Haribo Happy Cola

 
We know they can do bears, but can they can cola?

The Attraction

I know Haribo well from their world famous gummy bears, but one can not live on gummy bears alone. It was time to branch out and see if their other gummy offerings were as yummy. (sorry, it was better to get that out of the way early)

The Review:
I've been indulging on Haribo's gummy or as they brand it "Gold-Bears" for many years now. As great as they are, Haribo also has other gummy snacks such as Smurfs, Twin Cherries and these Happy Cola. I guess what intrigued me most about these snacks is that they are a one off from the typical fruit-gummy partnership. Could this taste OK? Will it taste like a cola? What mad person thought of this combo?

I don't know about you, but I like fairly soft gummy snacks. Too hard and they come off as stale, too soft and they feel like they are melting. Before opening the bag, I could feel the "Happy Colas" were on the softer side, but in a good way. I opened the bag and a cola smell filled the air. So far, so good.

Like a mini-Coke?

I pick a lucky cola out and pop it into my mouth. Nice consistent gummy texture you would expect from Haribo as I get a steady chew going on it. They also do a good job of capturing the "cola" flavor without making it too artificial tasting. Granting, cola flavor itself is artificial, but it wasn't in an over the top kind of way. The only think missing was some carbonation. (Too bad they couldn't duplicate that in a gummy snack). It was only a matter of time before this bag would get lighter and lighter.

2 short of a six-pack

The Sweet:
Haribo sets the standard with gummy snacks and this is no exception.

The Bitter:
If there is a bitter, it's that it's only one flavor.

Conclusion:
I can't speak on the other Haribo snacks, but their "Happy Cola" is every bit on par as their gummy bears; great gummy texture and flavor that doesn't over or under power you. The biggest dilemma will be deciding which Haribo gummy snack to try next.

Video of the Week 

My palms got a little sweaty for this fool

I don't like heights and I don't like hoverboards. I've never been on one, but they annoy me when I see people on them. Maybe because the people on them are usually moving the same pace if not slower than walking speed...so what's the point? Anyway, how do you make these two things interesting? How about combining them? (I'd prefer to combine bacon and donuts, but that wouldn't be a very interesting video)

Trader Joe's Peanut Butter and Jelly Greek Yogurt

This could get interesting

The Attraction

I have what some might say is an unusual amount of love towards peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, so when I saw Trader Joe offer up a Greek yogurt version of it, it wasn't like it was even an option to not try it.

The Review:
I wasn't necessarily looking for a PB+J fix when I was roaming Trader Joe's this past week, but along with the normal groceries, I had to pick up this yogurt anomaly. Whoever thought of PB+J Greek yogurt? It sounds brilliant! We all already know of the standard blueberry flavored yogurt, so why not toss in some peanut butter flavor and make this into a party?! Ohh..this is going to be good!

I slowly peel back the foiled cover on the yogurt and see that this is not that different from most other yogurts. I prefer fruit on the bottom type of yogurts, so I was hoping this might be the same. As I start to stir, I see that the consistency is also par the course; a thick, creamy concoction. I do notice that my stirring is bringing up the smell of peanut butter and it smells good. I also notice that there isn't any fruit on the bottom....or anywhere in this yogurt! That's disappointing. It seemed like a no-brainer to me, but Trader Joe's chose not to include it in this product.

Unassuming, but what lies beneath?

I take a spoonful up to my mouth and have a taste. Yes, there certainly is a peanut butter-like flavor present, but it's a bit more reserved. It's nutty, but it tastes a bit more like sesame. That is probably because in a yogurt, it wouldn't make sense to add salt or a lot of it to really drive the PB flavor home as we are used to in typical peanut butter flavored snack (such as crackers, candy bars and peanut butter in a jar). OK, that makes sense, but the "jelly" component is also subtle. It's in there, but it's in the form of a juice or essence mixed in the yogurt.

I get how this product could have gone horribly wrong if it was made by a large corporate yogurt manufacturer; globs of pb mixed with a HFCS sweetener to emulate the jelly part. That sorta sounds good to the kid in me, but the adult in me knows that's not really the best way to go. With Trader Joe's, you know they aren't using stuff that has a half-life.

Oh, more of the same?

