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New! Nestlé Wonka Millionaire's Shortbread Bar Review

August 27, 2013, 1:28 pm
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The relaunch of the Wonka brand in the UK was announced only a few weeks ago - to much controversy (apparently the calorie content in these bars could have a "devastating impact on children"!) - so I was very surprised to see these Millionaire's Shortbread bars in a newsagents recently. Oddly, they didn't have the "Chocolate Nice Cream" variety which was also supposed to be launched along with this bar.


The bar is described as "Milk chocolate with a caramel filling (50%), containing biscuit pieces (6%)", and contains vegetable fat in addition to cocoa butter. It's quite thin and comes in 4 blocks which have the Wonka "W" printed on them.

The press release describes this bar as "Just like the classic sweet treat: it's the tasty combination of delicious caramel and shortbread pieces covered in smooth milk chocolate". What's confusing though is that this bar doesn't contain any caramel whatsoever - or at least caramel as most of us know it. True caramel is supposed to be gooey, but this bar contains some sort of caramel flavoured "paste" filling, similar to what used to be in the now-discontinued Kitkat Chunky Caramel. I cut the bar into several pieces thinking perhaps the caramel was hidden in one of the other blocks...but alas, no caramel!


Taste-wise, the bar was nice but very sweet. The biscuit pieces were very crunchy, but I couldn't detect much flavour from them as they got a bit lost in the taste of the filling. They did add a nice texture though. The "caramel" part of the bar is a sweet, caramel-flavoured filling. It wasn't unpleasant at all - infact it was very rich and tasty - but considering this bar is supposed to contain actual caramel I couldn't help but feel a bit shortchanged! It was nothing like any millionaire's shortcake I've ever eaten that's for sure. The chocolate itself was Nestlé's typical milky chocolate - it tasted nice enough but wasn't particularly distinctive.


Overall, I was disappointed by this first bar from the new Wonka range. It's tasty enough, but not particularly unique or "scrumdiddlyumptious". I think the oompa loompas need to go back to the drawing board with this one.

Where's the caramel?!
After trying this bar I can't say I'm all that excited about the "Chocolate Nice Cream" or "Crème Brûlée" varieties in this range, but hopefully they might be an improvement!

Price: 90p at Newsagent.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Doesn't state on packaging.
Allergy Advice: Contains milk & hazelnuts. May contain peanuts, other nuts, egg & soya traces. Biscuit contains cornflour rather than wheat flour but doesn't state if it's gluten free.
Nutrition Information (per bar): 200 Calories, 19.5g Carbohydrates, 12.2g Fat.
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Haribo Fizzy Bubblegum Splats Review

September 1, 2013, 6:58 am
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My local Asda have gone a bit mad with new Haribo products recently. They have a massive range of new varieties, but amongst them all these Bubble Gum Splats intrigued me the most as they sounded genuinely different and unique.

I reviewed Haribo Rhubarb & Custard Splats earlier in the year and was expecting something similar from these Bubblegum Splats, and I was indeed correct. Like the Rhubarb & Custard Splats these are sour-flavoured gummy sweets coated in malic acid.


I didn't realize that "bubble gum" was an actual legitimate flavour all of its own - but according to wikipedia it is "the taste of the unflavored gum, made from chemicals such as ethyl methylphenylglycidate, isoamyl acetate, fruit extracts and others, although the exact ingredients were kept a mystery to customers".

Nice to know that a flavour so popular with children is made up of ingredients so artificial they have to be kept secret from customers!


Secret ingredients aside, these sweets had that unique bubblegum flavour I remember vividly from when I was a kid. They were addictive thanks to the sour coating, and quite similar to the Rhubarb & Custard Splats in that respect. The texture was nice and chewy but not overly so. I really enjoyed them and was swept up in a wave of nostalgia, remembering tuck shops and bubblegum machines from when I was a kid. Happy days!

Overall, I thought these Bubblegum Splats were very tasty and reckon they'll be popular with kids and big kids alike. I just wish they didn't feel so unhealthy, although credit to Haribo because at least they contain "no artificial colours".

Price: £1 at Asda.
Suitable for vegetarians?: No - contains gelatine.
Nutritional Information (per 40g): 136 Calories, 31.3g Carbohydrates (24g Sugars), 0.08g Fat (0.04g Saturates).
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New! Cadbury Dairy Milk Mousse Snowman Review

September 2, 2013, 12:22 am
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Christmas products in September - what kind of insanity is this?! It all started with the new Cadbury Wishes Little Wishes I reviewed the other week, and the early xmas onslaught continues with this new vanilla mousse-filled chocolate snowman from Cadbury.

