Kandy Kritique -- Starbuck's Truffles

The coffee bigwigs extend beyond java and tap into one of the world's tastiest sources of caffeine -- and do it very well, I may add.

I sampled two flavors of these confections.

These are little domes, kind of like Old-Fashioned Cream Drops -- but so much more sophisticated and sumptuous.

VANILLA BEAN -- A buttery, satiny "frosting" center given a pleasant crunch from specks of vanilla bean. A dusting of cocoa powder adds a bittersweet spark, and silky dark chocolate finishes off the piece. Complex, flavorful, satisfying. Had to summon all my willpower not to finish off the whole bag at a sitting

CHAI -- Same smooth "frosting" center. No tea taste that I could discern. Mostly, I tasted the spices -- mmmm, vanilla and cinnamon. Intermingled with rich milk chocolate, a very addicting, indulgent confectionary delight. Again, all I could do not to demolish the whole bag at one sweep!

You know what's coming!

This candy has been rated D (Divine)

Kandy Kritique -- Pez Revisited

OK, it's official. Pez have now joined the ranks of my favorite non-chocolate-based candies. Having reviewed grape, lemon, and cherry previously, I decided to try three other flavors.

ORANGE -- A cross between a Creamsicle and F&F chewable vitamin C (and I love F&F chewable vitamin C and eat it as a candy!). Smooth fruity-creamy taste with a spark of citrus, the hardened cake frosting (HCF) thing going on, but nothing close to tart. Wicked tasty

STRAWBERRY -- Strawberries-n-cream taste, a bright little zing of fruit, the HCF effect, not the least bit tart. Also wicked tasty

RASPBERRY -- If I had to choose a favorite flavor of PEZ candy, this would be it. Fruit-n-creme taste, the HCF sensation going on, a bright, fresh spark of fruitiness and some delicate floral notes. Delectable and crave-worthy.

Yes, this assortment of PEZ flavors gets a D rating. Still trying to find the chocolate and cola to try.

THIS CANDY HAS BEEN RATED D (DIVINE)

Kandy Kritique -- Lindor Dark, Extra Dark, and White Chocolate Truffles

Hi! I have been away from the blog for a while -- life was calling, and I had to answer, but I have returned.

Having tasted Lindor Milk Chocolate truffles and bestowing on them a D rating, I had to taste the other varieties in the line. Here's how it went

WHITE -- Smooth, sweet, mild, melt-in-the-mouth, with a spark of vanilla. Talk about your cake frosting! This definitely tasted like cake frosting. Really yummy cake frosting. Truly delectable cake frosting. It was all I could do not to polish off the whole bag at one sitting.

DARK -- More intense than the milk, and the shell paired well with that smooth, sweet ganache/mousse center. Simply scrumptious.

EXTRA DARK -- The shell was intense with fruity notes and an almost bitter finish. The perfect foil for the sweet "frosting" center. Definitely crave-worthy.

I like them all equally for different reasons, and they all have earned a rating of D


THIS CANDY HAS BEEN RATED D (DIVINE)

Kandy Kritique -- Ferrero Rondnoir

These little chocolate rounds look like a dark-chocolate version of Rocher -- but are a little different.
The wafer base is more pronounced rather than blending in like with the Rocher, and the Rocher's nut pieces are replaced with chocolate bits. There's still the same ganache filling, inside which is nested a bead of solid dark chocolate. It's like eating a gourmet pastry laden with fine chocolate. Scrumptious.

Oh, yeah, I'm rating this a D


This candy has been rated D (Divine)

