candy Archives - Page 21 of 31

March 18, 2009January 10, 2021 Michael

Buncha Crunch – A Big Downgrade from the Bar

Candy Bars

The combination of puffed rice and milk chocolate is definitely a good one, so I enjoy eating a Crunch bar every now and then, even if the quality of the chocolate is a bit on the iffy side. Buncha Crunch is essentially just a bite-sized version of Crunch, so it should pretty much taste the same, right? Well…

Buncha Crunch consists of little clusters of puffed rice covered in milk chocolate. Its main problem is that the ratio of chocolate to puffed rice is way off – it’s not nearly chocolately enough. It’s pretty crunchy, but the chocolate seems to be holding the rice together more than anything else. So if you’re craving chocolate, this isn’t going to do it for you. What little chocolate there is isn’t particularly good; it’s more sweet than anything else.

I was really not enjoying this at all to start with, though it did sort of grow on me as I ate it. Despite that, there’s no reason at all to pick this over a Crunch bar other than the convenience factor (Crunch bars tend to be a bit crumbly and messy, so they’re tough to eat on the go).

Manufactured by: Nestle
Calories (34 g package): 160

March 16, 2009January 10, 2021 Michael

Yogen Fruz Smoothies: Blueberry Breeze – Fruity and Refreshing

Fruity Candy

I’m not sure how prevalent they are in the States, but go to pretty much any mall in Canada, and you’ll find a Yogen Fruz. For the uninitiated, they sell frozen yogurt, usually mixed in with some sort of fruit. It’s not bad, if you like that sort of thing.

A pack of Yogen Fruz Smoothies consists of 36 (yes – they’re that precise) crunchy pieces of fruity candy. I’m not sure why, but when I bought this I was sort of assuming that they’d be chewy, like jelly beans. They’re actually more like Sweetarts or Pez – crunchy, with a grainy consistency.

They’re good. The flavour I bought was Blueberry Breeze (there’s also Tropical Storm and Strawberry-Banana – I’ll have to try those at some point). They’re not nearly as sweet as something like Pez, with a strongly sour, fruity taste. They don’t really taste like blueberries per se; it’s more of a general berry flavour. There’s also the yogurt (which is definitely in there – it’s the second ingredient), but I’m not sure if it adds too much to the flavour of the candy. I guess it’s overpowered by the tartness of the berry.

Despite the lack of any sort of yogurt flavour (which is kind of odd for a candy released by a frozen yogurt chain), these are not bad at all. They make for a refreshing midday snack.

Manufactured by: Big Sky Brands
Calories (36 pieces, 25 g): 100

January 26, 2009January 10, 2021 Michael

Starbucks: Caramel Macchiato Truffles – Maybe they should stick with Coffee

Truffles

I’m not a big coffee drinker, though I do like the taste of coffee when it’s sweetened or mixed in with other things, like chocolate. I also like Starbucks, though I’m still somewhat bitter over the discontinuation of the Chantico, a chocolate drink which – if you weren’t fortunate enough to try it – was essentially just liquefied dark chocolate. It was pretty great.

So I had somewhat high hopes for this Starbucks-branded chocolate, despite the fact that it is a Hershey product (which isn’t mentioned anywhere on the box). Not that I have anything against Hershey, but the last Hershey-made chocolate truffle I had was pretty mediocre.

The first thing you notice when you eat one of these is the fairly strong coffee flavour. I guess that shouldn’t be surprising, given that this has been released by a coffee shop, but I was expecting the coffee taste to be a bit milder. So that was a pleasant surprise. The next thing you notice is how crazy sweet it is; I just reviewed the Cadbury Creme Egg, and I think this might just be equally sweet, which is ridiculous. It also has the same fake-truffle, peanut butter-like consistency as the Cacao Reserve truffles, which is unfortunate.

These Starbucks Caramel Macchiato Truffles are probably slightly better than the Cacao Reserve ones, thanks to the coffee taste – but it definitely seems to me that Hershey should leave truffle-making to other chocolate makers, as they just can’t seem to get it right.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Calories (2 truffles, 23 g): 130

January 23, 2009January 10, 2021 Michael

Cadbury Creme Egg – An Easter Classic

Easter Candy

Easter is actually still a while off – it’s not until April 19th this year – but I guess that’s close enough for Cadbury, as the seasonal Creme Eggs are starting to hit the shelves.

Cadbury Creme Eggs are sweet; extremely sweet. As a kid, despite my love for all things sugary, Creme Eggs’ overwhelming sweetness was just a bit too much for me. I’ve since come to appreciate the Creme Egg, though its status as a once-a-year seasonal item is probably for the best, as it’s really not the kind of thing you want to eat on a regular basis (or at least I don’t).

As you can see from the picture above, Cadbury Creme Eggs can be a bit tricky to eat; the very soft centre combined with the relatively hard chocolate makes these things prone to crumble and fall apart, creating a bit of a mess. The filling is quite sticky, so you really need to be careful when you’re eating one. As for the taste: the chocolate is typical Cadbury milk chocolate – sweet, and fairly creamy. The fondant filling is essentially just soft, creamy sugar. It is what it is; you probably already have an opinion on whether you like these things, or if they’re just too sweet for you. I like them, but now that I’ve had one, I think I can wait until Easter 2010 to have another.

Manufactured by: Cadbury
Calories (39 g egg): 170

January 21, 2009January 10, 2021 Michael

Zero – The Nuttiness Grows on You

Candy Bars

Not to be confused with the far superior Belgian chocolate truffle bar, Hershey’s Zero consists of nougat studded with tiny pieces of almonds and peanuts, topped with chewy caramel and enrobed in white chocolate. Only, it’s not really white chocolate – Hershey calls it “white fudge,” presumably because it doesn’t contain the requisite amount of cocoa butter to legally be allowed to be called chocolate (vegetable oil is one of the first ingredients).

Zero sort of resembles a nuttier Mars Bar (or Milky Way in the States). Unlike a Mars Bar, the nougat contains really small chunks of peanuts and almonds. I think the pieces are probably a bit too small, as they give the bar an off-puttingly gritty texture. They do, however, lend the bar a pleasantly nutty flavour, which gives the nougat an almost marzipan-like taste. The caramel adds some additional chewiness, though it doesn’t really contribute any real flavour to the bar. As for the “white fudge,” it’s basically just superfluous.

For the first couple of bites, I was definitely ready to give this a negative review. But it grew on me. It’s not as sweet as you might expect, and it has a much nuttier flavour than you’ll find in most mainstream candy bars. It’s certainly not great, but it’s not bad either.

Manufactured by: Hershey
Calories (52 g bar): 230