I say snowman, but it's a pretty poor excuse for a snowman if you ask me. The shape is rubbish. It's not cute, it's not realistic...it doesn't even have a face! It's almost as though they found a cheap baking mould in a discount store and thought: "this'll do for our chocolate snowman this year".


Sorry to be such a scrooge but...it looks so boring! I wouldn't have minded if the chocolate itself didn't taste quite so boring too.


Opening the wrapper the chocolate smelled very sweet and typical of Dairy Milk, although I could have sworn it wasn't quite its usual distinctive chocolatey self. I hope Cadbury's aren't skimping on chocolate-quality as well as mould-quality!


Biting the head off (chocovore that I am!), I expected an explosion of vanilla creaminess, but was met with an overload of sugary milkiness instead.The flavour of the mousse was very sweet and overbearing, without any subtlety or gentle vanilla flavours. I had hoped it would be like the vanilla mousse from Cadbury Egg 'N' Spoons, but alas, the flavour seemed to be much sweeter and nowhere near as good.

Overall, I was unimpressed with this Dairy Milk Mousse Snowman. It could have been so much nicer if only they'd used a creamier filling with less sugar in it.

I'm interested to see how the "Merryteaser" christmas offering from Mars will compare to this. It's supposedly like the Malteaster Bunny but in a reindeer shape - now surely that can't go wrong!

Price: 2 for £1 at CO-OP.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: Contains milk and soya. May contain nuts.
Nutrition Information (per 30g snowman): 165 Calories, 10.5g Fat (5.9g Saturates), 16.5g Carbohydrates (16g of which sugars).
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New! Cadbury Dairy Milk Popping Candy Freddo

September 3, 2013, 1:06 am
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We're not used to different flavours of Freddo in the UK - unlike Australia who get varieties such as strawberry, mint, white chocolate, hundreds and thousands, etc. But Mondelez are trying to change that this year, with the release of this new Dairy Milk Freddo Popping Candy in time for Christmas. The packaging comes in a "knitted" style design, which Cadbury are rolling out across their entire Christmas range this year.


These Freddos do exactly what they say on the tin - they're simply Dairy Milk chocolate with the addition of a bit of popping candy, in the shape of Freddo the frog. The chocolate tasted nice enough; it was very sweet and creamy as Dairy Milk is known for. The popping candy brought a slight crackle to my mouth but nothing majorly exciting.


Overall, as tasty as these were I think they're a bit of a boring limited edition for Christmas. It would've been far more exciting if Cadbury had brought out the strawberry or mint-filled Freddo's that are already available in Australia...or even the ones with hundreds and thousands!

Price: 20p each, available at Tesco and some newsagents.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: Contains milk and soya. May contain gluten, wheat, nuts.
Nutrition Information (per 18g Freddo): 95 Calories, 5.2g Fat (3.2g Saturates), 10.5g Carbohydrates (10.5g Sugars).
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Hotel Chocolat Saint Lucia Island Growers 100% Dark

September 4, 2013, 12:47 am
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Whilst searching for "unsweetened chocolate" for a recipe recently, I was led to this 100% Dark Saint Lucia bar from Hotel Chocolat. It's surprisngly difficult to find unsweetened 100% cocoa chocolate in the UK, and this was the only one I could find in all the shops I looked in.

I was offered a sample by a Hotel Chocolat assitant before buying, and was warned not to bite off too much due to the "intense" flavour. I'm glad she told me this because this chocolate is very, very intense indeed, at least to someone like me who isn't used to such fine dark chocolates!


I enjoyed it though. The chocolate is more like a fine wine than something to be eaten in mass quantities. It's meant to be savoured and appreciated for it's depth of flavour, and only a little is needed to provide that. I purchased only one small 35g bar but it lasted me for ages - something I can't say about any other chocolate bar I've ever bought! The label describes it as "A bark worse than its excellent bite. A lush creaminess delivers notes of roasted cocoa and antique oak, followed by clean flavours of grassy, peppery olive oil".

Overall, this is a fantastic quality chocolate, but the intense flavour will be far too much for most people. I think it'd be perfect for those trying to lose weight since it is sugar-free, and because of the intense flavour you're certainly not going to want to eat loads of it. Quality over quantity, as they say!

Price: Can't remember exactly but it was between £2-£3.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: May contain traces of soya, nuts and milk.
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New! Nestlé Wonka Chocolate Nice Cream Bar Review

September 4, 2013, 11:20 am
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At last...the new Nestlé Wonka bars have made it out into the wild! I spotted this Chocolate Nice Cream variety in B&M Bargains for 69p, which is considerably less than the extortionate 90p I paid for the Millionaires Shortbread version I found in a newsagents last week.