Kandy Kritique -- Pez

I've decided to review a classic candy, albeit one I haven't had since I was about four. Pez. I remember getting a hold of some Pez candy as a kid and thought they were quite tasty. So, just for a lark, I decided to review them all these years later. I didn't bother with a dispenser, wanting to review them strictly on their merits as a candy. I tasted them straight from the pack.
I didn't expect much. After all, Pez is a compressed "tablet" candy. Such sweets aren't decadent or gooey or rich. I always thought that Pez was a children's toy candy and the main enjoyment was the novelty dispenser, and the confection itself would probably taste like dust to my now-adult taste buds.
Was I wrong!
When I placed one of the tiny, pretty, colorful bricks of flavored sweetness in my mouth, the piece melted into a sweet, fruity, slightly creamy-tasting flavor fantasy. Think hardened, fruit-flavored cake frosting. That's Pez.
For me, the appeal of Pez is that they're smoother than many other compressed candies. They're not grainy. Another thing that sets Pez apart from other candies of its type is that they're not sour or tart at all. They're all about the sweet (There are sour Pez available, but I don't see the point, what with other sour compressed candies out there, such as SweeTarts and Spree) and they are very addicting.
I've tried the Cherry, Lemon and Grape and I like them all equally. Now I would like to try orange, strawberry, cola, and chocolate.
I give them a rating I reserve usually for far more decadent candy items. These sweet little gems so richly deserve it.

This candy has been rated D (Divine)

Kandy Kommentary -- Gross-out Goodies and Creepy Confections

I have nothing new to review right now, just leftovers of candies I have previously reviewed, so I thought I'd make some "sweet" remarks about candy.
I have noticed a new trend in the confectionary world -- disgusting candy. Not candy that tastes disgusting, but treats themed around disgusting subject matter such as blood, guts, vermin, refuse, dismemberment, disease, and bodily filth.
Here are some gross-out goodies from Stupid.com
Chocolate in the shape of a doggie deposit. http://www.stupid.com/fun/DOOD.html
Gummy candy in the shape of a heart -- an ANATOMICAL heart, not a Valentine-type romance heart. Not pretty. http://www.stupid.com/fun/GMHR.html
Gummy candy in the shape of a tapeworm. http://www.stupid.com/fun/GMTW.html.
A lollipop shaped like a toilet plunger that you dip into a toilet-shaped container of sour crystals. http://www.stupid.com/fun/FLSH.html.

Oriental Trading has its own complement of creepy confections. Like toy IV bags filled with red liquid candy to simulate blood. http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?demandPrefix=12&sku=25/3517&prodCatId=380403&mode=Browsing&erec=0&Ipp=16&No=16&sp=true&Ntk=all&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&N=380403&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&sd=Candy+Blood+Bags

A green cotton candy intended to look like toe jam.
http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?demandPrefix=12&sku=25/5474&prodCatId=380403&mode=Browsing&erec=9&Ipp=16&No=0&sp=true&Ntk=all&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&N=380403&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&sd=Toe+Jam+Cotton+Candy+Treat+Packs

gummy severed fingers

http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/browse/processRequest.do?demandPrefix=12&sku=25/3975&mode=Searching&erec=0&D=flesh&Ntt=flesh&Ntk=all&Dx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&Ntx=mode%2bmatchallpartial&y=17&N=0&requestURI=processProductsCatalog&x=10&sd=Gummy+Flesh+Fries


And here's the king and queen of gross-out candy, http://candyaddict.com/blog/2006/07/20/candy-scabs/


I know it's all in fun, but such gruesome "delights" didn't exist when I was a child and I kind of have to know what has happened in recent years that today's children find fun in eating something that is intended to represent dirt, sickness, vermin, or bodily wastes. In my childhood, candy was pretty -- or at least yummy-looking.
As far as Halloween candy, whatever happened to those yummy sweets consisting of plump, brightly-colored pumpkins and bronze autumn leaves molded from candy-corn-type "mellocreme" confection? (Those get a D rating from me) And the Molasses Peanut Butter Kisses? Bite-sized chewy sweet delicacies with a peanut-butter filling. The salty spark of that filling partners deliciously with the sweet of the molasses candy, making a combo I would rate D, because they DO taste divine (though others may disagree). Oh, I know such delights are still around, but when placed on the same store shelf as something like gummy vomit or candy scabs or lollipops in the shape of plungers, things like mellocreme pumpkins and Peanut Butter Molasses Kisses aren't going to be the biggest seller in the times we're living in, and that's kind of a shame.

