Kev's Snack Reviews

Gin flavouring is most certainly on trend at the moment, and like unicorns and salted caramel is infiltering all manner of snack products. I was pleasantly surprised to see a bar of Morrisons Lemon & Juniper Gin Chocolate last year, and now Divine have brought out a similar variety, which is Limited Edition, Organic, Vegan, Fairtrade and available from the likes of Oxfam stores and online. I really do love the Divine brand as they are yet another company at the forefront of ethically produced chocolate, and this is something we need more of! The cocoa beans used in this bar are sourced from family farmers in Ghana, and the bar contains zero palm oil or soya and is certified by the Vegan Society. The ingredients contain lemon oil and juniper berry oil to give it the "gin" like flavour without actual alcohol.  Like most 70% Dark Chocolate it has a rich fruity aroma so you know it's good quality right away (cheaper brands tend to just smell bitter). Taking a bite,...

A big thankyou to Home Bargains who recently sent me a box of various snacks that vare available from their stores. Amongst them, were these Bohme Chocolate bars. They're pretty cheap in store (19p or so) and are pretty tasty to boot! Bohme is a German company and the bars consist of dark chocolate and fondant creme fillings, in orange and lemon flavours. They're vegan and dairy free - always handy if you have allergies. The bars contain 5 generous chunks of dark chocolate, which is quite thick. The fondant creme filling is quite firm with nice sweet citrus aromas. They both taste pretty darn delicious. The chocolate is standard semisweet dark chocolate, nothing fancy, but the creme fillings are where all the action is. You need to have to have a sweet tooth and enjoy fondant chocolates to appreciate these - think the fruit cremes from Quality Street and Roses. The Lemon variety had the edge for me, but the Orange was a nice variation too and did remind me of the ora...

Whilst in Tesco recently I spotted a rather new and unusual flavour of Sprite and must admit I had to do a double take - "Does that say cucumber?!" I thought. Yes, indeed it did, and as a new flavour I had to give it a try in the name of snacks science! This variety is available in multipacks of cans or large 2 litre bottles in both Tesco and Morrisons. I went for the bottle which cost a pretty reasonable £1. The ingredients consist of fizzy water, sweeteners, citric acid and natural flavourings. I'm not usually a fan of drinks like this due to the artificial sweeteners, but we can let that slide once in a while right? Opening the bottle I was met with a cucumber aroma that wasn't really enticing...in fact my reaction was "ewww!" But nevertheless I took a sip, and after the initial faint cucumber flavour disappeared I was met with the traditional sweet lemon and lime Sprite flavour. It's actually not too bad at all and is rather refreshing - I ce...

Today's review is for Seed and Bean, a brand I have featured on occasion before - I particularly loved their White Chocolate, Lemon & Poppyseed Bar . This time I've been trying out some of their dark chocolate varieties. Their dark chocolates are suitable for vegans, fairtrade, dairy free and gluten free, as well as organic. This one contains 58% Cocoa and is flavoured with lemon and cardamom, a bit of a unique pairing for chocolate! It tastes nice, with rich, good quality dark chocolate that has a slightly acidic edge. The cardamom certainly makes for an interesting flavour profile combined with the lemon. I enjoyed this bar, it's not something you'd want to eat on the regular, but for "something a bit different" at Christmas it would make a nice variation. I would recommend this to vegans or anyone dairy free looking for something a bit different. I also like that it's organic since Green & Blacks seem to be downplaying their organ...

A big thankyou to Goupie for sending me some of their lovely chocolates to review recently. They are "A devilishly moreish chewy chocolate confection with a hint of crunch", hand produced by a small team in Kent. They come in triangular pieces and are freshly made to order every week. There's 17 individual flavours, 13 of which are vegan friendly, whilst 7 are gluten-free. For more info do check out Goupie's website:  https://goupie.co.uk/ I got the Lemon Meringue and Date & Walnut as these are both gluten free, but they also make varieties such as Hazelnut, White Chocolate & Lavender and the intriguing " A Taste of Christmas " based on the humble mince pie (only available from October to December). Lemon Meringue (Gluten Free): Described as "A citrus cocktail of zesty candied lemon and rich marshmallows " these had a delightful lemon aroma when I cut into them. The centre is light and chewy, very sweet and oh so moreish. The Bel...

Whilst in need of refreshment recently, I fancied something fruity yet not overly sugar laden, and spotted this Firefly Drinks Lemon, Lime & Ginger in Sainsbury's Express. The ingredients are pretty clean and consist of still water, fruit extracts, grape juice, lemon, lime, dandelion and nettle extracts, natural ginger flavouring and even natural rosemary flavouring. It tasted very refreshing indeed; very zingy and fruity - the citrus flavour was very prominent. It was just what I needed to perk me up and I didn't feel the need to drink it all at once (a rarity for me!) The herbal extracts give a subtle flavour that compliments the citrus, and the ginger provides a light warming kick. Overall, I would highly recommend this drink from Firefly! If you need some fruity refreshment it's ideal. Suitable for vegans. 8.5 out of 10.