I bought two bars...just for reviewing purposes, you understand! I didn't open them soon as I'd bought them, though; instead I let them languish in the cupboard for a while. I suppose I wasn't too excited about trying them since I found the Millionaire's Shortbread variety so disappointing.


When I had the munchies for something sweet I finally broke into one. The bars are described as "Smooth vanilla creme topped with chocolate sauce", with 30% of the bar being creme and 15% being sauce. Biting into a piece, I was first met with the vanilla creme. It tasted pleasant enough, with a decent vanilla taste, but was intensely sweet. It contained real vanilla seeds which gave it a speckled look, although I'm not sure they enhanced the flavour all that much. The chocolate "sauce" portion tasted ok, infact I rather liked the sticky gloopyness as it added something different to the mass of sweet vanilla creme. It made me wonder though why the Millionaire's Shortbread bar didn't have a sticky filling like this too.


One thing I liked about this bar is that the blocks look a bit more interesting than those of the Millionaire's Shortbread - each one has what appears to be a dish of ice cream with chocolate sauce poured over it, although at first I thought it was meant to be the Wonka top-hat symbol. It's a small touch, but goes a long way to making the bar more interesting.

Overall, this is an ok bar of chocolate but it was too sweet for me and I certainly didn't think it was exciting enough to befit the Wonka name. I'm still curious about the Crème Brûlée bar - which is due for release next month in large-format only - but can only imagine what sugary horrors await...

Price: 69p at B&M Bargains.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Doesn't state on packaging.
Allergy Information: Contains milk. May contain nuts and soya.
Nutrition Information (per bar): 193 Calories, 21.5g Carbohydrates, 10.9g Fat.
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Ribena Tropical: Pineapple & Passionfruit and Mango & Lime Reviews

September 5, 2013, 10:28 am
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I haven't really bought Ribena since I was a kid, despite seeing it in shops all the time. I suppose I associate it with children and so would feel a bit silly buying it now (so says the person who regularly buys odd snacks to review!) I used to enjoy the different flavours they did such as strawberry, blueberry, raspberry... and they even did an apricot and peach variety at one point, if memory serves me correctly.

But Ribena is all grown-up now and they've released these new tropical varities into their chilled bottled range: Pineapple and Passion Fruit, and Mango and Lime. I was kindly sent these for review by Ribena's PR team.

The drinks contain added vitamin C and no artificial sweeteners or flavours, which is a big plus to me because I really dislike artificial sweeteners. They always spoil drinks by giving them a nasty aftertaste, so kudos to Ribena for not using them. The drinks also come in bottles made from 100% recycled plastic, which is very impressive as it means they're fully sustainable. Ribena also support the Wildlife Trusts charity, so extra kudos for that!


Pineapple & Passionfruit:
This drink had a lovely tropical flavour, it was very refreshing and "light" with a nice balance of tartness and sweetness. A perfect drink for quenching thirst in hot weather! If only I could have the tropical island to go with it...


Mango & Lime:
This was my favourite flavour of the two as it had quite a unique taste. The lime gave a subtle tang which went perfectly with the mango flavour and made it rather addictive. I don't think there's a flavour quite like like this currently available on the drinks market, or at least not one that I've tried. It was very refreshing indeed.

There was a recipe included with these to make a jelly dessert which I'm including further below, but I decided to make something of my own instead - one of my favourite new discoveries; Homemade Bubble Tea! (see my recipe here). The only snag is that it wouldn't technically be bubble tea, but rather, a bubble juice drink.



I cooked up some tapioca pearls, which were a purple-coloured "new sago" variety, and added them to a glass along with the Ribena and a bubble tea straw. Et voila - Ribena Bubble Drink!:


It was very moreish... I loved slurping the pearls through the straw and chewing on them whilst gulping down the Ribena!

Here's the recipe for Ribena jelly which you can also make with these drinks:

Pineapple, Passionfruit & Raspberry Jelly


Ingredients
• 500ml Ribena Pineapple and Passion Fruit
• 200g raspberries
• 5 gelatine leaves (or vegetarian substitute)
• 100ml boiling water
• 3 tablespoons cold water

Method
Break up the gelatine leaves into small cm squared pieces. Put in a large plastic
jug with 3 tbsp cold water to dissolve. Tip: To help with dissolving you can hover
the jug over a saucepan of boiling water and stir.
Pour 100ml of boiling water into the jug followed by the Ribena. Stir.
Scatter a few raspberries into each glass and pour the jelly mix into the individual
glasses, filling up about ¾ way to the top. Use cling film to cover.
Leave in the fridge for 4-6 hours and enjoy! Serves 4-5.
Attributed to Emily Coates, Recipes and Reviews

Price: £1.19p RRP.
More info: www.ribena.co.uk
Nutrition Information (per 250ml):103 Calories.

