Universal Studios Minion Taffy

Who doesn't love the Minions from Despicable Me? I'm a huge fan, so when I was browsing around a candy store at Universal Studios Florida, I couldn't resist these bags of adorable Minion Taffy. The Banana flavor came highly recommended by the cashier, but Sour Grape is more my style, so both bags came home with me.

A bag of Minion Taffy ran about $8 or $9, but that's an amusement park for you. Besides, I'm willing to pay a premium for cute. Look at their goggles, and check out the little teeth on the Purple Minion! I loved how the variations in the taffy meant that each Minion was a little different, just like in the movies. I was ready to give these an A+ without even tasting them!

Banana is a tricky flavor for me, but luckily, these were some of the best banana-flavored candies I've had. The banana flavor was mild and authentic: a little tart and a little sweet, like a banana at that perfect stage of ripeness. The taffy was firm but softened quickly, and as the taffy got stickier, the tart flavors gave way to just a slightly sweet banana, with almost no aftertaste. My husband (who loves banana candy and salt water taffy) said this was some of the best taffy he'd ever had. A+

Sour Grape wasn't super sour. The grape flavor was tart and slightly floral, and it did remind me of muscat grapes. It was sweeter than the banana, and was quicker to become soft and sticky. Normally, sour flavors are my thing, but this one was just a little too sweet to really hit the spot. The banana was superior, though I can see kids liking the Sour Grape flavor better. That's not to say it was bad - it was still quite good and quite adorable! B+

Despicable Me Minion Mayhem at Universal Studios

Fujiya Vegetable and Fruit Cookies

Bear with me readers, because this is kind of a weird one. These Anpanman (red bean paste filled bread man) cookies are made with spinach and banana. Even though there were vegetable characters on the bag, I can't help but wonder if, like other sneakily healthful foods, the idea is that kids are supposed to gobble them up without thinking about the vegetables inside. Either way, these cookies were passed on to me through two different friends whose kids didn't like them, so I don't think it's working.

Truthfully, I was supposed to give them to my nephew, but I figured he wouldn't like them, either, and I couldn't resist having a taste. My nephew is a big fan of real vegetables, so I didn't feel too guilty about keeping them. There was also a bag of carrot cookies that I didn't photograph. Although carrot seemed like a safer bet, those actually tasted worse.

The cookies smelled like grass and vanilla. They tasted very faintly of banana, and the flavor seemed a bit fake to me. While they were sweet, there was something weird about them. The cookies tasted sour like chewable vitamins, but not in a good way.

The cookies were crunchy, but like vitamins, they had a chalky texture. The banana killed some of the sourness, but let's face it: even kids don't like these. At least they were better than the carrot cookies.

D

Fujiya website (Japanese)

Thorntons Chocolates

This review is a long-overdue continuation of another review of Thorntons chocolates from my boss. Thankfully, I took good notes when I ate them, and these were so good that they stick out in my memory.

The remaining bars are Orange & Cardamom and Banana & Custard. Thorntons is a brand that I desperately wish I could find in the United States. As it is, I am grateful for the kindness of my boss, who often brings back sweets to share when she visits her family in the United Kingdom.

Orange & Cardamom smelled of cardamom with a hint of orange. Cardamom is such a clean, appealing, and fresh spice, and it was best showcased in the first bite. I wish it hung around longer, because as the chocolate began to melt, both the cardamom and the orange flavors became subtle. The orange oil was never tart, just mildly citrusy. Finally, the texture was just that of smooth, creamy milk chocolate. It melted quickly and cleanly without being too sticky. A-

The bar smelled like banana ice cream, and the white chocolate was mildly sweet with a heavy vanilla custard flavor. I do love to see vanilla bean flecks! Thankfully, banana chips gave the bar its banana flavor, so it was quite authentic. The crunchy banana chips and the creamy white chocolate were complementary. Though the bar was sweet, it was never too sweet, and I was surprised by how much I liked it. My husband, the true banana lover in the house, adored this one. A-

Thorntons Chocolates Website

Nestle Mixed Juice KitKat

Every time I review a snack, I try to approach it with an open mind. Whether it's something I know well or something I suspect I won't like, it helps to try and forget expectations and taste as if everything were brand new. Of course, a little prejudice is normal and unavoidable - taste buds are strongly tied to memory.

I ordered some Mixed Juice KitKats from NapaJapan, knowing full well that they wouldn't be a likely hit with me. It was quite a challenge to forget that notion as I sampled it, but review blogs are 99% subjective, so I don't feel too bad about it.


The KitKat smelled like sweet fruity cream, and at first, all I could taste was white chocolate. After the chocolate melted a bit, the fruit flavors emerged, but I could only pick out banana and a hint of peach. When mixed in with other fruits, banana tends to dominate, so I wasn't surprised.

It wasn't bad, just very sweet and heavy on the banana. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of the vegetable juice KitKat of last year, without the nasty aftertaste. Overall, it was a forgettable KitKat and one of the weaker offerings so far this year.

