Snackmas Day 3- M&S Christmas Dusted Pearls: Mocha, Orange and Strawberry

Who's got their tree up? Too early? Well, maybe these M&S Dusted Pearls might just act as some inspiration.. They are glittery gold, silver and bronze after all!

Weighing in at 110g each and costing a rather pricey £3.50 a pop, the Malteaser sized, Mocha, Orange and Strawberry balls are made with Swiss chocolate and are all suitable for Vegetarians - Can't forget about Veggies at this time of year! Much to my disappointment, the Pearls don't actually come across as sparkly on camera as in person.. But fair warning, you and everything you own will end up glistening upon opening the plastic packaging! 

Mocha

Lustred milk chocolate with coffee filling - 33% Cocoa Solids. 

Orange

Lustred milk chocolate with an orange flavoured filling - 33% Cocoa Solids. 

Strawberry

Lustred milk chocolate with a strawberry filling - 33% Cocoa Solids. 

L-R Mocha, Orange, Strawberry. 

Mocha

Smelling strongly of freshly ground espresso, the ball immediately packed an authentic coffee flavour which was just the right strength and went wonderfully with the cocoa rich tones from the creamy and smooth chocolate. Texture wise, the melt was superb and not all to dissimilar to a butter-like, Lindt Lindor with the edible glitter exterior not adding anything gritty. One for the coffee addicts - A 4 out of 5 from me. 

Orange

Next up, the classic christmas flavour that is Chocolate Orange! The signature aroma was instantly recognisable and most inviting. Thankfully, it was just as decent in taste with the orange coming through plenty without being overpowering and as expected, pairing up with the melt in the mouth, Swiss Chocolate a treat. Would a dark chocolate have been better however? Perhaps. Another 4 out of 5. 

Strawberry

Lastly and sporting the bronze (Or as the cool kids would say, rose gold) dusting was of course the Strawberry. As seen with both other varieties, the melt and quality of chocolate was one again second to none with a ridiculously silky feel. A real tangy strawberry kick was provided which wasn't all that sugary sweet and generally very more-ish! Where is the white chocolate, I hear you ask? Good question. It's a final 4 out of 5 from me! 

Overall, these Dusted Pearls are most tasty indeed and would make a great addition to your Christmas party table or just in bowls for your family and friends to grab at over the holidays - They are certainly very striking and with flavours to please everyone.. There's nothing not to love! Yes, it is a shame that M&S didn't consider pairing the flavours with different types of chocolate to switch things up a bit but no matter.. Only a real Scrooge is going to moan about having too much of the decent Swiss stuff! 

Review- The Co-op Irresistible Gingerbread Latte Cake

Gingerbread. Latte. Cake. Hell to the yeah? Lets do this! 

I stumbled across this rather autumnal, Veggie friendly sponge when nipping into The Co-op with the intention of buying milk and nothing else - It isn't often that I can go into a shop and not saunter up the bakery aisle so why I expected any less, I do not know. I made my purchase as part of a 3 for 2 deal, although I think their cakes are priced at £2 (Ish) each usually. 

Coffee cake, filled with ginger frosting, topped with a creamy frosting and decorated with a chocolate mocha sauce and ginger crumb. 

Rather annoyingly, The Co-op don't provide any sort of base for their cakes to sit on, not even a pathetic paper liner.. So I just plonked the entire thing on table as is and hoped for the best - Can't be doing with making a plate dirty, unnecessarily! 

The sponge cut very neatly for something that was super squidgy and moist with not a single crumb out of place or the chance of the whole thing falling to pieces. Coffee was immediately recognisable although relatively mild and not likely to offend anyone. The warmth of ginger came through which complimented the aforementioned perfectly with just the right balance of sweet yet creamy and a decent ratio of frosting to cake. A crunch came from the sprinkling of biscuit crumbs to break up all the soft textures whilst adding another spicy element.. But only to be pleasantly mellowed by the the sticky mocha swirl, enhancing the original coffee tones as well as the addition of chocolate - Marvellous! 

Overall, this Gingerbread Latte Cake is exactly what it claims to be.. Spicy, coffee-y and cakey - There is nothing not to love and I highly recommend you get yourself down to The Co-op if you're a fan of any of the things I just listed! It's a 4 out of 5 from me. 