The Sweet:
Trader Joe's keeps it simple and as always minimizes any artificial ingredients.

The Bitter:
No berries? It would have seemed like the obvious thing to do with a pb+j yogurt.

Conclusion:
There's no mistaking this yogurt for the real thing. Maybe it's just me, but I've grown up with the idea that yogurt and fruit flavors go hand in hand. There was a lot of potential here by tossing in the pb curve along with the fruit flavor standard, but I think omitting fruit altogether was a mistake. Perhaps the result may have been too overwhelming in Trader Joe's opinion, but the final product was too underwhelming in mine.

Video of the Week 

"She's Always in My Hair"

What is left to be said about Prince's passing this week that hasn't already been said? I don't think there is, so I leave it to his music and his performances. With so many to choose from, it was hard to pinpoint just one. The most notable being the Super Bowl half-time performance and his incredible guitar solo during the Rock'n Roll Hall of Fame induction. Instead I selected a performance of a favorite song of mine, "She's Always in My Hair".

Oreo Chocolate Cake Strawberry

 What? Another Oreo product?

The Attraction

It said Oreo on it.

The Review:
As of late, I've been reviewing quite a bit of Oreo branded treats like this Milka Chocolate bar or these Red Velvet Oreos, so I took a break. Then I saw these at my local Asian grocer and my plans went out the window.

My best guess as to what Oreo Japan's new offering is their answer to the very popular Choco Pies in Asia. Maybe they are looking to hone in on some of that hot choco pie action. Let's see how they do with that.

I open the package and within, I see 6 individually wrapped Oreo Chocolate Pies. That seems to be a common practice with many snacks in Asia and I dig it. It keeps the snacks nice and fresh. I open up one of the packs and pull out an Oreo Chocolate Pie. As you can see below, it's oddly plastic-looking. It strongly resembles a plastic Oreo chew toy for a dog or a fake Oreo cookie novelty. Not sure how I feel about it, but I do catch a whiff of that signature strawberry smell that all Asian snacks that have strawberry flavor seems to have. Good to know that even the plastic looking shell couldn't contain that fruity aroma.

They look like a plastic Oreo chew toy

I bring it up to my mouth and finally take a bite. The texture reminds me less of a choco pie and more of a Mallomars. It has a great marshmallow-like chewy texture. However as I get lost in the texture of the bite, it dawns on me that what is also lost is the flavor. I taste a hint of strawberry, a little chocolate, but no signature flavor of an actual Oreo. It's really odd, because as I take another bite, I can barely taste much of anything; that includes strawberry, chocolate or cream.

Now, I've previously mentioned that I've noticed that snacks that originate from Asia tend to be milder due to different flavor preferences, but these...these almost literally have no flavor at all.

..and they almost taste like it

The Sweet:
I really enjoyed that marshmallow-chewy texture.

The Bitter:
Surprisingly, didn't taste particularly much like anything, must notably, an Oreo.

Conclusion:
It was only a matter of time before Oreo's review win streak would come to an end. I really didn't think this would be the product that would end it's streak. They got the texture right, but the one thing they've been doing so well up to this point was getting the flavor of the new combinations right. Surprisingly this product has very little resemblance of anything that I've come to know about the Oreo brand. Forget Oreo flavor, just flavor period was missing from this product and I for one will be happy to hopefully never see a domestic release of this item.

Video of the Week 

"Teaching stick?"

I love Conan O'Brien, even more so when he travels to new and foreign lands to learn more about different cultures. Previously I've brought you a clip when he traveled to Cuba. This week, it's Conan in Korea. In this clip, he's taking a Korean language class with a very stern instructor....but he doesn't seem to mind too much.

Fresh Kumquats

 They look like tiny oranges!

The Attraction

My mom had a friend that shared some fresh kumquats picked from her own tree somewhere not in NY ( I forgot where). Fresh kumquats AND they are free? You don't have to ask me twice.

The Review:
I haven't always been a fruit lover, but I've always been curious to try new fruits (as I have been curious about trying new packaged snacks) I've seen these in grocery stores, but never felt compelled to try them. In this case, with nothing to lose, I thought it was the perfect time to try them.

