Kev's Snack Reviews

It's nice to see the range of dairy free/vegan chocolate options expanding in the UK, with the likes of Waitrose , Ombar and others making some respectable options, and so it seems fitting that health food store Holland and Barrett have created their own range. They are now selling Organic Pumpkin Spice and Gingerbread dark chocolates, which come in 100g blocks and cost £3. A bit too pricey if you ask me, but nevertheless I was curious enough to give this a try when I spotted it - it's made with 58% cocoa solids and contains gluten free ginger cookie pieces. Opening the wrapper it certainly had a pleasant ginger aroma that reminded me of dark chocolate gingers.  The cookie pieces are clearly visible within the chocolate and pretty evenly dispersed. Taking a bite they're very evident and nice and crunchy. The chocolate is pretty smooth and sweet, which surprised me as usually chocolate with this percent of cocoa can be a little bitter. It's clearly of good quality a...

It's that time of year again...September, the classic month to get in the festive mood prematurely! Yep, lots of Christmas themed snacks and gifts are now appearing in shops (plus a few Halloween things), and amongst all the niknaks this year is a new Matchmakers flavour! Initially I thought this might be replacing the Salted Caramel Matchmakers from last year, but it appears not because that's also available alongside this in Tesco Express, currently for a mere 75p. At that price I couldn't say no to a pack! Described as "Gingerbread flavour chocolates with skimmed milk chocolate, dark chocolate and boiled sugar pieces" these weigh 120g. Opening the box I was immediately hit with a sugary, slightly artificial but definitely gingery aroma. It was very strong indeed...I wasn't sure if I liked it to be honest! I did what had to be done: dug out my fancy festive star-shaped snacks dish and arranged the Matchmakers on it. It's surprisingly perfect fo...

It's time for another Spotted In Shops, since we're gradually heading towards that time of year when Christmas and Halloween products start appearing on shelves - yep it certainly #getsearliereveryyear!  First up are the New Limited Edition Quality Street Gingerbread Matchmakers pictured above, an early product for the festive season. They're only available at Tesco for £2 so far, and presumably replace the Salted Caramel variety from last year. Nestle have also added a new Orange Flavour to their Kitkat Bites range, which is currently only exclusive to Morrisons. Luckily, if you have no Morrisons nearby you can get Orange Kitkat Chunky multipacks from Poundland as well as Home Bargains. Poundland are also selling their own take on White Maltesers - White Chocolate Mat Balls. Of course they probably won't be half as good as the glorious White Maltesers were ( sign the petition if you'd like them brought back), but I guess we'll have to mak...

Kev's Christmassy Reviews have returned, hurrah! Although I've already reviewed a few festive treats this year such as the Tesco Candy Cane Crisps and M&S Milk Chocolate Cinnamon Tortillas , it's now December so it's "official" Christmas Review time. Hope you all enjoy reading! Today's review is a new limited edition from Tesco... I have a love/hate relationship with ginger. It can be nice in puddings and cookies and mixed with other spices but I'm not a big fan of Gingerbread. I don't know why but I never liked it - even as a kid, I found it very boring. However, when paired with other ingredients it seems to work alot better, and creamier flavours balance out the spiciness and add a new dimension to it. So I was very curious indeed when I saw this new Gingerbread Limited Edition in Tesco recently. Launched just in time for the Winter months, this cost a mere 50p for 330ml, is suitable for vegetarians and contains flavourings. It's...

I'm not a big coffee drinker any more; it was making me too shaky, however when I spotted this new Gingerbread flavour Jimmys Iced Coffee in Tesco recently I just had to give it a try. Gingerbread coffees are commonplace in cafes, but this is the first one I've ever seen in a shop before. The ingredients are pretty simple and clean; British semi skimmed milk, Arabica coffee, demerera sugar, acidity regulator and natural flavouring. It's suitable for vegetarians and gluten free. I poured the coffee into my special latte glass to make it feel extra special. It tasted alright; there's a nice balance of milk versus coffee, with a subtle ginger flavour in there too, but it wasn't quite the warming spicy kick I was hoping for. The fact that it's iced coffee rather than latte is the problem really - it's neither warm and comforting nor frothy and creamy. If they'd have made this a latte I think I'd have preferred it a lot more. 7 out of 10.  N...

What would Christmas be without a festive themed popcorn? There's classic flavours like Orange and Mint Chocolate from Joe & Seph's , as well as the more out there Mince Pie variety, but one that's a bit more easier to find is this Butterkist Gingerbread flavour, available from WH Smith for £1. It's suitable for vegetarians and gluten free, and described as "Popcorn coated with a cinnamon and ginger flavour toffee". I poured it out into my festive star dish, and it certainly had a nice strong ginger aroma. The taste was very inconsistent; some of the popcorn pieces were just sweet and others had a stronger ginger and cinnamon flavour, the ginger was quite powerful, too much for me in fact. Usually I would complain that it isn't strong enough but in this case it wasn't pleasant. The inconsistency also means you don't know whether you're going to get a sweet popcorn or super spicy piece. Overall, as nice as it is to have a s...