Review- Thomas J. Fudge's LE Caffè Mocha Florentines

It's safe to say I am a huge, massive, gigantic Thomas J. Fudge's fan - I think I have reviewed most, if not all of their sweet biscuits now but there is always one which proves to be the most elusive and seemingly impossible to get your hands on.. In my case, it was the LE Caffè Mocha Florentines! 

Thankfully, Nibs has my back and being the wonderful person that she is, popped a box in the post for me - One that was illustrated in the usual Thomas J. Fudge's fashion I might add.. The art of balancing random objects on ones hat! 

The 8 Florentines looked a tad buffed in their staggered plastic tray although most inviting with both sultanas and nuts plain to see.. And then I read the ingredients list. Brazil Nuts!? 

Deciding to proceed regardless of a potential reaction to the nuts, I picked the Florentine which looked most lacking in the aforementioned department and got stuck into the pure coffee smelling treat. Crunchy with oodles of chew, it was packed with almonds and caramel to produce the wonderful signature feel of any decent Florentine with a sweet, buttery flavour complimented by hits of dried fruit and a tang from the citrus peel. The Mocha aspect was most definitely in the forefront and seemed somewhat artificial at first given the potency but then did mellow to allow the other flavours to come through with as always, the milk chocolate being divine - Super smooth and creamy with the never disappointing cocoa kick. As for the pesky Brazil Nuts.. MSW said they didn't add much in terms of texture or taste purely because there was so much else going on.. And I lived to tell the tale! 

Overall, these Thomas J. Fudges Caffè Mocha Florentines are perfect for any coffee lover out there. Yes, they do seem a bit questionable at first but given a chance with a hot drink (Or something stronger!), they are more than enough to get a substantial sweet fix. Here's to hoping that finding them is easier for you than it was for me! - It's a 3.5 out of 5.

*All Thomas J. Fudge's reviews.

Review- Starbucks Frappuccino: Coffee, Cookies & Cream, Mocha Chocolate and Vanilla

Starbucks isn't my Coffee Shop of choice. I don't have one locally and there is no real reason to go out of my way and find one since Costa Coffee have taken over the world and are around every corner..

Having said that, I never say no to any sort of coffee so I grabbed these Starbucks Frappuccino Drinks from the chilled section of an array of supermarkets. Priced at around £1.80 each, the 250ml glass bottles contain a low fat coffee drink in the flavours - Coffee, Cookies & Cream, Mocha Chocolate and Vanilla. 

Coffee

I started with the plain Coffee flavour as I thought this would be a good base to judge the other flavours against. 

There was a good smell of coffee from this drink and it tasted stronger than I expected. The milky smooth liquid was not wishy washy in the slightest and had a subtly sweet flavour. A pleasant after taste lingured that I am sure, any coffee lover would appreciate! It's a 4 out of 5 from me. 

  Cookies & Cream 

Next up, was the Cookies & Cream! I had high hopes for this flavour..

Unfortunately, my enthusiam was thwarted! I felt the "cream" part of the drink completely overshadowed any potential flavour of coffee which resulted in being more of a sweet milk than caffeinated beverage! Not all surprising though, since it smelt very mild! It's a 2 out of 5. 

Mocha Chocolate 

This flavour excited me greatly - Chocolate and Coffee are a match made in heaven! 

The scent of this was delicious - It was chocolatey as well as having a potent coffee smell. Taste wise, it was just as good with both being distinguishable whilst perfect balanced. Chocolate bits ran throughout the drink which was a nice boost in flavour. It's another 4 out of 5 from me! 

Vanilla

Last but by no means least is Vanilla - My go to flavour of coffee syrup when out and about! 

Upon opening this bottle, I was a tad disappointed. It smelt more milky than of vanilla although not as lacking in coffee as the Cookies & Cream. Things didn't improve when drinking either - I feel that the vanilla just added extra, unnecessary sweetness rather than flavour. It's a 2.5 out of 5 from me. 

Overall, these Starbucks Frappuccinos are a bit hit or miss. I enjoyed all 4 but when you buy a coffee, even if it is chilled, you expect a consistent coffee flavour. I would definitely buy the Mocha Chocolate again as well as the plain Coffee.. Well that is until I can buy the real deal when a Starbucks gives Costa the boot and appears around one of my local corners!