Kev's Snack Reviews

There's been a few new additions to the Lindt range in the UK recently, not only have we had a small bar of Lindor Orange, there's also a new Lindt Excellence Raspberry Dark and this; Roasted Hazelnut Dark. Described as "Fine dark chocolate with roasted hazelnuts from Piedmont", this is something I simply had to try - I love any chocolate with hazelnuts in! The bars were on offer for £1.60 in Sainsbury's recently, although usually cost around £1.99. The chocolate contains 47% cocoa solids and milk fat, so unfortunately isn't suitable for vegans. The Piedmont hazelnuts make up 9% of the bar. It had a yummy strong hazelnut flavour, somewhat remiscent of Nutella, with the richer flavour of the dark chocolate complimenting the nuts perfectly. A few squares of this go perfectly with a cuppa, however I did feel it would have been better had it been either 70% cocoa dark chocolate, or just milk chocolate. I get that they're trying to appeal to fans of b...

We don't seem to get many new Milka bars in the UK these days, since Mondelez just convert most Milka products into a Dairy Milk version, which is a shame really because MIlka has a distinctive flavour that's very different from Dairy Milk. Perhaps it's the alpine milk in Milka bars, or the higher cocoa content, but they definitely have that unique "something" that Dairy Milk can't replicate. So I was excited when these new "dark" Milka bars appeared in B&M and Home Bargains recently. They cost 79p, and consist of 45% cocoa dark chocolate with the addition of hazelnut paste and milk powder (so aren't suitable for vegans unfortunately). The chocolate tasted pretty good! It has that distinctive creamy Milka flavour of alpine milk, with the hazelnut paste adding a vague nuttiness in the background. It's very tasty and was easy to eat a lot of, but more of a richer milk chocolate than a true dark chocolate. Overall, this is qui...

I'm always a sucker for a limited edition, and when I spotted this Co Op Rhubarb and Custard Limited Edition milk over Easter, straight into my basket it went! I've always enjoyed rhubarb and custard so putting it in milk form seems quite the logical next step, although it's not something I've ever seen done before. This cost £1.29, is suitable for vegetarians and gluten free. There's some "Amoosing jokes" on the carton, such as "Where did the rhubarb get its hair cut? The rhu-barbers". Eye rolls ahoy! There's also rhubarb facts such as "In the wild rhubarb can reach 6 to 10 feet in height". Educational too, thanks Co Op! Onto the most important thing then...how does it taste? Well, I was expecting it to be artificial but it actually tasted lovely and fresh! The flavour was very realistic in tasting of both rhubarb and custard in equal measure, with the thick texture of the milk making it even more reminiscent of custard. This...

I don't know how Aldi manage to get away with making obvious clones of so many famous brands, but they are still at it so I won't judge. It makes the confectionery world a lot more interesting (and affordable) for those of us on tight budgets. The latest addition to their ever-expanding range are these new Dairyfine "Switch Ups" and "Mythicals" crunchy coated chocolate candies. The Switch Ups are clearly the same thing as Nestle's Vice Versas, with the brown ones containing white chocolate centres and the white ones containing milk chocolate centres. Sadly they didn't taste as good as Vice Versas. Vice Versas aren't great nowadays, but the white chocolate ones are at least decent. The white chocolate in Aldi's version is very flavourless, tasting mostly of sugar; no creaminess at all. They were just far far too sweet for me. 6 out of 10. The Mythicals are similar to a product Nestle used to make called Milkybar White Moments...

When this new Blueberries & Cream flavour Haagen Dazs came out I was super eager to try it, although at £4 a tub I thought I would wait until a special offer was on. That offer never came, but by chance Haagen Dazs recently launched some new boxed mini tubs, in both a Caramel Collection and Fruit Collection, as well as a Sorbet Collection. The Fruit Collection contains the likes of Mango & Raspberry, Strawberries and Cream, Summer Berries & Cream and this...a mini tub of the Blueberries & Cream. They cost £2.50 for a box containing two tubs of each flavour, although are no longer on offer in Tesco. The pots come with a handy plastic spoon beneath the lid, perfect if you buy a box to take to the beach! The ice cream was of course purple, almost lavendar in colour, with little bits of blueberry mixed in. It tastes, well, like blueberry ice cream! Something I've never tried before but pretty much as I would expect - there's the subtle blueberry flavour wi...

