Rainbow Candies

Who doesn't like a rainbow?  They're pretty, entertaining and have leprechauns with gold at the end of them (or so I have been led to believe).  And when it comes in candy form it a bonus as it's also edible and sweetly tasty!

Both of these candies today were sent to me from overseas, I don't think either are available in Australia but eBay is your friend as they clearly got through customs unscathed.

Melty sweet clouds of colour.

The first is a small bag of Rainbow Drops from Scotland, the name is confusing.  A drop in the candy sense that I grew up with is usually a hard candy, like a boiled sugar sweet.  Eucalyptus drops were very popular at school when I was a kid.  These however are nothing like that, they're nothing like anything I've ever seen or consumed.  They are in fact little puffed grains of rice coated in a gently crunchy sugar shell all coloured like the rainbow.

You little geeks.

If you're currently having flashbacks to bad multi-coloured sweet popcorn then you're not alone I wrote these poor little guys off before opening the package.  But man, was I wrong!  And pleasantly surprised to be wrong.  They're nothing like nasty showbag popcorn but are instead delicate little puffs with a sweet exterior that almost melt in your mouth.  I couldn't say there were any specific flavours other than sugar and the lovely meltiness of it all.

The other morsel of rainbow candy is a very large package of Rainbow Nerds from the United States.  These came in a parcel with a few other items and by far survived the journey the best.  Other tasty things didn't make it so good like the VALOMILK and the Skybar (it was given a burial befitting it's status, it clearly died in transit).

An extremely pretty candy.

My exposure to Nerds goes back to my primary school days so I knew what I was in for with this one, and they were everything I'd hoped for.  The rainbow of flavours included the usual strawberry and grape, with I think green apple, orange and something yellow (maybe lemon) thrown in as well.  These were good, the drawback being with most Nerd candy that the extreme sour coating and big suagr crystal innards equal do equal a fairly sickening treat fairly quickly.  Where the Rainbow Drops disappeared before my eyes, these things seem to multiply and I still have them kicking around my house (to be fair the box was a very large 170g).  On a sidenote, does anyone else remember Dweebs?

The Final Verdict (Rainbow Drops): 4 - Fantastic yummy little treats the even in a larger bag would not evoke any sort of sugar hangover.  Totally recommend if you can find them.

The Final Verdict (Rainbow Nerds): 3 - Really good, however nothing on the box indicates what the flavours are supposed to be.  The size of the box was also a drawback for the Nerds, a smaller box would have equalled less Nerd induced comatose state.

Whittaker's Dark Caramel and Dark Ghana Peppermint

So, it's been a little bit since the last review.  Turns out unexpected and slightly major dental work will drastically reduce one's ability to consume candy, who would have guessed!  It didn't help that for two days my mouth would only open a few centimetres.  But that's behind me now, on to better things.... like rich dark chocolate!

These two blocks were purchased for me by my brother E on a recent visit to New Zealand.  Okay, I'll admit it, I specifically requested he see if he could find them, I've been able to source some of Whittaker's chocolates in Australia but not these two and they were the ones I was most interested in.

But first, a little history!  Whittaker's Chocolate has been produced since 1896 according to their website.  The original founder, James Henry Whittaker sold handmade chocolate and confections from a horse and cart to the locals in Christchurch, by 1913 a base of operations had been created in Wellington and plans to expand across New Zealand had been formed.

During 1931 Woolworths Australia expanded into New Zealand and were selected to carry some of Whittaker's products, on a side note Woolworths and Big W were the two locations I was able to find some in Australia, a very limited range based on what I can see on their website.

Today Whittaker's roast their own cocoa beans for their chocolate and produce chocolate, toffee chews and fruit bars in their range.  The website lists the Peanut Slab as the most popular product, I haven't tried it though my friend Annie had a spasm last time we were in a chocolate store and she saw them.  I'm guessing she likes them.

Gooey caramel filling

However back to the chocolate at hand, I'm a softie for a good bit of dark chocolate.  I'll often pick it over milk, especially when I want a good hit of chocolatey endorphines.  Whittaker's Dark Caramel really delivers on the dark chocolate flavour, it's a sweet smelling bar that actually smells sweeter than it tastes.  Rich cocoa notes and a fruity note come through if you allow it to melt on the tongue.

