Haribo is a brand of gummies that I’m always excited to try. What’s difficult is that since they’re a European company/brand/candy, we don’t get the full selection here in the US. I sometimes tease myself by looking at their German website and the vast selection of candies they offer. I want to try them all! But sadly, unless I take a trip to Germany, I will have to wait and just hope I will come across there domestically someday. I found these Haribo Tropifrutti in Cost Plus World Market, one of the few places I can find imported Haribo products. I was excited about this find since this is a variety I haven’t seen before, so something new finally! Hooray!

Texture is interesting. It’s kinda like a fruit pare inside a jelly bean, with a hard outside and a smooth jelly interior.

Red: Fruity and jammy. It reminds me of a raspberry Popsicle.

Dark Red: This one tastes more herbal and fruity, but not in any distinct way. Just “red”.

Green: Lightly watermelon flavored and that fake, juicy watermelon flavor.

White: Pineapple, bright, juicy and zesty. This flavor is spot on.

Yellow: Oddly enough, this is the most realistic banana flavor in a candy that I’ve ever tasted. It’s captured the starchy smooth feel of a banana perfectly. It’s sweet and have that sweet flavor we recognize as banana. Well done.

Orange: Yay, this one held no real surprise. It’s a mild, sweet, juicy orange flavor. Not too overdone, but not too mild.

Overall, I liked these flavors. They’re different from the typical tropical flavors you get here in the USA and I appreciate having something different. I was really impressed with the banana flavor, so that alone makes this package a winner for me. I also shared these with my boyfriend and friends, and they all liked them and were impressed with the texture. If you’re looking for something different, these are a great gummi treat to have if you’re trying to feel that thrill of flavor discovery.

Rating: Will Buy Again

Links Haribo Website

I found these colorful Hitschler Softi in that German deli I’ve mentioned before. They were in a basket by the checkout and they were impossibly to resist with all their bright colors and price of only 10 cents each. The wrappers come in four different colors, for four different flavors I’m guessing, and has colorful lettering and illustrated fruit friends. I bet these are really popular with kids by the looks of them.

The side of these is pretty small, they’re about as long as a normal sizes stick of gum, but only about 3/4 of the width. They’re flat and pliable and extremely light.

Surprisingly, the taffy inside each colored wrapper all looks the same. I was expecting the green to be green, blue to be blue, etc. Instead they’re all a pale yellow and all smelly lightly fruity. Ok, I can understand them not wanted to use food coloring. So let’s see how they taste.

I tried the green wrapper taffy first expecting an apple flavor and yes, it tastes fruity with a light of lemon. It has a funny plastic note to it that I can’t quite lay my finger on. The texture of the taffy it nice and chewy. It’s a tag sticky, bit it’s still pleasant to eat. Not what I was expecting though.

Confused by the green one’s flavor I try the pink wrapper taffy next and it tastes milder and less lemony. Really? Shouldn’t this be strawberry or something? The texture of this one was harder and chewier than the green too. Hmm. 

The blue wrapper was next and it’s the chewiest by far, it almost resembled gum, but tasted like the green wrapper taffy one. Strange. I’m beginning to realize there’s no flavor variation here at all. 

The yellow wrapper taffy had a hard texture and a mild flavor similar to the first three. Disappointed. At least it should taste more lemony than the others!
These were disappointing to say the least. They were small, looked colorful and cute, yet they lacked any flavor to really sell me as a candy. There was no variation or specific flavor to even comment on really. I guess this is what you can expect for 10 cents.

Rating: Not Worth It

I found this extremely classic-looking bag of Bavarian Malt Candies in a German deli a good 15 minute drive from where I live. My friend insisted on take my boyfriend and I to this place in search of good sausages and since I’m a food lover, I accepted her invitation. The deli itself was adorable and the cured meats and sausages they had are delicious. One things I didn’t count on was a German candy selection, and that’s where I saw this bag. An interesting find for sure!

The bag is very 1950’s looking with its white and blue checkered background and simple graphic design. It’s a familiar, yet simple visual presentation. The back of the bag describes the old tradition of these boiled-sugar malt candy, which is a nice touch. Apparently is used to be medicinal (which is where candy evolved from).

The pieces inside are an array of sizes and shapes, but they all have a rich, molasses brown color to them. They remind me of smoother, more well formed rock candy chunks. They smell toasted and sweet.

The flavor is familiar and classic. The taste is sweet with notes of toasted wheat. Every so often there’s a hint of smoke in them. It’s a very simple, yet robust flavor. I am a fan.

This is an excellent example of something simple being extremely tasty. Hopefully I can go back to that deli for more sausages and a few more bags of this nice treat. 

Rating: Will Eat Again

More Ritter Sport reviews, yay! I am trying to work my way through the flavors I haven’t had before in hopes of discovering some new favorites. Today’s review is one of those new gems! The Ritter Sport Milk Chocolate with Butter Biscuit sounded unimpressive to me, but when I tasted it, I was blown away.

The image on the wrapper shows a rippled butter/shortbread cookie being enveloped with a wave of milk chocolate. The image got me more interested in the candy than the name of this variety did. Hey, an image is worth a thousand words.

Opening the package, you get a nice chocolatey scent from the bar. There’s a hint of butter and vanilla mixed in there. The cross section is beautiful, as it’s very defined and distinct. You see the top lay of chocolate, then the wavy, rippled edge of the butter biscuit, underneath is a layer of chocolate cream and finally the bottom chocolate covering. So enticing. 

The flavor is immediately sweet and chocolately, then the butter biscuit kicks in with it’s sweet, buttery crunch. Unexpectedly, I get a rush of creamy chocolate from that chocolate layer underneath the biscuit. That small well full of chocolate creme and it oozes once you bite down on it. It’s really awesome. This bar has an amazing texture mix along with incredible flavor. I can’t stop eating it.

One of the best Ritter Sport’s I’ve tried so far. It’s really delicious and will be something I’ll be picking up regularly now for chocolate cravings.

Rating: Hoard

Links Ritter Sport Website (German)

This Ritter Sport Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts it an example of a classic candy bar. It’s really beautiful in it’s simplicity: milk chocolate with hazelnuts. I usually hate chocolate bars with nuts in them, but call me crazy, but hazelnuts are different for me. Hazelnuts are less crunchy that other nuts, so instead of getting stuck in my teeth they easily break and are chewed with the chocolate. So, I was excited to give this bar a try because I was fairly certain it wouldn’t drive me crazy. 

Opening this Ritter Sport is a beautiful sight to see, because this bar doesn’t skimp on the hazelnuts. The nuts are whole and lavishly studding the chocolate, and they protrude like tiny hills from the chocolate bar, it’s beautiful.

The flavor is immediately sweet, creamy and chocolatey from the wonderful milk chocolate surrounding the whole hazelnuts. The chocolate has that nice dairy edge to it that I taste in most European chocolate. The hazelnuts are crunchy and fresh, and the texture goes from crunchy and creamy as you start to chew them. The whole effect is a very nicely textured bar with the overall flavor effect of Nutella.

This is a really well executed simple chocolate bar. It satisfies a nice texture contrast, so if you want Nutella flavor that’s more fresh and fun to eat, see this one out.

Rating: Will Buy Again

Links Ritter Sport Website (German)