Check out more reviews at Jen's KitKat Blog, Japanese Snack Reviews, Tasty Japan, and Razterized.

C+

KitKat website

Casali Choco Banana

Specialty grocery stores are kind of dangerous for me, as I have a tendency to buy things I don't need. These Austrian banana sweets were one of those impulse purchases. I'm not normally a fan of banana flavored things, but these sounded interesting.

To be honest, part of the draw was that they reminded me of Japanese souvenir snacks. These particular candies are Austrian in origin, and it looks like strawberry and orange versions are also available.


The chocolates smelled slightly of banana, but mostly of a sweet, inexpensive chocolate. The banana center tasted a little sour and almost lemony, but I liked that it didn't have the rotten sweetness that I detect so often in banana candy. According to the package, they were made with real bananas, and it was reflected in the fairly authentic flavor.

The chocolate coating was a little crunchy, but the quality of the chocolate didn't seem great. Even though it was real chocolate, it was a little grainy and chalky in spots. The texture of the banana was soft, sticky, and spongy, like a marshmallow fluff. These were certainly unique, but not something I'd seek out again.

Here is another review of the Choco Bananas.

B-

Choco Banana website

Extra Fruit Sensations Strawberry Banana

I don't know that it's fair for me to rate strawberry banana flavored things, because I'm just not keen on banana flavoring. Sometimes the strawberry mellows it out, and if it's very authentic, then I have no problems at all, because real strawberries and bananas actually taste great together.

This gum was not very authentic. The first taste has the strong tingle of cherry-flavored liquid medicine, and I really want to call it Cherry Pepto Bismal or a cherry throat lozenge with a liquid center. It's not strawberry or banana. In any case, it's a tangy red flavor. I guess at least it was a strong flavor, though it's not really a plus here. Once that dies down, it's got that stale, rotting banana taste of Bubbleyum chewed too long.


This gum was not sensational. Two other friends tried it and neither went wild, but I know some people like the taste of cherry medicine. If not, pass on this one.

D

Extra Website

Laffy Taffy

Back when I was younger, I had braces. Taffy tops the list of things you can't eat when you have braces; one of my freinds broke a bracket eating Tangy Taffy once. Whatever happened to Tangy Taffy? Anyhow, there was a time in my life when I couldn't eat taffy, so perhaps that makes me want to eat it more now.

The packaging feels like it's aimed at the 10 year old me, growing up in the 1990s. Bright colors and "cool" fruit. Just check out the sour apple guy in this picture. He looks like a beat poet! The goatee and shades are pretty cool.

Oh, and the jokes. You buy Laffy Taffy for the jokes, right? Most of them are recycled, but then credited to (presumably) a child, as if they thought it up themself. For example: Why can't a nose be 12 inches long? Because then it would be a foot. I don't think Jennifer B. in Ft. Lauderdale, FL really came up with that herself.

I still haven't gotten to the actual Taffy. As far as I know, it tastes the same as it did when I was a kid.

Sour Apple: It's an electric green color (again with the 90s marketing) and starts out tasting almost like apple, but about halfway through, there was a weird, chemical taste that I didn't enjoy. Still, the taffy was pretty juicy.

Strawberry: A bright pink color, I can't really say it tastes like straberry, but it's somewhere in the ballpark. It's a nice, sweet, berry flavor, and they managed to mask the chemical taste much better.

Grape: Considering how most artificially flavored grape candy tastes like cough syrup, these aren't too bad. They are a pale purple, and they remind me of good grape popsicles. The ones that didn't taste like Robutussin.

Banana: I've never been a fan of banana flavored things. I love actual bananas, but banana candy is its own taste. My husband loves it and I just can't stand it. These are the epitome of banana-flavored candy, and I couldn't finish it. It just reminded me of the smell of rotten bananas.

Overall, I think the pieces are too big, and it kind of felt like chewing a balloon at times. All the flavors are artificial, and it shows, but they're all right. I doubt I'd buy them again, but I mostly bought them for nostalgia anyhow.

B-

Wonka Website

Mars Starburst Tropical

I should know by now to be wary of "tropical" versions of things. I learned my lesson many years ago with Tropical Skittles. But I guess I forgot that lesson when I bought this bag of Tropical Starburst. Let me break down each flavor.

Mango Melon: I don't really taste mango, but I can kind of taste the melon (cantaloupe). I don't think either fruit is as sour as this tastes, though.

Royal Berry Punch: Tastes a lot like clear gummy bears, but not good ones. I don't really taste berry at all, actually, although the first bite was almost cranberry, in a bitter sort of way.

Pina Colada: Very plastic-y taste. I think it's from the attempt at tasting like coconut. The pineapple is almost there, but the sugary taste is overpowering.

Strawberry Banana: I liked this best of the bunch. It tastes very artificial, but at least it does hit its target of strawberry banana. Not that it's a very tropical combination.

Starburst is one of those candies that was better as a child. Now they all just taste too sweet. I can still eat the originals, although too many gives me heartburn, as I recently discovered. If I get the urge for Starburst again soon, I won't pick Tropical.

C

Starburst Website