Review: Asda Rainbow Hoops Vs Kellogg's Froot Loops

I couldn't resist reviewing the new(ish) Rainbow Hoops from Asda. This blog has seen more than it's fair share of reviews for brightly coloured hoopy cereal. There was the original  US Kellogg's Froot Loops, the launch of a UK Version in 2012 Limited Edition Kellogg's Froot Loops, which were followed in 2017 by a Unicorn themed variety. These last too are no longer available in the UK so I was pleased to find the Asda Rainbow Hoops to fill the gap. 

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The Asda Rainbow Hoops are the first time I've seen a supermarket own-brand join in. And luckily - I just so happened to have a box of Kellogg's Unicorn Froot Loops (from Germany!) and a mini box of the American Kellogg's Froot Loops in the house - so get ready for a lots of comparison photos.

Asda Rainbow Hoops: These are made with natural colours so it's not surprising that they are quite pale in colouring. They are also covered in a visible white sugary glaze which makes them even paler. The overall flavour is fine, although not as fruity as I was expecting, and far too sweet. I know this type of cereal is always going to be sugary but these were pushing it even for me.

Kellogg's Unicorn Froot Loops: I found these in Home Bargains for £1.49. I thought they were a return of the Unicorn Froot Loops from a few years ago, as they look identical, but it seem that these are imported from Germany (and even feature a wordsearch in German on the back). Even though these are also made with natural colours, they are much more colourful than the Asda Unicorn Hoops. The pinks and yellows are especially vibrant. I also preferred the flavour of these Kellogg's Unicorn Froot Loops, they manage to stay on the right side of sweetness and also have a generic fruity flavour in the background.

Kellogg's Froot Loops (US): Lastly, the craziness that is the original American Froot Loops from Kellogg's. These are packed full of colourings and look super bright next to the paler British versions. Personally, I find the bright blues and greens really off-putting in a food but they are fun as a one-off. The flavour is also the fruitiest and most distinctive. 

Overall, my favourites are the Kellogg's Unicorn Froot Loops which have the right combination of colourful fun and sweetness (I know fans of American cereals will disagree!). Sadly they don't seem to be available in the UK anymore, but look out for them in bargain shops as they are available in other European countries.

If you've tried any of these cereals, especially the new Asda Unicorn Hoops, then let me know in the comments below.

I'll be back with some more reviews soon so check back.

Katherine @grocerygems

Review: Candy German Subscription Box

Last year I reviewed a subscription box from newcomers Candy German, which as you might guess from their name, sends out a parcel of German goodies each month direct to your door. The lovely people at Candy German recently sent me their latest box (the June box) which was filled with a selection of summer friendly products (no melty chocolate!).

Candy German promise to send out boxes filled with up to 1kg of surprise treats, including chocolates, cookies and sweets. All the products are taste tested by the founders of Candy German, Mark and Natascha, to ensure they are high quality and always made in Germany.  Subscribers can join for 1 month, 6 months or 12 months, and prices start at €24.00 (around £19.00).

Here's a look at what all the gorgeous products I received in the Candy German Box:

Cola-Lemon Flavour Lollies: Coke and lemon is a classic combination and certainly a fitting one for summer. There are 14 lollipops in this large pack which are all caffeine free.

I'm not usually the biggest fans of lollipops but I really did enjoy the sweet cola flavour here. The lollies have a gorgeous glossy appearance and silky texture too which makes them even more delicious.

Katjes Tappsy: I've featured a few Katjes reviews on my blog in the past. They're a popular German candy brand that is well known for it's vegetarian sweets. The Katjes Tappsy is described as mixed fruit gummy and licorice flavoured panda bears.

Is it just me or do these panda bears have a strange expression on their faces? They look worried. Anyway, the bag is an interesting mix of fruit gum faces with licorice ears or licorice faces with fruit gum ears. I especially liked the former as the fruity gum sweets helps to tone down the licorice flavour and creates a very tasty sweet. 

