Caffex CaffeMallows

I'll admit it, I was a bit apprehensive about trying caffeinated marshmallows. I love my coffee (currently drinking Trader Joe's Dark Sumatra), but energy drinks and shots just aren't my thing. Still, when it comes to food and candy, I will try anything* once. It was with that spirit I accepted an offer for free samples of Caffex Caffeinated Mallows for review consideration. As always, the samples were free but no compensation was received for this review.

Three varieties of marshmallow came in the sampler: Java, Coffee, and Mocca. I kept putting off trying them for a morning when I wasn't drinking coffee, but that never happened. Eventually, I just went for it, sampling each kind on three different days. More on the buzz later, but I was very productive at work those days.

The packages were printed with the caffeine dosages (though I did not capture this on camera), which was a bit frightening for a caffeine novice like me. The Coffee Mallows had 200 mg of caffeine per serving, which is just over the caffeine content of two cans of Red Bull. The pale brown Coffee Mallows smelled of cinnamon, and they had a slightly bitter coffee flavor. The marshmallow was had a slightly gritty texture. I appreciated the aroma, but I'd rather drink coffee. Unlike a cup of coffee sipped slowly over time, I felt the Coffee Mallow right away; I was downright hyper! My coworkers noticed a difference

The Mocca Mallows were the best of the bunch. They also had 200 mg of caffeine, but I loved how this marshmallow looked-and tasted-just like a brownie. It was dense with big sugar crystals and cocoa nibs, giving it an excellent chocolate flavor. It had the mildest coffee flavor of the three, and while I still prefer a cup of coffee, I really enjoyed this one. Again, I got a pretty strong buzz.

Of course, I forgot to take a picture of the beast of the bunch, the Java Mallow. I saved this one for last. It contained a whopping 280 mg of caffeine, and I was so intimidated, I split it with my husband (and neither of us had coffee that day, based on previous experience). This marshmallow was extremely bitter with a very strong, concentrated espresso flavor. It was absolutely not for me, but someone who enjoys energy drinks might like it more. Even though I split it with my husband, the buzz was intense!

Candy Gurus, Energy Fiend, The Daily Nerdgasm, and Food Junk also reviewed these, and opinions ranged from love to hate. I think I fall somewhere in the middle.

C

Caffex website

* I reserve the right to make exceptions to this rule. "Anything" is pretty general.

Meiji Marshmallow Chocolate Bar

Here's a neat little bar from Meiji with some nostalgic connections. I'm sure you can guess where I'm going with this: Swiss Miss instant cocoa with mini-marshmallows, a.k.a. the best thing about playing outside in the snow. OK, so it's nowhere near as good as fancy drinking chocolate, but it sure hit the spot after an intense snowball fight or an 8 hour shift of building snow forts. These days, the last thing I want to do when it snows is go outside, but I still hit the cocoa every now and then.

The mini-marshmallows in this bar added a new texture for me. I'm sure other companies have done it, but most marshmallow confections I have tried are chocolate-coated marshmallow (or sugar coated marshmallow, like Peeps, but I'd rather not discuss Peeps), which is usually too much marshmallow for my tastes.


The bar smelled like basic milk chocolate, and really, the chocolate was nothing special. It was milky and sweet with a slightly sticky melt, but it didn't need to be anything more. The marshmallows were what made this bar interesting.

Though I was expecting them to be freeze-dried, the marshmallows were spongy, soft, and light. They added an interesting texture to the chocolate, though not much in the way of taste. Since I've never had anything like it, this bar felt fresh and unique, and both my husband and I enjoyed it.

A-

Tirol White Strawberry and Strawberry Tart Choco

These two Tirol flavors, while both strawberry-related, did not come from the same collection. The White Strawberry came in a box shaped like a large Tirol chocolate (love when they do that), and it was the only flavor included. I can't remember ever having a white strawberry, but I read a bit about pineberries (hybrid strawberry-like berries that taste a bit like pineapple). I'm not sure if they are the same fruit, but it was an interesting read.