The caramel filling was intriguing, it's not like any caramel I've tried before.  Light, and syrupy it was a really pleasanty contrast the the strong chocolate flavours, it toned down the coffee notes in the chocolate and was a really nice balance.  Think a strong cheese and and sweet fruit, the create harmony on the palate.  This bar was largely the favourite in my family, only ER wouldn't try them, she doesn't eat dark chocolate.

The Dark Ghana Peppermint was a real treat and the one I was most looking forward to.  It's a single origin chocolate, meaning all the beans are sourced from Ghana, like coffee this creates a particular flavour that is specific to the region due to different growing conditions, plants, soil quality and so on.

I've tasted single origin before and I really can assure you there is a difference. I've heard of single plantation chocolate which I'm dying to try, particularly as cacao plants are notoriously temperamental so making a chocolate bar from a single plantation shows commitment.

Single origin chocolate is not something that I would recommend as everyday eating, it has greater complexities than a regular bar of chocolate and really if you're going single origin the point is to taste the region within the chocolate.  In this case I'd say Ghana tastes smoky with a sharp and surprising berry quality.  Based on the Dark caramel I wasn't expecting anything quite so zinging, it was nice and the peppermint fondat that was smoothly flowing and delicately flavoured cut the fruity notes in the chocolate extremely well.

Flowing pepperminty filling.

Both bars came to me in excellent condition, bear in mind they were purchased in New Zealand, then endured however long in my brother's luggage, a plane trip back to Australia and a trip through customs before arriving in my hands.  Both were shiny and had zero damage, both had a nice snap and good bite to them, which are all things I want in a bar of chocolate.

The Final Verdict: 4 - Whittaker's makes some delicious products, both of these were worth the effort and time.  The Dark Caramel probably won out as the favourite, given the unexpectedly good caramel that was hidden inside.  However the Dark Ghana Peppermint definitely had the better tasting chocolate.  If I could get these in Australia both would be purchased again in a heartbeat.

Bittersweet Chocolate Pearls

Edible ball bearings!

Dark chocolate is a fickle thing.  Unlike milk chocolate where there are extra things thrown in like vanilla and milk (duh) to lighten the taste, dark chocolate's flavour is largely carried by the type of cacao bean with different growning regions resulting in different tastes and the fillings or items enrobed in the chocolate.

What's great about dark chocolate is that to fulfill that really strong chocolate craving it take far less than with sweeter milk chocolate.  I love a piece of really good dark chocolate over a whole block of sugary inspid milk any day.  Lindt Excellence Orange Intense is a particular favourite.

These little gems were a welcome surprise,  I was given them by my brother W.  He actually raided some of my Haigh's Dark Peppermint Frogs so bought these as a peace offering.  If this is what I'm gonna get everytime he eats some of my chocolate then I beg him to do it everyday.

I was presented with a clear cellophane package with nothing on it other than a label that reads "Bittersweet The Chocolate Boutique" there is no ingredient list or other information, not even a weight or package size.  It doesn't even tell me what it is!  Fortunately brother was able to relay information about what the product was.

Inside there were little balls of dark chocolate, really small like little ball bearings or those irritatingly hard silver balls than people put on cakes.  They're all fairly uniform in size, with a very shiny surface indicative of well tempered chocolate and rarely do you get two stuck together.

Inside the little balls of mystery is a crunchy middle, it tastes and feels like a cereal, maybe puffed rice.  It's hard and the distinctive crunch and relative bland taste of the cereal is delicious against the really dark chocolate.

I snipped the top off the bag I was given and stored them in a screw top jar, they've kep very well for almost three weeks, they still taste and look exceedingly fresh.  In fact a small thing that pleases me infinitely about the Chocolate Pearls is that unlike other chocolate balls these do not rub against each other in a way that damages the surface, they all remain shiny and perfect.  Nothing ruins a good bag of chocolates like dull surfaces from being bashed together.

