Coffee Nut M&Ms (A Taste Of The States)

If you read my review of the American white chocolate M&Ms a couple of weeks ago, you might recall my rant about the appalling lack of flavours we have in the U.K. Luckily, we've got A Taste of The States who have come to our rescue and brought the funkier flavoured editions to British shores on our behalf. Do you remember I mentioned the gift card they gave me? Well as well as the Mrs Freshley's cinnamon swirl bun (now back in stock), I also ordered a pack of the Coffee Nut M&Ms.

The coffee nut M&Ms were the winners of a flavour vote last year which coincided with the US presidential elections and included three options: coffee nut, chilli nut and honey nut. I must admit, I'd have gone for coffee nut too! Honey nut also sounds tempting, but I wouldn't have tried the chilli nut. Bleurgh. Which one would you have chosen? Drop me a comment below (or on Instagram) and let me know!

I was surprised by the strength of the coffee aroma that welcomed my nostrils as soon as I opened the share sized bag -which for info is 92.7g and equates to 2 servings, although I'm not sure how one measures 46.35g of M&Ms 😉! The candies, again, were larger than the British counterparts -but that does't surprise me anymore. 

Each M&M contained a full sized peanut, wrapped in chocolate and covered in the standard sugar coating. Mars have shun their usual bright colours too, opting for coffee-esque shades, which I think was a smart choice. 

I didn't really expect the full on mocha hit that I experienced with these M&Ms. In my head, the flavours shouldn't really work well together -no coffee shop that I've ever visited has offered peanut syrup- but I really enjoyed them. Admittedly, the coffee and chocolate completely overshadows the peanut, meaning that all the centre really offers is a textural contrast with a slight earthy undertone.

I can't help but wish that Mars had chosen to fill these coffee nut M&Ms with either whole almonds or hazelnuts, but I'm not really complaining. They're unusual and wholly addictive. In fact, they're my favourite M&M flavour to date. 

You can order these coffee nut M&Ms from A Taste of The States, and also benefit from 20% off the entire site with the code: AMYSEEKS20. Go on, treat yourself!

9/10

Thank you to A Taste of The States. 

NEW! Mocha Cheesecakes (Waitrose)

A couple of days ago I reviewed Waitrose's new Cookies & Cream cheesecake slices and mentioned that I'd bought another double pack at the same time. It was these Mocha cheesecakes that had initially caught my attention though, and was only Bert's hatred of coffee that caused my brief hesitation. It wasn't long before I saw sense and bought them anyway, making the most of the fact that they're currently on offer for £2.63 -before they go up to £3.20.

I sent my sister a picture of my dessert purchases, and she instantly tried to persuade me to hop on a train to Cardiff to share them with her -despite my insistence that they wouldn't bode well on the two hour walk-train-bus journey to her house. In a great twist of fate however, her best friend collected her and brought her back to Hereford on Saturday evening. Great! I'd cook her Sunday dinner and we'd have them for dessert. Or so I thought... 

A heavy night of drinking later meant that she was only up to a coffee at my house yesterday, and took her cheesecake-to-go. Cheeky mare (love you really, Lou bum). Anyway, yes, mocha cheesecakes. Back to the case in hand, and the reason you're reading this post...

"2 Baked chocolate and coffee flavoured cheesecakes on a chocolate flavoured biscuit base, topped with vanilla flavour mousse and cocoa and vanilla dusting."

Despite their thoughtful packaging, the cheesecake stuck itself to the acetate surrounds, meaning that they didn't look as attractive as I'd hoped. I reminded myself that it was the taste I bought them for, not the aesthetics. 

Is it just me or is the vanilla mousse a slightly odd choice of topping for a mocha cheesecake? My thoughts went as follows:

 1. Cheesecake isn't normally topped with an additional layer
and
 2: Well, wouldn't white chocolate be more in keeping with the mocha theme?

I mean, it was light, fluffy, and perfectly pleasant. I just think it was slightly peculiar.

