Minty
These chocolate bars were a surprise gift from my boyfriend. He knows all too well my love of sweets, and presented these to me one day after work. Apparently one of his co-workers was selling them as a fundraiser, and since he knew these would be blog fodder for me, he bought me some. What a sweetheart, right?
Wolfgang is a candy company over in York, PA which, unlike many other small candy companies, have been bought out by the larger corporations. It started out as a family business and has stayed that way for almost a century now. Pretty impressive.
Well, all I can say is: on with the tasting!
Milk Chocolate Roasted Almonds: The bar is about a 1/3 inch thick, which is a good thickness in my mind. It smells very sweet, salty and nutty, almost like peanuts because of all the saltiness I detect. I can see hints of the almonds pieces in the back of the bar. The flavor is very sweet and nutty at first. The chocolate is sweet, and a little milky. The almonds deliver a wonderful fresh crunch and a great nutty flavor. It’s yummy, but after one piece I felt like that was enough, as it was very sweet.
Milk Chocolate Caramel: The caramel pieces are thinner and taller than the others. I snapped one off and I saw the caramel start to ooze out of the cavity. Try to think of it as a more watery Caramello. The caramel is extremely buttery and sweet, and combined with the milk chocolate it’s almost too much. something about it tastes metallic, and almost rummy. It’s strange.
Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter: The peanut butter tastes center stage as the flavor here, and as I take my first bite I can’t help but notice that I can hardly taste the chocolate at all. The peanut butter has a nice strong nutty flavor to it, which is balanced with a nice sweet/salty aspect to it. The texture is creamy and a little dry, but it melts beautifully on my tongue and it feels lovely. Peanut butter lovers would adore this one I think.
White Chocolate Peanut Butter: This is real white chocolate, and oddly, I can taste more of this white chocolate with the peanut butter than I could the milk chocolate. Very strange. The peanut butter here is much milder in flavor that the milk chocolate version, but it’s still the same in all other regards. The white chocolate delivers a nice creamy sweet flavors that balances out the nutty flavors and it makes for a very nice balanced taste. I really liked this one.
Dark Chocolate Peppermint: I could immediately smell the peppermint as I opened the wrapper. It’s the same shape and size as the caramel bar, yet I got no oozing when I took a piece off. The peppermint is fresh, and intense, and the sweet dark chocolate really cuts the strength of the peppermint. It’s like an Andes mint, except bigger and in a bar form.
These were pretty tasty! Not all of them appealed to me, but I ate more of them than not. Worth a try if you find someone selling them.
Rating: Might Eat Again
Links Wolfgang Website
Altoids Mints, the ones we all know as “Curiously Strong” have a line of “Smalls” mints. They keep to the same format at the regular mints, as you still get that cute tin and the promise of a powerful flavor experience. The idea is that they’re made for situations when space is an issue, which I appreciate because I’m a sucker for convenience.
These particular Altoids Smalls are the two new Sugar Free varieties, which come in both Wintergreen and Cinnamon. Lucky for me, these are my two favorite “breath freshener” flavors. Peppermint and Spearmint tent to be too strong and herbal for my tastes. Each tin hold 50 mints, so they should last me a long time. Especially since I use mints more to make my mouth taste better than to eat them because I enjoy the flavor. Some may argue that doesn’t make them candy, but like gum, I feel they’re a food item that crosses into many genres.
Wintergreen: Opening the tin I see it full of little blue square tablets, each have a capital letter A on them. The mints have no aroma to them, which I find surprising since I’m used to Altoids being very pungent. The flavor is very fresh and full of wintergreen. It does freshen my breath and feels nice in my mouth. it ‘s a very cooling feeling, and I do get that nice minty burn. The tablet isn’t too hard, I can easily crush it in my teeth if I feel like it. Which I often do.
Cinnamon: These tablets are the same format as the wintergreen, expect these are pink and smell very strong and spicy. These immediately have that strong, fiery burn of hot cinnamon, but it has a sweetness to it which makes it a little more bearable than say, red hots. It gives a nice warm feeling on my tongue, and thankfully never gets too intense for me. They’re tasty and also leave my mouth feeling fresh. The texture is the same, and you get a very strong burn when you chew them.
I liked these a lot. They deliver that fun Altoids flavor while not becoming overpowering like I sometimes find the regular mints. The small tin is cute and convenient and are easily stashed in my purse. I plan to keep these on hand as I find popping a few of these more suited to my liking than chewing a piece of gum when I need nice breath in a pinch.
Rating: Will Buy Again
Links Altoids Website
I’ve never noticed these bright pink candies on shelves in many of my grocery stores until recently. I think part of the reason I’ve never given them a second look is the very antique packaging (which, oddly, usually catches my eye right away) and the other is the fact that I saw Necco’s name on them. I just assumed they were a big bag of plain Sweethearts. It wasn’t until I read on Candybog.net that these sugar lozenge candies were in fact wintergreen flavored and were pretty tasty. I immediately turned my thinking around and secured myself a bag the next chance I got. Isn’t it great how we candy bloggers can learn from one another?
I’m not quite sure how Canada fits into the concept of bright green candy tablets, but I suspect it has something to do with the “coolness” of the wintergreen flavor. There’s another variety I’ve seen around, it’s peppermint and the package has a nice blue color scheme to it. I won’t try that though, at least not right away, as peppermint and I have some issues that we need to work out first.
The candy pieces are bright pepto-bismal pink and are about the circumference a nickel and 1/4 inch thick. “Canada” is pressed into once side of them. They smell intensely of sweet wintergreen.