Today's post is a departure for Kev's Snack Reviews...I was recently asked my thoughts on what companies should do when faced with negative online reviews of their products. Reviews can really affect a brands reputation, as word spreads faster than ever nowadays thanks to Instagram, Twitter and Facebook - a bad review has a big impact especially if a company is new to the market. In my opinion, honesty is always the best policy and if a product has issues then the business and the consumer needs to understand why. We all have biased opinions to some degree and some only "see what they want to see", whether it be consumer or producer. So it's good to be aware of this if you're a company faced with bad reviews. You might be blinkered about how good you perceive your product, just as a reviewer might be about how bad it is. How should companies deal with us bloggers' opinions, varied as they are? Well for a start it's always nice to be given an opp...

Today I'm reviewing an Easter Egg I was gifted that sadly will not make it to the Easter Weekend, being the chocoholic that I am. I know, I know, I'm a pig! I was really excited when I heard about this 100% Dark Egg from Hotel Chocolat, because back in my sugar-free diet days it was so hard to find anything to have at Easter without sugar. There's always a need for such products on the market and the fact Hotel Chocolat have made this is surely a first - I've certainly never seen anything like it in shops before anyway.  The egg weighs 170 grams and has Turkish raisins and Californian roasted almonds embedded within the shell. It's suitable for vegans, although made in a factory that handles dairy products. I was excited when I split it apart to see an abundance of raisins and almonds hidden beneath: The egg also comes with two small trays of 100% St Lucia chocolate panned Piedmont hazelnuts, which reminded me of a richer and more refined Ferrero Rocher in ...

Do you like Cadbury's Mini Eggs but not how they've changed the quality of them in recent years? Well these M&S Chicky Choccy Speckled Eggs might just be for you! Priced at £1 and available from most M&S stores, they're a bit chunkier than Cadbury Mini Eggs, but a whole lot tastier! Making them even more special, they're also speckled! I really enjoyed these, the chocolate is creamy and doesn't taste overly sweet or greasy like Cadbury's does nowadays and the shell is the perfect level of crunchiness. The chunkier size makes them quite a mouthful to eat, but they certainly satisfy. Overall, you can't go wrong with a bag of these from M&S this Easter. Speaking of which it's not long now until the big weekend! Suitable for vegetarians. 8.5 out of 10.

I've been eyeing up the new Haagen Dazs Ice Cream Bar range for a while now; they're currently on offer in Tesco and Asda and already I've tried the Salted Caramel and White Chocolate Mango & Raspberry varieties. Next on my list to try was this - the White Chocolate & Almond Bar. As fate would have it I happened to find a single boxed stick for a mere 29p in my local Heron Foods just the other day. What a bargain! Like the other bars in this range it has a somewhat curved shape, which is a nice touch and makes it feel more special. It's described as "Vanilla ice cream with Belgian white chocolate and caramelised almond pieces". Taking a bite, the white chocolate is perfectly creamy and delicious, with a lovely hint of vanilla. The ice cream is soft and refreshing, not overly milky like some ice creams can be. The caramelised almond pieces are what really sets this bar apart though - they're delicious! They bring a perfect sweet, savo...

It's been years since I last had Reese's Pieces, however when I saw this box of Reese's Pieces Eggs in Bargain Buys recently I thought I'd give them another try. These are much larger than Reese's Pieces so have a greater ratio of peanut butter filling to shell. They cost £1 per box, are gluten free and suitable for vegetarians. They're a bit like Cadbury Mini Eggs in appearance but with more brightly-coloured shells. They taste very yummy and are highly addictive! The peanut filling gets a better chance to shine here compared to regular Reese's Pieces - it's quite creamy, and almost like a peanut white chocolate rather than peanut butter. It's mild but it works with the crunchy shells perfectly. Overall, I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed these even though I wasn't expecting to. They're absolutely full of sugar and good old-fashioned artificial colourings, but so addictive. If you have a Bargain Buys nearby you certainly can't...

A big thankyou to Marks & Spencer who kindly sent me one of their Nutty Surprise Easter Eggs to review recently. I know - I'm a jammy so-and-so! I was super excited, moreso than anything I've ever been sent to review before. This is part of the new M&S Easter range for 2017, which includes some very cool products such as Chocolate Ganache Salted Caramel Eggs , White Chocolate Laid Back Lamb , and even an Egg made of Fudge ! You can't fault M&S for their efforts considering no other supermarket has such an interesting range (and really, nothing says Easter quite like this Shimmered Teardrop Egg , right?) This beauty is described as a "hollow milk chocolate egg with honey caramelised salted peanut pieces". It comes with its own stand, should you wish to show it off and admire it: Opening the foil, the two halves split apart to reveal the glorious peanut studded centre. It looked amazing! And now for the close-up... I snapped a piece of t...