For once,  I was pleased that Waitrose hadn't opted to include a ganache layer because it meant that the Belgian chocolate flavoured cheesecake could shine through. Yes, it was every bit as rich and delicious as I always hope for when buying chocolate cheesecake, no doubt thanks to the inclusion of 10% Belgian milk chocolate.But wait a little minute here. Wasn't this meant to be chocolate and coffee cheesecake? Did that mean that there was meant to be two tiers of separate flavours, or that the cheesecake was meant to be mocha and therefore encompass both? All I know was that the coffee flavour was very much on the mild side, especially noticeable considering the helping of Jude's Flat White Coffee I chose to enjoy alongside the cheesecake. Looking at the ingredients gives an indication as to why it wasn't particularly prominent - Waitrose have used coffee granules here, and not ground coffee. Oh.

I forgave Waitrose a little when I reached the centre of the cheesecakes though, and uncovered a secret chocolate sauce centre*. Ooh, you cheeky devils! There was no hint of this on the products description (or the ingredients list), but who doesn't love a chocolate surprise? I know I do. It wasn't ganache-thick, but it wasn't overly runny either. There wasn't a huge deal of it, but it had a slightly darker edge to it than the milkier cheesecake and was therefore a welcome inclusion. 

The chocolate biscuit base was also pretty good (it was similar to the one used in their new C&C cheesecake) but I think a standard digestive (or coffee flavoured biscuit) base may have actually worked better considering how much chocolate there was already going on. That's only a slight niggle though, because it was still absolutely scrummy. 

Would I buy these again? Probably not, and especially not at £3.20 per pack. As far as new chocolate cheesecakes go, I much prefer the M&S sunken Valencian Orange. 

8/10

*apologies for the dark photo, I was eating it in front of the T.V, hopefully you can spot the darker patch in the middle! 

:Diablo Sugar Free Cappuccino & Cream Sweets (Sweets Without)

It's time for another review of a sugar-less sweet treat courtesy of Sweets Without. This time I was sent a pack of the :Diablo Cappuccino & Cream sweets. As a fan of the ALDI s/f coffee sweets I was really looking forward to trying :Diablo's version, which are sweetened with isomalt.

:Diablo instantly won extra points from the packaging. The biggest problem with ALDI's packs is that they often tip over in my handbag. I can testify to the fact that sweets are far less appetising when you have to pick lint off them. Instead the Diablo sweets are individually wrapped which makes them perfect for picking up a couple at a time to keep you going for a few hours. 

The sweets are also fairly large in size, a little bigger but a similar shape to Werthers Originals. The first flavour that greeted me was a milky, latte-esque flavour, which subsided fairly quickly to a buttery, toffee flavour with a hint of coffee. True to their name they're creamy little sweets, and more so than the ALDI versions.

However, there's another big bonus to the Diablo sweets though: their size and shape means that each pastille lasts an extraordinary amount of time. Normally I'm a boiled sweet cruncher; I get bored all too easily and end up giving into the temptation to put pressure on them and then they're gone before I know it. Each of the :Diablo sweets lasted a good seven or eight minutes before I crumbled -or should that say crunched? 

Whilst I think that ALDI deliver a more prominent coffee flavour with their sugar-free cappuccino sweets,, the size and packaging of these :Diablo sweets actually makes them a better option for me. They're a good option for those wanting a low-calorie sweet fix too, as each candy is only 12 calories. You can buy :Diablo Cappuccino & Cream sweets directly from Sweets Without for a reasonable £1.79 oer 75g bag here.

7/10 

NEW! McVities Coffee Caramel Digestives (Sainsbury's)

Tomorrow will mark two months since  the two new McVities caramel digestive flavours were announced, and since then I've been on my longest and most frustrating snack hunt to date. It seems I'm not the only one who's been desperate to try the new biscuits, as many of you have got in touch, sharing my  disappointment. At long last though I have got my hands on both varieties though (you can read my review of the banoffee caramels here) thanks to the lovely Beth and her digestive-related determination. I'm just glad I'm not the only foodzilla out there! The new coffee caramels can be found at Sainsbury's now for a rather exorbitant £1.75 -which usually I wouldn't pay, but given the length of time I've been searching for them I could hardly leave them behind. According to Beth's email from McVities, they'll be stocked in ASDA from next week and Morrisons the week after. 

