wafer roll.  And the middle is closer to a dark hazelnut spread than Nutella and no where near as light as the Milky Way

I am reliably informed these came from Aldi - and are 'perfect for gifting'

And neatly arranged too - 16 in a box is really 8 portions

They do look like feminine hygiene products though

But are lovely and chocolaty inside

With crispy layers and a hazelnut centre - like a lovely grown-up version of one of my favourite childhood treats.  Will have to see how long these last!

Caramelised Biscuit Hot Cross Buns (Aldi) By @Cinabar

I am very much enjoying Hot Cross Bun season. I’ve been trying quite a few traditional ones, but I do like picking up some of the flavoured ones too. Although there are savouries around, my heart is drawn to the sweeter varieties. I picked up a pack of these Caramelised Biscuit Hot Cross Buns which I found in Aldi. 

I split them in half and popped them in the toaster. As I was waiting, I looked at the back of the pack, and it suggested adding biscuit spread as a topping. I wish I had noticed that in the shop. I thought the best plan was to just add some butter and try the Caramelised Biscuit Hot Cross Bun without the addition of any jam or other flavours that may affect it. 

I gave them a try and could definitely pick up on the biscuit taste, but these were much milder than I thought they would be. They are sweet, but not sweet enough for my tastes. There are patches of biscuit spread in the mix, and these are nice, but not every bite has that flavour hit. The conclusion is that I should have bought a jar of biscuit spread, but these should have been okay without it. 

Sparkle The Melting Unicorn Hot Chocolate (Aldi) By @Cinabar

I have bought another novelty hot chocolate, and it doesn’t get more novelty than this; Sparkle The Melting Unicorn Hot Chocolate. I found this in Aldi as part of their Dairyfine range, and it did make me smile. Here we have a white chocolate unicorn, filled with marshmallows and milk chocolate drops. The idea is that you drop in hot milk and have an amazing hot chocolate, which is really quite simple.

So once home, I opened up the box, heated some milk in the microwave, and set up the TV, ready to show the latest episode of Dragon's Den. I put the unicorn in the mug, and it nearly filled it! This is a big chunk of chocolate. 

I added the hot milk, and it soon melted from underneath and shrank into the mug. 

The top melted too, and out popped the chocolate drops, and the marshmallows rose to the surface. The best part of this hot chocolate was that I then added a spoon to the mix and found that the whole thing dissolved and mixed super easily; this was not expected given how much chocolate there was.

The flavour was yummy; it is very sweet and very creamy, as a white hot chocolate should be. The addition of the chocolate drops was brilliant, as it enhanced the cocoa flavour and brought a bit of balance. The marshmallows were lovely too; they looked pretty and added a nice bit of sweetness to the drink. 

This Sparkle The Melting Unicorn Hot Chocolate made me happy and was something I would buy again. It would make a lovely gift or treat in an Easter basket, even if it isn’t bunny-shaped. 

Bacon Mayo (Aldi) by @Cinabar

This is not Peri Peri Mayo. We do a monthly order with Aldi and use their ‘Click N Collect’ service. On that order, I asked for Peri Peri Mayo, and this is what I received as a substitution. I didn’t mind at all, but the person from Aldi who brought our groceries to the car was thoroughly embarrassed. I kept trying to reassure him we didn’t mind and could still use it as a dip, but he listed all the other items he would have used to replace it, and he pointed out that at his last store this would never have happened as a substitution. I think it is safe to say he wouldn’t have touched Bacon Mayo had it been the last condiment on the shelf. I was quite looking forward to it.

We decided to have some Bacon Mayo with chips, and it did work really well as a dip. The flavour wasn’t quite as full on of bacon as I thought it would be. The start of the flavour is a little acidic and sharp, like a concentrated tomato taste. Then came a wave of a smoky taste, which was very strong but pleasant, and then there was a little creaminess at the end. It was a really nice combo of flavours and went really well as a dip. Perhaps even the Aldi guy would have liked it if he had been brave enough to give it a try. 

Egg Joyables Cookies and Creme (Aldi) By @Cinabar

Firstly, how cute is the packaging? These Egg Joyables chocolate eggs are in a mini egg box and look super cute! The flavour is Cookies and Creme, and inside the box we have four chocolate eggs with the filling, all neatly wrapped in foil. There are also a couple of wooden spoons, despite the fact that there are four eggs. Are you supposed to eat two, or just not share? I can’t tell, but either way, I’m not that keen on the idea of a wooden spoon, so I just bit in. 

I had a lovely taste of rich milk chocolate, which was rather nice. The egg broke a little, though, and split itself in half. The top half seemed hollow, and the bottom half had the Cookies and Creme filling.

I decided to finish the milk chocolate top half before tucking into the main part. I rather liked the Cookies and Creme filling; it was fairly thick but quite soft. The taste was sweet and creamy, and a nice flavour of biscuit. It wasn't extremely sweet, like a Creme Egg, but it was still at the top end of sweetness. I have quite a sweet tooth, so they worked perfectly for me. I totally recommend these Egg Joyables. 

Diplomat Biscuit Tea Tastes Like Salted Caramel (Aldi) By @SpectreUK

Happy Valentine's Day 💝

Last week I wrote about Diplomat Biscuit Tea Tastes Like Jaffa. I noticed on the back of the box all the interesting sounding ingredients. This week I'm writing about Diplomat Biscuit Tea Tastes Like Salted Caramel. If you notice in the ingredients below, there wasn't much information to go on. I don't know why that gave me the heebie-jeebies, I guess I have to find out what it tastes like instead.

