Matcha Meltykiss

In America, green tea has been steadily growing in popularity. The health benefits attributed to green tea have led to the rise of green tea extracts being sold in markets. The flavor isn’t bad either, seeing as how there are things like green tea ice cream and there are many different green tea flavored drinks. However, an area that green tea hasn’t been able to gain popularity in America yet is the candy market. If one were to go into an Asian market, or more specifically, a Japanese market, one would see that in the candy aisle there are green tea flavored candies. Some find the flavor of green tea to be delicious, but I could take it or leave it. I would be more likely to buy a cola flavored candy over a green tea flavored one. However, the packaging for the next product looked so nice that I bought it anyway.

Meltykiss is a chocolate candy that comes in little cubes. The outside of the candy is dusted with cocoa powder, giving it a much stronger chocolate flavor than typical chocolate candies. Inside is a very smooth chocolate that has a rich taste. Usually they have a cocoa or strawberry flavor. I’ve had caramelized almond flavor, and now this matcha flavored variety. When I first bought this, I thought that it was mint chocolate because I didn’t read the box. I mean the box has snowflakes on it and everything.

A Matcha Meltykiss cut in half. I swear I didn’t bite this one. Okay, maybe I did, but you’ll never know

The consistency and texture of this Meltykiss is just like all other varieties of Meltykiss. The outside still has the cocoa powder which gives the candy a pleasantly bitter and cocoa flavor. As the candy melted, it became sweeter and the matcha flavor started to come out. Was there anything special about the matcha flavor? Not really, if you like matcha then you’ll like this, if you’re not that enthusiastic about it, then this won’t change much. My favorite Meltykiss flavor is still good old cocoa. This is still a good candy, but it’s not my cup of tea.

Matcha Meltykiss: 7.5/10 (increase the score if you’re a fan of green tea)

Trident Vitality Vigorate

In the world of sugar-free gum, 5 Gum and Extra are at the top, at least to me that is. That isn’t to say that I don’t like other brands of gum, it’s just that my preference leans towards these two. I don’t mind a stick of Stride every now and then or some Orbit on occasion. However, I typically am not a fan of Trident. Their “Layers” line of gum is good, but everything else seems to fall short. Maybe it’s because their pieces are smaller or maybe it’s because their flavors aren’t quite right. I’m not sure what it is about Trident, outside of the Layers line, that doesn’t appeal to me. Recently, they have come out with a new line of gum called “Vitality”. Since it was on sale at Target, I decided to buy some and see if it would change my views on Trident.

The box is very nice and I figured that I couldn’t go wrong with a flavor like strawberry and citrus. If you notice, it also says that there’s Vitamin C in the gum. I’m not sure how well that works as a marketing strategy, but okay.

This is the nine piece package. There’s nothing special about it; it resembles all other gums that are in hard shells.

The inside of a piece of Trident Vitality gum. Yes, I did bite it.

The initial bite and the few chews after were very pleasing. The flavor resembled that of most other citrus flavored gums. I didn’t quite detect any strawberry flavor. How good a sugar-free gum is based on, in my opinion, how good the flavor is and how long the flavor lasts. While the first few minutes of chewing were pretty good, the flavor went away rather quickly. It didn’t disappear altogether, but it mellowed out quite a bit. I like my gum to usually have lasting power for at least past the ten minute mark if not more. Overall, this Vitality line is nothing compared to the 5 Gum and Extra. If anything, I think Trident should put more effort into their Layers line and develop more flavors. The Pineapple-Apple flavor is one of my favorite flavors of gum, but the Melon-Mint is not good. On a side note, I want to see gum makers make a cherry flavored gum and lime flavored gum. The Key Lime Pie flavor of Extra’s Dessert line does not count.

Trident Vitality Vigorate: 7/10

Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate & Strawberry Squares

As mentioned in the previous entry, Ghiradelli is one of the very few chocolate brands that's putting out a strawberry and chocolate combination for Valentine's Day.

The packaging is obviously geared toward Valentine's Day. I'm not going to lie, I'm not a fan of Ghiradelli. Despite them being known exclusively for their chocolate, I just find that their products fall flat, especially in the face of Lindt and Hershey's Bliss line. Their chocolate seems to not have the extra richness that I like in my chocolate. Maybe some like their chocolate to boast a strong chocolate taste, but I like mine to have more than just that. However, they did put out a strawberry and chocolate square, so I must commend them for that. I also like their seasonal product such as their Egg Nog and Peppermint Bark squares.

The horror that is inside each square

The flavor of the chocolate was okay, not good, but just okay. The filling reminded me of cherry and raspberry flavors more than it did of strawberry. That was a bit disappointing. Some parts that seemed to ooze with filling didn't even give off a hint of fruit, which was somewhat confusing as well. Overall, I applaud Ghiradelli's attempt to cash in on Valentine's Day, but overall they produced something that was just okay, and not very good.

Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate & Strawberry Squares: 7/10

Lindt Lindor Truffles: Milk Chocolate & Smooth White Filling

Valentine's Day is a few weeks away, but for the past month or so, stores have been stocking their shelves with Valentine's Day candy. As mentioned previously, Valentine's Day candy is, more often than not, regular candy that's packaged in red and pink and priced a few cents to a few dollars more than their non-holiday counterparts. Lindt is one of my favorite chocolate makers, and they also have capitalized on this. I decided to see if there was any merit behind them listing some of their products as "Limited Edition"

I'm pretty sure that "milk chocolate & smooth white filling" is a flavor that they have put out before. It is also a product that will generate many jokes from kids in middle school and up. Despite this, I decided that in the spirit of Valentine's Day, it would only be proper if I took a go at this and reviewed. Regardless if it's really a limited edition flavor, I haven't written about it before, so it was worth a try either way.