"Wheatmeal Biscuits with Coffee Flavour Caramel, Covered in Milk Chocolate."

The components bare striking resemblance to the Cappuccino Twix (which, FYI, have recently popped up again, this time in Poundland at 3 for £1). I must admit though that I was less impressed when I re-tried the Twix version recently though; the caramel just wasn't as coffee-y as I had originally thought. I found myself praying that McVities had done just as good a job with this new flavour as they had with the banoffee.

I knew I was on to a winner as soon as I opened the packet and was greeted with the scent of freshly made latte. I say latte because it wasn't knock-your-socks off espresso, but the aroma was still promising.

The second sign that led me to believe that the Coffee Caramel Digestives weren't going to disappoint occurred when I left a couple in the living room whilst I retrieved my mug of coffee from the kitchen and heard a clattering. I pegged it back around the corner, where I caught my dog red handed, guiltily nabbing the biscuits from the coffee table. He's seven years old and never stolen food before. Damn McVities, what have you done to Monty?

Oh boy. They nailed it. The sturdy, wheat biscuits were truly complimented by a caramel that delivered a coffee kick much stronger than the Twix. The nature of the caramel means that it's still very sweet, but the flavour is not hindered in any way. In fact it want until writing this that I realised that the biscuit wasn't coffee too, for the flavour had permeated throughout. The chocolate was good too, which has got me thinking: why aren't caramel mochas a thing? 

I loved the taste of the cappuccino thins when they launched at the beginning of the year, but wasn't happy with the thin nature. I'm all for a bit of biscuit chunk (and hence won't be reviewing the 'new' Maryland thins -they can bore off). These are far superior, and well worth a buy!

9/10

Chococcino Muffins (M&S)

I've had such a mixed bag with M&S' cakes recently. Take their new Tiramisu cupcakes for example, which were pretty lacklustre, especially when you compare them to the amazing spiced carrot cake muffins. I found these chococcino muffins reduced to a very reasonable 15p and couldn't resist the bargain.

"Tasty two-tone chocolate & coffee flavoured muffins, studded with dark and milk chocolate pieces."

They were aesthetically pleasing muffins, but then M&S can always be trusted to deliver on the appearance front. Slicing on in two revealed a centre that was entirely chocolate cake. The way my knife cut through it so cleanly with little resistance did set off alarm bells however. 

Just as feared the cake was dry as a bone and I was thankful for my cuppa to help the mouthfuls go down. The flavour didn't save the day either, for it was mostly cocoa and didn't have the coffee kick I hoped for. As for the chocolate chips, they were far and few between and so added very little to these disappointing muffins.

Another miss from M&S' bakery department in afraid; I'd give these a miss if I were you.

5/10

NEW! Spirit of Summer Tiramisu Cupcakes (M&S)

Given how successful my first dip into Marks & Spencer's 2018 Spirit of Summer range went, it wasn't long before I was back down the stairs into Hereford's food hall on the hunt for more goodies. Specifically the tiramisu cupcakes. Now I've mentioned before that I much prefer filled muffins to cupcakes, but label anything tiramisu and I'm there. Unfortunately, my wallet might take a bit of a hammering over the coming months considering the amount of tiramisu-esque products that have just arrived in M&S stores. Admittedly the cupcakes weren't extortionate however, at £2 for a box of two.

"Sponge cupcake, with a dark chocolate and intense coffee centre, topped with a delicious mascarpone and chocolate frosting and delicate coffee dusting."

They looked splendiferous! Ok, so the frosting might be slightly off centre, but the double coloured ripples are sheer perfection. The robust coffee scent that emanated from the box the second I unwrapped it heightened my taste-buds in anticipation.

They were a pain to retrieve from their wrappers though, the cake refused to come out without a fight, meaning that I ended up scrapping the case with a knife so as not to waste any. Slicing my first cake in two revealed an off-centre dark core and very dense sponge.

