British Candy Taste Test!

I don't mean to brag or anything but I'm kind of a candy connoisseur. Maybe I'm just saying that because I'm an American and everyone knows that Americans love candy (and junk food. And fast food. And soda. And pretty much everything that tastes good but is super bad for you), but I like to think I know my candy- at least the American versions. I know that the best candy bar ever is a Snickers bar (nougat, peanuts, caramel, all covered in milk chocolate. YUM) and that the holiday shapes Reese's taste better than regular Reese's cups (the peanut butter to chocolate ratio in the holiday ones are perfection). I love M&M's (milk or peanut butter), Hershey's Cookies & Cream candy bars (it tastes like an Oreo blizzard from Dairy Queen but without the stomachache afterwards), and you can't go wrong with a Twix bar (they used to make a peanut butter Twix where the caramel was replaced with peanut butter and the cookie part was CHOCOLATE. Chocolate I tell you! It was the best and they still have a peanut butter Twix but they changed the recipe. I'm sorry, I just feel very passionate about candy...). Chocolate is my go to when it comes to candy, but I've been known to eat my fair share of gummy candies (bears, worms, sharks, frogs, and other fun, whimsical shapes) and other non-chocolate candies.

I love the idea that every single country on earth has different candies specific to their own country, that reminds them of childhood, their home, and happy memories. It's a beautiful thought that even though we're all so different, candy is one thing we all have in common, even if the candy is just as different than we are from each other. But one thing that candy all has in common is that they're all sweet (usually), and judging from how many cavities I've had filled (not that many, but a few), I like my sweet candy! So here begins my first adventure trying candy from different countries, this time from England! Let's see how these English favorites (which I researched online before buying them at a little shop at St. Pancras station while waiting for the Eurostar to take me to Paris) taste to an American used to Hershey's chocolate!

Maltesers

What Is It/What's In It? Malt balls covered in milk chocolate. Pretty much the British version of American Whoppers (the candy, not the Burger King burger)
How Does It Taste? Let me just start this off by saying that I'm not the biggest fan of malted milk balls (which is how Whoppers are described), but I've been known to eat a few here and there. BUT...these Maltesers was the first of the British candy that I tried and I freaking loved them. I kept eating them and had to pace myself so I wouldn't eat the whole bag! They had a less strong malt flavor than Whoppers, which I loved, and the milk chocolate was so creamy and tasty.
Would I Eat It Again? That's a big yes! Again, not a malted milk ball fan, but Maltesers have changed me! Now, on to trying to figure out how to get them in the US...

Jelly Babies

What Is It/What's In It? A gummy (or jelly) candy in different fruit flavors shaped like babies (I love how cannibalistic you Brits are!)
How Does It Taste? First of all, I could not tell they were shaped like babies. and they seemed to be a covered in a light dusting of powdered sugar or something similar like that. I did like how they used real fruit juice in the candy and that you could actually taste what kind of fruit it was without relying on artificial flavors. As for the taste, they weren't too sweet and though the flavors were nice, they were very light. It was honestly just a basic gummy candy. And it was alright.
Would I Eat It Again? I most likely wouldn't buy it again, but it was offered to me, I might have one or two of the lemon flavored ones (the clear winners of the bunch!).

Cadbury Dairy Milk Mixed Buttons

What Is It/What's In It? Little milk chocolate and white chocolate "button" shaped pieces made by the best chocolate company in the world, Cadbury.
How Does It Taste? Delicious! There's no denying it, Cadbury chocolate is far superior to Hershey's. It's creamier, lighter, and just has a more yummy chocolate taste. I'm not the biggest fan of white chocolate but I gladly ate all of these white chocolate buttons with glee.
Would I Eat It Again? Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!

Crunchie

What Is It/What's In It? Honeycomb covered in milk chocolate. Weird (to me), but I was game to try something different.
How Does It Taste? The honeycomb in the center didn't taste like I expected. It almost had a coffee taste to it (does it have a coffee taste to it usually? Or was mine defective? Or are my taste buds all messed up? It could be all of the above, honestly) and I'm not a fan of coffee. I kind of blanched when I ate it and chewed until the chocolate coating overwhelmed the taste of the coffee flavored honeycomb (at least it tasted like that to me). Very strange.
Would I Eat It Again? Sadly, no. I loved the concept of it, and even though I'm not usually a big fan of honey, I really didn't expect that coffee flavor to bother me so much. But at least I tried!