Bad new is these little delights are only available from one place, Bittersweet at the Barracks in Brisbane, so if you live in Brisbane then lucky you!  If you don't then check out their website as they will deliver. 

The Final Verdict: 4 - These were gorgeous, tasty and satisfying without needing to eat a whole pile.  The downside was the lack of information on the packet, not even ingredients, nor could I get any info about this product from the website.  I would buy them again, and better packaging would life my rating.

Pretzel M & M's

I always like products that faced with their success decide to become mad with power and start pumping out different variations in order to maximise both their dominance and their profit.  Most of the time it doesn't work, I direct the jury to view exhibit A 'New Coke' of the 1980's.  It's nice to see when a company brings out new flavours and variations I'm interested to try.

M & M's are produced by Mars, you know the people with the planet named after their bar?  Anyway back in the 1940's Forrest Mars Sr was trying to figure out how to stop soldier's chocolate from melting, seemed that a colourful and tasty candy shell was the order of the day, so he teamed up with fellow chocolate entrepreneur William F. R. Murrie, President at the time of Hershey's Chocolates.  Figured out why they're called M & M's yet?

Anyway, fast forward 60 odd years and the original candy is still a hit.  But now with fun new flavours!  Regionally speaking there are over a dozen flavours available dependent on where you live.  Australia has things like mint, orange and crispy.  America has options like wild cherry, coconut and the topic of today's post, pretzel.

I got these in another swap, a private swap this time so the person knew to specifically get me things.  I got a very big bag (even though the bag says 'medium') of pretzel M & M's and even after travelling for two weeks in the post they were in perfect condition (Forrest can rest assured his plan worked).

Upon opening the bag they have a very distinct scent, different to the Aussie M & M's, much more cocoa sort of smell.  Pleasant though.  Pretzel M & M's are also HUGE.  About the size of a malteaser, but heavier.  They're incredibly easy to eat, the shell is slightly thicker than I'm used to but whether that's an American thing or specific to the pretzel variety I don't know.  There's a good layer of chocolate underneath, could be thicker but I'm not complaining.  Then comes the best bit, a solid ball of very crisp salty pretzel.

Now in my experience either you love salty/sweet candy or you don't.  I was introduced to the concept late in life, but it turns out I LOVE IT.  These pretzels are so morish, I had to put the packet away!  They also got the thumbs up from family members, M, E and B, which is encouraging as none of them have nearly the adventurous candy palate that I possess.

The Final Verdict: 4 - Tasty!  Mr Mars should be pleased with his legacy, I would love to receive these again.  Sadly I doubt they'll become available in Australia as the sweet/salty thing never really took off here.  Hence why I have to put my own chocolate into my popcorn at the movies.

Werther's Chocolate Eclair

Mmmmm, who likes caramel?  Who likes chocolate?  Together?  Yes, tasty!  These were all the thoughts running through my brain as I picked out the Werther's Chocolate Eclairs off the shelf at the supermarket.  Honestly I picked them up for a few reasons, the delicious chocolately caramelly experience I was being promised, the fact that it was a new product and it was on sale.  Yes that's right, my candy consumption is often dictated by what's on sale.  These only cost me $1.99 which I consider quite good given the price of chocolate and candy over here.

The packet was a good size for the price and felt reasonably full which was nice, the packet was annoyingly difficult to get into without my trusty kitchen scissors but maybe that's a positive as it stops certain family members getting into my candy.  Maybe.

Inside the toffees were invidiually wrapped, a big plus in my books.  Nothing like getting a hard or semi hard candy only to find that a teensy bit of moisture has gotten in and stuck the whole bunch together because they aren't wrapped individually.

Each little candy is about the size of a large pellet and the same sort of shape.  The wrapper was easy to remove, a little twist off style.  And then the deliciousness began, smooth soft yet chewy caramel with a chocolatey centre.  It's easy to eat these candies several ways, either sucking until part gave way to access the chocolate or biting straight through were my two favourites.

This type of candy will travel well and store well which is plus and each one is as uniformly the same as the others.

