New Coca Cola Zero Vanilla Review UK

Another day, another new soda. Although vanilla might not be the most exciting new flavour, I was pleased to finally see it in a sugar free variety in the UK. The original Coca-Cola Vanilla has been around for awhile and, even though I enjoy the flavour, I really don't like to drink the full-sugar version.

I bought a multipack of cans rather than a full bottle  - it was annoying that the Coke Zero Vanilla bottles were the only ones not included in a 2 for £2.50 offer. This often seems to happen with new flavours. 

Overall, the Coke Zero Vanilla is a tasty enough drink but I did find that the vanilla flavour was not as strong as I was hoping it would be. It's definitely there, adding an extra sweetness, but it's not the creamy vanilla flavour I was expecting. The whole thing tastes a little bit weak for my tastes (of course that might be because I'm used to adding a little vanilla Monin syrup to a Coke Zero for my vanilla fix!). I'm sure I will still buy the Coke Zero Vanilla again in the future but unfortunately the flavour is not as satisfying as the original Coca Cola Vanilla.

If you've tried the new Coca Cola Zero Vanilla then let me know what you thought of it in the comments below - thanks!

Grocery Gems Review: Coca Cola Zero Vanilla

RATING: 7 out of 10.
Buy it again?: Yes.
Purchased: Morrisons.

Review: New Müller Corner Gold Edition Yogurts - Rio Olympics

And so it begins! This is the first official Olympics related product I've seen in the supermarkets but no doubt this is just the calm before the storm. But funnily enough I'm looking forward to seeing what all the big brands are going to come up with for Rio 2016. It's interesting for me as I actually started this blog in the run up to the London 2012 Olympics, and many of those first reviews were Olympic themed products (which usually just meant the Union Jack featured somewhere!). It feels like this blog has come full circle and I'm now back where I started!

Anyway, I bought the Müller Corner Gold Edition as a multipack which comes with three Vanilla Yogurts with Golden Balls and three Toffee Yogurts with Golden Hoops. The packaging is very eye-catching and attractive with it's soft gold colour and a sports stadium design in the top corner. 

I'm not going to witter on about the taste of these yogurts as the vanilla and toffee yogurts already exist in the Müller Crunch Corner range. The golden hoops and golden balls are crispy cereal pieces, covered in milk chocolate and a golden colouring, and they really do look brilliant. The gold colouring is darker than the Galaxy Golden Eggs, which I reviewed a few weeks ago, but still looks very effective. The overall flavour is pretty much the same as the Müller Corner Crunch Vanilla Chocolate Balls and Toffee Hoops yogurts which have been around for ages - they've just had a shiny makeover!

Alongside the Müller Corner Gold Edition there is also a new Olympics themed Müller Corner Rio Edition which are tropical fruity flavoured. Each Rio Edition multi pack has 3 x Coconut Yogurts with Pineapple compote and 3 x Lemon Yogurts with Mango & Passionfruit Compote.

Grocery Gems Review: Müller Corner Gold Edition

RATING: 8 out of 10.

Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition: Golden Hoops - 146 calories, Golden Balls - 142 calories.
Purchased: Asda.
Price: £2.00p for multi pack.

Review: Oykos Oh So Heavenly Vanilla or Devilishly Delicious Salted Caramel Yogurts

Oykos have released two new four-packs of yogurt this summer - the Oh So Heavenly Vanilla and the Devilishly Delicious Salted Caramel. I've been wanting to try both these flavours so I was delighted to be sent a few packs to review. 

Oykos Devilishly Delicious Salted Caramel: This is a tempting combination of Greek-style yogurt over a thick layer of Salted Caramel. The yogurt here has a deliciously creamy and fresh flavour. It's not as tangy as my usual Greek yogurt - this is more of an indulgent creamy treat. The Salted Caramel layer adds to the indulgence with it's smooth texture and buttery, rich, slightly salty flavour that is not overly sweet. This is a really gorgeous treat that tastes more like a dessert than a yogurt!

Oykos Oh So Heavenly Vanilla: This is described by Oykos as the more angelic one with it's simpler combination of Greek-style yogurt with ground vanilla beans. I'm always on the lookout for vanilla flavoured yogurts made with real vanilla because it's a flavour that the whole family can enjoy. I often buy larger tubs of vanilla yogurt from other brands, but these individual four-packs are much more convenient. The yogurt here has lots of visible flecks of vanilla bean which add a deliciously sweet and creamy flavour to the Greek yogurt. I'll definitely be buying these in the future.

