I'm a little late to the party reviewing the January box from Candy German...but let's put it down to a desire to share diverse content with y'all, rather than constantly blogging about confectionary (which, believe me, I'd be more than happy to do!)
I will go into limited detail about the value of this month's box, but I'd sooner not repeat myself, so for a more detailed idea of my impressions of Candy German's boxes, please see my review for the December box. In this post I'll compare January's box to my initial impressions.
As before, I'd also recommend reading Candy German's own blog, which is always informative.
Let's get to it!
Duplo White
photo from candygerman.com
Anyone who's taken my recommendation to watch German Soap Alles Was Zählt on RTL will have come across the advert for "die wahrscheinlich längste Praline der Welt" ("probably the longest praline in the world") - this is a famous German brand that's well advertised.
I'm not sure why the length of the praline should be so boast-worthy - these are still only about 15cm long. They are, however, delicious!
Traditionally (and these are a very traditional German candy made by Ferrero), they are milk chocolate, but this white chocolate variation is just as good - if not better for being that little bit different. The combination of the white chocolate with the hazelnut cream works surprisingly well, with the wafer adding a bit of bite, as per the traditional recipe. The white chocolate is not overly sweet - as white chocolate often can be. Instead it's relatively light and very creamy.
Hanuta Hazelnuss-Schnitte
Hanuta Hazelnuss-Schnitte
photo from candygerman.com
Hanuta are a small, pocket-sized snack: chocolate-hazelnut cream contained within two wafers (Haselnuss-Schnitte = hazelnut slice).
The cream contains tiny pieces of roasted hazelnut, but doesn't suffer from being hard on the teeth as a result - still smooth, with the slight crisp of the wafer being the only dental workout here. The filling is also sufficiently rich that you won't (necessarily) need more than one to satisfy your sweet tooth
These are another firm favourite in German households, so another product that you'll certainly see advertised if you ever watch a German TV station. ("für dich gebacken" = "baked for you")
They are a popular choice with parents - they're small, so won't ruin the appetite of a young'un in need of a sugar fix, and the wafer is a great way of reducing messy smears on the fingers.
That said, my 30-year old flatmate was also a big fan and always had these in the house!
Gletscher Eis
photo from candygerman.com
These are...distinctly odd!
Let's start with the name:
der Gletscher = glacier
das Eis = ice
So we have a very...cool theme here. This, combined with the packaging, would probably make an English person expect something along the lines of a Foxes Glacier mint.
The reality is actually more along the lines of a menthol sweet, but even that doesn't quite hit the mark, as there's also a fruity flavour. The best UK comparison I can think to make for taste and texture is to imagine a pear drop (the kind that are not sugar-coated) with a slight menthol kick.
Not at all unpleasant (and a must-try), but these are possibly not going to be to everyone's taste!
Keks Geknusper (Schokolade)
photo from candygerman.com
der Keks = biscuit/cracker
knusprig = crunchy
die Schokolade = chocolate
Not to much to say about these, as it's mostly contained within the name!
They're crunchy chocolate biscuits, but taste more like brownies - they're extremely chocolatey - and manage somehow not to be dry!
Grün-Ohr Bärchen
photo from candygerman.com
grün = green
das Ohr = ear
der Bär = bear
das Bärchen = little bear
Little gummy bears with green ears!
These are actually relatively widely available. I've recently seen Katje products popping up in my local Tesco store.
They're fruity, and vegetarian to boot (something that I believe the green ear is designed to signify).
On the downside, these fall rather more on the chewy side of fruit gummies, so I found that they got stuck in my teeth a lot, and tired of eating them quicker than I might a Haribo, for example.
That said, it's great to have products on the market that are more accessible to vegetarians. And the Katje green-ear mark really does bring that to the fore - a step in the right direction but not a firm favourite for me!
Milka Nussini
photo from candygerman.com
Milka can't really go wrong for me, and I'm glad that the Milka brank is increasingly making a name for itself in the UK. I prefer it, for example, to the other popular "creamy" chocolate brand - Galaxy.
This is a bar that I've not seen in the UK so far - hopefully that will change! The hazelnut cream and waffle work perfectly covered in Milka chocolate! There's a bit of crunch, but not too much. This bar will be gone faster than you'll expect, and you'll wish there was more!
One of my friends came round for a tasting session with this box, and particularly loved this bar. She's all sold on German confectionery now (odd that Germany isn't especially known for it's sweets), and is eyeing up travel deals to go over and search for more!
Schoko-Reis wölkchenleicht
photo from candygerman.com
der Reis = rice
die Wolke = cloud
das Wölkchen = little cloud
leicht = light
Well, this name isn't translating eloquently!
The sense of it would be that this chocolate puffed rice snack is "light as a little cloud"...which pretty much says it all really! It's chocolatey, but light!
Yogurette Wintertraum - Bratapfel & Zimt
photo from candygerman.com
der Winter = winter
der Traum = dream
braten = to bake
der Apfel = apple
der Bratapfel = baked apple
der Zimt = cinnamon
These are a seasonal special: a yoghurt cream of acutely sweet apple and a hint of cinnamon, all encased in milk chocolate. Unbelievably easy to eat. The box disappears fast!!
....so a short summary? I loved the box, once again, and - as mentioned - did indoctrinate a friend into the ways of German confectionery.
I did marginally prefer the December box, though. I found there were a lot hazelnut/praline items in the January box - not a very big criticism as I LOVE praline, but a bit more variety might have been nice.
One could say the same of variety for December's box, with lots of winter-spiced items on offer there, but with the Christmas theme that just felt so appropriate. That said, at least the Duplo were white chocolate, meaning that the praline wasn't always paired with the same flavours!
Without having actually done the maths, I would also tentatively venture that this box potentially represents less value for money. I'm basing this mainly on the fact that at least one of the items is actually becoming more readily available in the UK at this stage.
I'm still very much recommending though! :)