Hmm, I'm sure Mary Bezzer would have something to say about the cake's lack of fluffiness. The sponge was extremely doughy and under-risen, whilst the flavour was simply plain -certainly nothing to shout about. I'm not sure whether I could tell you that the frosting contained marscarpone either to be honest, for it just tasted like a standard mild chocolate buttercream.The lack of flavour is unsurprising considering that I've just read the ingredients and discovered that mascarpone only makes up a measly 1.5% of the ingredients. To add insult to injury the sheer amount of frosting made the cupcake unbearably sweet too, but that's why I'd argue that muffins are superior.

I placed the last of my expectations on the 'intense' flavour hit that M&S promised of within the cake's centre, and yes it tasted of coffee and chocolate, but it wasn't anywhere near as punchy as it could've been. In fact I was sure the cake was almost completely devoid of flavour until I made Bert try a smidgen and he spat it out -he detests coffee. I wondered If it was perhaps because I was drinking a (mild decaf) cup of coffee alongside the cake, so the next evening I tried it with a serving of Jude's Flat White ice cream (review to follow) but it still paled in flavour comparison.

I'm not sure that M&S can really call this a tiramisu cupcake considering the complete lack of Marsala and scarce mascarpone. It certainly doesn't deserve the label. Come on M&S you can do better than this!

6/10

UFIT Drinks (Most Supermarkets)

At the end of January I received a message from the owner of UFIT drinks, asking if I'd like to try a sample box of their products to review. Having seen their humorous "a great tasting protein drink for active-ish people" marketing campaign*, I was already intrigued and so gladly accepted. A day or so later, said parcel arrived containing three standard sized ready to drink protein shakes, and one of their PRO50 mega shake. 

So who are UFIT? They say:

"We are a team of protein enthusiasts and industry experts with over 20 years of nutrition industry experience. After building multiple successful brands and products we decided to assemble our own team of passionate and knowledgeable protein lovers and launch a range of our own, delicious protein drinks. UFIT was the result!"

Chocolate 
As it turned out, the chocolate shake's best before date was the day after I received the parcel (although the other flavours had much longer). The 310ml bottle contained 22g of protein and no added sugar. The drink looked rather similar to the For Goodness Shakes version that I reviewed  at the beginning of last year, although there was a few lumps lurking at the bottom of this one -not great.

Lumps aside, the taste and thickness was pretty standard. It's a reasonable shake, and if you're on the go and stuck for a chocolate hit without the fat or calories, you can't go wrong with a UFIT chocolate shake 

Macros: kCal: 170: P22/C11/F3.2

6/10

Iced Latte
UFIT have got some stiff competition on the protein market. Not only have protein giants Grenade launched their own coffee (which I haven't heard great things about),  but SCIMX have just released a 30g protein carton and Reflex also have a brilliant protein coffee (which contains 25g or protein).

Now I do enjoy a good milky sweet iced coffee, so I was looking forward to trying UFIT's version. Again, the 310ml bottle contained 22g of protein, but this time it was lump free. Happy days. Taste wise it's almost as good as Reflex, but it does contain more fat and less protein. It's a tasty drink though, and it's sweet despite the lack of added sugar. Tesco stock it and it's cheaper than the other protein brands, so it's handy to grab on the go. I also found that it made decent proats too!

Macros: kCal: 173 P:22/C10/F2.1

8/10

Banana
Now I love a good banana milkshake, in fact it's my favourite flavour. Is it awful that a McDonald's banana milkshake still fills me with joy? Banana is oddly far and few between when it comes to pre-made protein shakes though. 

Oh, that's disappointing. The flavour was lacking. I was hoping for a full on whack of real banana or foam banana, I don't really mind which, but found that instead UFIT have produced a wishy-washy flavour that well, didn't wash with me. Unfortunately it's not one I'd buy again.

Macros: kCal 176/P: 22/C:10.7/F3.2

6/10

Vanilla PRO50
This product was the one that baffled me the most was this vanilla 500ml bottle. There's plenty of debate about how much protein your body can utilise in one go, with this Men's Health Article suggesting that between 25-30g is the optimum amount per mealtime. With this in mind I decided to half the bottle and drink it over two days.

