TicTac Bold! ~ Berry Sour

Oh, TicTac! Why must you betray me like this? The clever packaging, the promise of sour berry flavor, the assurance of boldness... and once again, I am let down.


For some reason, I can't resist buying new TicTac flavors. I used to love buying the traditional TicTacs as a kid, so I guess it's just nostalgia that keeps me reaching for those tiny little boxes. I really need to curb that habit as my last few TicTac purchases have been less than satisfactory. I was especially disappointed with this purchase; I love sour things and berry flavored things, and there's not many ways to mess that up, right? Sadly, these TicTacs managed to prove me wrong.


My first hint that something wasn't right was the smell. It hit me right when I opened the handy little flip-top, and I can only say that it was similar to the smell that skunks leave behind after being hit by a car. Not the most promising of beginnings, but I had high hopes for this candy. I tried *one* mint, and though I usually like to savor my candy, I had to crunch this one up in hopes of making it disappear quickly. I can only say that it tastes just the way it smells. I tried a few more over the next couple of days hoping that I had gotten a bad one, but the flavor was pretty consistent. I eventually gave them to my kids, but even they wouldn't eat them.


It is possible that I got a bad batch, but I don't know how long it will be before I can stomach trying them again.


Product: TicTac Bold! ~ Berry Sour
Place Purchased: Publix
Price: $1.29
Calories: 2 per mint


Overall Rating: 1 out of 5

Theo Chocolate ~ Bread & Chocolate Bar

First, let me just say that Whole Foods is a fantastic place to find unusual treats. They carry everything... well, practically everything. On my last shopping spree, I picked up this Bread & Chocolate Bar made by Theo Chocolate- mostly because the wrapper is so dang cute!

I should have loved this bar. It's made with dark chocolate (my favorite!) and it's organic, which usually means good quality. It also contains sea salt, and while that may seem strange, I find that salt helps cut down on the cloying sweetness that some chocolates have. Yet despite all these positive attributes, I just couldn't like this bar.

It smells good, very dark and woodsy, which is a good smell for dark chocolate. However, the taste just didn't work for me. I think the salt actually hindered the flavor in this case; the chocolate is already 65% cacao- not very sweet at all- and the salt just killed any remaining sweetness. To me, it tasted as though someone had dipped a piece of baker's chocolate into a bowl of salt. The "bread" didn't help matters... it was a cross between crumbs and krispies and added nothing to the bar.

Despite my opinion of this bar, I did see some other flavors I'd like to check out. Perhaps the Chai Tea bar would be a better selection.

You can buy Theo Chocolates online or from select retailers. Also, check out http://www.kittenchops.com/; you can see artwork from the lady who designed the chocolate wrappers.

I have to give it a slightly higher rating than the flavor calls for; it is organic and fair trade certified, after all!

Product: Theo Chocolate ~ Bread & Chocolate Bar

Place Purchased: Whole Foods

Price: $2.99

Calories: 260 for 1 bar (57 g)

Overall Rating: 2 out of 5

Vosges Haut Chocolate ~ Bianca Couture Cocoa

I don't know about the rest of the U.S., but we've had some wild weather here in my little corner of Georgia. Just imagine, we had snow twice this week! It may not sound like much, but it's such a rare occurrence in the South that it topped the headlines of most news channels and closed a couple of schools.

Anyway, in honor of our recent bitterly cold weather, I thought I would review a version of one of my favorite wintertime snacks: hot chocolate. There are tons of different hot chocolates on the market now, but I like the more... unusual offerings. That's what led me to Vosges, a higher-end chocolatier.

I've had pleasant experiences with Vosges; I loved their Caramel Marshmallows and their Barcelona chocolate bar. I had heard about their hot chocolates as well, but it took me ages to decide exactly which hot chocolate I wanted to try. I finally settled on the Bianca Couture Cocoa, a cocoa mix with a white chocolate base. I usually shy away from white chocolate (too sweet for me, thanks) but the Vosges website did an excellent job of making the Bianca cocoa seem too good to pass up.

