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December Journal + Kaffre talks Candy #13
10 years ago
Hello, gentle journal-readers and welcome to my December Journal.
As you may have noticed, I finally managed to get my Halloween swapsies done which means I'm in the clear to participate in any future Swapsies. Ultimately, however, given the trouble I've had getting the last few finished, I think I may be taking some time off from them to concentrate on some personal projects - including a secret special one that I hope to have ready in just a week or so!
Beyond that, I'm doing well and have got almost all of my Christmas shopping done - all that's really left is those people I've decide to give perishable foodstuffs to since I'm going to be waiting till the last minute in the (probably vain) hope of ensuring freshness when they finally receive it.
Speaking of food, I've been thinking a bit about my Kaffre talks Candy feature and have been wondering if, perhaps, I've been focusing on British stuff too much lately? The fact that I regularly pass an import shoppe makes it an easy source of stuff I've never seen before, but I can't help wondering if maybe it makes the whole feature less useful to North Americans who don't have access to the various items I'm reviewing. Alternately, perhaps it's less interesting to UK-based furs as I can only really compare the items to stuff I've seen in Canada and so the 'reviews' aren't really very in-depth. What do you think, readers?
In any case, as with Kaffre talks Candy #12, this installment features a limited edition, Holiday bar that will only be available for a bit and so I'm posting it now rather than waiting for #16 which is where it would have fallen had it been posted in chronological order.
Anyway, thanks for reading my December journal, everyone! Just in case I don't get around to posting a new journal in the next two weeks, I want to wish everyone a happy holiday season!
*passes out complimentary cocoa and hugs*
Now, without further ado, Kaffre talks Candy #13.
Kaffre Talks Candy #13
Name: Butterfinger
Manufacturer: Nestle
Size: 54 gram bar
Where Purchased: Beaver Variety
Description: Butterfinger consists of a fairly thick block of a bright orange compound consisting of flaked peanuts and cornflakes. The whole thing is in then enrobed in compound chocolate. The bar has a somewhat rounded top, but is otherwise devoid of distinguishing features.
Opinion: A product I think I've tried before, but haven't seen for a few years until grabbing one recently. Unfortunately, I can't say this bar is as good as I remember. The centre was nice and crispy, but had an odd pretzel-like taste that I didn't care for and the chocolate coating was unremarkable. Actually, while my description here is mostly negative, I actually found this product reasonably tasty and might buy it again. That said, I prefer Crispy Crunch for the time being.
Name: Dairy Milk Winter Edition
Manufacturer: Cadbury
Size: 100 gram bar
Where Purchased: British Isles Shoppe
Description: Dairy Milk Winter Edition consists of a large flattish bar of milk chocolate. Strikingly, the bar is made up of interlocking Christmas Tree-shaped segments arranged in three rows of ten (plus some change so the bar can have flat sides). Adding to the bar's unique visuals, alternating segments are topped with white chocolate. Despite the unusual shape of the segments, they break off surprisingly easily.
Opinion: Another limited edition holiday bar for Britain that I grabbed up to review. The taste and texture are very similar to the UK version of Dairy Milk (very sweet and creamy). Interestingly, the small amount of white chocolate on alternate segments didn't seem to affect the taste much at all for me though some of those I shared the bar with disagreed on this point. As a limited edition product, I probably won't be able to buy this item again, but I thought it was very tasty and if a similar product makes an appearance next year (as one did last year), I'd happily grab it up again!
Name: Irn Bru
Manufacturer: Barr
Size: 500mL bottle
Where Purchased: British Isles Shoppe
Description: Irn Bru consists of a bright orange carbonated beverage flavoured according to a secret recipe. Smell is reminiscent of bubblegum.
Opinion: A Scottish product I'm dimly aware of due to a recall from Canadian markets several years ago, but never got to try. Like other British soft-drinks, Irn Bru seems fizzier, but less sweet than most sodas on this side of the Atlantic. The flavour is probably best described as being a mild bubblegum, but with a vaguely floral aftertaste. Overall, I thought this product was reasonably tasty (much better than Dandelion & Burdock) and while I feel no especial desire to drink it again, I can definitely see myself buying it from time to time to change things up as does, in fact, have a very unique taste.