Grocery Gems Review: Oykos Luxury Greek Style Yogurts

RATING: 9 out of 10 for both flavours.

Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition: 162 calories (Vanilla), 172 calories (Salted Caramel).
Vegetarian: Suitable for vegetarians.
Purchased: Available in all major retailers until mid-October.
Price: RRP £2.39p for 4 x 110g.

PR Samples

Review: Milka Vanilla Cream & Milka Raspberry Cream (Poland)

I've seen these Milka Cream bars around for a long time now and I finally decided to try the Raspberry and Vanilla flavours. I reviewed the interesting Milka Elderberry Cream a few years ago which was surprisingly good.  

The Milka Raspberry Cream is quite a thin looking bar but still manages to have two layers inside of raspberry jam and creamy filling. The raspberry jam layer looked quite runny but it did have an enjoyable, if a bit sweet, raspberry flavour. It's the sort of flavour you would find in a raspberry candy rather than a natural fruity one but I still found it tasty when combined with the creamy layer and sweet milk chocolate. 7 out of 10.

Unfortunately I didn't have as much luck with the Milka Vanilla Cream bar. The bottom vanilla layer had visible flecks of vanilla which looked promising, but the sugary vanilla layer on top is a rather unappetising shade of bright yellow. The flavour was horrible too, with an overpowering and artificial vanilla taste. Even though the chocolate itself was fine, I couldn't eat more than a few bites of this one because of the flavour in the bright yellow layer. 3 out of 10.

Grocery Gems Review: Milka Raspberry Cream and Milka Vanilla Cream

Rating: See individual descriptions above.
Buy again: Yes for the Raspberry Cream.

Purchased: Local grocery shop.
Price: £0.99p each (100g).

McVities Mini Vanilla Milkshake Biscuits

At the moment I'm still living in a building site and waiting for our kitchen, and other general house, renovations to be finished. What I've missed the most about not having a kitchen this half term is baking with my kids, especially anything sweet like biscuits and cakes. And when it comes to biscuits, although we can be quite adventurous, I can't escape the fact that simple vanilla cookies are the most requested by the kids! For that reason these new Mini Vanilla Milkshakes Biscuits easily caught my eye on a recent visit to the supermarket.

There are six bags of mini biscuits in each pack, and each individual bag contains 124 calories. The packaging has quite a quirky retro look to it and there are little milkshake facts on each bag. 

The biscuits look cute too and gave a lovely vanilla aroma as soon as I opened the bag. They have a delicious buttery flavour, almost like a shortcake, with a nicely rounded vanilla edge to them that is not too strong or artificial tasting. My kids loved these biscuits and they've already been asking me to buy them again! I hope they will do some other flavours in this milkshake range too, especially a banana version!

Grocery Gems Verdict: McVities Mini Vanilla Milkshake Biscuits

RATING: 9 out of 10
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition (25g): 124 calories.
Purchased: Sainsbury's.
Price: £1.59.

Review: Propercorn Coconut & Vanilla

I could easily make this the shortest review I've ever written, because all I really want to say is THIS POPCORN IS HEAVENLY.  However, I'll try to provide an actual review, even though it's obvious where this one is heading.

From the minute I saw this popcorn featured on Foodstuff Finds, I knew I would have to try it - the coconut and vanilla flavour profile is one that I just adore.

My sad attempt at a "macro shot" above. Sadly I don't think my camera was up to the job! What I really wanted to point out was the visible coating which covers this popcorn. It's packed full of fresh coconut flavour, that is deliciously natural tasting. It's not that horrible artificial coconut that you get with some products, this has a pure fresh taste. The natural Madagascan vanilla gives the whole thing a subtle sweetness and creaminess that is just divine, whilst the addition of just a hint of sea salt lifts all the flavours to the levels of snacking perfection. I shall be back to Boots to stock up and hoard so many packets of this I will never need any other snack.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Propercorn Coconut & Vanilla

RATING: 10 out of 10.
Buy them again?: YES!!
Nutrition: 109 calories per 25g (pack is 30g).
Purchased: Boots. 
Price: £0.80p a pack. 

