Vosges African Red Tea & Tart Cherry Bar

Vosges was one of the first high-end chocolate brands that I tried. Since then, I've found other brands that I like more (and often cost less) but I'm always up for a new Vosges bar. They offer some unique combinations, and African Red Tea & Tart Cherry is something I haven't seen before.

It's been a few years since I've been to Las Vegas, but the Vosges boutique in the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace is one of my favorite stops. There are always new truffles, sometimes assortments go on sale, and they usually have several chocolates to sample. Plus, the purple/white decor is pretty.

The chocolate was quite pretty! It was light in color (at 45% cocoa) with little black flecks in it (probably the tea). It smelled more bitter than it actually was and I'm guessing that was from the tea, because it had an earthy scent, too. The chocolate was soft, creamy, and milky (little to no bitterness). It had a slight stickiness and it was sweet, but never what I'd call too sweet.

The tea gave the bar a bit of a strange, gritty crunch. The cherry bits were tart indeed and went well with the sweet chocolate. They also added a soft, chewy texture to the mix. Speaking of chewing, the red tea bits were quite tart when chewed as well. Overall it was an interesting bar, but I probably wouldn't get it again.

B

Vosges website

Bourbon Sakuramochi Mochi Chocolat

In a previous post, I mentioned how hard it is to find traditional Japanese sweets outside of Japan. That time, it was mitarashi dango, but here's another one to add to the list: sakuramochi. Sakuramochi are pretty little pink rice cakes filled with sweet red beans and wrapped in pickled sakura (cherry blossom) tree leaves. They might look or taste a little different depending where in Japan you get them, but they are sweet with a subtle very subtle sourness.

Bourbon makes this fancy line of chocolates called もちしょこら (mochi shokora), or Mochi Chocolat. On my last napaJapan purchase, I got the Matcha, Ganache, and Sakuramochi flavors. The thought occurred to me to review the matcha mochi chocolates right after I polished off the whole box, but at least I remembered to do the sakuramochi.

The box contained two separate packs of 4 mochi balls, so if you have some self control, you can share them or at least not eat all at once lest they go stale. I wish the box had contained a little pick or spear because the sticky little mochi were tough to get out of the container. The mochi chocolates smelled a little like fresh cherries with a hint of a sour, pickled aroma - and that's a good thing!

Rest assured that the outer coating was soft, sticky, actual mochi! According to the box, the middle layer of cherry chocolate was made with sakura leaves. It had no chocolate taste whatsoever, just a delicate cherry flavor. The red bean center was nice, adding just a touch of sweetness and a little pleasantly beany texture. The whole thing was a soft, lovely medley of textures and mild flavors.

A-

Bourbon website

Chukar Cherries

My older brother is a cherry enthusiast. Every Christmas, he could count on finding a box of chocolate covered cherries under the Christmas tree with his name on it. You know, the kind with the sticky, syrupy filling, and the remnants of what was once a cherry in the center?¹ These Chukar Cherries are nothing like those.

Appropriately, it was my brother who sent me this box of Chukar Cherries. I feel like I've missed out on so much in life by avoiding chocolate covered fruit, and it was all due to my own misconceptions. These were plump, meaty cherries with intense flavor, covered in lovely, thick chocolate. Here's a little bit about each kind in the box I received.

In the Cabernet Cherry, I didn't really taste the wine, but the tart cherry was wonderful. It was sour at first, but it had a nice bitter flavor. The outside chocolate was thick and only mildly bitter. My husband described this one as fresh.

Classic Cherry had a very sweet and sticky chocolate coating. The cherry within was mild and tender, and sour on the finish. The chocolate reminded me of hot cocoa, but while tasty, this wasn't my favorite of the bunch.

The Black Forest Cherry had a gorgeous dusting of bitter chocolate, and it did taste like black forest cake. The bittersweet cocoa was just right, and the cherry was woodsy with a slightly sour finish. The balance of bitter and sweet was perfect, and this was my favorite of the bunch.

Truffle Cherry was enrobed in sweet and smooth chocolate, with a very sweet, mild cherry center. Like the Classic Cherry, it was by no means bad, just not my favorite.

The Amaretto Rainiers were very sweet with an odd, medicinal note ar the start (probably from the liquor). The cherries were the plumpest of the bunch, but a little overly sweet.

Cherry Rouge had a strong cherry flavor, though my husband thought it was reminiscent of strawberries. These were nice and tart, but I didn't love the extra cherry flavor.