Strawberry Tart Choco came in this year's Ichigo ga Ippai collection. Since at least 2009, Tirol has brought out a strawberry-themed variety pack with some repeats and usually at least one new flavor. Have a look at my reviews of the 2009 and 2010 editions, if you like. This time, there was only one new flavor, so I thought I'd combine it with the standalone strawberry.


White Strawberry had an intense strawberry smell when unwrapped. The top inner layer was a thin strawberry gel, which was tart and authentically fruity. Some pieces leaked strawberry gel into their wrappers, adhering the chocolate to the paper - the strawberry flavor was noticeably less intense when this happened. The inner marshmallow layer nice, pillowy texture and a slight sweetness. The white chocolate shell was cool on the tongue and extremely sweet. There were a couple strawberry seeds embedded in the chocolate, but they didn't add much - just a hint of a crunch like the real fruit.

I liked the flavor of the strawberry gel and the texture of the marshmallow very much, but the white chocolate was just too sweet and cloying. Eating them with strong black tea helped to lessen the powerful sweetness, but the white chocolate tarnished an otherwise delicious Tirol. The strawberry flavor was delicious, so I had no trouble finishing the box, but I wish they had been less sweet.

B-


Strawberry Tart Choco had an ever-so-slightly soapy scent and flavor, but the texture was great. The white chocolate shell reminded me of strawberry yogurt, and it wasn't intensely sweet. Inside the chocolate, there was an extra crunchy, flaky biscuit with strawberry-flavored crystals on top. Those crystals were tart and had a nice, authentic flavor and a neat crunch that reminded me of freeze-dried fruit.

This flavor also had seeds embedded in the chocolate, and again, they didn't seem to add much to the experience. I suppose they added to the authenticity, but they really just got stuck in my teeth later. Still, this was my favorite out of the two strawberry flavors in this review, and probably my favorite in the strawberry variety pack.

A-

Tirol Website

Kasugai Cream Soda Gummies

This cute yet slightly creepy package of gummies called out to me, although I can't remember where. It wasn't a gift...maybe I bought it in Vancouver, BC this October? I mention this because I'm normally very good about remembering where I buy my snacks, but these, I'm just not sure.

The company Kasugai makes many gummy candies, including a well known, Engrish-laden line called Gummy 100 that is made with 100% fruit juice. They are well-worth trying, since they taste just like real fruit. I especially love the red and green grape flavors, but that's for another review.

In Japan, cream soda almost always means melon cream soda, which is why this package is predominantly green. The gummies themselves are green and white, with the white half simulating a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It might be called a Melon Soda Float in the US (if we had melon soda).


The gummies smelled like slightly floral melon and citrus in the open bag. There was an odd coating to the gummies that made them feel slippery, and it immediately put a powdery film on my teeth. It went away quickly, but it was weird and detracted a bit from the otherwise very tasty flavor.

The green part was a mildly sour, almost melon gummy with hints of lime, and the bottom layer tasted and chewed like marshmallow for a neat texture play. Actually, the weird waxy film reminded me of eating straight marshmallows (something I haven't done since I was 8 because I don't like them).

Still, the flavors melded together so nicely, and these went over well when I shared with friends. No one mentioned the filminess, but they raved about the flavor, so I'd still recommend these gummies.

B+

Kasugai website

Nabisco Pinwheels

Recently, my mom shared the link to my blog with some of her cousins, and they requested that I review Nabisco Pinwheels. When they were growing up, their grandmother (and my great-grandmother) always served these cookies during visits, and it's a treat they all remember fondly.

Marshmallow isn't my favorite, but my mom loves it, so I approached these cookies with an open mind. I was immediately encouraged by the mention of "pure chocolate" on the bag, since many similar cookies tend to go for mockolate. The Pinwheels themselves were attractive and glossy, and they reminded me more of windmills or small crullers.