Name: Walkers Pickled Onion Crisps
Manufacturer: Walkers (Lays)
Size: 32.5 gram bag
Where Purchased: British Isles Shoppe
Description: Walkers Pickled Onion consist of fairly normal looking potato chips.
Opinion: A flavour I'd not heard of, but felt sounded promising, these chips proved rather interesting. While the smell was fairly mild and reminiscent of 'Dill Pickle' chips, the actual taste was quite strong and could perhaps best be described as a cross between 'Salt & Vinegar' flavoured chips and an onion-y flavour that was proved quite a bit more stronger than I was expecting (far more intense than the "Sour Cream & Onion" chips we have here). While initially somewhat overwhelming, I found that the flavour grew on me surprisingly quickly, however, and while I don't think this is a product I'll actively seek out again, I can definitely see myself eating them again from time to time.
Name: Wispa
Manufacturer: Cadbury
Size: 39 gram bar
Where Purchased: British Isles Shoppe
Description: Wispa consists of a milk chocolate shell filled with a bubbly aerated chocolate similar to the filling of an Aero or Mirage except that the bubbles themselves are finer giving the bar a somewhat different texture. The exterior is slightly trapezoid in cross-section, but otherwise nondescript.
Opinion: A British product I mistakenly described as discontinued in my review of Nestle's Mirage, but recently saw in an import shop and grabbed up. This bar provided an interesting experience - while the description suggested a product more similar to Aero or Mirage, the actual texture seemed more similar to that of Flake or Twirl though I suppose that could be consequence of the different properties in Cadbury and Nestle chocolate. In any case, the chocolate was quite sweet, but still tasty. I'll probably buy this item again, but only as something of a change-up as it's already quite similar to other products I can obtain more readily.
As you may have noticed, I finally managed to get my Halloween swapsies done which means I'm in the clear to participate in any future Swapsies. Ultimately, however, given the trouble I've had getting the last few finished, I think I may be taking some time off from them to concentrate on some personal projects - including a secret special one that I hope to have ready in just a week or so!
Beyond that, I'm doing well and have got almost all of my Christmas shopping done - all that's really left is those people I've decide to give perishable foodstuffs to since I'm going to be waiting till the last minute in the (probably vain) hope of ensuring freshness when they finally receive it.
Speaking of food, I've been thinking a bit about my Kaffre talks Candy feature and have been wondering if, perhaps, I've been focusing on British stuff too much lately? The fact that I regularly pass an import shoppe makes it an easy source of stuff I've never seen before, but I can't help wondering if maybe it makes the whole feature less useful to North Americans who don't have access to the various items I'm reviewing. Alternately, perhaps it's less interesting to UK-based furs as I can only really compare the items to stuff I've seen in Canada and so the 'reviews' aren't really very in-depth. What do you think, readers?
In any case, as with Kaffre talks Candy #12, this installment features a limited edition, Holiday bar that will only be available for a bit and so I'm posting it now rather than waiting for #16 which is where it would have fallen had it been posted in chronological order.
Anyway, thanks for reading my December journal, everyone! Just in case I don't get around to posting a new journal in the next two weeks, I want to wish everyone a happy holiday season!
*passes out complimentary cocoa and hugs*
Now, without further ado, Kaffre talks Candy #13.
Kaffre Talks Candy #13
Name: Butterfinger
Manufacturer: Nestle
Size: 54 gram bar
Where Purchased: Beaver Variety
Description: Butterfinger consists of a fairly thick block of a bright orange compound consisting of flaked peanuts and cornflakes. The whole thing is in then enrobed in compound chocolate. The bar has a somewhat rounded top, but is otherwise devoid of distinguishing features.
Opinion: A product I think I've tried before, but haven't seen for a few years until grabbing one recently. Unfortunately, I can't say this bar is as good as I remember. The centre was nice and crispy, but had an odd pretzel-like taste that I didn't care for and the chocolate coating was unremarkable. Actually, while my description here is mostly negative, I actually found this product reasonably tasty and might buy it again. That said, I prefer Crispy Crunch for the time being.