Flake

What Is It/What's In It? A candy bar consisting of thinly folded chocolate that flakes and breaks apart as you eat it
How Does It Taste? It tasted just okay. The chocolate was almost a tiny bit bitter, but I couldn't tell if it only tasted that way because I'm American and I'm used to super sweet chocolate. Or maybe the candy was old (again, I did buy this at St. Pancras station). Either way, it was just alright. I was expecting to be wowed and I wasn't. At all.
Would I Eat It Again? Maybe. I'd like to try to a fresher one at some point to see if that would make any sort of difference. I'd like to give it a second chance. It's Cadbury, after all!

Wine Gums

What Is It/What's In It? Fruit flavored gummy candies that are called Winegums but don't taste like wine or the gums of an alcoholic (thank god). They have names of booze on them, like "champagne," "port," and "whisky." 

How Does It Taste? Basically they're like gumdrops more than gummy bears- more dense, less squishy. Hardier is, I suppose, a good way to put it. They are a hardy gummy candy!

Would I Eat It Again? They weren't terrible, but they weren't great either. Again, I'm not the biggest gummy fan, but let's just say I'll eat them if they're in front of me! (But only the lime, orange, and lemon flavored ones. Those are my favorite fruit flavors!)

Cadbury Dairy Milk

What Is It/What's In It? Perfect. Just pure perfection.
How Does It Taste? Heaven. Like I bit into heaven and the angels sang. Seriously. And I thought the Mixed Buttons were good. The bar is the original and it's the best. Hands down!
Would I Eat It Again? Really? You have to ask if I would ever eat this again?

Kinder Surprise Infinimix*
*Confession: I actually bought this Kinder egg in France. Oops! But I'm including it here because I didn't buy any other candy in France. Sorry for the inconsistency and the fact that it isn't British!

What Is It/What's In It? A hollow milk chocolate egg (the inside lining is white chocolate), with a small plastic container inside the egg that has a toy surprise! These apparently are banned in the US, due to them being a choking hazard for kids under 3 (laaaame!), so us people over the age of 3 in the US can't enjoy these. Usually. Unless someone like me buys them in another country and then sneaks them back in (like me. Shhhh).
How Does It Taste? For a hollow chocolate egg, it tasted really good! The prize inside was kind of meh (a Lego like little figure that I will keep as an added little memento from my trip) but it's still fun to get an added treat with chocolate! (But chocolate is the ultimate treat!)
Would I Eat It Again? Maybe not a Kinder egg, but I'd definitely try another Kinder product, since I thought the chocolate itself was excellent (Cadbury and Kinder will have to duel it out to win my heart and prove who is the best chocolate).

Lion

What Is It/What's In It? A candy bar that's filled with a wafer (or wafers? Not sure how that works!), caramel, and crispy cereal all covered in milk chocolate.
How Does It Taste? It tasted...okay. Not outstanding, but not terrible either. There wasn't too much caramel and I could barely taste the wafer! (Wafers are delicious in the right situations) And I think I just realized I don't like crispy cereal (like crisped rice? I can tolerate them in Crunch bars but I guess not here!), thanks to this candy bar.
Would I Eat It Again? Sorry, Lion bar, but I'm probably not going to eat one of you again. More for the Lion candy bar lovers out there!

Double Decker

What Is It/What's In It? It's a chocolate bar with cereal crispies on the bottom layer, and a thick layer of nougat on top, all covered in milk chocolate.
How Does It Taste? My first impression was: eww. I opened the wrapper and a whole bunch of nougat had broken free from the chocolate shell, but I set that gross imagery aside and took a bite. Remember how I said earlier that I think I discovered that I don't like crisped rice cereal in my candy bars? The Double Decker has confirmed that theory. Also, I'm not sure I care for such an abundance of plain nougat. It was a bit too much for my taste. All in all, two thumbs waaaay down.
Would I Eat It Again? No. It was super disappointing, for some reason. Maybe because I was really hoping it would be outstandingly tasty, due to its very cute and British name. Sigh. But it wasn't.


So what did you guys thinks of my assessment of British candies? I really liked some, but others were just kind of...meh (though that's also true with American candies. Like does anyone really eat Mounds or Almond Joy? Or original Tootsie Rolls? Please). But I know there are way more out that I'm willing to try, so if you have any suggestions for me, please let me know! Because this was the tastiest blog post I've ever done and I'd love to do it again with different candies from different places.

Let me know if you think I had a good selection or if I totally missed some good ones!

-Emily