The cocoa itself consists of white chocolate flakes mixed with dried snippets of lemon myrtle and lavender. The smell upon opening the package is overwhelmingly herbal, but there are a few white chocolate notes mixed in. The package claims that the cocoa can be made with milk or water and that it is delicious either way. It also says that the cocoa needs to sit for five minutes before straining out the herb pieces. I don't know about you, but straining my hot chocolate requires more work than I usually like to put into my hot beverages. But maybe that's just me.

After making this cocoa a few different ways, I can confidently say that making it with water is a HORRIBLE idea. The cocoa came out very watery (of course) and the flavors were very weak. It also looked unappealing, like water with white paint in it and some grease floating at the top. I couldn't even finish that cup!

On my next try, I made my cocoa with 2% milk, and it seemed like an entirely different drink. The milk worked well with the white chocolate, tempering the sweetness and enhancing the flavor instead of washing it out. Also, I was able to pick up on the surprisingly delicate herbal flavors; the faint lemon essence from myrtle was especially nice. All in all, the use of milk made for a far more enjoyable cup of cocoa.

Vosges Bianca Couture Cocoa is definitely something that I would treat myself to as an indulgence, but I'm not sure it's something I would want to drink all the time. I did see another Vosges hot chocolate mix that I'd like to try, and I'm seriously thinking about ordering some of their organic Peanut Butter Bonbons. I could always try the Mo's Bacon Bar, which mixes dark chocolate and bacon... how's that for a flavor combo?

A limited selection of Vosges candy bars can be found at Whole Foods and Cost Plus World Market, but all of their products- including truffles, cookies, and caramels- can be found on their website.

Till next time!

Product: Vosges Haut Chocolate ~ Bianca Couture Cocoa

Place Purchased: www.vosgeschocolates.com

Price: $17.00 for 5-7 servings

Calories: No InformationGiven

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Peach Oo-La-Long Honest Tea

I'm going to be truthful here: I LOVE tea. I like it green, black, white, hot, cold, sweet, flavored, and any combination of the aforementioned. I don't, however, like bottled tea. Well... until now, that is.

Honest Tea's Peach Oo-La-Long is without a doubt one of the best teas I have ever tasted, and it's no wonder. The drink is completely organic, the oolong tea used is Fair Trade certified, and it contains actual peach puree instead of just peach "flavoring." It's also lightly sweetened, which compliments the flavors without being overwhelming. And now for the best part: it only has 30 calories per serving! What's not to love about that?

I'm addicted to this stuff now, but it can be hard to find. Honest Tea is made by a very small company based in Maryland, and that means that they have limited distribution. I have found their products at Super Target and Whole Foods, and I've read that they are sold at Kroger as well (though I've yet to find it there). Right now, I'm getting my fix through beveragesdirect.com, which is great. I pay a ton in shipping, but I'm pretty sure it's still cheaper than paying for the gas to truck all the way to Whole Foods.

You can read about Honest Beverages here. They have other products besides their teas, such as organic juice pouches for kids and their Honest Ade line.

Product: Peach Oo-La-Long Honest Tea
Place Purchased: beveragesdirect.com
Price: Ranges from $1.19 to $1.49 per bottle
Size: 16.9 fluid ounces
Calories: 30 per 8 fluid ounces

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to Snack Alley!

It's been a long time coming, but I've finally decided to start my own candy/snack review blog. I know, I know... there are a million such review blogs on the net already, so what makes this one so special? My goal is to make this blog informative as well as somewhat entertaining, and I want to include reviews of anything that falls under the "snack food" umbrella, including beverages. Many of the blogs I've read tend to focus on one kind of food or another, but I want a few more categories to work with. I mean, who likes to be restricted? I'm also a fairly adventurous eater, so check back often and you might find a review of something that you've wanted to try but were afraid to. I will take requests, but I'll tell you now that I draw the line at eating anything that exterminators make their living from killing.

Ciao!