Today's Review: Starbucks Christmas Blend

Well, Halloween's pretty much over now, and since I've already reviewed and consumed all the Halloween treats I've picked up this year, I figure I'll turn my attentions to Christmas, 'cause that's the next big thing (after fireworks I guess). I was given a bag of the Starbucks Christmas Blend coffee when I went to try out their Christmas drinks last week, and have been steadily making my way through it since. I hadn't really tried out Starbucks beans before this year, but I was informed that the Christmas Blend is a favourite, and it's only around in the festive period (if you didn't guess).

These beans make for a pretty smooth cup of coffee. The couple that I've tried before seem to have quite a kick to them, with some bitter tones that really helped wake me up. The Christmas Blend coffee is less pronounced. It's dark, sure, but not at all bitter, instead possessing a sweet, slightly caramel tone that lingers for a while after drinking. I was told to pair it with some of the Starbucks caramel cakes when I tried it out last week, and that did indeed bring out the sweetness in the coffee itself, and I can now certainly notice it more than I've detected the flavours in other beans I've tried. These beans certainly are a favourite of mine, they make for an enjoyable drinking experience, a sweet, warm cup of coffee that will brighten up those dreary winter days. Well worth picking up while it's around.

My rating: 5/5

Today's Review: Snyder's Cheddar Cheese Pretzel Pieces

I'm a sucker for Snyder's Pretzel Pieces, or at least the hot varieties anyway. I've tried the jalapeño and buffalo wing varieties before, and I would gladly shove an entire bag in my face on any given day. But yesterday I saw a flavour I had not yet tried, and on clearance in Tesco as well. It's certainly not a spicy concoction that made my mouth water, it's cheddar cheese, which sounds pretty plain. But I figured I'd give them a go, seeing as the other flavours are pretty awesome.

I tried to put my spice addiction to one side while I made my way through this bag. My tongue was longing for heat, but obviously these don't provide that. What they do have, however, is a very bold, quite delicious cheesy flavour. It says "bursting with flavour" on the packet, and my word they're right. A lot of people don't seem to do cheese flavoured snacks all that well, but these are great. The texture of the pretzels really helps it along, with a satisfying crunch and a slimy, yet satisfying greasiness that really seals in the flavour and left me licking my fingers afterwards. I was disappointed at the lack of spiciness in this bag, and these are a little lacking in cheesiness at some points, especially with the bigger pretzel chunks. But I can't be too mad. These are cheddar cheese flavoured pretzel pieces, they accomplish what they set out to do, and they're pretty tasty. In lieu of a spicy flavour I'm sure I'd pick these up again.

My rating: 4/5

Today's Review: Lucozade Cola

My eyes were immediately drawn to this fetching black bottle when I was in B&M earlier. A black Lucozade? What could it be? Well, turns out it's cola, and that seemed like a weird choice for me. Most Lucozade flavours are fruit based, but I commend them for trying something different. Besides, if cola is done right, it's pretty tasty. 

This is an odd one. The first thing I noticed is that it's very sweet. it definitely has a cola taste to it, but it also seems a little bit fruity. It's certainly not a bad flavour, but I did notice that this variety felt quite flat compared to a lot of the other flavours. There's a bit of a fizz to it, but it's more syrupy than anything. The cola flavour combined with the glucose base of the drink did have a bit of a kick, but overall it's not fantastic. It's drinkable, sure, but there are a lot better flavours out there. This is a nice effort from Lucozade, but it falls a little flat.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Tesco Marmalade On Toast, Raspberry Doughnut & Carrot Cake Yoghurts

Ever the food combination pioneers, Tesco have come out with a trio of interestingly flavoured yoghurts. I would say they're cake based, but apparently one of them is based on breakfast instead. So really there's no underlying theme, just a few yoghurts that someone thought would be pretty darned wacky. So here we go.

I'll just get this one out of the way, because the idea is, quite frankly, ridiculous. This is a toast flavoured yoghurt, and a marmalade on toast flavoured yoghurt at that. I was entirely skeptical about this one, I can give and take marmalade any day, but to have it and toast condensed into yoghurt form? Not so tempting. I must say though, this yoghurt does taste like toast. It's probably due to the fact that there are actual breadcrumbs in it. but hey, fair play to them for that. There's also marmalade in the ingredients, so it does have something of an all round breakfast-like flavour. But there's also the yoghurt, and the creaminess of that makes for a not so great combination. I mean, this is how a marmalade on toast yoghurt should taste, but that doesn't mean this should be a thing. Certainly better than I was expecting, but not all that great.

