Candy Blog

When there’s a new version of Snickers I’m usually right on top of sourcing one for review. I knew that Mars was bringing out the Snickers 3X Chocolate late last year. The bar has chocolate nougat, chocolate caramel and a chocolate coating, plus peanuts. It sounded like the Triple Chocolate Twix they brought out a couple of times.

These came out in February, but I couldn’t find them anywhere in Los Angeles. Luckily I did spot them at a gas station in Media, Pennsylvania and picked one up.

They only come in the 2 To Go size, which is like a King Size bar, except there are two small bars in the package. The wrappers says that you can eat one now, twist the wrapper and save the other for later. Yeah, as if a lot of people do that. (Mars is phasing out their king size bars over concerns about portioning and will only sell bars with 250 or fewer calories.

I would prefer to call these Triple Chocolate Snickers, but no one at Mars consulted me on this item. The 3X was vague, I thought maybe it was three times the size or maybe had three little bars in the package.

Each bar is 210 calories and almost 1.6 ounces. So they’re actually a good size and satisfying portion. I find the regular Snickers bar just one bite too big for me. About 200 calories is a pleasing portion for most of us.

The bars are beautiful, even after a few thousand miles of travel. They have the lovely swirls of chocolate on top and a thick coat over the layers inside. The bar is constructed as you might anticipate, a base of chocolate nougat with a peanut studded caramel on top of that then a coating of milk chocolate.

The bar smells like a Snickers, like sweet milk and peanuts. The bite is similar to the traditional Snickers with perhaps a little less caramel pull. It’s all quite sweet and not quite as chocolatey as I’d hoped. The nougat doesn’t really taste like chocolate, just sweet and fluff like a 3 Musketeers. The chocolate caramel is a bit richer in profile than the standard caramel, but lacks a salty punch. The peanuts are just as good as they should be, crunchy and fresh.

Really, I prefer the salty and nuttier standard Snickers. But if I tried this bar first, I might be more inclined to make it a favorite. It just felt a little too sweet overall without as much of a flavor punch.

I have no idea if Mars is set to roll this out in Fun Size and regular size bars, my guess is they’re waiting for reaction from consumers on the King Size (but if the King Size goes away, I would guess this bar would, too).

Mars has not moved to sustainable and ethically sourced cacao in the United States (their first product will be Maltesers in the UK). This bar contains peanuts, soy, eggs and dairy. There’s no note about the gluten status.

Related Candies

1. Snickers Slice n’ Share (1 Pound)
2. Snickers Peanut Butter Squared
3. Limited Edition Snickers Fudge
4. Snickers Rockin’ Nut Road Bar
5. Storck Chocolate Riesen
6. Twix Triple Chocolate
7. Goldenberg’s Peanut Chews

Skittles were introduced in 1974 in the UK then in 1979 in the United States. While the flavors in the classic Fruits package vary whether you purchase the US or European variety, the flavors have remained the same.

It wasn’t until 1989 that Skittles started to create extra flavor versions of their packages. The Skittles Sours were introduced in the United States in 2000 as a regular Skittle with a grainy sour coating. That same year the European version of Skittles Crazy Sours came out. They’re a bit different in that they don’t look different, but have a different set of flavors from the Fruits set but no tangy coating.

The colors are a little muted but easily identified as Skittles with the classic printed S on them. They did smell a little more than the standard Fruit Skittles. It was a light, fruity smell, kind of like Froot Loops or Freesias.

Since they don’t really look like the American Sour Skittles, I compared them to the American Fruits Skittles (on the left).

Green is the Sour Apple flavor, not lime. It’s the most artificial tasting of the bunch, with a more apple cider vinegar tartness than a Jolly Rancher, by far my least favorite of the bunch.

Yellow is Pineapple! What a delight. Why don’t they have any pineapple Skittles in the United States? I loved these. A mix of floral and canned pineapple.

Orange is Sour Mandarin according to Wikipedia. It actually doesn’t say what the flavors are on the package.  It is tangy, but not terribly intense. The orange original Fruits Skittle orange is equally mild in the flavor profile, but of course lacks that tartness.The flavor actually varied a bit from piece to piece, some were notably more sour than others. 

Pink is rather magenta and a Sour Raspberry flavor. The notes are really good, there’s the tartness, the floral berry notes and then a deeper boiled sugar flavor like jam.

Purple was hard to place at first, it’s Sour Cherry. The color is a true, bright purple, instead of the eggplant purple of the domestic grape version. It’s rather good, probably the most sour of all of Skittles in this package and with a really convincing sour cherry juice flavor. It has notes of currant and raspberry and pomegranate

There really is no comparison between the American Sour Skittles and the European Crazy Sours Skittles. I can’t say that I prefer them, but the zing was noticeable enough to say that they’re different, but perhaps my mouth has been spoiled by truly sour things so I didn’t find these rose to the level of crazy. I have to say that I prefer the European version to the American sours, but only because they’re not messy.

I don’t know the allergen status of these. Skittles stopped using gelatin a few years ago, though they’re not marked as Kosher.

Related Candies

1. Haribo Gold Bears from Turkey and Germany
2. Skittles Riddles
3. Haribo Maoam Fruit Chews
4. Skittles Blenders
5. New Flavors: Skittles Sour & Wonka Runts
6. Mentos - Pine Fresh (Pineapple)
7. Skittles from the UK
8. Skittles (Fruits, Wild Berry, Tropical, Smoothies & Sour)

This isn’t actually a review. It’s just a photo documentation of a version of Hershey’s chocolate that’s available in China.