On the whole, I loved the thick chocolate, and the dried cherries in the center were wonderful. It seems a shame to call them dried cherries, because they were so plump and tender! The dark chocolate-covered varieties were definitely my favorites. Chukar Cherries are a Washington specialty, but they are easy to order online.

A

Chukar Cherries Website

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¹ I have heard that some people, for example my brother and my husband, do like cherry cordials.

Hubba Bubba Max Mystery Flavor

Back in elementary school, when I got an allowance of 2 dollars a week, much of that money was spent on bubble gum from the grocery store a couple blocks from my house. There's just something so fun and frivolous about bubble gum, and I still blow bubbles to this day, no matter what kind of gum I'm chewing.

These days, I tend to stick to sugarfree gum, but every now and then, something like Hubba Bubba will jump out at me. When I bought this gum at the supermarket last week, my exact words to my husband were, "This girl I can't resist a mystery flavor." I love a good gimmick, and I think I have a pretty good guess at this flavor.


The two-toned gum smelled like almond extract. Right away, it tasted like lemonade, and as I chewed, cherry flavor emerged. My guess is Cherry Lemonade. It was juicy and sour, and not too sweet. When I blew bubbles, the woodsy cherry flavors really emerged, reminding me of amaretto and cherry Starbursts. The lemon wasn't at all like a cleaning product, just sour and tangy.

The gum itself was large and very soft, making it easy to chew and blow bubbles. I had to be careful of my glasses, because the bubbles I could blow could have easily overtaken my nose. As expected, the flavor started to wear thin after just a couple minutes, but the delicious initial favor won me over.

Check out another review at Gum Alert, and from reading the comments, it seems like this "mystery flavor" is a simple re-release. Well, it worked on me.
B+

Hubba Bubba website

Green & Black’s Classic Collection

Press Sample
It’s about time I continued working on my backlog of reviews. First, a PR representative for Green & Black’s kindly sent the lovely Classic Collection of miniature chocolate bars. The first thing that popped into my head when I saw the tiny bars was that they would be a great size for an American Girl doll (my favorite childhood toy). Maybe that's why I still think miniatures are so fun!

The cutest thing about the bars was that they were perforated, just like a full size bar! Adorable. The perforations worked, too, which is always a plus! The collection includes six varieties: Milk, 70% Cocoa, Ginger, Cherry, Almond, and Toffee. There were two bars of each kind, so I recruited my husband as a guest taster and have included some of his comments below. I should also mention that, to quote the press email, Green & Black's sources high-quality organic and fair trade certified ingredients for all of its bars, and that this collection will be available for $9.99 in US major retailers starting in September.


look how cute these are!
Even though it's a standard flavor, Milk was not my favorite of the set. It's really just my personal preference (which is typically > 60% cocoa or bust). It was very sweet and milky with a sticky melt (which is what my husband likes about milk chocolate). I detected a hint of what almost seemed like mintiness, but it could have been my imagination.

However, when the milk chocolate was combined with Toffee, I loved it. The bar had a nutty, caramelized flavor that went very well with the sweet milk chocolate. The chewy, slight crunch of the toffee was just right (Heath bars are too hard for me). The finish was very sweet, but it went well with the subtly salty toffee.

The Almond bar smelled milky, and the chocolate was soft and sticky. the almond pieces had a tender texture with a slightly crunch coating. The flavors mixed well, and it had a well balanced sweetness.


But you know I was waiting for those dark bars. The Dark 70% bar had a satisfying snap and a nice, sweet start. The middle was fruity and slightly bitter, with the bitterness in the forefront on the finish. It had a lovely smooth melt and hints of toasty marshmallow flavor. It was never too bitter or too sweet, making it a fine specimen of dark chocolate. I'd be tempted to buy this bar alone in full size if I had a dark chocolate craving.

Cherry consisted of dried cherries in dark chocolate, and I was immediately stuck by just how sour the cherries were. My husband and I both love sour cherries, but neither of us were crazy about them here. The cherries struck me as especially tangy against the dark chocolate, and I might have liked it better with a sweeter chocolate to counteract the sour. It might have been because of the small size, because I noticed bites that had more chocolate than cherry were much better.