My rating: 3/5

This is what I imagined would be the most acceptable of the three. It's a raspberry doughnut yoghurt. Raspberry yoghurts are certainly a thing, so a bit of doughnut on top wouldn't hurt, right? Well, this does, in fact, taste normal, decidedly average. The raspberry flavour is there, but the doughnut aspect is quite lacking. There's cornflour and unsalted butter in the ingredients, but they certainly don't lend much to the overall taste. It's an okay yoghurt, but if you're after something different then this doesn't really deliver.

My rating: 3/5

I saved the best 'til last. The carrot cake yoghurt, for when you want cake but you've also got to count your calories, I guess. This thing is the real deal, it is a carrot cake in yoghurt form. It has all the actual cake stuff inside, brown sugar, carrots, sultanas and mascarpone cheese, and it just tastes like a creamy carrot cake in a pot. I said how the marmalade on toast is ruined by the creamy texture and flavour of the yoghurt, but it helps here, as it just give the effect of frosting. This yoghurt certainly isn't as good as an actual slice of carrot cake, but as a carrot cake yoghurt it certainly fits the bill. This is the one you should be picking up.

My rating: 5/5

Tesco have done it again. Well, the results are varied, but they've certainly knocked up some interesting concoctions here. My co-workers were equal parts disgusted and fascinated with my purchases, and yours can be too. If you fancy yoghurts that taste like things that shouldn't be yoghurts, grab some of these (or at least that carrot cake one).

Today's Review: Cadbury Amaze Bites

Cadbury sure are churning out a lot of products lately, and a lot of them are departures away from their signature bars. These Amaze Bites certainly caught my eye, after all, who doesn't love little bite sized cakes, and brownie cakes at that? I was a little put off that they've based the name after a crass exclamation of approval that wore out its welcome well over a year ago, but hey, it's what's on the inside that counts, right? These come in double chocolate or chocolate orange varieties, I figured I'd go the classic route for the first try.

I've gotta say, these are pretty good. I may have hated a little on the Cadbury Sticky Puds  last week and said they should probably stick to the bars, but I think they should carry on with these. The cakes are deliciously chocolatey, and nice and thick like brownies should be. A little on the stodgy side, perhaps, but I'd rather my brownies be heavy than flaky. The chocolate coating on top is a nice touch, and adds a nice bit of creaminess, and a bit of a crumbly texture to the cake, which is great. I've got to say that these are pretty filling, I found it hard to stop myself eating them, and after about nine I was ready to pop. So yeah, these are pretty heavy cakes, but I guess they're built to last. Well worth picking up a tub of these.

My rating; 4/5

Today's Review: Sensations Cheese With Sweet Cranberry

There are a couple of festive Sensation flavours out just in time for Christmas. They're also thicker cut, which I thought was a nice addition. These come in roast beef and horseradish, and this flavour, cheese with sweet cranberry. I don't get on all that well with horseradish, so I figured I'd grab these. After all, who doesn't like a bit of cranberry at Christmas? 

Well, these don't taste a whole lot like cranberry. They're certainly cheesy though. It's actually quite a nice flavour, a bold, almost creamy taste that doesn't overwhelm and works well with the texture of the crisps. The thicker cut is noticeable, delivering a more satisfying crunch than regular Sensations. But I really didn't get the cranberry. There were times there was a hint of sweetness, but overall this was just a big bag of cheesy crisps. Nice cheesy crisps, sure, but I can get those a lot of places. I wanted cranberry, and I was disappointed. So really, this is a pretty average bag.

My rating: 3/5

Today's Review: Butterkist Gingerbread Popcorn

Oh, I've been searching for this one. Ever since it was teased on the back of the Grim Green popcorn I found the other week, I've been impatient to get my chops around some gingerbread popcorn. Butterkist churn out some good quality stuff, so I was expecting great things, and hoping this would be a staple snack food for this festive season.

This popcorn has a ginger and cinnamon flavoured coating, and therein lies the crunch. It's flavoured, and doesn't contain any of the real stuff, and sadly it shows. Sure, it tastes like gingerbread at first bite, quite a big spicy hit that possesses a certain amount of sweetness. But the problem is it's way too strongly flavoured for me, and since it's not authentic it seems quite acidic, the spice becomes overwhelming and not much like gingerbread at all. The popcorn still has that nice crunchy texture that Butterkist has, but the coating is just off for me. I thought I might have some wayward taste buds last night, but I tried it again this morning, and sadly I just can't get along with it. If the flavour stayed as nice as it did when I first popped it into my mouth it might be a different story, but I think it's rather telling that I didn't finish the bag in one sitting. Unfortunately this is not a great popcorn, I'll have to look elsewhere for my festive fix.

My rating: 2/5