Kev's Snack Reviews

Whilst out doing some post-xmas bargain hunting recently I chanced upon this huge slab of Milka Erdbeer or "Strawberry" in a local discount store. They were being sold for £1.50 per 300g bar so I really couldn't resist...especially since it looked suspiciously similar to a certain Dairy Milk Strawberries and Creme  from last Summer! There was no English writing on the wrapper but it was pretty obvious it was a strawberry cream filled bar. Opening the wrapper, the chocolate had a slightly dusty "bloomed" look to it - perhaps due to being close to the best before date. Splitting it in half, the filling looked very similar to the Dairy Milk Strawberries & Creme: And it tasted like it too, albeit a bit sweeter and creamier. The filling was smooth and creamy with a slight yoghurty tang, whilst the Milka chocolate was rich and milky. The best before date was for the end of January but despite this the bar still tasted pretty good! Overall, this wa...

It's taken me a while but finally I've gotten around to trying Costa's legendary Black Forest Hot Chocolate - turns out I saved the best until last! It's described by Costa as: "Costa Hot Chocolate with an added shot of Blackberry syrup and topped with cream, cherry sauce and a sprinkle of Belgian chocolate curls." When mine arrived it had a huge pile of cream and plenty of cherry sauce on top, in fact it was dribbling down the glass there was so much of it! There were plenty of chocolate curls too making the whole thing look extremely luxurious...I couldn't wait to get stuck in! It tasted as fantastic as it looked. The cherry sauce was sweet yet slightly tart and zingy, and made the cream taste even more luxurious. The chocolate curls added a nice crunch. When I got to the hot chocolate I started to think "Okay the best part is over now...", but I was wrong! The hot chocolate tasted just as brilliant; the blackberry syrup went with it ...

Niederegger hot chocolate and cappuccino mixes have been available from TK Maxx stores over the festive period, and luckily there was still a box left when I nipped in there for a spot of post-xmas shopping recently. They were out of the cappuccino version but I found the hot chocolate variety for £2.99 for a box of 10 sachets. Niedereggar is a famous German marzipan producer, which you may or may not have heard of before. They produce lots of different flavours and spinoff marzipan products, and even have their own marzipan cafe and museum! I had never heard of a marzipan flavour hot chocolate before though...this must surely be a first for Niederegger. The sachets were gold in colour and had instructions in German as well as English. I made a cup using hot water which produced a decently frothy drink, which almost looked like it does on the picture on the box! It tasted as you would expect, really - like hot chocolate with a strong marzipan almond flavour. It wasn'...

As a quick last-minute post before taking a blogging break over Christmas I thought I'd do a little round-up of the gifts I would recommend and the ones I would avoid this year...enjoy! Kev's Picks: Hotel Chocolat Xmas Sleekster: The Hotel Chocolat Christmas Sleekser is delicious and an absolute must for anyone who likes a variety of tasty chocolates! Available from hotelchocolat.co.uk . Artisan Du Chocolat Magic Wands: These are pricey but oh so tasty! I can't imagine anyone being disappointed at receiving a beautiful box of these for Christmas! Paul Wayne Gregory Christmas Collection: Ok, I haven't actually tried these yet, in fact they will be shared out with my family over Xmas...but don't they look amazing?! The flavours are xmas pudding, passionfruit and salted caramel. Available from paulwaynegregory.com . Honeycomb Matchmakers: These are cheap but oh-so moreish! I would highly recommend picking up a pack of these from Tesco...

As I'm going to be away over the Christmas period this will be my last review for a little while (I know... boo hoo, right!), but hopefully you'll be seeing these bars featured in a new Youtube video from a certain Mr Choc It Out! over the festive period... They're Swedish in origin - Marabou is a very well-known brand over there and I'm guessing it's the equivalent of our Cadbury's Dairy Milk, in fact it's owned by Kraft Foods who own all the big brands nowadays so there you go! Marabou bars were available in the UK from Ikea up until 2011, who unfortunately stopped selling them. You can still buy them online but they're not cheap! So when I found these bars on offer at  two for a pound in a discount store, I couldn't believe it! I suspect not many people in the store realized their significance and quickly snapped up several bars. Below are my thoughts on each variety... Frukt & Mandel (Fruit and Almond): This bar is a simple comb...

Today's review is for yet another coffee (I'm seriously thinking of rebranding as Kev's Coffee Reviews at this rate!) and it is the awesomeness that is Costa's Salted Caramel Latte! I've already reviewed Costa's White Hot Chocolate , Gingerbread Latte and Spiced Apple drinks and now it's now my mission to try the rest of their Christmas Menu before it disappears in January... The drink is described by Costa as  "A true taste of Christmas: our Salted Caramel Latte is made up of Costa Espresso with steamed milk served with salted caramel flavoured syrup, topped with cream and caramel sauce". When mine arrived it was exactly as advertised (hurrah!), and contained a hefty drizzle of salted caramel sauce above a thick layer of cream. Taking a sip I was met with a strong salted, butterscotch flavour - it was very moreish and tasty - more so than regular caramel in fact - proving that "salted caramel" isn't just a marketing gimmic...

Whilst in a local Turkish store recently I spotted this Nesquik wafer bar. I'd never seen it before and it wasn't long after I bought it that Marcus posted a new " 10 Foreign Chocolate Bars 003 " video which included this amongst them that I realized it was anything special! So in honour of his video I decided to pull it out of the review cupboard and give it a try... Opening the wrapper it looked like a pretty regular puffed wafer bar coated in milk chocolate, but had a stronger, more pleasant chocolatey smell than the average Nestlé chocolate bar. I could tell this was going to be a bit more special as it had that distinctive, sweet "Nesquik" aroma, if there is such a thing! Splitting it in half revealed a regular puffed wafer with a pale cream filling. Biting into it I was met with the expected sweetness as well as a nice milky cream, which I would say recreated the flavour of Nesquik cereal fairly accurately. It was a very pleasant wafer and...