Finally, the Ginger bar was a standout for both myself and my husband. It totally hit the spot. The 60% cocoa went very well with the sharp and noticeable (but not too strong) ginger pieces. The bar was clean, refreshing, and unique. The ginger added a tasty crunch and spicy flavor without a sinus-clearing burn. I could definitely see this as a great dessert after a pungent meal.

Green & Black's Classic Collection has a lot to offer, with the Toffee, 70% Cocoa, and Ginger bars standing out in particular. While I wasn't crazy about the Cherry, I did appreciate its boldness, and it was really only the Milk that didn't excite me. The Classic Collection felt fresh, and tasting the set was a very enjoyable experience.

A-

Green & Black's website

Product was submitted for review by a PR representative. No compensation was received and the product was reviewed just like any other.

Gimbal's Sour Lovers

Press Sample
My candy stash has been woefully low for the past month, and my blogging has suffered as a result. Well, this review is just the thing to recharge my blogging spirit. Not long after posting a review of the highly disappointing Nobel Blueberry Sours, a PR representative for Gimbal's candy offered me samples of Sour Lovers gummies. In other words, the product in this review was provided by a PR company, but I promise that I treated it just like any other candy I review.

I had never seen Gimbal's products in stores and only vaguely remembered reading a review of earlier products on Candy Blog, but now that I've had Sour Lovers, I'm afraid I'm hooked. Sour gummies have been one of my favorite candy categories since I was a kid, and Gimbal's did an amazing job. There were 12 distinct flavors, and I liked every single one of them.


Meyer Lemon was tart and tangy, with just the right amount of sour - enough to make you pucker just a tad, but in a pleasant way. The flavor had a zesty, citrus feel without tasting at all like a cleaning product.

Georgia Peach had a distinct peach flavor, and while it was sour, it was a bit sweeter and fruitier than many of the other flavors.

Watermelon had that classic watermelon candy flavor (real watermelon never tastes that intense), charged up with a nice sourness. That's another great thing about these candies - they are sour throughout, not just in the outer sugar coating.

Bing Cherry fell somewhere between real cherries and cherry Kool-Aid. It had a nice, rich flavor and a great sour/sweet balance.

Mango was one of my favorites of the bunch. It reminded me so much of real mango that it almost seemed pulpy.

I'm not sure why Sour Blueberry was named as it was; all of the flavors are sour! But anyhow, this one was tart and just a bit bitter (but in a good way, like real berries). It was a good blueberry, but if I didn't know, my guess would have been raspberry.

Strawberry Daiquiri had a lovely sweet strawberry flavor, and it felt pretty authentic. It seemed to have some citrus as well, making it extra sour.

Fuji Apple tasted a lot like apple juice. It was sour and fruity, but if I had to pick a least favorite flavor, this would be it. I didn't have any trouble eating it, though.

Baja Margarita tasted just like margarita mixers from grocery stores. To give you an idea of the flavor authenticity, if you are nursing a hangover, you may want to skip this one until you feel better. It definitely packed more than just lime flavor!

Pomegranate had an earthy, juicy flavor that was richer than the cherry. It was the least sweet of the bag, but I'm afraid it's been so long since I've had pomegranate seeds that I can't comment on the flavor well.

Tangerine was extra sour and extra citrusy. It had that classic vitamin C-laden flavor I used to crave as a child and still enjoy. This was another top flavor.

Grapefruit was sweeter than the real thing. It was tart, but less so than Tangerine or Meyer Lemon. It had just enough grapefruit bitterness to give the right effect.

I'm so glad I got to try these. As a sour candy lover, I can say Sour Loves definitely got it right. The texture of the gummies was thick and sticky, a bit like a fruit gem. I found that about 6-8 gummies at a time hit the spot, so I took several days to review these properly. Every single time I tried them, I was impressed.

I should also mention that both Gimbal's Sour Lovers and the Gimbal's factory are free of just about every common food allergen (peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, gluten, soy, fish, and shell fish), and Sour Lovers are kosher pareve.

The only minor annoyance was that they got stuck in my teeth, making me want to brush. I can certainly forgive that - it's candy, after all. Everyone I shared these with (my husband, my father, my boss, and some coworkers) enjoyed them - though my husband wanted me to leave the bag open and let them get a little stale because he claims it improves the texture. Honestly, once the bag is open, I'm not sure I could make them last long enough to get stale!