Crikey, the flavour was damn good. The vanilla was my favourite UFIT by far, reminding me of runny Ambrosia custard -yum! It tasted just as good warmed up for 2 mins in the microwave too. The macros were good too, with each half bottle 250ml serving coming in at: Kcal:164/P:25/C:8.6/F2.6. The trouble is, if I'm drinking only half in one serving, then I'm keeping it at home, in which case it's cheaper to make my own shake with my protein powder.

However... UFIT have recently brought out a 310ml vanilla flavour bottle, which I certainly will buy when needing a protein fix on the go!

9/10

A huge thank you to UFIT for sending me the samples!

MyMuscleMug: Peanut Butter, Coffee, Chocolate Coconut & Red Velvet Protein Cakes (Online)

For the past few months now I’ve been following the journey of MyMuscleMug, a new British company specialising in healthy, high protein mug cakes. Emily spent six months painstakingly perfecting each recipe (although I can think of worse jobs!) before setting up the business in July 2016. Remarkably each MyMuscleMug contains more than 25g of protein, whilst being low in carbs and containing less than 200kcal. It sounds far too good to be true! Could a healthy cake with excellent macros taste yummy too? The images I kept seeing on Instagram looked mouth-wateringly delicious, but we all know that photos can be extremely deceiving. I held off ordering, but continued to salivate over the decadent pictures of gooey mug cakes appearing on MyMuscleMug’s Instagram page.

That was until the beginning of January when Emily announced the launch of two new flavours, and asked Instagrammers to guess the flavours for the opportunity to win them, so of course I entered. Luckily my entry of red velvet and chocolate coconut was correct and I was one of 10 lucky winners to receive the new cakes - hurrah. My resistance had subsided though, and I took the opportunity to pay for a sachet of the peanut butter and coffee flavours to be sent at the same time too.

The cakes come in individual 50g sachets, which is a bonus because it means that they fit through the letterbox. All the consumer is required to do is to pop the mix in a mug, add 100ml of milk, mix, add any toppings and microwave for 80 seconds or so. Simples.

Chocolate Coconut

As far as flavours go, chocolate coconut is not one that I would normally opt for (it always makes me think of the bountys left lingering in the Celebrations tub after Christmas). With that in mind I decided to try it first. I love the idea that you can customise your mug cake and so spent an embarrassing amount of time dreaming up concoctions that might complement the various flavours. I remembered that I had some choc shot in the cupboard and raspberries in the freezer so decided to cook the cake and adorn it once cooked.

I decided to make my first MyMuscleMug in a latte glass so that I could see the texture in the middle. Once combined with the milk I found the strongly scented chocolate coconut mix to be drier than expected, especially having made many banoffee beltsander-inspired cakes over the past few months. I licked the fork I used to whisk it with and instantly knew I was in for a real treat.

What I stupidly hadn’t accounted for was how much the cake would rise, and that the glass almost reached the top of the inside of my microwave anyway. After just 60 seconds I ended up with a cake volcano, oops. I ended up removing the latte glass early, despite realising that the cake was still gooey in the middle, but I just couldn’t bear to waste any more of it by popping it back in for the final 20 seconds.

Oof. It tasted so. Damn. Good. Think warm coconut fondant.

How was this healthy? How was this delivering 25g of protein? How did it taste so decadent whilst being so low in fat and sugar? It’s then that I realised that Emily must be a wizard. Must be! The raspberries and choc shot gave the cake some additional texture and elevated it into such a special dessert. Even writing about it is making me drool. Yum.

9/10

Red Velvet

It wasn’t long until the temptation to try another MyMuscleMug became too much to bear and so this time I reached for the other new flavour. I had decided to make this mix up in a shallow dessert bowl instead, kind of brownie style, and top I with fresh strawberries and a MilkyBar bear – after all the cake was healthy so I figured it was necessary to add some naughtiness, right?

