The Collective Duples - Black Cherry

In my opinion, The Collective yoghurts are the best out there. Not only has every flavour I've tried been delicious but they're good for you too - filled with cultures, a very reasonable excuse to eat as much as I can! 

Up until recently you could buy 500g or individual pots of the flavours and small pouches called Suckies which are aimed at kids with no bits or pulps. They've just released these new Duples though which are basically The Collectives version of a Corner or Split Pot. 

There are three available; Scottish Raspberry + seeds, nibs'n'coconut, Passionfruit + toasted granola and the tub I chose, Black Cherry + dark Belgian choccy curls. 

I tried each part alone before mixing them all together, I wasn't suprised to find the yoghurt itself up to the The Collectives usual standards, plain but still creamy tasting, thick and rich. 

The Black Cherry compote on the bottom was good, a sweet cherry flavour that wasn't that strong in the tiny spoonful I scooped out but I didn't want to eat too much before I'd stirred it in. 

The chocolate was lucky it wasn't eaten completely before it got a chance to be tipped in the other section of the tub! I do like a nice bit of dark chocolate and this hit the spot. A small amount of sweetness and not quite bitter (it's only 53% so toward the lower end of a dark chocolate) but it's worlds away from a milk. The difference between the chocolate here and the chocolates used in other corner type yoghurts is ridiculous, this tasted like chocolate I'd happily eat as chocolate, not sugar and fat flavoured like chocolate thrown in as an afterthought to a yoghurt. 

It doesn't look very attractive all stirred up together but these things never do! 

Once I wasn't scared to get a proper spoonful I found the cherry flavour was perfectly strong enough and was fighting with the dark chocolate as to which was strongest. The sweetness of the cherry won out through the plain yoghurt but all I could taste for ages afterwards was the rich dark chocolate. I also found that the compote was 'bitty' which I loved and not only were there little pip like pieces but whole chunks of cherry which came as a very welcome suprise. 

The chocolate really benefits from being stored in the fridge as it keeps a lovely, crunchy bite which both compliments and contrasts against the cherry compote and thick yoghurt. 

This is another winner for me, both in taste and texture and I'm looking forward to trying the Passionfruit + Granola. I'll give the Raspberry a swerve though - yuck coconut! 

7/10 

The Collective Dairy - limited edition Gingerbread Live Gourmet Yoghurt

I don't know what it's like where you are, but down here in miserable London it's dark and freezing when I start work and dark and cold again by the time I finally sit down and start to think about dinner. With the change in weather, longer nights and shorter days, I'm embracing all the Autumn and Winter themed products that are being released wholeheartedly.. I can't wait for snow! 

The Collective live gourmet yoghurts are a favourite of mine, especially Coffee, Russian Fudge and the Banoffee flavours and I've reviewed a couple here. They are a little on the pricey side but I think they're the Ben & Jerry's or Haagen Dazs of the yoghurt aisle. 

Gingerbread is nice and straightforward a live yoghurt with a gingerbread syrup swirl. 

The foil seal is themed as always and the back has a little 'run, run as fast as you can - you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!' ditty, alongside a little paragraph explaining that it's not made to hang around and there is "no Bull". This is also gluten free, suitable for vegetarians and made without artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. 

I don't buy gingerbread ever, I think I don't like it but then I get to my mums house, find the gingerbread house she's made and inhale the lot. So I went into this with an open mind - remembering that although it's not a particular favourite of mine, gingerbread is addictive! 

I couldn't explain to you what plain yoghurt smells like, but I could smell it after I peeled the foil away, the huge swirl had a delicious scent that reminded me of Christmas. 

The Collective yoghurt is great quality as always; thick, creamy and rich. It's thick enough that it feels like you're eating a Greek yoghurt just without any of the tang but not so thick that it ends up being a chore to eat it. I'd say easily the nicest commercial plain yoghurt I've eaten. 

The gingerbread syrup is amazing. It's very thick, rich and sweet with a gritty texture. It is gluten free but the Collective have included breadcrumbs made from rice and potato flour. This really makes it feel like you're eating crushed up gingerbread - some of the little pieces were big enough to get a proper chew on. The flavour is delicious, a warm, slightly spiced (hello again cinnamon!) proper gingerbread flavour. It's quite sweet but like with yesterday's review the sweetness is balanced out by the rich warmth and depth of the flavour. 

It mixes in with the plain yoghurt perfectly and I was impressed, as I always am with these tubs, that the gingerbread was consistent thoughout and I had barely any layers with just plain yoghurt. You could easily portion this out over a few servings and get an equal helping of both parts in each one. 

I really like this flavour, another good Autumn/Winter flavour and it tasted to me like Christmas, not long now.....

8/10 

The Collective Limited edition Coffee

At last! A limited edition that isn't chocolate or biscuit related, and one that you can convince yourself is good for you...

I've previously blogged about The Collective live gourmet yoghurt here, that was Russian Fudge and this is Coffee. If you've tried these yogurts before you'll know they really are a luxurious, full fat treat with some added health benefits (the live cultures are good for you!) 

I looked forward to seeing what the inside lid was as there's normally a little message in there and I thought this was a nice touch. 