Ahoj-Bonbons: The Ahoj brand is celebrating it's 90th anniversary this year which must surely make it a classic candy. Ahoj Bonbons are sherbet filled hard candy drops with a sweet and sour flavour. This is a large 180g bag with lots of individually wrapped sweets.

There are four flavours in this pack; Raspberry, Orange, Lemon and Sweet Woodruff. I have to admit that I had never heard of "Waldmeister" or sweet woodruff as a candy flavour, but it's apparently quite popular in Germany (this blog post has more details). The sweet woodruff flavoured Ahoj-Bonbons (the green ones) have a sweet flavour that is not really herby or flowery at all. It's slightly citrusy and really does make a great candy flavour. The rest of the flavours are all sweet and fruity but with a nicely sour sherbet centre. 

Mr. Tom Peanuts & Leibniz Pick Up Black n White: Mr. Tom Peanuts is a classic and simple combination of peanuts and caramel that is very tasty and crunchy. The Liebniz Pick Up Black 'n' White is a delicious dark coloured biscuit (think Oreo) with a thick layer of white chocolate within. I believe these are already available in the UK, although this is the first time I've tried them.

Schoko Waffelröllchen: These are rolled wafer biscuits that are half-covered in dark chocolate (some Candy German subscribers received a milk chocolate variety instead).

The rolled wafers are absolutely delicious with a subtle hint of cinnamon flavour in the wafer. The dark chocolate adds a lovely extra sweetness and chocolate hit. Overall, they're fairly simple biscuits but still very tasty. 

Fritt Schoko Toffee. I've reviewed Fritt candy strips previously and really enjoyed their soft and chewy texture. I thought they were only available in fruity flavours so it was delighted to see this chocolate and toffee version in the Candy German box.

These are so good! The chocolate and toffee flavour reminds me of a Cadbury Toffee Eclair sweet but without the horrible jaw-aching texture that those have. The Fritt Schoko Toffee has an easy chewy texture that reveals a deliciously chocolaty flavour.

Overall I really enjoyed the selection in the Candy German box. It's understandable that there are no chocolate bars in this hotter month but they still managed to put together a fun selection of German goodies. 

Take a look at the Candy German website for more details about their subscription options.

German Grocery Exchange Part 4 - Christmas Edition!

Followers of my blog may know that I've taken part in some wonderful grocery exchanges with the lovely Steffi from Germany. You can take a look at our previous exchanges posts; the original German Grocery Exchange HERE, Part 2 HERE, and Part 3 (the World Cup Edition!) HERE. I'm delighted that Steffi and I were able to arrange another snack swap (last month), and because it was so close to December we decided to make it Christmas themed. Germany is of course famous for it's Christmas markets and traditional yuletide snacks, so I knew that this was going to be an extra special exchange. Here's a quick run down of the delicious Christmas selection that Steffi sent me:

Haribo Color-Rado Winter Edition: This is a new limited edition of the classic Color-Rado Mix from Haribo. Steffi tells me that there are lots of new flavours in this pack and helpfully provided an explanation of all the flavous listed on the back. I'll have a full review soon. There are some really interesting flavours in here - far more unusual than we get in the UK:

Heiße Zitrone  - which is a hot lemon type drink (sounds like Lemsip!)

Winter Kirshe - literally translates as winter cherry 

Bratapfel - baked apple (yum!)

Vanillekipferl - a classic German Christmas biscuit 

Karamell-Lakritz - Caramel Liquorice

Schneeflöckchen - "Little Snowflakes" (they have a sweet fruity flavour)

Bunte Elche - "Colourful Mooses" - there are different flavours including gingerbread.

Nimm2 Lachgummi: A large bag of fruity gummies. These sweets come in lots of shapes that kids can use to build faces with, and this special limited edition includes Christmas shapes too. If you look closely at the left hand lower corner of the packaging you can see a reindeer made of the fruity pieces. My boys are absolutely loving these sweets - they are so sweet and fruity and the shapes are super fun too!