In my mouth they feel quite hard. I couldn’t chomp down on them right away. Reminds me of the texture of Sweetheart conversation hearts: dry, and slightly chalky. I found I could break them a little with my molars, but the best way to eat them is just to suck on them. The flavor is fresh wintergreen with nice minty and herbal flavors that are reminiscent of sassafras and root beer. The flavor is mild, not too minty and not too bland. A perfect in between. Once the tablet is soft enough to break, it gives a nice brief chew as the pieces dissolve and the wintergreen flavor intensifies a little. Tasty. I found I kept reaching for more of these, they’re very addictive.
I can’t help but smile to myself whenever I see these in the stores now. I like knowing that I gave them a try and found them enjoyable. I bet I’ll be reaching for a bag next time my wintergreen craving hits.
Rating: Will Buy Again
Links Necco Website
I have to admit that I don’t experiment as much with gum that I feel I should. It’s one of my candy Achilles’ Heels, as so to speak. I’ve never been a big gum chewer, but I have found myself reaching for it more often as of late. I don’t necessarily chew it for the pure enjoyment of it, but rather as a distraction when I’m battling a craving or I just need to have something to move around in my mouth. There’s a few people out there who’d argue that gum is not even candy, as the lines of the definition are often blurred. I don’t eat gum or seek it out like I would a good candy bar, true, but I do chew it because it tastes good. Which is really whole point when you get to the core of it, right?
There’s a few concrete things I feel make up a good pack of gum. Firstly, it needs to taste good and have a strong flavor. Secondly, it needs to have that flavor that lasts a long time. A stick that will peter out in 5-30 minutes is not good enough for me. Because of this, I have been working my way through all the different varieties in the store trying the find the one that will work for me. I do realize that my requirements are little in the grand scheme of things as gums now tote many cool advantages like more unique flavors, teeth and gum protection, and vitamins. Still, I had only a handful of varieties I’d return to, and I’ve gotten bored with my choices.
Then I noticed Orbit Mist.
This is the newest members of the Orbits line. What’s different with this variety is the addition of “micro-bursts (tm)” that are described on the front of the packages. I read that as fancy terms for extra pockets of flavor and deliciousness. But that’s just me. The flavors range from the classic Peppermint Spray to the fruity favorite of Watermelon Spring, and finally to the new kid on the block: Mango Surf.
The package design is very attractive. The blue color is cool and refreshing feeling, which is enhanced by a slightly metallic sheen. The packages open to reveal a the sticks wrapped in colorful paper, all lines up in neat little rows. I feel oddly stylish opening these packets to take out a piece to chew.
The texture with all of these is pretty standard and a big draw for me. the gum doesn’t start soft like most brands do. Instead, these are a little hard, almost like a Chiclet but without the candy shell, and they gradually get softer as you chew on them.
Peppermint Spray: A cool, light blue color with intense specks of cerulean. The flavor is immediately a burst of sweet peppermint in my mouth. Usually I dislike it when flavors are too punchy in gum, but this works beautifully as the flavor doesn’t hit you all at once right away. Instead it slowly stays in your mouth and seeps onto your taste buds as you chew. I chewed a piece of this for a good to hours and was still getting flavor from it. I’m impressed to say the least.
Watermelon Mist: The stick is lightly green with pretty flecks of pink in it. The flavor is very melon, thankfully not horribly fake like all the variations on the Jolly Rancher watermelon flavor out there. This is much smoother, sweeter and more mellow. I taste hints of cantaloupe, watermelon and honeydew with a dash of peach in there.
Mango Surf: Pale yellow colored with red spots. Immediately it tastes tropical and ever so juicy. Strong notes of mango, peach and passion fruit flood my mouth. It’s sweet, but like a real mango has a tart edge to it that makes the gum so much more dramatic to taste. As hesitant I am around mango flavored candy, this one totally won me over.
These new flavors leave me wanting to be a more avid gum chewer. The flavors are interesting and tasty, but the staying power they have in my mouth is just incredible and what really wins me over. I haven’t gotten a stick of gum to stay so fresh in my mouth for so long, so I can’t but recommend you try them based on that trait alone.
Rating: Will Buy Again
Links Orbit Webpage
I’m not really big on mints or minty candies, but I couldn’t help pass up this beautiful box of the new Tic Tac Citrus Punch assortment. I’m a sucker for fruity, especially citrus flavors, so I knew these would be worth giving a try.
Tic Tacs are an interesting item in my mind, as most mints really try to make themselves look like candy. But Tic Tacs look like candy and are actually mints! There’s three flavors in the mix: grapefruit, orange and lime.
Grapefruit is the flavor I looked forward to trying the most. The flavor is wonderfully captured, it’s fresh and zesty with that nice sweet/sour note the grapefruits have. The minty aspect doesn’t kick in until the fruit flavor fades, which I really like.It leaves a nice light citrusy/minty flavor in my mouth and it’s refreshing. I found myself picking these out of the assortment and finishing them off first.
Orange is sweet and flavorful with a good orange flavor that is more “real” than other orange mints I’ve had. It gets a little tart at the end which is a nice touch.
With the Lime flavor I immediately notice that it is different in texture. Strange! It breaks much easier in my mouth than the others. It’s tart, sweet and very citrusy and like the others I feel the flavor is very authentic and I immediately think of limeade.
I liked this assortment a lot. The three different flavors kept things fresh and interesting, and they both fulfilled my need for something candy-like and to freshen my breath a little. A plus for any mint in my book. My only complaint that, even though the box of these was on the larger side, I did manage to finish them in record time. Oops.
Rating: Will Buy Again
Links:
Tic Tac Website