The real chocolate did make a huge difference. Each cookie was coated in a thicker than expected layer of chocolate with a good snap and just a slight bitterness. The marshmallow layer was sweet, as expected, but the chocolate cookie on the bottom was mildly bitter, which balanced out the sweetness quite nicely.

I sampled these after dinner with my parents, my sister and her husband, and my husband, and everyone was pleased with the cookies. Each cookie is 120 calories, which is pretty typical for a cookie, except that marshmallow isn't terribly filling. Still, Pinwheels are probably my new favorite marshmallow cookie (better than Little Debbie Marshmallow Supremes) simply because the thick, real chocolate coating was so tasty. They were a little pricey at $4.99 US for a box of 12, but I'd definitely recommend them to any marshmallow fan.

Here's another review I found at Unbecoming Levity.

B+

Nabisco website

Calpis Marshmallows

Calpis products call out to me whenever I see them, but this is one of the weirder ones. These marshmallows came in a strip of four bags for $3.39 US, which seemed a little pricey, but just unique enough for me to purchase anyway.

Although I like S'mores and Rice Krispie Treats, plain old marshmallows aren't really my thing. Maybe it's the overwhelming sweetness, maybe it's the texture, maybe it's the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man's fault, but I've never been a big fan. It feels good to get that off my chest.


The marshmallows were round, about an inch in diameter, and smelled like Calpis. Unsurprisingly, the marshmallows were sugary and sweet and didn't seem too different from normal marshmallows. The package promised a jelly center, and there was one, but it was more like a gel.

This gel was the source of the Calpis flavor, and even though it was nice and tart, it was overpowered by the sweet marshmallows. These just ended up being mildly citrusy marshmallows, but they weren't bad at all. Everyone I shared them with enjoyed them, I was surprised that I didn't mind them myself.

B-

Calpis website

Casali Choco Banana

Specialty grocery stores are kind of dangerous for me, as I have a tendency to buy things I don't need. These Austrian banana sweets were one of those impulse purchases. I'm not normally a fan of banana flavored things, but these sounded interesting.

To be honest, part of the draw was that they reminded me of Japanese souvenir snacks. These particular candies are Austrian in origin, and it looks like strawberry and orange versions are also available.


The chocolates smelled slightly of banana, but mostly of a sweet, inexpensive chocolate. The banana center tasted a little sour and almost lemony, but I liked that it didn't have the rotten sweetness that I detect so often in banana candy. According to the package, they were made with real bananas, and it was reflected in the fairly authentic flavor.

The chocolate coating was a little crunchy, but the quality of the chocolate didn't seem great. Even though it was real chocolate, it was a little grainy and chalky in spots. The texture of the banana was soft, sticky, and spongy, like a marshmallow fluff. These were certainly unique, but not something I'd seek out again.

Here is another review of the Choco Bananas.

B-

Choco Banana website

Dare Viva Puffs Raspberry

My boss is very kind. Whenever she goes on a trip, for business or otherwise, she always brings something back for the lab to munch on. Most recently, she went to Ontairo, Canada, and brought us back some cookies. These Viva Puffs were one of the two kinds she shared.

Now, marshmallow fluff is not one of my favorite things. My mother likes it, but it really doesn't do anything for me. So, I didn't have very high expectations for these cookies. I guess that's probably why I liked them.


These were pretty tasty! The marshmallow was soft and fluffy, as it should be. The raspberry filling, despite tasting slightly artificial, was delicate and not too sweet. The "chocolatey" coating was nothing special, but it got the job done.

My favorite part was the graham cracker bottom. It was chewy and soft, and I could have just eaten the cracker and been pleased. All in all, the cookies were enjoyable, but not something I'd look out for on my own. Plus, each cookie had 3 grams of fat, and they weren't very big or filling.

B-

Dare Foods Website