The chocolate ball cut in half

Like most Lindt chocolates, this didn't disappoint. The filling was creamy and gave a slightly buttery taste. The flavor was exceptional and not too sweet. However, how was this a limited edition flavor? Again, they're probably just trying to capitalize on Valentine's Day being around the corner, so they probably decided to put out an already existing product and labeling it as limited edition. I would like to see Lindt put out something with strawberry or cherry filling perhaps to reflect Valentine's Day. They have a raspberry flavor out, so I suppose that's sort of a change. Ghiradelli chocolate has put out a dark chocolate and strawberry flavor, which I will write about later, and I would like to see Lindt put one out as well. Anyway, in regards to THIS product, it is like other Lindt chocolates and is a better than most of the chocolate you'll find sitting next to it in on the shelves.

Lindt Lindor Truffles: Milk Chocolate & Smooth White Filling: 9/10

Meiji Coke Flavored Cotton Candy Gum

If you recall, last Summer, my friends Phil and Karina, brought me many candies from their trip to Japan. One of the candies that I was very fond of was a grape flavored cotton candy that had popping candies inside of it. Since then, I have found that there are some markets in the U.S. that carry that candy, which is still as delicious as I remember it. On the back of the package, the English label labels it as Chewing Gum. I suppose that it was easier to label it as Chewing Gum instead of Cotton Candy with Poprocks. Next to it, I also saw another candy in a similar package that was also labeled as Chewing Gum. I decided to take a risk.

Ninjas blowing a bubble and a frog. This has the makings of being a great candy. I felt the package, and it was as soft as the grape cotton candy from before, if not a bit more uniform and packaged, so I decided to give it a try. If it's endorsed by those characters up there, how could I lose?

A tuft of the cotton candy

There was no popping when I ate it, so I was a bit disappointed, but it did taste like cola, sot hat was good. However, at that point where cotton candy's supposed to melt away in your mouth, the candy began to turn into chewing gum. Eventually most of the cotton candy in my mouth turned into cola flavored chewing gum, which was delightful. I have to say, I would have liked it to have the popping candy and some more tart flavor. I think if there was some pop and a bit of sour flavor it would have put this candy over the edge. Otherwise, it's a very interesting candy, and one that my students enjoy. There aren't other candies readily available that can do this.

Meiji Coke Flavored Cotton Candy Gum: 9/10

Mini Strawberry Crunch Bars

It's a few weeks before Valentine's Day, and stores, such as Target, are starting to put out pink and red packages for their candies. There's nothing really different between Valentine's Day candy and regular candy outside of the little hearts on the Valentine's Day candy. However, some candies like Kisses have decided to put out raspberry flavored chocolates. I'm also glad to see that Ghiradelli has put out "limited edition" strawberry chocolate squares. Since that long explanation led to the subject of strawberry chocolate, I'd like to write about another familiar product that has also put out a strawberry chocolate flavor.

Albeit, it's a Japanese variety of a familiar American product, but I figure it's all the same. Now when they start selling Twix varieties from the UK here, oh boy. Anyway, I don't really see foreign versions of Crunch bars, so this seemed like an endeavor worth trying.

The mini "bars" actually come in two squares

It had all the texture and familiarity of the Crunch bars you can find in America, so that's good. The strawberry flavor slightly overpowered the chocolate flavor, but it didn't completely hide the chocolate, which was good. I'm hesitant to say that I would prefer this OVER Crunch bar. I'd say that it would be nice to have this every once in awhile. This was not better, not worse, but it was just different. It's on par with the regular Crunch bar. The best variety of Crunch bar, in my opinion, is the White Chocolate Crunch Bar.

Mini Strawberry Crunch Bars: 8/10

European Cheese Kit Kat

Some things are just so ridiculous that they're worth trying at least once just to know what they're like. For instance, I had tacos with brains as the meat not too long ago. Was it good? It was okay, but I wouldn't have chosen it over any other meat. Likewise, this product falls in the line of, "I don't know what it is, but I need to try it"

That's right, European Cheese Kit Kat. Just when I thought Ginger Ale was the most ridiculous flavor they could come up with, Kit Kat has this. I don't know whose idea it was to make this a flavor, but they're probably trying other ridiculous flavors with Kit Kat, like mayonnaise or something. On a side note, the box was very nice.

It's like opening a treasure chest

And finding Kit Kat inside

When I first unwrapped the Kit Kat there was a very pungent cheese smell coming from it. Think of a cheese with a very powerful smell and you have the smell of European Cheese Kit Kat. The flavor, however, was like that of a normal Kit Kat. I would say that it tasted like white chocolate Kit Kat. It was just the typical Kit Kat sweetness with no hints of saltiness or any hidden surprises. The texture of the Kit Kat wafer and the smell of the cheese reminded me of those cheese and cracker snacks that I used to like as a kid. The smell was outrageous, the flavor was not, and I came out sort of confused by the smell coupled with the flavor. All in all, it was worth the try and I was not disgusted. I must, however, knock it for being relatively expensive to a bag of Kit Kats and yielding only 10 mini bars. For the price of this, I could have bought a two bags of fun size Kit Kats.

European Cheese Kit Kat: 7/10