Chocolate Flavored Smarties

Non-chocolate "chocolate flavored" candies are quite a conundrum. Sometimes they work out great, like Tootsie Rolls, chocolate-flavored Tootsie Pops, or even chocolate Necco Wafers; but quite often the result is pretty grody. If you've ever tasted chocolate licorice or chocolate bubble gum, you know what I'm talking about. Nevertheless, when I heard about Chocolate Flavored Smarties, I was curious and a little bit hopeful.

I found this roll of Chocolate Flavored Smarties in the well-stocked candy section of a Party City store. If you can't tell from the photo, or just think I have really tiny hands, this happens to be a Smarties "mega" roll where each piece is about the size of a quarter. I'm not sure if this flavor is available in the traditional Smarties size.

As I untwisted the wrapper, the first thing I noticed about the Smarties were the smell. They definitely have a "chocolate" smell, but not real chocolate. It reminded me of a cross between the chocolate-scented pencil erasers that I would get as a kid and the scent of a Cabbage Patch Kid. More recently, I experienced the same smell from the Chocolator, the chocolate bar shaped chocolate-scented calculator that my sister bought me for my birthday. I took the Smarties smelling like plasticy rubber as a bad sign, and my gut was right. Sadly, the Chocolate Smarties not only smell like plastic, they taste very artificial. I couldn't eat more than one and half without getting grossed out.

Tropical Chewy Lemonheads

So I was on the elevator at work headed up to my office when I spotted a woman holding a small light blue box and all I could make out was the smiling face of Mr. Lemonhead. Hmmm...light blue? I didn't know of any Lemonhead product that came in a light blue box. I knew this had to be something new, so I had no other choice but to head back down to the first floor and survey the gift shop where I found displayed at the register Tropical Chewy Lemonheads. Last July I wrote about Chewy Lemonheads & Friends, the first incarnation of these candies. Tropical Chewy Lemonheads put a spin on the original product by putting two flavors in every piece, kind of like Crazy Core Skittles, and giving Mr. Lemonhead a hawaiian shirt. The flavors break down like this:

Peach Mango (orange w/green center): Generally the first flavor listed is the one that makes up the outer shell. I'm not a big fan of peach flavored candy, and here it kind of tastes like cat pee, luckily once the peach flavor dissolves the mango is pretty good.

Berry Banana (blue w/yellow center): I'm a fan of artificial banana flavor, but still I was skeptical of this one. It turned out to be my favorite of the box. The berry flavor has a nice tanginess and the banana is flavorful yet mild.

Pink Lemonade & Lemonade (pink w/yellow center): Two types of lemonade may seem redundant but this flavor works. It tastes like very much like a regular Chewy Lemonhead only a not as sour.

Cherry Watermelon (red w/pink center): Tastes like a Cherry Head. I can't really tell there is watermelon inside, but I still like it.

Kiwi Strawberry (green w/red center): Does anyone really know what kiwi strawberry tastes like? I usually only get strawberry flavor with a tiny kick of sourness. Nevertheless, I like this flavor. It reminds me of Kiwi Strawberry Snapple.

More Twilight Candy

As the release of the movie New Moon draws near, the Twilight candy prophecy is complete. I've finally laid my hands on, I don't even know what to call it, the package says "Heart's Desire" so let's call it Heart's Desire, a creme filled milk chocolate heart from the makers of the Sky Bar. I found them at Blockbuster for $0.79 a piece. The Heart's Desire is available in three different wrappers featuring the Twilight characters Edward, Bella, or Jacob. As you can see from the photo, I choose the Edward package.

The candy piece itself is about 2 inches long and pretty thick. If you can't tell from the photo of my half-melted piece (my apartment was 90 degrees yesterday), it features two conjoined hearts one saying "Bella", the other "Cullen" atop a pedestal that says "Sky Bar". Sky Bar...how romantic. The candy itself tastes similar to a Cadbury Creme Egg, only not as sweet and less salty. It's obviously the vanilla portion of the traditionally four flavored Sky Bar.


I may have stated in a previous post that the original Sky Bar tastes like feet. I happily admit that this candy did not taste like feet and I ate the whole piece...and not just because Edward was on the package. Overall, the Heart's Desire is a fun novelty candy for fans of the Twilight series, but it's not a candy I can imagine craving two years from now.

A la Mere de Famille

I recently had the great opportunity to visit a few excellent places in Europe including Germany, Amsterdam, and Paris. To my delight, Europe did not disappoint in the candy department. One of the most charming and lovely places I visited was a candy store in Paris called A La Mere De Famille. It was founded in 1761 and is known as the oldest confectioner in Paris. Stepping through the doors of this shop was like going back in time to a magical place. The walls are lined with wood and glass cabinets and various colorful treats are housed in glass jars. Normally, I'm not a big fan of wood decor, but in this store it's just perfect and contributed to the whole old-world comfort feel. I was a little timid about taking photos inside the store, mostly because I do not speak or understand a word of French in order to ask permission, but Julia at Sweet Travel Blog has some beautiful photos and a nice description of her visit to the shop.

The chocolates looked tempting, but because it was so warm outside I was reluctant to spend 4 euro 50 on what could be a chocolate puddle in half an hour. Instead, I choose to sample a few less meltable candies. I bought a nougat bar, a marzipan bunny (for a souvenir), the cutest marzipan cherries I have every seen, and a mixed bag of hard candies that included bergamot and creme brulee flavors. I have not had time to sample everything yet, the cherries are too cute to eat right now, but I can tell you that the nougat bar is delicious. It's full of crunchy almonds and pistachios and the nougat just melts in your mouth.












A La Mere De Famille has a really cute website. It's all in French, but worth looking at even if like me, you can't read it.
http://www.lameredefamille.com