When I heard a new limited edition Nakd bar was out, my ears perked up immediately; I had to have it! Especially since the flavour on offer is Lemon Drizzle - I used to looove lemon drizzle cakes back in my cake-eating days, so to have something similar was potentially very exciting indeed. According to Talking Retail, these replace last years limited edition Carrot Cake variety, which is a shame but to be expected I suppose. The bar cost 75p, and I was disappointed to see there were no multipacks - boo! The ingredients, like all Nakd bars are vegan, dairy free and gluten free, and contain a mixture of nuts, dried fruit, coconut and lemon flavour. The bar looked a tad different to a regular Nakd bar, there were a few chunky bits in there which I presume were the almonds. The taste was spot on for lemon drizzle - zingy, sweet, moist and chewy, without being too sour, but not skimping on the lemon either. I would say it was "just right". This is definitely a tasty...

I love trying new chocolate bars, especially if they are white chocolate, so I couldn't resist buying this Doisy & Dam "lemon, poppyseed and baobab" bar when I spotted it in a mini M&S recently. The only downside? It was around £2 for a 40g bar! One day my curiosity will make me a very broke man... Perhaps explaining the price is the fact that all Doisy & Dam bars are handmade in Norfolk using all organic ingredients. Respect for that. This one in particularly is gluten free and suitable for vegetarians. I love a good quality white chocolate, moreso when it has lemon in it, but I haven't had one with poppy seeds in since trying Seed & Bean's Lemon & Poppyseed White Chocolate many years ago. So I was rather excited at the prospect of trying it once again! The bar is small and chunky, with the aroma of a good quality white chocolate and hints of lemon. I took a bite; it melts in the mouth at the perfect rate, it's smooth an...

Recently Trebor (owned by Mondelez/Cadbury) have added a new flavour to their Softmints range...a "Lemon Mint" variety. I haven't had Softmnts for years even though I've always loved them so this was the perfect chance for me to get re-acquainted. Surely Mondelez haven't ruined them like they have their entire Cadbury chocolate range? Well, the texture is the same as ever...a nice crunchy shell yielding to a soft, chewy centre. The lemon flavour was very pleasant and brought a refreshing edge to the mint, but to be honest I'd rather just have regular Softmints, or Softfruits rather than combining fruit and mint together. It doesn't really work for me. Still, these are pleasant enough. Overall, these are an ok flavour and a good excuse to eat Softmints again, but I think I'll stck with the originals and Softfruits. Thanks for the nudge to try these again though, Trebor/Mondelez/Cadbury! 7 out of 10.

Recently Tesco started stocking Portlebay's range of popcorn, which includes some very unusual and quirky flavours...amongst them Cappuccino, Bacon & Maple Syrup, and Lemon Sherbet, based on those famous British sweets many of us used to rot our teeth on as kids! Unfortunately I missed the special offer Tesco were doing for these when they were just £1 so I had to pay full price, so I chose what I thought was the most interesting flavour (in hindsight I wish I'd chosen Cappuccino). The packaging was very eye-catching and the thought of sweet lemony fizzy popcorn had me excited! Unfortunately I found it to be a bit of a letdown. The lemon sherbet flavour tasted weird with the popcorn...it was somewhere between savoury and sour rather than sweet and citrusy...it just tasted wrong and didn't work. I'm not sure if it actually contained salt but I could taste some sort of salty/savoury flavour in there...maybe it was the popcorn, maybe the bicarb to give the sh...

Ombar recently contacted me about reviewing their Dairy Free Vegan Raw Cacao Bars, and since these are technically refined sugar free (they contain coconut sugar instead) I thought I'd give them a try. Not only do they contain coconut sugar, the "milk" varieties also contain coconut milk instead of dairy, making them dairy free and suitable for vegans. They also contain "live cultures", making them good for your tummy too! I've actually reviewed Ombar before - I tried their Strawberry Mylk bar - but I was delighted at the chance to try the Coconut Milk and Lemon & Green Tea varieties, especially as these bars usually cost £2 each in my local health food store. They're definitely only an occasional indulgence, which chocolate should really be anyway (Who am I kidding?!) I tried the Lemon & Green Tea variety first, which contained real lemon powder & oil, and matcha green tea powder. I wasn't sure what to expect from this bar but ...

Heron Frozen Foods have recently been selling some new ice creams from The Licktators for the bargainous price of only £1.50 a tub, so naturally, I simply couldn't refuse to try them! The flavours included are Lemon Curd, Popcorn and Chocolate Praline. Like all The Licktators ice creams, it comes with a pun in the name...this one is John Lemon, presumably to tie in with the "British" theme The Licktators love so much? Whilst I "imagine" some John Lenon fans (and possibly Yoko Ono) might be incensed by this change of name, I think it adds an amusing touch. But what's most important of course is the taste...and I think John would've approved of such a delicious ice cream! This is simply one of the nicest ice creams I've had in ages, but then maybe I'm just easily pleased! It's a simple vanilla ice cream with lots of tangy lemon curd sauce rippled through, and there's a generous amount of it too. It's very strong and refre...