A

Gimbal's Fine Candies website

Thorntons Black Forest Gateau

For today's review, I have some chocolate from the across the Atlantic (or the Pacific, if you take the long way). After returning from her most recent visit to her hometown in the United Kingdom, my boss kindly brought two chocolate bars that aren't available in the United States for me to try. It's such a treat to try candy from other countries - even when the flavors are familiar, the textures are often quite different!

First up is the Thorntons Black Forest Gateau bar. Cherry/chocolate combinations have grown on me in recent years - I never liked them as a child. Even now, I have some texture issues with maraschino cherries (I don't like chocolate covered cherries at all), but thankfully, I had no texture qualms here.


The bar had a very thick double chocolate coating of milk enrobed in dark, which is something I don't see often. It smelled mildly of cherry, and reminded me of a 3 Musketeers bar when I cut into it. The filling, however, was much smoother than 3 Musketeers; it melted in my mouth and, in combination with the chocolate coating, had almost a velvety feel.

The tart cherry zing reminded me of chocolate covered cherries (in a good way), which went especially well with slightly fruity dark chocolate. Excluding gourmet products, British chocolate often seems smoother and a bit richer than American chocolate, and this bar was no exception. It wasn't too sweet, and I really enjoyed the cherry flavor. It's worth noting that my husband, a chocolate covered cherry lover, found the flavor to be a bit artificial, but it didn't bother me.

B+

Thorntons website

Mars Starburst GummiBursts Flavor Duos

Yet another Mars review! It takes time for new candy to work its way into my local grocery stores, and it looks like all the Mars products hit at once. Again, it's a familiar product with new fusion flavors.

Starburst GummiBursts haven't been around as long as some other classic Mars fruit candies like Starburst fruit chews and Skittles, but they seem to be doing well. Flavor Duos is the third variety of GummiBursts (after regular and sour) I've seen, and there are probably more. There were four flavor combinations: Green Apple Strawberry, Cherry Fruit Punch, Strawberry Watermelon, and Lemon Cherry.


Green Apple Strawberry was dominated by the crisp, tart green apple flavor. It was good, but I could hardly taste the strawberry! The firm texture of the gummy part made for an enjoyable chew.

Cherry Fruit Punch had a yummy classic red fruit snack taste. It was both tart and sweet with a hint of a vitamin flavor. Also, the colors of this piece reminded me of a red blood cell.

Strawberry Watermelon was the star of the bunch. The watermelon center was sour and fantastic, and it went well with the fairly authentic flavor of the strawberry gummy.

Lemon Cherry had the same zesty lemon flavor as a regular lemon Starburst, but the cherry center tasted a bit medicinal to me. Still, this one was enjoyable, it just wasn't my favorite (and lemon flavors are usually a sure bet for me).

All in all, these GummiBursts were sweet but not cloying, tart but not sour, and the slightly firm, bouncy texture of the gummies was just right. The flavor combinations weren't all that new or exciting, but the Strawberry Melon and Cherry Fruit punch were particularly well done.

B

Starburst website

Mars Starburst Sweet Fiesta

The thought makes me cringe now, but I used to play with my Starbursts like modeling clay to create hybrid flavors. I would mold two or more flavors together, make little shapes, and eat them. The idea of handling candy so thoroughly grosses me out these days, but maybe it was part of the reason I rarely get sick as an adult.

The newest (to my knowledge) offering from Starbust is called Sweet Fiesta, and it offers a more sanitary set of hybrid flavors. The fiesta includes Strawberry Pineapple, Peach Guava, Cherry Mango, and Melon Berry. Though the flavors are different, I was certainly reminded of the recent Skittles Blenders.


I could smell the pineapple in Strawberry Pineapple, which got me excited. It had a sour, juicy, slightly woodsy flavor, and I could taste the pineapple much better than the strawberry (fine by me). It was a great combination of sour and sweet.

Peach Guava had a tropical, papaya juice-esque flavor. I could only catch a slight hint of peach, and this one was quite sweet and juicy.

Cherry Mango had a fantastic cherry flavor that seemed better than the regular cherry Starburst, but I couldn't figure out why. I didn't taste the mango, just a modified cherry. It reminded me of fruit punch.

Melon Berry had a very fake melon flavor with a richer berry background flavor. It was my least favorite flavor of the bunch, but it wasn't bad.

Overall, the combinations felt fresh, and although some of them missed the mark, it was hard for me to save any for my husband (though I managed to leave him one of each flavor and a spare Melon Berry).