Quick Review: Tesco Limited Edition Vanilla Milkshake Mix

Vanilla might seem like a fairly boring flavour for milk but it's still my kids favourite, and is surprisingly very hard to find as a milkshake mix. The likes of Nesquik and it's various supermarket copies never seem to venture beyond banana, chocolate or strawberry flavours, none of which my kids particularly like. That's why I was thrilled to see this Vanilla Milkshake Mix from Tesco, it's the perfect flavour for my family. The flavour is exactly what you would expect, a sweet vanilla with creamy undertones, that is a very simple and effective partner for a glass of milk. 

Even though I usually love Limited Editions I sincerely hope that this one is here to stay. In the meantime I'll be stocking up!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Tesco Vanilla Milkshake Mix

RATING: 8 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition: 163 calories (based on 20g serving with 200ml semi-skimmed milk). 
Vegetarian: Yes.
Purchased: Tesco. 
Price: £1.49 (300g).

New Duke of Delhi Chocolate Bars

I recently attended the BBC Good Food Show, and one of my highlights was trying out the new Duke of Delhi chocolate Delhi Mix bars. Duke of Delhi are already known for their handmade Dellhi Mix snacks (available online and at Fortnum & Mason's), which gave the traditional flavours of a Bombay mix a quirky modern update. Since they've already successfully added chocolate pieces to a Bombay mix, they've now decided to take the next step and add the Bombay Mix into chocolate - creating these new Delhi Mix bars.

It's a gorgeously colourful selection featuring six flavours; Dark Chocolate, Dark Chocolate & Orange, Dark Chocolate & Toasted Coconut, Dark Chocolate & Lime, Milk Chocolate & Indian Cinnamon, and Milk Chocolate, Cardamom & Vanilla. Thanks to the lovely people at Duke of Delhi we've been very happily savouring the last four in that list!

The chocolate bars all have the same beautiful shape, which I think is perfectly fitting for the Indian theme. Each bar also features the same Bombay Mix within, consisting of crispy puffed rice, gram flour, salt, chilli and tumeric. It adds a wonderful texture to each chocolate, not too crunchy, but enough to add interest. The flavour is also quite light and does not overpower the chocolate, but it does provide plenty of background spice and warmth.  

Dark Chocolate & Lime - This variety was instantly my favourite when I first tried the range, although I have a new favourite now - see below! The dark chocolate (60% cocoa solids minimum) is glossy and rich, whilst the zingy lime flavour immediately grabs your attention. It works together so well with the hint of spice from the Bombay mix too. 

Dark Chocolate & Toasted Coconut - The coconut flavour here has a very natural taste and is not too sweet. Even though the initial coconut scent is quite strong, the actual flavour is at first dominated by the dark chocolate. However, the coconut flavour really does intensify and build towards the end of each bite. The rich, dark flavours of this bar make it perfect for enjoying a few chunks with a good cup of coffee.

The two milk chocolate bars in the range, made with 32% minimum cocoa solids, are much sweeter and obviously creamier, which seems to especially suit the background Indian spices.

Milk Chocolate & Indian Cinnamon - This chocolate is completely outstanding - if you're a cinnamon fan you MUST try it. The cinnamon flavour here is without a doubt the most delicious I've tried in any chocolate bar so far, it's sweet but with a spicy edge. The fact that it's combined with a superbly creamy milk chocolate and a hint of Indian flavours just makes the combination even more sensational. This is my absolute favourite of the bunch.

Milk Chocolate, Cardamom & Vanilla - If you enjoy tradional Masala Chai (Indian spiced tea) then this is the perfect chocolate bar. The heady cardamom and milk chocolate combination instantly evokes the familiar warming, milky flavours. The added vanilla makes this the sweetest of all the Duke of Delhi chocolate bars, making it extremely satisfying and moreish. My husband loved all of these chocolate bars, but I think this one just sneaked ahead as his overall favourite.

I  loved trying out this range and it's impressive array of flavours. There is truly something for every taste bud in this selection. The range will be available on the Duke of Delhi website very soon - I will update here as soon as they are online. 