Yogurette Wintertraum - Bratapfel & Zimt: Yogurette are similar to Ferrero Duplo sticks (and are also made by Ferrero), but are seen as a healthier version as they are made with yogurt flavoured fillings. In our last grocery exchange, Steffi had included the World Cup, Brazil inspired, limited edition Yogurette, which were a tasty white chocolate and lime combination (see HERE). This time there is a lovely "winter dream" edition which is Baked Apple & Cinnamon flavour - doesn't that sound gorgeous? I really wish we could get chocolates with such wonderful flavour combinations here in the UK. These are Steffi's favourites and I can see why, the sweet apple and cinnamon flavours make a delicious pairing with the tangy yogurt filling.

Haribo Weihnachtssterne (Christmas Stars): Another festive treat in the shape of these Haribo Christmas Stars. These are large foam, star shaped sweets in three flavours; cream, vanilla and caramel. The packaging looks wonderful, like a little gift, and would make a lovely stocking filler.

Heilemann Confisene Pralinés: Heilemann is a brand I've never tried before but Steffi tells me their chocolates are delicious. This Christmas selection looks beautiful in it's festive box with a little felt Christmas tree on the front. Inside there are four different chocolates; Gianduja-Nougat, Caramel Crisp, Christmas Nougat, and a marzipan. Each chocolate has a very fine appearance - I'll try to have a review of these soon.

Gewürz Mandeln (Spiced Almonds): These are spiced almonds that are coated in milk chocolate with a Gianduja nougat. The spices in these are described as being not too strong so that even children can enjoy them. These are so delicious! They have a very sweet, almost sugary, cinnamon flavour that is fantastic with the milk chocolate and the crunchy almond inside. I actually found the cinnamon quite strong but these are so sweet that it doesn't become too spicy or overpowering. It's such a simple idea but it works perfectly. And yes, my kids love them too!

Marzipan Kartoffeln: This literally means "marzipan potatoes" and these are a traditional German sweet at Christmas. Not to worry though, they are not actually potato flavoured, just super cute potato shaped marzipan treats. They remind me of potato shaped chocolates that I used to get as a child - anyone else remember those?

Printen - Aachener Schokoladen: Some more traditional treats in the form of these Printen from the German city of Aachen. Steffi gave me lots of interesting information about these which is very useful to share here. Aachen is a city close to both the Dutch and Belgian borders. These Printen are similar to gingerbread, in terms of flavour, but are a bit firmer than Lebkuchen (German gingerbread). There are chocolate coated or plain versions available, and they are described as "spiced cakes" on the packaging but Steffi says that doesn't do them justice. This is one of the treats that I'm saving for Christmas!

Gesüllte Lebkuchenherzen (Filled Gingerbread Hearts): Another traditional treat that I'm saving for Christmas itself are these filled gingerbread hearts. They are coated in dark chocolate and have an apricot jam filling. These are made by a company called Lambertz who are well known for their biscuits. I think they sound really delicious and I'm looking forward to giving these Lebkuchenherzen a try.

Butter Spekulatius: "Spekulatius" is the German version of the speculoos biscuits. There are two kinds available in Germany; Butter or Gewürz (spiced). I have to admit these delicious buttery biscuits were the first to disappear when I opened the parcel from Steffi - everyone wanted to give them a try!

Ritter Sport Winter Editions 2014: Ritter Sport is one of my favourite German chocolate brands and Steffi very kindly included lots of mini sizes of the three new Winter Edition flavours. There is Kaffee & Nuss (Coffee & Hazelnuts - reviewed HERE), Gebrante Mandel (Caramelised Almonds - reviewed HERE), and Vanille Kipferl (Vanilla Crescent Cookie). These mini sizes are adorable!

Ritter Sport Schokowürfel: Steffi tells me this is not a Christmas related product but she had to include it in her parcel because it's new - thank you Steffi! Each selection box is filled with individually wrapped segments of Ritter Sport chocolate. There are three flavours that are all covered in white chocolate; Latte Macchiato, Nut-Almond-Brittle, and Caramel Nut. I love that fact that all the chocolates here are white chocolates - it's such a super sweet collection! Full review coming soon.

