Classic Kettle Chips - Salsa and Mesquite (@KETTLEChipsUK) [By @cinabar]

When I saw this variety of Kettle Chips, my first thought was I need to google Mesquite. I’m no snob, I admit when I don’t know a word! The trouble is if you google “Mesquite” you find out it's a type of tree, so I took a punt and added “sauce” to my search term and everything became clear, it is a type of barbecue sauce.
These crisps are from a different era, so perhaps that explains my lack of knowledge on the food culture, think back in time to the Eighties. I would have been playing on my roller skates and hearing Cliff’s Mistletoe and Wine for the first time. These were one of the nostalgia flavours from Kettle, first released back in 1988. According to google they had quite a cult following too, but they are new to me.
The crisps look like they were dusted with a sprinkle of orange coloured seasoning, and the aroma was very much that of barbecue sauce. The crisps had the usual firm crunch of Kettle Chips and each had a satisfying snap. The flavour was rather moreish, there were all sorts of hints of flavours, from paprika to barbecue, and a lovely woody hickory aftertaste. Lets not forget the sweetness of some tomato and a hint of spice thrown in there too. I can see why these had such a following after their original release, they are full flavoured and seriously tasty. Hopefully Kettle Chips will have them back for a bit longer than the “Limited Edition” label on the bag suggests.

By Cinabar

TeaPigs - Popcorn Tea [@NLi10]

A while back I got sent some TeaPigs popcorn tea as part of the Matcha Tea review package. I took them to work and they got buried in a draw.

As the colder weather has drawn in I have found myself upping the tea rations and exploring all the things I had.  This sat undrank until I felt just the right kind of adventurous today.

I'd previously had some Genmaicha tea which is very similar to this and not really enjoyed it. I think it's dark earthy taste contrasted too starkly with the sweet chinese meal and drink if had next to it causing this bias.

Today I was careful to not make it too strong as a first attempt, but also not to add sugar so I could get the full flavour. To my surprise I quite liked it, the brown rice that gives it the distinctive earthy flavour was still the dominant flavour but it was more balanced than if expected.  I think that this tea would be a favourite for coffee drinkers or smokers who prefer dark flavours, as it doesn't really taste like a tea at all.

I'd much prefer to have a nice delicate cup of jasmine green tea or similar to this on 90% of occasions but I think that as a warming winter drink this works well.  As the original version of this tea I tried was bottled and therefore cold I think this is best enjoyed for me after a long walk in the snow or rain. It may be one therefore to look out for in cafes after walks.

I won't struggle to make it through all the teabags, but any that don't get used this winter will likely be kept til the next one.

Skittles Desserts (Import Shop) [By @SpectreUK]

I have to get the spelling of "Desserts" right as these new sweets from Skittles could be misconstrued as very dry and arid bite sized candies. Coming in five new flavours these Skittles Desserts sounded like super sweet sweets to me. The concept of making sweet flavours from pudding sweets seemed like a doubly sweet idea (sorry)! First up Orange Creme (orange colour) had a predominantly sweet and sugary orange flavour finishing on a creaminess that I hadn't really experienced in Skittles before. I couldn't get enough of this flavour and soon the packet was empty of orange coloured skittles. Key Lime Pie (green colour) tasted a little more apple than lime. Still these green Skittles were sweet, with a mid-lime tang and spiciness and were certainly tasty, but I don't think folk from the Florida Keys would be impressed. Now if they'd called it maybe Apple Strudel flavour...? Strawberry Milkshake (pink colour) gave the same creaminess that the Orange Creme Skittles had to offer, but with a strawberry ice cream sweetness instead. These pink Skittles were fantastic and disappeared from the packet as quick or even quicker than the orange Skittles. Blueberry Tort (blue colour) certainly had a blueberry flavour but there was a chemical finish to the taste, which travelled unnaturally into the aftertaste that put me off a little. Finally Raspberry Sorbet (red colour) seemed to mirror the juicy wetness that a raspberry sorbet gives in spades when eating it after a meal, of course without that frozen teeth jangling chill that sorbets can give older tender souls that may brave one from time to time. These red Skittles were another favourite flavour of mine. So all in all a mixed bag of colours, a mixed bag of flavours and certainly a mixed bag of feelings. I will definitely avoid the blue Skittles next time...

Information on the packet;
Distributed by Wrigley, in Chicago, USA. 56.7g bag with 230 calories, 2.5g of fat and 42g of sugar. For ingredients please see photograph.

By Spectre

SuperMilk 65 Chocolate (@HotelChocolat) [By @Cinabar] #supermilk

When is a chocolate a dark chocolate? I know there has been arguments with some cheaper chocolates not having enough cocoa to be labelled as milk chocolate, but the cocoa content always seems to be on a minimum level that needs to be reached. I’ve not seen an upper level as such. Given that the average milk chocolate in the UK has a meagre 25% cocoa this new Super Milk chocolate from Hotel Chocolat comes in at 65%, and looks rather dark too. It is still rather definitely described as being a milk chocolate, but admits to testing the formula by replacing sugar with extra cocoa, hence the dark colour.
Inside the packet were two bars, both dark looking and embossed with the Hotel Chocolat branding. I broke a piece of the chocolate off and gave it a taste. It had a lovely thick melt, that felt quite soothing and was indeed reminiscent of a milk chocolate. The taste was different to what I expected. The cocoa flavour was quite strong, it is a strong flavoured bar, but impressively even with the reduced sugar content it was plenty sweet enough. I’m not sure I can say the bar was as creamy as a regular milk chocolate but it was far smoother than I expected, and did have a nice soft edge. The chocolate was in no way bitter, and in that respect did again feel like a milk chocolate, the cocoa had clearly been carefully chosen for it mellow flavour.
The bar is without question really nice, but don’t go expecting the over-sweet and ultra creamy flavour you may associate with milk chocolate, this is a whole new twist on the concept. Hotel Chocolat have done it their way, and invented a remarkably smooth and tasty 65% cocoa bar, that mimics milk chocolate in a way you wouldn’t have thought possible, and its delicious too!
Many thanks to Hotel Chocolat for the opportunity to try out their new SuperMilk Chocolate.

By Cinabar

Quality Street My Orange Bar - Orange Crunch (Boots) [By @Cinabar]

As you all are probably aware my favourite Quality Street chocolate is the purple one, I do love nuts and chocolate. As such when Quality Street released the Purple One bar I was over the moon. Over the years it has been joined by various friends and this year the new addition to the range is the Orange Crunch.
The bar feels odd in its wrapper, I was convinced it was broken in some way, but it was entirely intact, just oddly shaped. It consists of four octagonals all filled with a thick orange filling. The bar smells amazing when the wrapper was opened, there was a good strong chocolate orange aroma which was very enticing. The bar broke naturally intro the four chunks and I took my first bite of one of the pieces.
The milk chocolate was pleasingly thick and the filling inside had a good strong chocolate orange flavour. It was a sweet soothing taste, and I loved the crunch from the orange crystals within. The citrus and the chocolate were made for each other.
Basically if you like the orange crunch chocs in Quality Street,this is the perfect bar for you.
Somebody at work said to me that they associate chocolate orange flavours with Christmas, so I guess this fits in well with the upcoming time of year. I think chocolate orange is an easy win with those flavours being popular and much under used in UK confectionary.

By Cinabar