 

The yoghurt didn't look too appetising when I first opened it though it has a very strong coffee aroma! The darker sauce/syrup is the coffee flavour and a spoonful of that is strong stuff! It's certainly very coffee! (100% arabica beans from Columbia). It was far too strong on its own, and that's coming from a black coffee addict, once I'd stirred it in though it was perfect. This is how yogurt is supposed to be thick, creamy and sweet none of the low fat stuff, this is beautiful on its own but the rich coffee taste really compliments the natural flavours.

There's no mucking about with The Collective, much like a higher end ice cream (Ben and Jerrys, Haagen Dazs) compared to value (Tesco own or Aldi) they haven't stuffed all the good stuff at the top to impress you when you open it, the coffee syrup/sauce is all the way throughout the yogurt in fact I had more at the bottom than there was at the top. 

If you are a coffee fan I can't recommend this enough, it's one of if not the most  coffee flavoured product I've tried and it's good coffee too. If you don't really like coffee though I wouldn't bother, there's no avoiding the coffee in this, buy one though just send it to me ;-) 

Rating 9/10  

Odds And Sods

I've tried a couple of bits over the last few months that didn't really warrant a whole post of their own so I've decided to lump them all together in one random post here.

E. Wedel Leśny Duet.

When I purchased this bar in Tesco I assumed it was the strawberry bar I had seen online - I really should learn to look properly before I buy things! It turns out this is a milk chocolate with blueberry and wild strawberry filling. According to the ingredients on the back the filling contains 0.6% blueberry juice and 0.3% wild strawberry pulp.

 The bar itself looks like the E. Wedel bars I've had before and I enjoyed the filling in those bars so I was looking forward to trying this one.

I was very surprised to find a sort of jelly inside, I was expecting more of a cream but I am glad it wasn't. The jelly is a great textural difference to most other filled bars and there is a generous amount inside each square. I wouldn't say one flavour overpowered the other but considering there is more blueberry than strawberry I could taste the strawberry a little more - maybe that's because it is pulp rather than juice.

I enjoyed this and from what I can see on the packet there are two more in this range - one looks like pear and grape (?!) and I can't work out what the other picture is for the life of me but I'll be keeping my eyes peeled!

Rating 7/10

Toffee Crisp Sharing Block

I'm very very late with the review for this bar, I actually ate it in September but I didn't bother with my review as I'm pretty sure everyone on my blog roll (>>> have a look!) has reviewed this as soon as it was out.

I liked this as a stand alone bar, it definitely tastes like Toffee Crisp but I do prefer the original, it's crunchier and I think these flavours work better in a nice thick block rather than a thin bar. That said if I'd tried this before I'd ever had an original Toffee Crisp the rating would easily be an 8 based on flavour.

Rating another 7/10

Heinz Tuscan Beanz

I didn't get a photo of these once they were plated up I got stuck right in! I had them for a while but I wasn't too sure what to serve them with, the Heinz website suggests poured over chicken or with pork chops but I didn't fancy that. Instead I had them with a cheap bit of frying steak (I would never ruin my good steak with beans!!).

I actually really enjoyed these, the sauce was still a tomato sauce but there were peppers mixed in too aswell as roasted garlic and basil. These felt like a more grown up tin of beans to me - they wouldn't go well on toast or even a jacket potato in my opinion. They're more of a side to a Mediterranean style dish, and go nicely with a "proper" dinner.

Rating 8/10

Double Chocolate Fudge Brownie Cookie Dough Bites

I hunted these down after trying the dark chocolate cookie dough bites and finally got them in a MR Simms Emporium shop, although Tesco have started restocking them now - typical!

Once open they really smell of fudge brownie. That part is spot on - they smell like Ben and Jerrys Chocolate Fudge Brownie without the ice cream if that makes sense. Sadly they don't really taste like they smell.

These are just as moreish as the Dark Chocolate version, and they are pretty tasty but they taste of chocolate bites. I can't even compare them to anything, imagine a ball of maybe chocolate button but with a bit of crunch inside? They're basically the same as the first version I tried but milk chocolate instead of dark and kind of missing the cookie dough - replaced instead with a nice smelling but non existent tasting fudge brownie filling. I've confused myself so I'm probably confusing anyone reading this but after the lovely smell the lack of taste in the filling was dissapointing. I would rename these solid chocolate crunchie bites.

Rating 6/10

The Collective Dairy Russian Fudge

I've tried this yogurt before, it's not new or a limited edition but it's too good not to make a post on it. This flavour is Russian fudge and according to The Collective Dairy this is a New Zealand sweet (otherwise known to us as Scottish Tablet? I just always assumed that was fudge).  It’s a live gourmet plan yogurt with fudge swirled throughout, though it's not really a swirl more like a giant splattering.

The keep fresh seal made me smile.

In this photo it looks quite watery, I probably should have given it a stir but I wanted to show how much fudge is dumped in this! The flavour is just pure fudge, just like real fudge not the cheap stuff you get in a pick and mix or the sweet shop. Good buttery creamy fudge. Mixed with the plain yogurt this is delicious.

And it's not just a layer at the top or bottom like other yogurts, this fudge is all the way through. I absolutely love it.

Rating 9/10

A special mention to the Banoffi flavour too, it's only available in 150g tubs and I'm afraid I ate that before I even thought of reviewing it.