Follow Duke of Delhi on Twitter for all their latest updates https://twitter.com/dukeofdelhi

Review: Mr Bounce Vanilla Yogurts with Chocolate Footballs

There's nothing quite like the Mr Men books for reading together with children, and it's a series that we've long enjoyed as a family. No surprise then that I've reviewed most of the Mr Men products, from yogurt drinks to chocolate, that are exclusive to Tesco. A new addition to the range (in my local Tesco at least) are these Mr. Bounce Vanilla Yogurts with Chocolate Footballs.

There are four 125g split pot yogurts in each pack, and as always I love the bright classic Mr Men design of the packaging. The vanilla yogurt itself, is nicely creamy with just the right amount of natural tangy yogurt flavour - it's not overly sweet like a lot of kids yogurts. On the side is a serving of cereal pieces shaped to look like chocolate footballs, providing the crunch (and fun!) factor. Needless to say my boys both enjoyed these yogurts. The flavours are all quite simple but create an enjoyable sweet treat.

It has to be said that this yogurt is quite similar, in concept at least, to the Müller Kids Corner Football Yogurts which were released last year. In taste terms the flavours are quite different, even though they sound very similar. The Muller version has a much sweeter vanilla yogurt and the football chocolates are also sweeter, with their white chocolate coating.

There is also a Little Miss Chatterbox Vanilla Yogurt with Pink Butterflies available too, although I haven't seen these instore yet.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Mr Bounce Vanilla Yogurts with Chocolate Footballs

RATING: 7 out of 10
Buy them again?: Probably.
Nutrition per pot: 215 calories.
Purchased: Tesco (exclusive).
Price: £1.50 for a 4 pack.

Review: Limited Edition Cadbury Dairy Milk Snowy Delight

This Dairy Milk Snowy Delight was released alongside the visually superior Dairy Milk Winter Wonderland, as part of Cadbury's festive offerings.

It's a fairly lacklustre and standard looking bar for a Christmas edition, but at least it's a decent size at 120g. The Dairy Milk Snowy Delight is a milk chocolate which features a "vanilla flavour filling", making this a very similar product to several others released under the Dairy Milk brand in previous years.

Even though the Dairy Milk Snowy Delight is not the most exciting chocolate bar to be released this Christmas, it's still a very tasty one. The creaminess of the vanilla filling reminds me of the the milky centre in Kinder Mini Treats, which is no bad thing in my opinion (my kids know that their favourite Kinder treats are not safe around Mum!). The milk chocolate covering is exactly what you would expect from Cadbury and tastes wonderful here with the creamy inner filling. It's a very tasty combinbation and I'm sure I will be buying the Dairy Milk Snowy Delight again closer to Christmas.

Grocery Gems Verdict: Cadbury Dairy Milk Snowy Delight

RATING: 8 out of 10
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition (per 3 chunks): 87 calories.
Vegetarian: Suitable for Vegetarians.
Purchased: Sainsbury.
Price (120g bar): £1.00.

Review! New Wonka Crème Brûlée Chocolate Bar

Following on from my reviews of the new Millionaire's Shortbread and Nice Cream, I was pleased to spot the third addition to the new Wonka range - the Crème brûlée. This is described as a vanilla creme with a caramel crunch.

The chocolate bar has a very neat appearance with an appropriately quirky look. Each precisely shaped segment is topped with what looks to me like chocolate coins - some featuring a swirly W. The outer milk chocolate has the same sweet creamy flavour as the previous bars in this range. It's similar in this regard to many of Nestle's other chocolate offerings. 

The inner filling immediately has an appetisingly sweet scent of caramel which carries through to the flavour itself. The crème brûlée theme is successfully captured in the flavour here. The filling is very creamy and has visible vanilla speckles which add a gorgeous vanilla flavour. This is then followed by the crunchy texture of the little caramel pieces. I loved the flavour of these, it's caramelised but with that slightly burnt edge to it that you would expect from a crème brûlée. The burnt aspect is thankfully not overpowering to the filling or chocolate, which I've found is often the case with crème brûlée themed chocolate bars. The only negative flavourwise is that the whole combination becomes a bit too sweet very quickly. (Another major negative is the calorie content - see below!).