*These drinks were sent to me for an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own. 
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New! Galaxy Gift For You White Chocolate with a Bubbly Centre Review

September 6, 2013, 12:31 am
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It was with a twinge of sadness that I witnessed the Christmas displays being erected in Tesco and Morrisons this week. It just feels so...wrong, like they're spoiling the spirit of Christmas. I know it's all about getting those sales in while they can, but does anyone really want to buy a tin of Quality Street in September?

Anyway, it still didn't stop me perusing all the new Christmas chocolates with great interest. Amongst the usual stuff I found this new white chocolate version of Galaxy Gift For You. It's different from the regular Galaxy "Gift For You Truffle", and instead of truffle contains a bubbly white chocolate centre.


Opening the wrapper revealed a parcel-shaped piece of white chocolate, which I thought looked really nice. It contains 4 portions which can be broken off, so you can nibble on it throughout the day or save some for later...but I doubt anyone is going to do that! I cut a corner off to get a proper look at the bubbly centre:


The chocolate smelled very creamy, moreso than a lot of white chocolates I've tried. Biting into a piece, I was met with a very full-on cream led flavour, and the chocolate melted in my mouth very easily thanks to the bubbles. It tasted super smooth, which is quite fitting for a Galaxy branded chocolate.


I wouldn't want to eat more than one of these at once since they're quite sweet, but as a small christmas snack they're very tasty. I imagine most people will buy them on the inevitable 2 for £1 offers alongside the original version anyway.

Overall, I think these are a nice addition to the Gift For You range and compliment the original Gift For You Truffle perfectly. As far as I'm aware this is the first time Galaxy have brought out a white chocolate product in the UK, so perhaps if it's successful we might see a white chocolate Galaxy bar in the future...?

Price: 65p at Tesco.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: Contains milk and soya, may contain nuts.
Nutrition Information (per 26g): 148 Calories.
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Limited Edition Chocolate Soreen Review

September 8, 2013, 4:04 am
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It's been a while since I bought this Limited Edition Chocolate Soreen and I forgot to review it at the time, so this shall be a quick review I'm afraid! I'm not sure if these are still available in shops as I haven't seen them for a while, but I bought this for £1 at Morrisons over the Summer. Being a fan of regular Soreen I thought a chocolate version was an excellent idea and couldn't wait to give it a try. According to the pack it was brought out to celebrate 75 Years of Soreen, which is a long time for such a brand to run for!


The loaf was darker in colour than regular Soreen and contained chocolate chips within it. I cut up several slices and slathered them with butter, which to me is the only true way to enjoy Soreen! (although it's probably even tastier toasted!)


It tasted delicious, and had the typical squidgy texture usually found with Soreen but with an added chocolate flavour. The chocolate chips added an extra sweetness and were delicious when bitten into.


Overall, this was a delicious limited edition from Soreen and I hope to see it again in the future! If these are still on shelves anywhere please let me know in the comments as I can no longer find them!

For more info: http://www.soreen.com/our-products/chocolate.html
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Thorntons White Chocolate Strawberry Crush and Orange Pressé Bars (Limited Edition) Review

September 9, 2013, 3:31 am
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Whilst browsing WH Smith recently I spotted these Limited Edition Thorntons Summer bars. There weren't many left on the shelf so I quickly snapped up one of each. I'm a big fan of white chocolate and strawberry combinations so couldn't wait to try the Strawberry Crush bar in particular! Both bars were 79p each or 2 for £1.20.


Strawberry Crush:
This is described as "Delicious white chocolate with a smooth strawberry centre". Opening the wrapper I was met with a very pretty-looking bar. The pink sprinkles scattered over the chocolate gave it a really special and summery feel. Breaking the bar in half revealed a fluffy strawberry centre:


It looked so nice that I didn't want to eat it, yet at the same time I couldn't wait to get stuck in!

I finally bit into it and was met with the fluffy, truffle-like filling. It tasted lovely; it was very creamy and zingy with a realistic strawberry flavour. The white chocolate went perfectly with it, adding even more creaminess.

Overall, this was a lovely chocolate bar which I will definitely buy again if I see it in shops. Unfortunately it's only a limited edition so looks like it may not be around for a while - here's hoping Thorntons bring it back next year!


Orange Pressé:
Described as "Smooth milk chocolate with orange mousse centre", this one tasted nice enough but it wasn't as interesting or tasty as the Strawberry Crush bar.