The Final Verdict: 4 -  I really like these, in fact I was in the same store a few days after first buying them and almost picked up another packet even though they weren't on sale.  Only thing that stopped me was Cadbury had new products out.  I know I will buy these again, and porbably soon.                       

Hi-Chew 6 Flavours

I am a recent Hi-Chew convert. Until about a month ago I did not even understand the joy that is Hi-Chew, since this moment of enlightenment I have discovered something essential to the eating of Hi-Chew. Either you like Hi-Chew or you don't. Upon giving a piece to a male friend I was rewarded with a screwed up face and spitting motion as he tried to get it out of his mouth.

Admittedly for the uninitiated Hi-Chew can be odd, it has the texture and consistency of a gum crossed with a chew. Sometimes it can be difficult to know whether to swallow the damn thing or not.

So desperate was I to try the Cotton Candy Hi-Chew variety that I ordered a packet from Japan through eBay, I have since oh joy of joys, found a small stash available at the Lucky 7 store at South Bank and am waiting to see if the one at Lutwyche has them too. I know that Go Go Mart on the Gold Coast has a huge range but being an hour from my house makes shopping there somewhat prohibitive.

Anyway I burble, the flavours I got were Cotton Candy, Lemon Soda, White Soda, Juicy Pineapple, Sweet Peach, and Candy Apple. As there's a bunch I've written a little blurb about each one.

Cotton Candy: This was the whole reason I got into Hi-Chew, I read an amazing review about it at CandyBlog.net and I was determined as a Cotton Candy (or Fairy Floss for Aussies)fan to get my hands on it. And oh boy, I was not disappointed!

It's creamy and sugary at the same time with gorgeous burnt sugar flavour, and the little sugar crystals add interest and texture. I really like the bounce the chew has and the simple flavour behind it, not at all flashy like say Starburst fruit chews.

The Final Verdict: 5 - Completely amazing, I've gone through two more packets since and plan to buy up next time I'm down the coast.

Lemon Soda: Interesting to say the least, it's quite a sunny yellow colour with the same bouncy feel and nice chew. No extra texture in this one and it has a very lemon flavour, but the thing that ruins this one is the strange bitter aftertaste. It almost tastes like carbonation, like the effervesence you get in a fizzy drink but at the same time it isn't fizzy.... perplexing.

The Final Verdict: 3 - These were borderline on the ratings, almost a 2 but I did enjoy trying them, just probably won't buy them again.

White Soda: I assume this to be Lemonade, kinda like Sprite I guess just not as sweet. It has a very true lemonade flavour but the same bittery aftertase as the lemon soda and that's about all I could really say, this one was kinda non.

The Final Verdict: 2 - more because it was just boring, I mean a Lemon Soda AND a Lemonade? The Lemon Soda tasted better.

Juicy Pineapple: This is one of the Hi-Chew Jr range, supposedly geared towards children's tastes. I don't really know what this means, because isn't ALL candy aimed at children? Anyway, I liked this one quite a bit, it had a pretty colour and lovely flavour pineappley but not sharp or acidic very much tasted like pineapple juice, for some reason Golden Circle brand....

The Final Verdict: 4 - very enjoyable and I'm sure I will buy it again.

Sweet Peach: I'm not a person who is into peach flavoured things, I dislike peaches so why would I like something flavoured like a thing I hate? Well I was surprised, I really liked this one, it was floral and fruity and nicely sweet. It is again from the Jr range so perhaps that's why I liked it so much, it's flavour overall was softer than most peach flavoured things.

The Final Verdict: 4 - again this was really nice, I'll buy it again if I can find it.

Candy Apple: I was intrigued to see this one as it's a partner flavour for the Cotton Candy, both festival themed. When I was little we used to get these lollipops called Rosy Apples and they were red and green and supposedly toffee apple flavoured. My senses always thought they were tasty. My senses were wrong. This candy gives a whole new meaning to 'toffee apple flavour' it's mild on the apple but definitive, has tasty little sugar morsels throughout and a subtle burnt sugar flavour, heaven!

The Final Verdict: 5 - or maybe 4.5, almost as good as Cotton Candy but not quite, definitely up there.