As you can see, they very much resemble a small orange or an orange-colored cherry tomato. When I picked one up, I washed it carefully and gave it a squeeze. Like an orange, it didn't yield too much to pressure.

..but do they taste like them?

I bring one up to my mouth and debate if I was supposed to eat the skin or not. Like a newbie, I didn't at first and paid the price. The inner flesh of the fruit was tart..like a grapefruit, but I got some of the rind in my bite, which is actually sweet. I know, it's like an orange in reverse, sweet rind, tart inside. It was very confusing. It tasted like a tart orange, but not as sweet. The tartness of the flesh balances out any sweet highs of the skin. It's literally a back and forth battle in your mouth of flavors. One split second tart, the next sweet and so on and so forth until you finish chewing then swallow. What just happened there?

You do have to be careful because like most oranges, the kumquats do have seeds as well. Surprisingly large for a fruit so small. The seeds were about the size of an orange seed.

Don't let their tiny size fool you!

The Sweet:
A nice departure from the "conventional" fruit stand options

The Bitter:
Though a change from the norm, they don't stand out too much from other citrus fruit.

Conclusion:
I was happy to finally try what a fresh kumquat tastes like. In addition to enjoying saying the word "kumquat", these weren't bad, but like most lazy eaters, the effort to carefully eat these due to its seeds and it's limited availability don't make this a very desirable snack option. I'm a high yield, little effort eater. It's like eating grapes with seeds. After awhile, you get spoiled with eating the ones without and you never want to go back to having the ones with seeds in them again. If these were in front of me would I eat them again? Yes, of course, but would this be a snack I would look forward to eating while watching Wrestlemania? (I don't watch Wrestlemania.....anymore), most likely not.

Video of the Week 

"You know where you are?!"

I have to admit, even I was excited when I heard that Gun's N Roses are back together. Sure, Axl is about the size of 2 Axls compared to back in the day, but even at that, I would love to see them live again. Now if only they would bring the McRib back my life would be complete.

Crown Caramel Corns and Peanuts Snack

The Corn Cowboy is back!

The Attraction

Like all great love stories, it all started rather unexpectedly when I picked up a bag of these scary looking corn puffs. Then after that, I tried Crown's new offering, Caramel Maple Corn. Then last week I stepped into different Korean grocery store and saw these on the shelf. Can Crown possible complete the trifecta?

The Review:
As much as I love Crown's Big Caramel Corn Choco (does that sound dirty?), I think I had my fill(that last bit didn't help). When I saw this flavor, which I believe may be the original flavor, I had to give it a shot.

I open the red bag and detect no obvious scent. Perhaps slightly oily, but what can you expect from a fried snack. I take a peek inside and see that these curls have a slight glaze on them. I suppose its from the sugar or caramel. I can't help but wonder will these just taste ordinary after trying the two other flavors? I also don't see any peanuts in the bag. Are these really peanut flavored as well as caramel flavored? (there are actually about 10 peanuts at the bottom of the bag)

These look harmless enough...

I pickup a caramel corn and bite in. These curls are crunchy, but are different from the chocolate and maple variety I had previously. These seem smaller and not as "puffy". Flavor-wise, they initially start off like a mild Cracker Jack, but not nearly as much caramel or sweetness, then as you continue to chew the peanut flavor notes become slightly more pronounced. Oddly enough it reminds me of Capt Crunch. What flavor is Capt Crunch?

Whoa...I'm so shiny!

The Sweet:
Not too sweet, not too caramel, not too much of anything.

The Bitter:
It's seems ordinary at first.

Conclusion:
It's difficult to explain how I feel about these Crown's Caramel Corns and Peanuts. Maybe the best way is like saying these are like Tom Hanks. He's not the planet's hottest man, nor the most buff, nor the flashest dresser, nor the most outspoken. He just quietly does what he does well and lets his acting speak for itself. In many ways these corn snacks are the same way; they don't wow you at first, you can't figure out why this would be so popular, but as you have a few more, you find yourself having another, then another...until there's almost none left in the bag.

Video of the Week 

And you thought the UPS wasn't great

I'm all for efficiency and as little wasted motion as possible when it comes to work...but these guys take it to a whole other level. They would probably call me a wuss and a slacker for only carrying two of those sacks...which is about all one could carry safely. (who needs that?)