The orange filling was pleasant and fruity and reminded me of  Terry's Chocolate Orange. The chocolate coating was tasty and rich, as Thorntons chocolate usually is. But overall I felt it lacked a "wow" factor and that the flavour was a bit tame.


Overall
I thought these were some nice limited editions from Thorntons, and I do hope they bring back the Strawberry Crush bar again next year. If anyone's spotted these in shops please do let me know in the comments - I'm curious if they're still around.

Price: 79p per bar or 2 for £1.20 at WH Smith.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: Contains milk & soya. May contain nuts & egg. No gluten-containing ingredients.
For more info or to buy online: http://www.thorntons.co.uk/product/282.uts
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New! Galaxy Nut Crunch Bar Review

September 10, 2013, 2:02 am
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Since reviewing the new Honeycomb Crisp bar from Galaxy I've been on the hunt for this new Nut Crunch variety too. It's a bit harder to find and most stores don't stock it yet, but by chance I spotted one in my local WH Smith amongst the rest of Galaxy's newly-updated range.

Like the Honeycomb Crisp, it comes in the new sleeker style packaging design, and is wrapped in a shiny paper foil wrapper. It's described as "Milk chocolate with almond (4.8%) and hazelnut (4.9% pieces)".

Opening the wrapper revealed lots of nuts embedded within the chocolate:


It smelled very sweet and creamy but with an extra hint of nuttiness.


Taste-wise, it did what it said on the tin really - it was nutty and very crunchy. The nuts were moreish and tasty, with an almost caramelized burnt sugar edge to them. I found myself nibbling on the chocolate slowly so I could savour the taste - they were so nice! The chocolate was very sweet, but with the smooth and creamy texture that Galaxy is known for. I enjoyed this bar even more than the Honeycomb Crisp variety, as the savoury flavour of the nuts tempered the sweetness of the chocolate somewhat.


Overall, this is a deliciously tasty, moreish bar of chocolate that works surprisingly well. If you like nuts then I'd highly recommend giving it a try!


Price: £1 at WH Smith.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Doesn't state on packaging.
Allergy Information: Contains milk, soya & nuts. May contain wheat gluten.
Nutrition Information (per 100g): 560 Calories, 52.1g Carbohydrate (51.5g Sugars), 35.3g Fat (18.8g Saturates).
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Nestlé Yorkie Honeycomb (Limited Edition) Review

September 11, 2013, 4:28 am
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When I saw these Limited Edition Honeycomb Yorkie bars at 3 for a pound in a discount store recently I knew I couldn't say no. Even after reading The Snack Review's post saying how rubbish they were last year, the fact I might never get to try one again practically forced me to buy them. I can't let a limited edition chocolate bar come and go without me trying it!


By co-incidence, I purchased these Yorkie's on the same day as the new Galaxy Honeycomb Crisp, so it was interesting to compare two different types of honeycomb chocolate bars. The difference was huge - Yorkie Honeycomb is like the peasant of honeycomb chocolate bars compared to the king that is Galaxy Honeycomb Crisp.


This bar was indeed as rubbish as Dave said in his review. Yorkie's aren't known for the quality of their chocolate these days anyway, but rather their chunky shaped blocks which are "not for girls" (or at least that's what the adverts used to say. I think Nestlé still have some making up to do for the generation of ladies they offended back then!). So it was up to the honeycomb to make this bar a worthwhile purchase, and it... didn't. The honeycomb pieces just tasted like crunchy bits of sugar, being very sweet but with no discernible honeycomb or butterscotch flavour whatsoever. The chocolate was very sweet and milky and pretty poor quality.

In contrast, the Galaxy Honeycomb Crisp I bought on the same day tasted smooth, creamy, luxurious and the honeycomb in it had a lovely butterscotch-led flavour. These two bars are on completely opposite ends of the chocolate spectrum for sure!


Overall, a very disappointing limited edition. Yorkie's used to be decent chocolate bars when I was a kid and had a distinctive taste all of their own, but now they've lost that and just taste boring. Their only selling point these days is the chunky-shaped blocks and even those are thinner than they used to be. It makes me wonder who still buys Yorkie's when there are so many better chocolate bars on the market.


Speaking of limited edition Yorkie's, Nestlé once did a mint Yorkie called "Blue Ice". It contained blue-coloured crunchy mint chips and was actually pretty tasty! Unfortunately back then Nestlé still used sexist advertising and the slogan was "Too cool for girls". Here's a pic from chocolatereview.co.uk:


Were you a fan of the Yorkie Honeycomb Limited Edition? Do you remember Yorkie Blue Ice?  Do you even still buy Yorkie bars? Please let me know in the comments! :)
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Orion Choco Boy - Mushroom-shaped Cookie Snacks Review!