Check out some other reviews at Sugar Hi and Sugar Pressure.

B+

Starburst website

Mars Skittles Blenders

Did anyone else use M&Ms or Smarties in their elementary school math classes? I think it was third grade when my teacher presented every student in the class with their own bag of M&Ms to illustrate simple lessons in percentages and probability. I'm not sure if it was effective, but it was a lot of fun. I still remember that most of the M&Ms in my bag were light brown (I'm dating myself here - this was before the blue M&M).

There are five new flavors in this mix: Melon Berry Burst, Strawberry Lime Blast, Watermelon Green Apple Freeze, Cherry Tropicolada, and Mango Lemonade Freeze. I'm sure it's no accident that those names sound like they came straight off a Sonic Drive-in menu. Now, I mention M&M math because I applied some of the same principles when I sampled this bag of Skittles Blenders. It was immediately apparent that my bag did not contain an even flavor distribution (Mango Lemonade Freeze in particular was underrepresented). Here's a chart to illustrate my point.



Strawberry Lime Blast was similar to a normal red Skittle with a hint of sour lime. It was fruity, tart, and tasty, but it wasn't terribly exciting or special.

Cherry Tropicolada reminded me of cough syrup. The pineapple and coconut flavors were present along with the strong cherry, but it really rubbed me the wrong way.


witness the distinct lack of mango
Watermelon Green Apple Freeze worked well. The initial flavor was an artificial but tasty watermelon, followed by a green apple tartness. I'm not usually a fan of these flavors, but I liked them both here.

Melon Berry Burst reminded me of grape Nerds, but with more of a blueberry flavor. I didn't get much of a sense of melon flavor from this one, and it seemed to just be a rehash of a flavor from Wild Berry Skittles.

Mango Lemonade Freeze reminded me of my favorite smoothie (I've mentioned it before), so it was a bit nostalgic (especially since I just found out that shop is closed). The lemon flavor was sour and almost hit some floor cleaner notes, but it was saved by a good, distinct mango taste. Of all the flavors, this was the most unexpected.

Overall, Skittles Blenders is a decent mix, but it didn't really offer anything new or exciting. Still, it's worth a taste for fans of Skittles and fruity candy in general. Also, it seems like every time I review Skittles, their website just gets more and more cumbersome to navigate. I guess I'm not the target demographic.

B-

Skittles Website

Juicy Fruit Groovy Fruity

In keeping with that gum theme, I bought myself this cute little cup of Juicy Fruit Groovy Fruity because I was attracted to the funky, colorful packaging. Despite nostalgic jingles about the moving taste of Juicy Fruit, I was never a big fan, simply because I couldn't really tell exactly which fruit it was supposed to taste like.

Well, neither of the two flavors in Groovy Fruity were well identified, either. They didn't taste like the original, vaguely tropical Juicy Fruit. Since I'm not sure what the two flavors were, I'll go by color: white and red. In my cup, there seemed to be more white than red.


The red pieces had an artificial cherry-like flavor, so what I'm really saying is that they tasted red. The tabs were firm at first, but they softened as the crunchy shell dissolved. Red was sweet, juicy, and just a tiny bit tart. It wasn't minty but did have a slight cooling effect. The flavor lasted five minutes or so before becoming a dull hint of fruity sweetness. At this point, the gum had a firmer, denser chew than I prefer.

The white tabs were a little more like the original Juicy Fruit, only with a very strong minty flavor and intense cooling effect. These chewed softer than the red gum, but didn't taste as fruity. The flavor was longer lasting, but neither flavor was all that good. I still like the container, but I wouldn't buy this again.

C+

Juicy Fruit website

Nestle Sakura Matcha KitKat

It's been several months since my last KitKat review, so I placed my first order at NapaJapan a few weeks ago. My packaged arrived quickly, and not a melted bit of chocolate in the bunch.

After reading various rave reviews of the Sakura Matcha KitKat, I was itching to taste it, so it was the first item in my shopping cart. I was a little wary of the sakura part after the last sakura KitKat and its faint hints of soapiness, but matcha can cure a lot of ills.


The bar smelled of matcha, and at first, the flavor was dominated by the matcha chocolate as well. However, once the wafers came through, I tasted faint hints of cinnamon. There was a subtle background fruitiness as well, and overall, it was quite a complex KitKat.