I will update here with a photo of the parcel that I sent Steffi in return (once I know she's received it as I don't want to spoil the surprise!). Once it's up I will put "updated" in the title of this post.

In the meantime, I want to send a huge THANK YOU to Steffi for such a special festive Grocery Exchange. I've always wanted to visit Germany at Christmastime (especially for their world famous Christmas markets) and I'm delighted to have so many lovely German Christmas treats to try this year.

Let me know in the comments below if you would like to see any specific reviews for the products above or which one you would like to review first! :)

Candy German Subscription Box Review

Some of you may have seen my German snack exchange posts, so you'll know how excited I was to hear about the new subscription box from Candy German. After trying out quite a few different subscription boxes it's great to finally see an option for German goodies and I'm sure it will be very popular. 

Candy German promise to send out boxes filled with up to 1kg of surprise treats, including chocolates, cookies and sweets. All the products are hand-picked by the founders of Candy German, Mark and Natascha, to ensure they are high quality and always made in Germany.  Subscribers can join for 1 month, 6 months or 12 months, and prices start at €24.00 (around £19.00).

Here's a look at what all the gorgeous products I received in the July Candy German Box:

Milka Choco Twist: I was so happy to see these cakes included in the box! I've reviewed them before (see HERE for the full review) and they were utterly delicious. They're not the same as most pre-packaged cakes. These are moist and melt in the mouth, with thick chocolate chips. The only problem with them is that it's hard to stop at one, and our box of five cakes disappeared far too quickly!

Coppenrath Spritzgenuss:  Coppenrath is a Germany bakery company dating back to the 1930's that is now best known for it's biscuit range. These Spritzgenuss Zartbitter Schoko are lovely and buttery shortbread biscuits dipped in dark chocolate. I enjoyed their melt in the mouth crumbly texture combined with the sweet leaning dark chocolate. 

Katjes Back to the Roots: Vegetarian licorice! Katjes are probably best known in the UK as the makers of the M&S range of Percy Pig sweets. In Germany they are well known for producing vegetarian sweets in many different shapes and flavours (I reviewed their Bears HERE!). This soft and mild licorice is called Back to the Roots because one of the first products Katjes ever produced, back in 1910, was a licorice sweet (the Katjes Licorice Kittens!). 

Hitschler Apfel Schnüre: The founders of Candy German are based in the beautiful town of Cologne. In my mind Cologne must be some kind of candy wonderland as my lovely German Grocery Exchange friend Steffi, is also from there. She has sent me a few Hitschler products in the past and this Apfel Schnüre was one of my kids' favourites. They're so excited to get to try these tasty apple flavoured laces again! 

Feodora Erdbeer Smoozi: This was my favourite product in the Candy German box! Feodora is a new brand to me but apparently it dates back to 1910 and is seen as a noble brand with a strong heritage.

The packaging is gorgeous with a sleek tube filled with a row of circular chocolates with a strawberry cream centre. Even though the outer coating is white chocolate these are surprisingly not too sweet, instead they're deliciously creamy which stops them being overly sugary. This Smoozi range of disc shaped chocolates is available in a classic Mint, as well as several new flavours for summer; Raspberry, Strawberry and Banana. I seriously HAVE to try the banana ones!

Zentis Belnuga: This one was really unusual but ended up being another favourite for me. My husband wasn't so keen however so I'd describe this as one of those love it or hate it type of products.

German company Zentis is actually best known as a jam producer but with the Belnuga they have produced a range of marzipan and praline chocolates. It's a unique combination but one that works really well (in my opinion at least!). The marzipan is smoother and more delicately flavoured then the heavier type we get here in the UK. The innermost layer is a soft hazelnut nougat that is just delicious. The flavours reminded me quite a bit of Mozart chocolates from Austria!

Kinder Joy: When I first saw this in the box I have to admit I assumed it was a regular Kinder egg that was just wrapped in plastic rather than foil. Well, I was wrong, this is a different product altogether.