As before, I licked the fork after mixing, but this time was met with a coconut flavour (it was then that I realised that all of the MyMuscleMugs contain coconut flour) and a very strong beetroot flavour. Now beetroot is one of only a couple of foods I really can’t stand (the other being liquorice). The mixture was an admirable bright red colour, and I say admirable because red velvets have become somewhat less bright since the disappearance of the e-number packed dyes that were once abundant in supermarket shelves. The big problem was, in order to obtain such a beautiful colour, the mix must’ve contained quite a bit of beetroot powder. I only hoped the flavour would subside once cooked.

Unfortunately for me it didn’t, and I really couldn’t get along with the earthiness of the flavour. For me the coconut and beetroot totally overpowered the chocolate and I was left wondering how the cake could be called red velvet, save for its brightness.

2/10

Peanut Butter

At this point I had really mixed feelings about the cakes. Would the peanut butter flavour taste of coconut, or worse, would it taste like the disgusting peanut flour used in Dr Zak’s peanut butter powder? Was it worth using the last of my Co-Op PB&J ice cream to go alongside it? After some deliberation I decided to take the punt, this time making it in a normal mug and adding a large spoonful of JimJam’s low sugar strawberry jam to the raw mix before cooking.

This time I managed to cook the cake for the full 80 seconds, which was when I saw it starting to peep out of the top. I tipped it out into a bowl, although the bottom was still fondant-like and was a little reluctant to leave the mug, but I loved the chocolate coconut one served that way so refrained from cooking it further.

Hurrah! Emily was back to her usual magic with this mixture. The peanut butter was flavoursome and although there was a hint of coconut in the background I found that it complemented the nuttiness really well -who knew? I felt rather proud of my concoction too; the warm jam-filled cake paired with one of the best ice creams I discovered last year was sheer genius (even if I do say so myself). Serious noms.

9/10

Coffee

Now coffee cake is one of my absolute favourite cake flavours. The only trouble is, more often than not, people like to include walnuts into the mixture. Gah. I just want a smooth cake goddammit! Stop shoving walnuts into my cake please, and my ice cream too whilst you’re at it (yes I’m looking at you Ben & Jerry’s with your Chunky Monkey). Also, whilst I’m moaning, why can you never find coffee muffins? Humf. The nut issue is the main reason that I rarely buy coffee cake, and there’s not much point in making it at home when Bert can’t stand coffee. It’s therefore perhaps needless to explain how much I was looking forward to my final MyMuscleMug, and decided that it needed a suitable ice cream to nestle alongside it. Mud Pie! Mud Pieice cream would work wouldn’t it?

Perhaps the most surprising element of the coffee MyMuscleMug is just how brave the flavour is. It’s not a mild, latte kind of flavour, and instead delivers the kind of caffeine-y kick that could even wake you up on a cold January morning. I was glad that I’d paired it with the sweetness of the ice cream for I can be a bit of a coffee wuss, but the resulting flavour was mind-bogglingly delicious and reminded me of another of my favourite desserts- tiramisu.

10/10

All MyMuscleMugs are available to purchase for £1.99each from mymusclemug.com, and I highly suggest you take advantage of the current 6 for £9.95 mix and match offer. The other flavours sound equally delicious too -I’m now dying to try the chocolate brownie, pumpkin spice and cinnamon swirl!

NEW! McVities Milk Chocolate Cappuccino Digestive Thins (Tesco)

We've been moaning for years about the ever decreasing size of chocolate bars and snack packs. Walkers crisps, Mars bars, Magnums, Toblerone, Dairy Milk have all been shrunk recently and of course we all now expect the outcry that occurs every year when the Christmas chocolate tins come into Supermarkets inevitably smaller than the previous year's. Yet still there's a juxtaposition of interests going on. We complain and feel hard done by, conned by the greedy companies who have sneakily done away with a few grams here and there, yet eagerly jump on the "thin" bandwagon. I'm not exempt from this and often don't think twice about spending the same on bagel thins as I would on a pack of their chunkier brothers. We're strange creatures.

The thin trend is growing too, and what once only applied to the bakery section has now extended to the biscuit aisle. Oreo thins have recently arrived on British shores but Mcvities and Tesco* have also jumped aboard the bandwagon too.