September 12, 2013, 12:12 am
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The Chinese do love their crazy themed snacks. I've seen plenty of oddities in my local China Town, from "Wife Biscuits" (are they made of wife or for your wife?), to "Boy Bawang", "Ding Dong" (a catchphrase often used in the old Carry On films), and "Hot Kid Milk".

When I saw these similarly zany Choco Boy cookie/biscuit snacks, I couldn't resist reviewing them. The box design looks vaguely psychedelic, with the "boy" wearing a mushroom shaped hat...or is he meant to be a mushroom? I'm not sure, but it's trippy stuff indeed!

Opening the box revealed a packet of crunchy cookie sticks with milk chocolate tops - the cookie is supposed to be the "stalk" part of the mushroom and the chocolate is supposed to be the...er...head bit. They looked really cool and very unique - I've never seen a snack quite like these before.


They tasted very moreish - the cookie had a pleasantly sweet, vanilla-hinted flavour, whilst the milk chocolate was just standard milk chocolate - nothing amazing, but certainly not bad either. As a snack the combination worked really well and I found them very addictive - it was easy to get through most of the pack without realizing it. I did feel a bit weird munching on what amounts to chocolate biscuit mushrooms though!


Overall, I think Choco Boy are an interesting and unique snack, the like of which we'd never see from any UK manufacturer. If you happen to see these and fancy something a bit "different" for your snacking purposes, you can't go wrong giving them a try. Just don't blame me if people give you funny looks for eating them in public!

Note: These are actually made in Russia but imported to China and other countries, so they must be quite popular!

Price: About 69p for a 45g box.
Allergy Information: Contains wheat gluten, soya and milk. May contain nuts.
More Info: http://en.orionworld.ru/chocoboy.html
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Nescafé Café Menu Gingerbread Latte (Limited Edition) Review

September 13, 2013, 12:03 am
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Whilst in Tesco browsing through the new Christmas products recently, I also spotted this Nescafé Limited Edition Gingerbread flavour Latte. I don't usually buy Latte drink mixes from supermarkets as I prefer the real thing from Costa, but the "limited edition" tag on this sucked me right in!

Gingerbread is a pretty common seasonal flavour for Lattes - most coffee chains like Starbucks, Costa and Caffé Nero have all done them, so it's no surprise Nescafé have chosen this as a limited edition. I'm glad they did because it's a warm, comforting flavour which is perfect for cold Winter days.


I made up a sachet as directed but added an extra teaspoon of sugar. I used a coffee glass to make it feel more special and authentic:


It tasted very comforting and milky, with a lovely warming ginger kick. It wasn't too strong or overpowering in flavour - just mild, sweet and milky.

Overall, I think this is a good limited edition from Nescafé that is perfect for the Winter months. I can definitely see myself sipping on one of these during cold, frosty mornings for a little pick-me-up!

Ok, enough talk of Winter...it's still only September!

Price: £2.99 for an 8-sachet box.
Available at: Tesco, Asda and Morrisons. Probably Sainsbury's too.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes. 
Allergy Information: Contains milk and lactose.
Nutition Information (per sachet): 86 Calories, 2.2g Fat (2g Saturates), 14g Carbohydrates (10.5g Sugars)
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New! Cadbury Dairy Milk with Daim Bar Review

September 14, 2013, 1:54 am
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When Cadbury/Mondelez UK announced they were launching this new Dairy Milk with Daim bar, it didn't surprise me all that much. Dairy Milk is a much more well-known brand here in the UK and so it made sense they would axe the existing Milka with Daim in favour of a Dairy Milk version. It's a shame, but that's the way the snacks world works I guess!


This bar comes in a 120g format, which is the same size as the Dairy Milk with Oreo bar launched last year. It's described on the wrapper as "Milk chocolate with crunchy almond caramel pieces (20%)". The almond caramel pieces being, of course, Daim pieces.


It tasted pretty much like I expected - delicious! Dairy Millk chocolate always tastes good, but the addition of the moreish Daim pieces made it even better and highly munchable. I loved how crunchy they were - each block is just filled with their tasty, crunchy goodness!

Compared to Milka with Daim, there's a few things which make the overall experience of this bar slightly different. Firstly, the chunks are much thicker, which means there's more focus on the chocolate and less on the Daim pieces, which is unfortunate as they're ridiculously tasty. Secondly, Dairy Milk chocolate is a bit sweeter than Milka which makes it harder to eat too many blocks of this at once.