Name: Dairy Milk Winter Edition
Manufacturer: Cadbury
Size: 100 gram bar
Where Purchased: British Isles Shoppe
Description: Dairy Milk Winter Edition consists of a large flattish bar of milk chocolate. Strikingly, the bar is made up of interlocking Christmas Tree-shaped segments arranged in three rows of ten (plus some change so the bar can have flat sides). Adding to the bar's unique visuals, alternating segments are topped with white chocolate. Despite the unusual shape of the segments, they break off surprisingly easily.
Opinion: Another limited edition holiday bar for Britain that I grabbed up to review. The taste and texture are very similar to the UK version of Dairy Milk (very sweet and creamy). Interestingly, the small amount of white chocolate on alternate segments didn't seem to affect the taste much at all for me though some of those I shared the bar with disagreed on this point. As a limited edition product, I probably won't be able to buy this item again, but I thought it was very tasty and if a similar product makes an appearance next year (as one did last year), I'd happily grab it up again!
Name: Irn Bru
Manufacturer: Barr
Size: 500mL bottle
Where Purchased: British Isles Shoppe
Description: Irn Bru consists of a bright orange carbonated beverage flavoured according to a secret recipe. Smell is reminiscent of bubblegum.
Opinion: A Scottish product I'm dimly aware of due to a recall from Canadian markets several years ago, but never got to try. Like other British soft-drinks, Irn Bru seems fizzier, but less sweet than most sodas on this side of the Atlantic. The flavour is probably best described as being a mild bubblegum, but with a vaguely floral aftertaste. Overall, I thought this product was reasonably tasty (much better than Dandelion & Burdock) and while I feel no especial desire to drink it again, I can definitely see myself buying it from time to time to change things up as does, in fact, have a very unique taste.
Name: Walkers Pickled Onion Crisps
Manufacturer: Walkers (Lays)
Size: 32.5 gram bag
Where Purchased: British Isles Shoppe
Description: Walkers Pickled Onion consist of fairly normal looking potato chips.
Opinion: A flavour I'd not heard of, but felt sounded promising, these chips proved rather interesting. While the smell was fairly mild and reminiscent of 'Dill Pickle' chips, the actual taste was quite strong and could perhaps best be described as a cross between 'Salt & Vinegar' flavoured chips and an onion-y flavour that was proved quite a bit more stronger than I was expecting (far more intense than the "Sour Cream & Onion" chips we have here). While initially somewhat overwhelming, I found that the flavour grew on me surprisingly quickly, however, and while I don't think this is a product I'll actively seek out again, I can definitely see myself eating them again from time to time.
Name: Wispa
Manufacturer: Cadbury
Size: 39 gram bar
Where Purchased: British Isles Shoppe
Description: Wispa consists of a milk chocolate shell filled with a bubbly aerated chocolate similar to the filling of an Aero or Mirage except that the bubbles themselves are finer giving the bar a somewhat different texture. The exterior is slightly trapezoid in cross-section, but otherwise nondescript.
Opinion: A British product I mistakenly described as discontinued in my review of Nestle's Mirage, but recently saw in an import shop and grabbed up. This bar provided an interesting experience - while the description suggested a product more similar to Aero or Mirage, the actual texture seemed more similar to that of Flake or Twirl though I suppose that could be consequence of the different properties in Cadbury and Nestle chocolate. In any case, the chocolate was quite sweet, but still tasty. I'll probably buy this item again, but only as something of a change-up as it's already quite similar to other products I can obtain more readily.
I really like wispas, but I've never really liked the taste of irn bru. I think you have to be Scottish...
Wispa was pretty good. Probably better than my review makes it sound, unfortunately. Really, it just wasn't quite what I was expecting it to be and may have been unfairly penalized for it. As for Irn Bru, it should probably be noted that I'm not especially picky where pop is concerned (really, I'm happy so long as it's fizzy and sweet). That said, the flavour is very unique and not at all unpleasant so I think it would make a nice change from time to time even though I wasn't crazy about it either... *shrug*
Thanks for the comment, Tacki!