On opening the box there wasn't much of an aroma from the square teabags, asides the smell of black tea. I brewed up a couple of mugs side by side to make sure. I mean, Diplomat Biscuit Tea Tastes Like Salted Caramel is Salted Caramel flavoured, so just one mug of this doesn't seem quite right to my greedy side. Adding a touch of milk, as usual, I waited a while for my teas to cool.

There was a sweet smell of caramel from my mugs of tea. Good start. On taste the caramel just keeps on giving, and with the added creaminess from the milk, this could have been the best biscuit tea I've tried so far. There was a touch of saltiness into the aftertaste, which wasn't a bad addition, but it did make me thirsty enough for a another swig. Once I started drinking, I literally couldn't stop. I was glad to have two mugs, but the thirst afterwards didn't end there.

Information on the box; 40 teabags with ingredients of; black tea, flavouring.

Diplomat Biscuit Tea Tastes Like Jaffa (Aldi) By @SpectreUK

I've recently discovered that I like biscuit tea. I've tried some flavoured teas before, and I've not been that fussed by them, but who doesn't like tea and biscuits? Biscuit tea is pretty much that, but without the crunch and the added calories.

This new Diplomat Biscuit Tea Tastes Like Jaffa should go rather well with a box of Jaffa Cakes. I love to eat a whole box for pudding some nights. I can't just eat a whole Jaffa Cake either, or bite it in half, I've always savoured them since I can remember. Since I was very young I have always nibbled around the edge of the Jaffa Cake, then eaten the Jaffa jelly, then the base.

Described as; black tea flavoured with cacao husks, orange peel, and roasted cocoa beans, this tea should wash down my Jaffa Cake pudding a treat tonight. There was a chocolatey aroma from the teabag, with a touch of orange peel. I opened a box of Jaffa Cakes, brewed up a mug of Diplomat Biscuit Tea Tastes Like Jaffa for a good long while, added some milk, and had a sniff.

The brew itself smelt mainly of chocolate and black tea, with a hint of orange. On taste the orange was the most predominant flavour, with chocolate behind it mixed with black tea and milk. I was surprised by the strong flavour of orange, considering I couldn't smell it in any real strength. This Diplomat Biscuit Tea Tastes Like Jaffa was really very tasty indeed and washed down my Jaffa Cake pudding perfectly.

Information on the box; 40 teabags with ingredients of; black tea, cacao husks (8%), orange peel (6%), flavourings, roasted cacao beans (5%), liquorice root, and chicory root fibre.

Shuk Up Chocolate Fudge Thick Shake (Aldi) By @Cinabar

It has been ages since I last had a milkshake, something I absolutely used to love. So tonight for tea, we were having meatballs with a Shuk Up Chocolate Fudge Thick Shake. It is Friday, so a bit of a treat for making it to the end of the week; it was one of those weeks.

I found this in Aldi when I did the grocery shopping last week, and I was pleasantly surprised when I remembered it was in the fridge. I gave the carton a little shake, and I poured out the Shuk Up Chocolate Fudge Thick Shake. There was a decent portion, and it more than filled my glass. The flavour was just spot-on. The Shuk Up Chocolate Fudge Thick Shake was creamy and thick, but not too thick. The drink was lovely and sweet, and the cocoa flavour was nice and rich. It was such a lovely treat and a reminder to keep an eye on any new milkshakes coming out in the future. I’m never a fan of the really thick shakes you get at McDonald's, etc., but this was just what I wanted. I much prefer the bottles you buy in supermarkets.

Choco Sticks (Aldi) By @Cinabar

First, we had Pocky, the Japanese version of stick biscuits with a coating. Then came Mikado, a more mainstream UK version, and now we have a similar Aldi own-brand biscuit called Choc Sticks. I picked them up because I love this type of biscuit, even if they can’t really be dunked. I love dunking biscuits. I love the crazy flavours available from the Japanese import stick biscuits, but the first ones I’ve found in Aldi are milk chocolate.

Inside the box is a bag with a really good portion of biscuits; there were quite a lot packed in. The biscuit stick (a bit like a non-salted pretzel) is twisted and is about two-thirds dipped in milk chocolate. The biscuits have a lovely crunch, and they are fun to eat. I was impressed by the chocolate; it was thicker than I thought it would be, and the quality was lovely. The chocolate is milk chocolate and has a strong cocoa taste, but it is also creamy and rather nice. I found myself meaning to only have 3 or 4, and I ate far more and had to close the box. These Aldi Choco Sticks are lovely, and I hope they bring out some more varieties in the future.

Hot Milk Chocolate Melting Snowman (Aldi) By @Cinabar

This was my answer as to what to have as a soothing drink after all the festivities. Here we have a Hot Milk Chocolate Melting Snowman. You put the super-cute snowman in a mug and pour hot milk on him.

He soon started to melt.

Then he looks quite sad as he sinks in on himself.

But then, pop, and all the marshmallows appear!

I gave the drink a stir, and the chocolate melted nice and easily. The drink is lovely, sweet, and rich. This is a full-flavour chocolatey drink and a delight. The marshmallows are super fun on top. The perfect end to Christmas Day. Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you all had a fabulous day.