I may not be The Peanut Butter Queen - that title goes to Nibbles & Scribbles - but I certainly had to try these new Dessert Menu Belgian Milk Chocolate and Peanut Ice Creams when they appeared in Marks & Spencer recently, along with other varieties such as Milk Chocolate & Cappuccino and Stem Ginger . They're suitable for vegetarians and described as "Roasted peanut ice cream with a toffee ripple coated in Belgian milk chocolate and roasted peanut pieces". They cost £2.80 for a box of three. You can also buy them in single sticks if your M&S is lucky enough to have them in. They look pretty similar to a Magnum in size and appearance, with the roasted peanut pieces visibly embedded in the chocolate. Taking a bite, there's a nice savoury flavour from the peanut ice cream, with a thin layer of toffee ripple running through it. The chocolate is top quality, rich yet creamy and far better than anything most supermarkets make. The peanut piec...

I don't really know where to start with my thoughts about these new Limited Edition White Skittles Fruits. You wouldn't think there'd be much to say about sweets that have simply removed the colourings, but apparently there is. They've been launched to support Gay Pride this Summer, stating "only one rainbow matters this Pride. Give the rainbow, taste the rainbow". The implication is that they've removed their traditional rainbow colours so that the Pride rainbow can shine instead. Oh, thanks for your kindness, Skittles! #onerainbow This is supporting a great cause, but couldn't they have thought of a better way to do it?! Making Skittles all white to support gay pride is just silly. Surely we should be celebrating the rainbow in all of its colourful glory? How does making them all white create any sense of pride? The fact they need a convoluted explanation for it just shows what a silly idea it is.  That aside, I will admit that it wa...

In the midst of some of their latest new indulgent product launches, Nestle have decided to reduce sugar and calories across some of their range. Last week they announced the launch of a Kitkat with More Milk & Cocoa (which has caused "outrage" according to the Daily Mail ), and as well as that they've reduced sugar by 30% in Fruit Pastilles and Rowntree's Randoms. I found this bag of reduced sugar Fruit Pastilles for 60p in Tesco Express. They contain no artificial sweeteners, and it seems that some of the sugar may have been replaced with dextrin, which is a fibre made from corn. So they're still high carb but contain less sugar. They tasted pretty good, definitely less sugary than regular Fruit Pastilles and were somehow lighter to eat. The fruit flavours are still there and the chewy texture is still the same. For a reduced sugar sweet it's hard to tell the difference, and thankfully they don't have that weird flavour that some products ...

There seems to be a new Haribo Limited Edition for every season nowadays; the last few Summers they had the Frenzy Editions , which I thought were returning again this year. But it seems not...instead we're getting these "Summer Frenzy" Tangfastics which contain Ice Cream & Sorbet Flavours, and Starmix Summer Frenzy with Berry Flavours . The ice cream flavours are Passionfruit, Mango, Bubblegum, Peach, Watermelon and Rhubarb & Custard... Whilst the Sorbet flavours are Peach and Guava, Mango & Passionfruit and Pink Grapefruit. Being honest I think this is quite a random mix of flavours for ice cream and sorbets...I mean when was the last time anyone bought a tub of watermelon ice cream? No matter, Haribo flavours are usually better in practice than on paper. There were lots of Rhubarb and custard "Cherries" in the bag, and as nice as they were they became a big boring after a while. They tasted quite similar to Haribo Rhubarb and C...

I was quite excited when this Snickers Ice Cream tub popped up in Asda recently, along with Mars and Twix Ice Cream tubs. I can't eat the latter two as both contain gluten, but this one is gluten free - huzzah! I am sure they used to make these many moons ago, back in the 90's. I distinctly remember eating the Mars variety as a child. So they are perhaps a recycled idea rather than something completely new. Regardless, it's always good to have more peanutty products on UK shelves! This cost £3 in Asda and is described as "Peanut dairy ice cream with milk chocolate coated peanuts, caramel and milk chocolate flavour sauce". When I opened the tub a lot of the ice cream had melted, which meant only one thing: eat as much as possible to stop it spilling out of the tub! ( Any excuse). The ice cream is lovely, you can definitely taste the peanut flavour as it has that salty savoury taste going on. The caramel is a nice addition and provides some sweet goo...