The matcha chocolate was cool and clean, and the slightly spiced notes from the wafers reminded me of yatsuhashi (another classic Kyoto treat). It was delicious, especially for a matcha lover. And, according to other reviews at Jen Ken's Kit Kat Blog and Pocky Watch, it might even appeal to a matcha non-believer.

A

KitKat website

Maynards Juicy Squirts Sours

Before one of my Flickr contacts pointed it out, the thought hadn't occurred to me that "Juicy Squirts" is a funny name. It does sound a bit like something you come across online and can't unsee, but luckily, it's candy. Still, it's not something I want to search for on Google.

Maynards is part of the Cadbury family of brands, but it originated as a small family company in the United Kingdom. I have never seen the Maynards brand in the US, but over the border in Canada, they sell many kinds of gummies. For example, Sour Patch Kids are now part of the Maynards brand in Canada, but they are released by Cadbury Adams in the US (without much mention of that on the package).


Right away, I had a bit of an issue: half of the bag was cherry. There were four flavors included, but I only got 1 purple, 2 raspberry, and 3 apple. The remaining 6 or 7 gummies were all cherry. Unequal flavor distribution aside, the gummies were pretty large - about the size of my thumb. Each gummy was full of a different color (and flavor) juice, and it reminded me of the Gushers fruit snacks I loved as a kid.

Green was a slightly floral green apple, but I'm not sure what the red inner juice was supposed to taste like. Maybe some sort of red berry? In any case, the flavors went well together.

Purple was either grape or blackcurrant, but honestly, I'm not sure. It did taste a lot like fake grape, and was my favorite of the bunch. Maybe I'm just saying that because there was only purple in my bag.

Red (cherry-shaped) had a standard red, medicinal cherry flavor. My husband figures that the ingredients must be the cheapest, and that was why there were so many in this bag.

Red (raspberry-shaped) had a nice, mild raspberry flavor with a slightly sour bite to it. Again, I'm not sure what flavor the center juices were, but I enjoyed the piece.

Overall, I liked the firm, chewy texture of the gummies. My husband thought they were sour enough, but I hardly found them sour at all. Combined with the bad assortment, Juicy Squirts Sours just left me feeling disappointed.

C

These have also been reviewed at Candy Addict

Cadbury website

Wonka Pink Lemonade Kazoozles

Like many kids, I used to like sour, fruity candy much better than chocolate. My tastes have since changed, but I still hold a spot in my heart for goofy candy like Wonka Kazoozles. They also spoke to my love of Anatomy and Physiology, one of my favorite subjects in both high school and college, but more on that later.

Along with Pink Lemonade, Kazoozles also come in Cherry Punch. A Kazoozle is basically a licorice-style tube filled with soft, fruit punch flavored candy. The colors were bright and bold, and definitely earned some fun points. "Kazoozle" is also fun to say and type.


The tubes didn't have much of a scent, at least not a fruity one. The main tastes were sour and sweet, but I couldn't detect much of a lemon flavor. The center tasted a little like cherry, but overall, flavors were weak. On taste alone, Kazoozles were a C at best, but they did have other things going for them.

The texture, at least, was interesting. The tougher exterior went well with the soft center. I was expecting the center to be tougher, like taffy, but it had a consistency more like that of nougat. To be honest, my inner biology nerd was reminded of bone marrow, but that's not to say that the outside was crunchy (ew). Kazoozles were definitely a fun distraction, but I don't see myself buying them again.

C+

Have a look at what Candy Blog and I Heart Candies had to say about them.

Wonka website

Ferrero Mon Cheri and Pocket Coffee

My dad's job has always given him chances to travel internationally at least once or twice a year, and even though I've moved out and grown up (somewhat), he still brings souvenirs for his kids. On a recent trip to Italy, he bought these two Ferrero candies and divided the boxes among the family.

Neither of these candies were quite what I expected. The Mon Cheri seemed like they would be a generic chocolate covered cherry, and I assumed the Pocket Coffee would be solid coffee flavored chocolate. I was completely wrong on both accounts.


The Mon Cheri smelled like a cherry chocolate, but when I bit into it, some of the strongest liquor I've ever tasted in a candy came pouring out. It actually burned a little going down. There was also a candied cherry inside for texture, but the flavor was dominated by chocolate and liquor. It was delicious, but packed quite a punch. I'm not a huge chocolate/cherry fan, but this was unlike any other liquor or cherry candies I've tried, so I was very impressed. My husband, who loves chocolate covered cherries, liked these even more than I did.


