McVitie's gineger bread biscuits

Ok I know you guys are probably fed up of me reviewing ginger biscuits but lets face it gingers pretty abundant this season. I wonder why certain spices have become known as festive. I'm guessing because they each create a warming feeling. They all do really, Nutmeg, Cinnamon and ginger, to be honest I'm clutching at straws on that one. I was going to mention allspice in that list but as the name suggests it's not really a spice more an amalgamation.

I'M going to move on as I fear I'm rather out of my depth here. Clearly my spice knowledge is rather lacking. I'm fine on the practical side (as in tasting) but the theory sides above me. Anyway I have three ginger based biscuits for your reading pleasure. One is a Costa coffee ginger bread man, one a Mcvities gingerman and one is a locally made red robin cookie.

 

Ohhhh Shiny

First let’s look at the Costa Coffee offering. I know what you’re thinking, why aren’t I reviewing the gingerbread latte that comes served with this drink? Well you see I didn't need to purchase the drink in order to get this guy. All I did was walk in the store say I was the one and only Roy Saxon and was offered anything I wished. Ok so that’s not true, although I was rather crafty in my procurement of it. I did the age old technique of flirting with the server. I wasn't even the initiator of said measures, so I got both a biscuit and an ego boost all in one visit. I know what you’re thinking again, Roy shame on you for flirting back. You have a stunning and beautiful girlfriend don't you? Well yes I do, she was with me and got half the gingerbread man.

Not that it was very gingery and yes I know I always say this. Also I realize I am rather harsh on any biscuit that doesn't meet my standards. But this time not only was it lacking in ginger fiery-ness, it was also rather stale. They do rather worryingly keep these in an airtight container but often they keep the lid off for easy access. Seems a bit futile in the long run. Then again I doubt many of their customers complain about the free addition with their drinks. Well I do, except mine was just free.

Next we have a very similar looking McVitie version the only difference being a layer of chocolate on the bottom. So similar in look is it similar in taste (or lack thereof). No, not at all, in fact these little guys pack a bit of a kick to them. Finally a ginger biscuit that's got a decent amount of fire to them. The chocolate is quite nice too but the spice is where the actions at. They have a nice solid crunch to them too. They even dunk well in coffee and their sweetness really comes through especially with the chocolate underbelly. I was really surprised how nice these were considering the usual mass produced cookies that are themed for holidays.

Lastly we have the red robin, the design on this thing is really nice and the sparkling red belly is the icing on the... well ginger biscuit. This has a weird very soft texture to it, not crumbly and not solid a bit like cold but not quite solid icing. In contrast the icing on top is hard and creates the crunch to this biscuit. It has a nice ginger taste to it but really the taste of icing is the prevalent flavor. It actually works quite nicely. I'm willing to overlook the lack of ginger because of how nice these look.

Overall only the Costa one was a disappointment and that's mainly down to how they are stored. I hope if any Costa people are reading, hell if anyone even reads, they start leaving the lid on. Remember please the customer and all that.

Score

Costa Gingerbread man - 2 out of 11

McVitie's ginger man - 7 out of 11

Red Robin Biscuit - 6 out of 11

Found

Costa (surprisingly)

Tesco

Local cafe

Final Thoughts

 I will try and steer clear of ginger biscuits for a while, for your sanity and mine!

Yo! Sushi coated Edame beans

Okay so I admit yesterdays review may have been a bit lazy. For starters I didn't pay for it, then factor in the fact that it concerned yet another ginger biscuit. If I'm not careful you guys and girls might stop reading. Hell if I keep boring myself I might stop writing. What a travesty for the world that would be right?

Anyway I thought I'd push the boat out a bit and get out there. The boat n question landed somewhere on the oriental shoreline it would seem judging by today's products. Added to this and to really spice things up one of today's items is a savoury snacking item. Wasabi peas to be precise (now go back re-read the spice it up comment and chuckle at my genius.) The other item is a bag of coated Edema beans another snacking bag but these are chocolate and yogurt coated and provide the usual sweetness to my post.

They don't look like much but really pack a punch!

So lets start with the savoury and talk about your P's and Q's. For those out of the know wasabi is a Japanese mustard like sauce, very hot and very spicy. Peas are small round vegetation that some people say is better for you than sugar! I love hot products so was rather excited hen I saw these for sale in my local cafe. Opening the bag I was struck by a very pungent mustard aroma, a sure fire sign for a heatwave ahead.

I popped one on my tongue and allowed the dusting to do its work. Wow are these spicy! With a definite taste of English mustard not too much to be overpowering and cause the familiar problem of mustard blowout leading to pain in the nasal cavities. The pea underneath is nicely roasted its got a great crunch to it and enough flavour on its own to curb boredom. I risked eating three at once and immediately regretted it. Too hot even for me and the result was a rather painful sneezing fit.

To recover and recuperate we shall move on to the sweet. These are roasted Edama beans coated in yogurt, milk chocolate and dark chocolate. This on the base of it seems like a very odd concept. Whenever I've seen Edama beans before they are at most in a salad coated in a soy sauce. They are very nice but not really for the realms of dessertery.

All bases covered here

First up the yoghurt coating, I let it melt on my tongue as per usual. It tastes subtly sweet with a nice plain milky flavour. Not to bad, may have worked better had it been coated in white chocolate. The bean underneath does add to the combination well, it's surprising how nice the combination is. There is a nice crunch and roasted flavour to these very similar to the peas.

Next I try the milk chocolate coated beans, I think these are going to be my favourite of the three. Allowing it to melt I get a pleasant sweet milk chocolate taste that is cheap but quite nice regardless. Not quite advent calender chocolate so no sickly sweetener aftertaste. The bean underneath again gives a nice savoury kick to the occasion that blends well. Lastly the dark chocolate, perhaps we should have the "dark" in quotes as it tastes more sweet than bitter. Clearly not a high cocoa content dark chocolate, rather just a slightly bitter plain chocolate.

Overall these are all nice in their own rights. Definitely the change from biscuits that I was aiming for too.   

Score

Wasabi Peas - 8 out of 11

Edama Beans - 7 out of 11

Found

The Wasabi peas in my local cafe and chocolate Edame from Yo! Sushi

Final Thought

Today has been very different, two whole types of vegetation in one review!