Kandy Kritique -- Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffles

Some candies are fun. Others are sophisticated. Still others are both. Lindor Milk Truffles are both. Like Andes mints and Ferrero Rochers, these little delights can be a hit with everyone, be they suave sophisticate or candy-crazed kindergartener.
Inside the shiny red wrappers that remind one of Christmas tree ornaments are plump chocolate spheres. One nibble reveals a contrast of delectable flavor sensations as the intensely flavorful chocolate shell gives way to a delicate, creamy, buttery, almost pudding-like ganache center, and the whole thing melts on the tongue smooth as satin.
These look like a candy for adults, and yes, I can see a classy, urbane host or hostess putting these confectionary gems out in a fancy bowl for guests, but I can also imagine that any costumed pint-sized princess or small-fry superhero would be as happy as a pig in a mudhole -- or as Charlie in Willy Wonka's factory -- to receive these sweet, bite-sized delicacies in their plastic jack o' lantern on Halloween. A great all-round candy, and you know what comes next.

This candy has been rated D (Divine)

Kandy Kritique -- Nips

These are hard caramels, not as brittle as traditional hard candies. As you suck the round tidbit of yumminess, it releases waves of buttery, sweet rich caramel (or coffee) flavor, and the Chocolate Parfait variety releases a creamy burst of chocolate "icing."
The thing with these candies is, you LET THEM DISSOLVE IN YOUR MOUTH rather than chew or crunch them. If you do chew or crunch, they have a Krazy-Glue type effect on your teeth. I had to take a point off their rating for that.
Still, a confectionary delight.

This candy has been rated IST (Insanely Tasty)

Kandy Kritique -- Andes Creme DeMenthe Thins

These are cute candies -- small, delicate wafers, somewhere between a fun-size bar and a tasting square, in a pretty green wrapper.
Out of the wrapper, the confections are elegant-loooking candy sandwiches of dark chocolate with a mint flavored, green tinted layer of white chocolate/white confection between. Looks pretty. But how do they taste?
They taste like they look -- delicious, scrumptious, and utterly delectable, melting on the tongue in a cloud of soft, creamy, buttery richness with a refreshing spark of mint. A classic. And one that rates a solid D.

This candy has been rated D (Divine)

Kandy Kritique -- Scharffen Berger Assorted Tasting Squares

I was curious as to whether "artisan" candy tasted any different from the stuff the Big Guys turn out, so I bought an assortment pack of Scharffen Berger fine artisan chocolate tasting squares.

There is a difference. This is pure chocolate, not "confection" or "compound," made with cocoa butter, and no artificial flavors to get in the way of that rich real chocolate taste.


BITTERSWEET-- A firm snap, a smooth melt, and a bold, intense flavor that may be too bitter for some, but I liked it. A lot.

SEMI-SWEET -- Firm snap, smooth melt, sweeter than the bittersweet. A high-end version of semi-sweet chocolate baking chips. Just scrumptious.

MILK -- I may like this one best of all. Soft, buttery, very soft snap, a creamy silky melt, and a rich taste. Should be outlawed!

I rate the SB squares a D, but the milk ones get a DD rating, for Doubly Divine.

This candy has been rated D (Divine)

Kandy Kritique -- Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

This is a classic. And with good reason. The chocolate is creamy and satiny, no trace of waxiness, and partners very well with the crumbly, grainy, delicious peanut butter filling. The commercial slogan was "two great tastes that taste great together," and whatever Madison Avenue creative type penned that slogan was right on target. And when Harry B. Reese, the Hershey's employee who invented this confectionary delight, first came up with the recipe for this round, fluted piece of yumminess, HE was right on target.
There's no doubt but I'm rating PBCs a solid D!

(This candy has been rated D (Divine)

Kandy Kritique -- Rudy's Orange Slices

These candies are pretty to look at. Plump, bright orange-colored wedges resembling stylized citrus fruit segments. The wedges sparkle with a sanding of sugar crystals.
As for the Flavor Factor? These candies are as yummy as they are pretty. Soft, tender, almost melt-in-your-mouth, and the sugar grains add a nice crunchy contrast. These are strictly sweet candies, with no tart citrus zing whatsoever, more like sweet orange marmalade than like a fresh orange section. Lack of that fruity spark is what keeps me from rating these confections D, but they are great-tasting, by and large, and I think they deserve a rating of IST.

This candy has been rated IST (Insanely Tasty)