Pocket Coffee was another surprise. It smelled strongly of coffee, and it was a little hard to smell the chocolate. There was a crispy, grainy layer just below the chocolate, and a little online research told me that it was a layer of sugar. It made for an interesting and tasty texture mixture. Oh, did I mention that there is actual strong liquid coffee in this? The chocolate and sugar adds an excellent balance to the bitterness of the coffee. This is not a good bedtime snack, but I'd recommend it to any coffee or espresso fan.

A

Candyblog and Slashfood have both reviewed Pocket Coffee, and Jim's Chocolate Mission has a review of Mon Cheri.

Ferrero website

Sour Razzles

Another birthday has passed for me, and I received a new crop of candy from two friends who obviously have a good handle on my interests. The stash included these Sour Razzles, a sour version of the famous candy that becomes gum. Despite growing up in the 1980s and 1990s, I had never tried these before, so I didn't know what to expect.

From looking at the package, I think I assumed that they would be like miniature Blow Pops - a hard candy shell with gum inside - but this assumption was incorrect. Razzles look nothing like they do on the box. They reminded me of the dye tablets that come in Easter Egg decorating kits.


The Razzles smelled like citric acid and came in five flavors: Orange, Lime, Cherry, Blue Raspberry, and Lemon. They all had the texture of Sweet Tarts (or chewable vitamins) at first, and the nubs on the one side reminded me of candy blocks. It only takes about 10-15 seconds of chewing for the candy to turn into a soft gum. Here's a rundown of each flavor.

Orange packed a serious sour punch. This was the first one I tried, and after just a couple chews, I was puckering. It had a strong vitamin C flavor, but (as with all the flavors) shortly after becoming gum, had very little flavor at all. It was my favorite of the bunch.

Lime was much less sour and lacked the punch of the orange (or maybe I was used to it). When I spit this piece out to move onto the next, the gum was an intense shade of forest green.

Cherry was a full bodied, decent sour cherry flavor that had the same powerful tang as the orange. The sourness had a bit of a delay, but then came on very strong.

Blue Raspberry was sweet and blue-flavored at first, and then the punch of sour had a strong raspberry candy flavor. The height of the sour flavor was great, but then it faded to sweet. I should also mention that when I brushed my teeth that night before bed, my white toothpaste turned blue.

Lemon, which I had saved for last, was a disappointment. It was sour, but the flavor was completely fake and reminiscent of cleaning products. This was my least favorite of the bunch.

I would never choose these as a gum, but as a sour candy, the intensity of the sour flavors surprised me. Despite the weakness of the lemon and lime, I found it hard to stop eating these, and didn't mind spitting them out once they become gum and lost their flavor. They were fun to eat, and definitely would please kids (and adults) with a sour craving.

B

Razzles section of Tootsie Roll website

Summer Tirol

These summer Tirol chocolates came in a fancy cup, and I bought them in a grocery store for about 300 yen. There were 12 designs (one for each Zodiac sign), but only 3 flavors: acerola, lemon, and coconut.

I love the pastel metallic colors, and even though I'm not into astrology, the package designs were pretty neat. Also, there were a lot of chocolates in this. Eating the whole cup would set you back about 1000 calories. On their own, they are about 30 calories each.


Coconut was half white and half milk chocolate. It smelled like coconut, but a little bit too much like sunscreen. Thankfully, it didn't taste like sunscreen, but the coconut flavor was very mild. Actually, I wished that the coconut flavor was stronger. It had a biscuit center, adding a nice texture. B

Acerola (cherry) was my favorite of the flavors. It smelled very fruity, and had a bright, strong cherry Starburst-like flavor. The white chocolate was light and smooth and didn't get in the way of the delicious, tart cherry gummy center. The gummy texture was sticky and chewy like a fruit gem. A+

Lemon smelled a little bit like cleaner, but tasted good. It reminded me of a lemon bar, because the chocolate was buttery and the gummy center was sour. The gummy had the same texture as the acerola. My sister didn't like the combination, but my husband and I did. B+

The lemon and acerola were nice and bold, so the coconut was disappointing by comparison. Overall, though, this was a nice variety pack, and there was something for everyone.

Tirol Chocolate website

Mountain Dew Game Fuel Horde Red

I feel that I must get something off my chest. I am a gamer. There, I said it. I'm not ashamed though. Neither my husband nor I ever got into World of Warcraft, but back when we used to stay up late playing video games, we probably would have appreciated something like this. We used to drink Surge, so you can probably figure out about when I was a teenager.