The two plastic halves pull apart easily to reveal separate sections. Under one side is the toy and under the other a tasty chocolate and milk cream, with two crispy chocolate balls (that sounds so wrong!). 

The chocolate and milk cream needs to be scooped out with a little spoon. It's very sweet and creamy, and really did appeal to the kid in me! I do have a soft spot for Kinder chocolate, so I loved trying out this completely new version. 

Moam Cola: These were also included in the box as a little extra. I think Moam sweets may be hard to find in some of the countries that Candy German ship to, but here in the UK these are widely available. It was still one of the first products my kids wanted to take from the box! 

Overall I was delighted with the products I received from Candy German. Before I started this blog I wasn't that familiar with German snacks but I'm pleased to have found such a world of delights! They really do have an awesome array of products in Germany and a Candy German box is a great way to discover more.

To subscribe take a look at the Candy German website for more details: www.candygerman.com

German Candy & Snack Review Round Up!

Following on from my awesome Grocery Snack Exchange with Steffi last month, here's the last of my reviews of the German snacks I received. Most of these are World Cup themed. At the time I was surprised at how extensive the range of World Cup themed snacks available in Germany was, especially compared to the UK. I guess it shows just how much I know about football! 

Milka Champiolada Coconut: First up it's the epic Milka Champiolada chocolate bar. Apparently Milka always release the Champiolada for big football tournaments. It's a mammoth 300g bar with fun football shapes on each segment. And luckily for me, this year's limited edition Champiodada bar is coconut flavoured!

I don't think I've ever tried a coconut Milka chocolate and I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I'm not sure if this is just because it's filled with dessicated coconut, but as you can see in my photo above the chocolate has a slightly aerated texture. This meant it was essentially like eating a coconut flavoured Wispa bar (if only Cadbury would make that!). The combination was absolutely heavenly! I loved everything about this Champiolada, from the sweet coconut flavour to the lighter texture of the chocolate. 10 out of 10.

Ferrero Duplo Coconut: These are small chocolate batons with a wafer and coconut cream filling. I'd previously reviewed the Ferrero Duplo Hazelnut and enjoyed them so I had high hopes for this limited edition coconut version.

Each 18g bar has a crunchy layer of wafer topped by a thin layer of creamy coconut filling. The flavour profile is similar to many Ferrero products, with that sweet alpine milk chocolate and light wafer combination. It's perfectly suited to the subtle coconut flavour here, creating a very tasty little treat. I find these quite irresistible and usually can't stop at just one! 9 out of 10.

Yogurette Brazilian Summer: These are very similar in size and appearance to the above Ferrero Duplo. Steffi mentioned that in Germany these are marketed as a "healthier" treat, and even though they have fewer calories compared to the Ferrero Duplo (73 calories versus 108 calories), it's probably only because they are even smaller at 12.5g. 

The flavour here is definitely unique, it's a combination of white chocolate outer, filled with a lime flavoured yogurt centre. The filling is quite tangy and tart with a lovely lime flavour, but it works well with the sweeter white chocolate coating, and it's certainly a flavour I enjoyed. Other members of my family were not so keen on the tartness of the centre, so the enjoyment of this one really depends on whether you like yogurt fillings in chocolates. 8 out of 10. 

Fritt WM-Pack: The 'WM' stands for Welmeiesterschaft which means World Cup in German. This special WM-Pack is made up of three packs of chewy Fritt sweets, with a new Blackcurrant flavour included.

Each pack has five individually sealed sweetie strips. There are three flavours, Cherry, Lemon and Blackcurrant. I was pleased to find that these sweets have a softly chewy texture that is akin to a flattened out Chewit sweet, rather than being like a horribly hard Wham bar. Each Fritt flavour is delightfully fruity and sweet with a pleasantly natural aroma. A real hit with all my testers! 8 out of 10.

Thanks again to Steffi who sent me all these fantastic treats and good luck to Deutschland in the World Cup final match tonight! :)