I did think of two bonuses to McVities new range though:

1. They're coated, meaning there's surely a greater chocolate:biscuit ratio (always a win).

2. Smaller/thinner = I can eat even more biscuits!

Also, they've made this cappuccino version which is the real reason* I bought them when I finally spotted a box in Tesco for a rather expensive £1.69.

*well that and admittedly I'm a gluttonous chocoholic.

"Delightfully delicate cappuccino flavoured digestives covered in milk chocolate."

Crikey, they really do mean thin don't they? How they've even managed to make a biscuit that's not much wider than a sheet of paper I don't know!

I was impressed that despite their narrowness McVities have managed to imprint their logo and thin on the back (just in case you forget it's not a regular digestive of course). 

Are you a dunker? I can't help it, I just have to! So it's an odd experience, eating a biscuit so thin that you can't really dip it in your drink. Luckily despite its size the flavour still managed to shine through, offering a mocha mix of coffee in the biscuit itself and chocolate covering. The characteristic wheat-yness remained in the undertones and I realised that I was actually quite impressed!

They're delicious but not as satisfying as full size digestives, and so I find myself longing for non-thin cappuccino flavoured milk chocolate digestives... or better yet, white chocolate digestives. McVities are you reading this?

8/10

NEW! Pumpkin Spice Latte Style Müller Corner (ASDA)

I'd just about given up on Müller Corners after the pants Oreo Corner and equally disappointing Gold Edition this summer, when they released their most exciting sounding yogurt to date: Pumpkin Spice Latte. It wasn't that long ago that I was moaning about the lack of Autumnal products in the UK, and I've since realised that I simply spoke too soon! Of course we have Starbucks to thank for bringing pumpkin spice popularity to the UK; PSLs have been a regular seasonal addition here since 2012 (a good 9 years after it was launched in the USA I might add). 

Could and would Müller pull off the famous drink in yogurt form? 

"Smooth pumpkin spice sauce with creamy coffee flavoured yogurt."

My honest opinion? No. Sorry to disappoint you...

I really wish that Müller would return to their older method/recipes to make their yogurts in the corners. The liquidity of it was much more similar to their Müller lights than the corners of old. There was also an odd synthetic aftertaste which curdled with the coffee flavour somewhat -it was simply quite bizarre. 

It's a shame really, especially because the pumpkin sauce was really quite tasty -although completely different to what I expected: much runnier and sweeter. I'd have thought it was apple rather than pumpkin, but maybe that's just because it's a similar spice mix that I use in my crumbles. I imagine that the pumpkin sauce would make a wonderful base layer for Müller rices actually. Müller are you reading this?

Meh. Not one for me, and I won't bother again. Kev had a more favourable opinion of the new Corner however, so please do go and check out his review too. Also, here's a tip off if you are a Müller fan: all their single pots (lights, corners and rices) are currently all on a 12 for £3 offer at ASDA!

4/10

Ben & Jerry's One Sweet World (ASDA)

Hurrah! At long last One Sweet World & One Love are available in most supermarkets, and on offer in two (ASDA £2.47 & Sainsbury's £2.50). As it turns out, I stocked up on my favourite ice cream brand the day before the Marmitegate Tesco-Unilever scandal hit last week. Thank goodness that's now been resolved eh?

I've been itching to buy both of these 'new' flavours, but knew that waiting a couple of weeks would mean that I could get them at a far more respectable price than the £4.00 Tesco were charging. I appreciate too that One Love is just a rebrand, but I may review it anyway as its been so long since I last tasted it, and I've all but forgotten how it compares given the plethora of Ben & Jerry's flavours that have come and gone since. What do you think?

In any case, it was One Sweet World that was the first to get delved into. Coffee is one flavour that I'm surprised that Ben & Jerry's UK haven't dabbled in before. It's certainly a more adult offering, and one that I welcomed with open arms. Or should I say mouth?

"We’re making a bit of a buzz with our latest sweet treat, featuring Fairtrade coffee & caramel ice creams, marshmallow & caramel swirls, and chunky chocolate ampersands, all lovingly churned together to tantalise those taste buds. And you know what makes this all the sweeter? Partnering with HOPE not hate, this flavour will help fund various projects run by the organisation, which contribute to more inclusive communities. We think that (just like ice cream!) communities come in all kinds of flavours &, together, we can make One Sweet World."

