Nestle Pick & Mix

There is nothing particularly innovative or exciting about the new bag of chocolate from Nestle, but sometimes the simplest ideas are some of the best. 

If you follow my Instagram or Twitter you might have noticed I'm a bit of a Pick'n'Mix fiend, personally I'm still mourning the loss of Woolworths but Candy King do the job quite nicely. Nestle have saved me a trip to Wilkos by taking a few favourites, Smarties, Rolos, Aero Bubbles and Toffee Crisp Bite Size and put them in a sharing sized bag named Pick & Mix. Whenever I choose my own Pick'n'Mix, Smarties and Chocolate Fudge Crunch (basically the 'cheap' version of a Toffee Crisp) are the first in my tub so I'm happy!

I don't really know why my chocolates all look like that but they all tasted fine!

There's not much point going into detail about each individual chocolate, I think you'd be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't tried them but they all tasted fine.

Each bag is really varied, I had a pretty even mix of all four chocolates but Mr.1T had mainly Toffee Crisps and just 1 or 2 Smarties and Aero Bubbles in his so it's luck of the draw I'm afraid!

One major takeaway from the Nestle bag is that I realised I actually prefer the Candy King Smarties to the proper ones!! Controversial I know, but the Candy Kings have much more of a chocolate flavour than their branded counterparts. Otherwise everything else tastes just the same as usual but I am left wondering why Aero chocolate tastes different to other Nestle chocolate? Not just because of the aerated texture but the flavour is completely different, normally I wouldn't notice but it really stands out against the chocolate used on the Toffee Crisps and Rolos. 

Rating:

It's all well and good, perfectly tasty but Nestle have missed a trick. They own Rowntree's. Now I like chocolate but Pick & Mix is just that - a mix. Where are the sweets? 

What're the bets that in a few months a bigger, more expensive bag is released with the Rowntree's Pick & Mix (Tooty Fruitys, Fruit Pastilles and Fruit Gums) mixed in? Actually.. I might buy a bag and do that myself - it'll be a lot cheaper than Candy King anyway! 

7/10

Smarties Mini Eggs

So my hunt for Cadbury Easter replacements continues. The Lindt Mini Eggs were the first contender, the Cadbury Mini Mix bag had a couple of decent flavours, the Black Magic eggs were nice but not dark and the Waitrose Jelly Eggs aren't Creme or Mini Egg like at all! If you're anything like me you'll know, we go into Easter with the best intentions - buying everyone lots of lovely chocolates but end up eating them all ourselves and having to replace them. The Lindt eggs would be perfect to give as gifts, very tasty and 'posh enough' that I wouldn't feel like a tightwad but that could end up very expensive when I inevitably end up scoffing the lot. 

I decided to try some of the cheaper bags of Easter goodies and the Nestlé mini eggs were 2 for £2. I chose the Smarties Mini Eggs and Mr.1T chose Milky Bar, of course. 

They look a bit 'off'. I didn't actually see the Milky Bar eggs but the Smarties aren't quite the proper egg shape - well I've never seen an egg with a completely flat bottom anyway! 

They were in the usual mix of Smarties colours but I only got one blue one sadly. Am I the only person who feels naughty eating blue sweets after all the hooha a few years back? I know they're all above board now but whatever!

 Round one goes to the properly egg shaped Cadbury Mini Eggs!

The ordinary Smarties ratio seems to be a bit more sugar candy shell to a smaller amount of chocolate, whereas the eggs are the other way round. It's definitely a different recipe as good old Google informs me the nutritional information is different - one sure fire way of knowing if there has been a change! Although its just a small difference, it made a big change in the taste, they don't really taste like Smarties. 

Of course there is still the sugary sweet crunchy shell but the increase in chocolate throws the flavours off. The actual chocolate is a bit pants to be honest, I'm unsure if it's the same chocolate used - it probably is or there'd be uproar, Cadbury style - but I've never realised just how.. bland? Nestlé chocolate is. 

There is more chocolate to taste than in normal Smarties but it has less of a chocolate flavour. They're less sweet than Cadbury Mini Eggs, by a long shot actually, but (and I can't believe I'm saying this) Cadbury have a much nicer, more intense chocolate flavour - even with the new recipe. Round two goes to Cadbury again! 

Rating:

Smarties Mini Eggs are tasty enough with a good crunchy texture, but more chocolate isn't always a good thing, less is more Nestlé! 

6/10