It's still not the most exciting of chocolate bars and I would have liked to see some more wacky flavours from to justify the Wonka name. If crème brûlée, then why not make it a flavoured version? There are lots of interesting recipes for flavoured ones out there, like orange, lemon or coffee crème brûlée. Having said all that, this simple Crème Brûlée was still my clear favourite of the three Wonka bars currently on offer. 

Grocery Gems Verdict: Wonka Crème Brûlée

RATING: 7.5 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Probably not - the calorie content is horrific!
Nutrition: 111 calories per 2 pieces! 
Purchased: Tesco.
Price: £1.50p each.

New Müller Kids Corner Blast Off! Yogurts

I recently reviewed the new Müller Kids Corner Fashion yogurts. This range has caused a bit of a stir due to accusations of gender stereotyping, and I discussed my views on that subject in my previous review so do check it out HERE. There were two varieties released in this new range and I was pleased to finally find the second version today - the space themed Blast Off!

The packaging looks fantastic with it's spaceship scene and starry dark blue background. The yogurt itself is a vanilla flavour and features a side serving of white chocolate coated cereal pieces shaped like red rockets and yellow stars.

The yogurt is very creamy, with a lovely vanilla flavour, the same as the vanilla yogurt found in many other Müller Corner yogurts. The white chocolate coated cereal is deliciously sweet and works extremely well with the simple yogurt.

Since my kids love anything space and science related, they were very excited about these yogurts - and the overall product certainly didn't disappoint. They both adored the taste and the fun packaging too. The Kids Corner yogurts are the same size as the adult version (135g), and are free from artificial colours, sweeteners and preservatives.

Grocery Gems Review: Müller Corner Blast Off Yogurts

RATING: 8.5 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Yes.
Nutrition (per 100g): 142 calories. 
Purchased: Co-op. 
Price: £1.25 for multipack of 4 (half price offer).

New Wonka Millionaire's Shortbread & Chocolate Nice Cream

It probably doesn't say a lot about the new Wonka bars that they have been sitting in my review box for quite a while now, especially considering my kids are the biggest fans of the Charlie & The Chocolate Factory books and films (yes, even that Johnny Depp one!). There are two bars in this UK resurgence of the Wonka brand; Millionaire's Shortbread and Chocolate Nice Cream.

Wonka Millionaire's Shortbread

It's not the most interesting looking chocolate bar, especially considering what Cadbury has been up to with it's Marvellous Creations and Winter Wonderland bars. The Wonka Millionaire's Shortbread has a scrolly letter Ws in random corners and a slightly uneven swirly look, but that's it. Not something that stirs my imagination.

Inside however it does get downright bizarre. Even though it's described on the front as being a combination of soft caramel and crumbly biscuit, there is definitely no soft caramel in sight. The Amazing Invisible Caramel! Genius - Willy Wonka would be proud. The flavour itself is actually quite nice, with lots of small crunchy biscuit pieces. I enjoyed their sweet buttery flavour with the caramel undertones and creamy outer chocolate.

Wonka Chocolate Nice Cream

From the outset the Chocolate Nice Cream seems like the most interesting of the two bars. It's described as a smooth vanilla creme topped with chocolate sauce. It's certainly more akin to what I can imagine rolling off the Wonka factory production line - an ice cream in chocolate bar form.

It also looks like slightly more thought has gone into the design of this bar, with it's scoop of ice cream in a... is that a pie dish? Anyway, it looks odd, but in a good way! 

Fortunately there is no sign of any missing sauce in this bar, there is clearly a layer of vanilla cream and chocolate sauce as described on the packaging. Unfortunately, this bar is nowhere near as tasty as the Millionaire's Shortbread. The vanilla cream is nice enough, but the chocolate sauce layer lets it down. It's very syrupy with a super sweet chocolate flavour that just overpowers the rest of the bar. 

I couldn't resist including this photo of the back of the packaging - possibly the most innovative part of all. It's a cute touch that the barcode looks like the gates to the Wonka factory!

Grocery Gems Verdict: Wonka Chocolate Bars

RATING: Millionaire's Shortbread - 7 out of 10, Chocolate Nice Cream - 6 out of 10.
Buy them again?: Possibly the Millionaire's Shortbread.
Nutrition: Millionaire's Shortbread - 200 cals, Chocolate Nice Cream - 193 cals.
Purchased: Newsagent.
Price: £0.70p each.