Overall, I'm a bit torn over what to think of this bar. On the one hand it's incredibly tasty, delicious, moreish and (*insert other adjectives to describe how good it is here!*), but I don't like the fact that its existence means Milka with Daim will be no more. Boo!


Grumbles aside, this is a fantastic bar of chocolate and one I would highly recommend. Infact it's probably one of the nicest new bars Cadbury have brought out in ages!

Price: £1.40 per 120g bar at Tesco. Should be in Sainsbury's soon.
Suitable for vegetarians?: No (Perhaps due to containing whey powder?)
Allergy Information: Contains milk, almonds and soya. May contain other nuts and wheat.
Nutrition Information (per 3 chunks): 80 Calories, 4.5g Fat (2.6g Saturates), 8.5g Carbohydrates (8.5g Sugars).

RATING (new!): 9 out of 10. 

*Many thanks to the fantastic A Review A Day Blog for letting me know where to find this bar. Check out his review of it HERE. 
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Ben and Jerry's Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream now in the UK! (Sainsbury's) - Review

September 16, 2013, 12:26 am
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Way back in February, I reviewed Ben and Jerry's Core Peanut Butter Me Up. Although I enjoyed it, I remarked: "Personally I would like a tub of peanut butter cups and ice cream without the jam". It seems I wasn't alone in my thoughts - several of the commenters in that post seemed to agree with me. Infact, it seems that Ben and Jerry's UK have had a lot of people asking for a Peanut Butter ice cream. From the pack: "This wonderful flavour has made its way across the pond from our US creation station...and it's thanks to you! You've been asking us to bring peanut butter over here, so here you have it". Yay for people power!


When I saw this in the freezers at Sainsburys I almost passed it by. It took my brain a few moments to process that it was, infact, a Ben & Jerry's peanut butter ice cream without any other components. Just peanut butter cups and peanut butter ice cream!

The description reads: "Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Chocolatey Peanut Butter Cups (20%)". That may seem like a low percentage of peanut butter cups, but they're actually very chunky in size, and there's a lot of them compared to the Peanut Butter Me Up.


Scooping some into a bowl revealed a beige-coloured, speckled ice cream packed full of chopped-up peanut butter cups. The pieces were quite large, with the peanut butter centres clearly visible:


The ice cream tasted rich and peanutty, and of course very creamy. It had quite a savoury flavour with hints of salt as well as peanut. It took me a while to get used to as I've never eaten such a savoury tasting ice cream before! The peanut butter cups were very chocolatey, and gave regular bursts of sweet peanut butter goodness. They tasted amazing!


Overall, this is a delicious ice cream and it's great to see Ben and Jerry's listening to their customers and bringing us a flavour we really want. It's far better than Peanut Butter Me Up and gives a full-on peanut butter experience rather than distracting from it with jam. If you're a fan of peanut butter, you'll definitely want to check this out!

Price: £3 at Sainsbury's (will be available from other stores later in the year).
Suitable for vegetarians?: Doesn't state on packaging.
Allergy Information: Contains milk, nuts and soya. May contain gluten.
Nutrition Information (per 100g): 320 Calories, 25g Carbohydrates, 22g Fat.

RATING: 8.5 out of 10.

If you've tried this ice cream yourself please let me know your thoughts in the comments!
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Butterkist Toffee Apple Flavour Popcorn (Limited Edition) Review

September 17, 2013, 1:29 am
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Well, this is a first - a new product on shelves that isn't Christmas-themed! Yes, Butterkist have bucked the trend and released a limited edition flavour more suited to the Autumn months instead - Toffee Apple!

I found this popcorn in B&M Bargains of all places, for 99p. It's described as "Popcorn coated with Apple flavour Toffee (65%)". There's a blurb on the pack that says "A taste that transports you to a land of ferris wheels, helter skelters and horse carousels". I don't know about anyone else, but I don't think of any of those when I think of toffee apples - I think of Bonfire Night and Halloween!


I was expecting the popcorn to have a buttery toffee taste, but instead was met with a strong, sweet apple flavour. Infact I couldn't really taste much toffee at all - the coating was just sweet and crunchy. The apple was most dominant, and in that respect I guess this popcorn replicates the flavour of toffee apple quite well, since real toffee apples contain a greater ratio of apple to toffee.


Overall, I thought this popcorn was okay but I would've preferred a stronger toffee flavour. It's nice to see a limited edition specifically for autumn though, so kudos to Butterkist for this attempt!

For an interesting read on the history of Toffee Apples (or Candy Apples as they're called in North America), check out the wikipedia page here.

Price: 99p at B&M Bargains (RRP £1.49).
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: Contains milk and soya.