I opened it at the same time as a tub of S'Wich Up  (my other half detests coffee) so it was easy to compare the texture and 'extras' between both. One Sweet World was much softer straight from the freezer -which made it easier to scoop- but also meant that it melted all too quickly. As for the chunks? Well If you've treated yourself to a tub of S'Wich Up (and you should've done by now unless you've the bad luck to suffer from intolerances) you'll appreciate that the ice cream is the epitome of added yummies. The sheer amount of biscuit and cookie dough pieces in it make it difficult to scoop, but oh so delicious! One Sweet World was in total contrast; the marshmallow, salted caramel or ampersands were subtle additions. It did smell good though.

Ben & Jerry's is renowned for its creaminess, and I was pleased to find that this was the case with this new flavour too. The sweet coffee caramel flavour reminded me of my sister's favourite Starbucks drink: a single shot caramel macchiato. The marshmallow flavour was sadly a bit lost, and the salted caramel wasn't as prominent as I'd have liked either. It's certainly not on par with the incredible core in Karamel Sutra anyway.

The chocolate &s added a delicious grownup richness, imparting some much needed balance to the otherwise sickly ice cream. I couldn't help but think some Belgian speculoos (Biscoff style) biscuits would have been a thoughtful addition, but then it wouldn't be gluten free (and there's not many Ben & Jerry's that are). Maybe I'll crumble some into on my next portion of One Sweet World.

Overall, I'm pleased to see a coffee flavour join the Ben & Jerry's family, and although It's not my favourite tub out there, I'll be sure to buy another tub whilst it sticks around.

8/10

NEW! E.Wedel Caffe Latte Milk Chocolate (Polski Sklep)

Last week I was queuing up to pay for the peanut & chocolate croissant in the Polish deli, when a chocolate bar I hadn't spotted before caught my eye. It grabbed my attention for three reasons:

1. It was cheap (just 40p)
2. It was caffe latte flavoured (I love anything mocha)
3. It was made my E.Wedel...

...Why would the slightly obscure brand appeal to me you may ask? Well, I've seen their larger (and equally interesting sounding) bars in supermarkets, as well as reading a few favourable reviews* of their products, but have never taken the plunge and bought myself a bar. In the name of impulse, I grabbed the Pawełek and quickly bought it before I could remind myself of he numerous bars of chocolate already sat in my fridge.

Please can we just take a moment to take in the Google translation of E.Wedel's description of the bar on their website (where I also found out that it's new)!

"Pawełek flavored Caffe Latte in milk chocolate bar designed for lovers of coffee with milk and refers to the ritual of drinking this beverage in combination with sweet chocolate pleasure."

My heart sunk when I unwrapped the bar and spotted the White curse of spoilage lingering on the corners. Still, appearances can be deceptive, and I snapped the bar in half. I think I was expecting a truffle-esque centre enrobed in chocolate, but instead I discovered a gooey, fondant core (which smelt very alcoholic!).

Unfortunately in this case, the book should have been judged by its cover. The chocolate was waxy, and tasted cheap, reminiscent of Kinnerton's Christmas calendars. I'm a fan of liqueur chocolates, but I couldn't even detect the slightest hint of coffee, as it was totally overwhelmed by the throat burning alcohol. So potent was it, that I was left wondering how many bars you would need to eat before feeling woozy**.

It's such a shame really, considering the success I had with both of the last Polish chocolate bars I've tried (The Wawel Peanut Butter review here, and advocaat bar review here if you're interested) and the success other bloggers have had with E. Wedel. Maybe I'll give them another shot soon. Have you had any of their bars? If so, which is the best?

3/10

* Such as:
Kev's  Karmel-love! Caramel White Chocolate Bar review
Nibs' Crème Brûlée Bar review
and One Treat's Dark Tiramisu review

** At 2.1% of the bar's ingredients I guess it might be more than the taste led me to imagine!