They’re narrow tins that open like drawers. Inside are little spheres of chocolate. They call them Pearls. They’re not so different than the Godiva Pearls that are sold in the United States in much smaller tins.

The chocolate actually seemed to be of higher quality than the ordinary Hershey’s bars, but that could just be the premium packaging. It’s a great way to portion just a little bit of chocolate and the tins are nicely reusable. They’re thick enough that I could put a few thumb drives in them, or a card reader for my camera and some extra flash memory. Or I suppose I could refill them with other edibles and stash it in my bag.

Another view of the Hershey’s Extra Creamy Pearls.

Hershey’s Extra Creamy Milk Chocolate Pearls close up.

They’re each about the size of a fresh garden pea.

There was also a version of Hershey’s Special Dark Pearls, which I didn’t find as creamy as the milk chocolate version. I picked these up as samples at the ISM Cologne show last year.

I’m traveling again, which means I’ve got a hankering for portable coffee. I know that coffee flavored chocolates don’t have the same caffeinated kick as actual coffee, but a little snacking on some coffee-ish candy probably has some sort of placebo effect.

I’ve written about Feodora Moccas before. When I was in Germany I actually visited the factory where Feodora and Hachez chocolate is made and picked up both versions of their chocolate coffee beans. Even at the factory store, they’re still not cheap, though certainly less expensive than the prices I pay in the United States.

The Feodora Moccals Zart-Bitter is the most common version, but I was eager to try their Feodora Mocca’s Vollmilch because Feodora is so well known for their extremely smooth milk chocolate. The Feodora website had a product page for them in English:

Besides the well-known chocolate specialty FEODORA Mochas – mocha beans of superior semi-dark chocolate with coffee – a new product was introduced in September 2009: FEODORA Mochas WHOLE MILK. The premium whole milk chocolate refined with coffee gives the Mochas new momentum.

The handy, resealable pack is easy to use and the compact size fits ideally in any shirt pocket and handbag. FEODORA Mochas – the ideal companions for chocolate gourmets and everyone who wants to become one!

The previous review of these holds up, as I still feel the same way about the slightly grainy texture. They’re quite strong in flavor, on the bitter side but not too acidic. They’re very woodsy but also sweet and have a note of cinnamon to them.

The pieces are excellently detailed, larger than a real coffee bean but with the little crease down the middle. They fit well in the mouth, and one is actually a great portion. There chocolate is mixed with 3% coffee beans ... I don’t know what that means for caffeine content, but I’d probably put it at least than 20 mg per portion.

I was a little disappointed by the Vollmilch variety (called Superior Milk Chocolate with Coffee on the back of the box in English). The Feodora chocolate is extremely smooth and milky, slick and cool on the tongue. However, the Moccas lack that smoothness, probably because of the addition of the actual coffee beans. It’s a little bit grainy, bitter and the milky flavors are more toffee and almost molasses.

Much to my surprise though, I went through the milk chocolate variety much quicker than the dark chocolate. It really shouldn’t surprise me, I prefer my coffee with a bit of milk in its liquid form. My favorite coffee flavored chocolate lentil is still the Meiji Coffee Beat from Japan, but this one does have an authentic coffee kick to it.

Related Candies

1. Askinosie Intelligentsia Coffee Bar
2. Sukoka Soft Coffee Candy
3. Ginger Chews: Hot Coffee
4. Coffee Rio
5. Coffee Nips
6. Feodora Chocolates
7. Pocket Coffee
8. Coffee Beat

Here’s one of those weird purchases I made at a liquor shop called Mel & Rose that sells imported candies. There, within sight of the Hollywood sign, I bought Hollywood Chewing Gum: Chlorophylle. But it’s not a quaint local brand or even American. It’s made in France, by Cadbury (now owned by Kraft). It’s not even one of those original gum brands from the final days of the Victorian era.

Chewing gum first arrived in France in June 1944 along with the US troops during World War II, but it was not until 1952 when former GI Courtland Parfet returned to France that the first French chewing gum was launched. Named Hollywood, the green stick offered a soft mint taste called chlorophylle (spearmint).

The gum is simple and pleasant. It’s the classic style of stick, right down to a real foil wrapper on each piece. The flavor is spearmint and it’s quite mild but with a good enough punch to make me feel refreshed and clean without a sticky or artificial feeling. The package also boasts that it has chlorophyll in it, you know, that stuff that allows plants to photosynthesize. I remember it was popular in gum and mints in the seventies, but hadn’t seen it on a package in quite a long time.

I like that it was made with real sugar, so few stick gums are these days. So if you’re looking for something to remind you of the classic Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum, this is probably the closest you can find since Wrigley’s went to artificial sweeteners. The sugar isn’t terribly grainy, but the flavor and sweetness does go away pretty quickly, much quicker than Chiclets, but this is a more adult gum than Chiclets.

Related Candies

1. Wee Glee Gum
2. Choward’s Spearmint & Lemon
3. Spearmint Leaves
4. Classic Gums: Black Jack, Clove, Beemans & Teaberry
5. XyliChew
6. Mentos Xtrm: Mint & Spearmint
7. Tiny Size Chiclets