RATING: 6 out of 10. 
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Lucozade Melonade (Limited Edition) Review

September 18, 2013, 12:42 am
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In recent months I've noticed that Lucozade now comes in a dizzying array of different flavours. I'm not sure what's behind this trend, because Lucozade never really struck me as a drink suited to different flavours. The original Lucozade has it's own distinctive, unique taste, which surely gets lost when you start adding berry or apple flavourings to it?


So yes, call me old fashioned but to me proper Lucozade has just one flavour, although the orange version is a nice one-off. Nowadays though there's blackcurrant, cherry, apple, tropical, lemon, berry...and now this limited edition "Melonade" variety too. I found this in a local newsagent but it's also available at Asda in large bottles, plus I've spotted it in WH Smiths. It's described as "Sparkling melon and lime flavour glucose drink with tropical fruit juices" and contains caffeine.


It's fizzy pop that tastes of melon, basically. It has that full-on "glucose" kind of taste that Lucozade is known for, but with the slight fruity taste of watermelon. It was quite mild and I didn't think it really worked as a flavour, to be honest.

Overall, I wasn't a fan of this flavour, but for a more positive review check out Jwwwrestling's Video Review on Youtube who was a lot more positive about it than me.

If you've tried any of the fruity Lucozade spinoffs such as tropical, cherry, strawberry, apple, blackcurrant etc, please let me know your thoughts in the comments...

In other news, both the Lucozade and Ribena brands were recently sold to a Japanese company, according to this article. It'll be interesting to see if they decide to keep these fruity Lucozade varieties.

Price: 95p at newsagents. Larger bottles are also available at Asda.

RATING: 4 out of 10.
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Lindt Lindor My Melting Moment Chocolate Snowflake Review

September 19, 2013, 1:18 am
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Amongst all the new Christmas chocolates in Sainsbury's recently I spotted this one from Lindt. Being a fan of all things Lindt I had high expectations, and it sure didn't let me down!


It's basically a snowflake-shaped piece of chocolate containing a melting Lindor filling, which can be split in half. I love the snowflake design, it's simple but I think it looks really cool. The chocolate smelled very creamy and had a distinctive Lindt aroma. Splitting it open revealed the smooth filling:


It tasted as delicious as you would expect from Lindor: the chocolate was creamy and rich, whilst the filling was smooth and melt-in-the-mouth. It was quite full-on and maybe a bit too rich to eat all at once, so it's probably good that it can be split in half!


Overall, this Lindor Snowflake is a nice little treat and far better quality than some of the Christmas offerings from other mainstream companies this year. It's a bit rich so you might want to eat only half at once, or perhaps share it with a (very good) friend!

Price: 65p per piece at Sainsbury's. Also available at Tesco, 2 for £1.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: Contains milk, soya and barley malt extract. May contain nuts.

RATING: 8 out of 10.
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New! Cadbury Dairy Milk Snowy Delight (Limited Edition) Bar Review

September 20, 2013, 1:19 am
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Whilst looking for the new Cadbury Winter Wonderland bar in Tesco recently I was surprised to come across this limited edition Dairy Milk "Snowy Delight". I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised though, since there's been an almost never-ending stream of new product releases from Cadbury this year!


The description of "Milk chocolate with a vanilla flavour filling" made me yawn a little bit, as it means this is basically just a repackaged version of the now-discontinued Dairy Milk Bliss bar (which also made a limited edition resurgence for the 2012 Olympics as Dairy Milk Silvery Creme).

Grumbles aside, I have to say I did like the packaging - the picture of the Dairy Milk block on a sledge is a fun, festive touch which really made me smile!


Taste-wise the bar was very nice; the chocolate was typical Dairy Milk, and the filling was very smooth and creamy with a nice vanilla flavour.

Whilst it was all very pleasant and tasty, for a Christmas limited edition I felt this bar was a bit uninspired. Why not add some cinnamon or gingerbread to the filling and make it truly Christmassy? Vanilla isn't much of a Christmas flavour!


Overall, this isn't a bad bar of chocolate by any means but for a Christmas limited edition it's a bit of a letdown. It fails to bring anything exciting or festive to the table, which is surely what a Christmas limited edition should be all about?


Luckily, Cadbury have also brought out a limited edition bar with tree-shaped blocks that is far more interesting - please stay tuned for my review of the Dairy Milk Winter Wonderland!

Price: £1.40 per 120g bar at Tesco.
Suitable for vegetarians?: Yes.
Allergy Information: Contains milk and soya, may contain wheat and nuts.
Nutrition Information (per 3 chunks): 87 Calories, 5.8g Fat (3.4g Saturates), 7.6g Carbohydrates (7.6g Sugars).

RATING: 6 out of 10. 
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