Anyhow, here is part two of the Game Fuel review. At work, my friend and I split this can of Horde Red Game Fuel (again, no trace of a name on the package), eager to taste "Cherry Citrus" flavor. If you remember correctly, she had liked the Alliance Blue, and I was indifferent towards it.

Well, we were definitely in agreement about this one - it was bad. At least Horde Red made Alliance Blue seem a lot better. Red smelled like cherry medicine, and tasted sort of like a melted orange Slurpee. We might have been imagining it, but both of us felt like this even had a bit of a tongue numbing effect.

There wasn't much cherry flavor to speak of, just citrus with a hint of medicine. But, another positive was that it didn't taste like a previously released flavor of Mountain Dew, so at least they took a chance. It didn't work for me or my friend, but it was fun to try something new.

D

Mountain Dew website

Mars Starburst GummiBursts

Here is yet another fairly new product from a familiar brand. I heard about these sometime last year and had been seeing commercials for a few months before I actually saw them at a convenience store near work.

Having grown up loving Gushers fruit snacks, I imagined (hoped) that these GummiBursts would be like Gushers. It seemed weird to see these in the candy aisle, since they look more like fruit snacks, but maybe they are too sugary to be considered fruit snacks (not that those are all good for you).


The bag smelled exactly like fruit snacks that I used to take to school in my lunch. The pieces even had that waxy, firm, slightly sticky feel of fruit snacks. Also, I was really surprised how much juice was in each piece! The pieces may be small, but they are pretty packed. Here's what I thought of each flavor.

Orange was sour, sweet, and burned my throat a little. It didn't taste much like orange Starburst, but it reminded me of orange Dum Dum suckers.

Lemon had better tasting juice - nice and sour, but a little less sweet. The outside gummy didn't taste very lemony, though.

Cherry was the only flavor that genuinely matched its Starburst original cousin. The flavor was exactly the same. Also, it wasn't painfully sweet. I liked it best.

Strawberry had tasty fake strawberry juice, and even though it wasn't as good as a pink Starburst, it was still pretty enjoyable.

Overall, I would have to say that these were worth trying, but maybe not worth buying again. I loved how packed with juice they were, but the gummy part was a little too firm for my liking. Definitely took me back to the old days of lunchboxes, peanut butter and jelly, and quieting down in the cafeteria, though!

B

Starburst website

Skittles Crazy Cores

These have been out in the United States for quite some time now, and there are a ton of other sites that have reviewed them, but I might as well throw in my 2 cents. Everyone's tastes are different, so if your tastes are similar to mine, maybe you'll relate to my take on these.

I have loved Skittles ever since I was little, so a new variety is extra exciting. I remember when Tropical Skittles were introduced, and I devoured those, despite my feelings about banana flavored candy (hint: negative). So, when I saw that the Crazy Cores would include flavors I typically like, such as mango, peach, and lemonade, they sounded pretty promising.


Mango Peach, peach with an orange core, had a tropical feel and a nice amount of tartness. Peach seems kind of neglected in American candy, and this tasted like a passable mix of peach and mango. It was my favorite of the bunch.

Melon Berry, which was pink with a green core, tasted berry sweet and not too melony. It was my least favorite, and just didn't have that tart punch that even the Wild Berry Skittles carry.

Cherry Lemonade was red with a yellow core, and the outside tasted like a cherry cough drop. That was a big negative right off the bat, but I did enjoy the citrus zing of the lemonade core.

Blue Raspberry Lemon was blue with a yellow core, and a little perplexing. The coating had an almost perfumy taste to start with, and that was downright gross. But it faded quickly, leaving a classic blue raspberry flavor (like Blow Pops). The lemon was mellow and sweet, and could have used a little more sourness.

Strawberry Watermelon, green with a pink core, was my second favorite. The strawberry was like a good sucker - bright and a little tart. The watermelon core tasted fresh and light (and fake), and it wasn't too sweet.

I am not sure why there are two flavors with lemon-based cores, but these Skittles were at least enjoyable. The regular flavors are better, but the Crazy Core concept was fun to eat. After my third Skittle, I could feel a sugary film in the back of my throat, which one of my coworkers calls The Skittle Spits. Just thought I should warn everyone.

B-

Skittles Website