Part 7 of the Variety Review-A-Thon!

Today is the last day of our variety review-a-thon.  We figured it would be nice to end where we started, with M&M's.  One of the saddest thing about the great selection of M&M's is that they're really only available in North America.  Everywhere else I've traveled, I've only seen peanut and plain M&M's.  This huge variety is limited mostly to the USA, with a few varieties crossing over to Canada.  I think Mars should change this policy, and even allow other countries to make their own varieties.  I'd love to see what they come up with.

Click here to read our review of M&M's pretzels.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Yolka Chocolates - Yolka  - The best looking Easter eggs ever. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Friday Candy Video - Cotton Candy Genius

I don't like to throw around the words "candy genius", but this guy deserves it.  Best of all he's also generous with the local kids as well.

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Part 6 of the Variety Review-A-Thon!

Some treats are more well known for their varieties than they are for the original.  Take Cote D'or for example, I'm sure many of you have tried a Cote D'or chocolate bar.  I'm also sure that many of you have never tried a Cote D'or chocolate plain, with no fillings or nuts.  I was debating whether or not to include this as a "variety" review on the grounds that the variety is the norm.

Click here to read our latest Cote D'or review.

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Friday's Candy Links

Is sugar the problem with obesity in the world?  Sure, but I don't think it's all candies fault.

I'm not really sure where "Summit County" is, but I can tell you that they have a few sweet shops worth checking out.

Is organic candy better than non-organic candy?

What do OREOs and same sex marriage have in common?.. Well it should be nothing at all, OREOs are cookies and same sex marriage is a debate being held by several governments all over the world.

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Sweet Gifts

Whenever I meet new people, and I tell them I write about candy, they're always interested in asking me about the places I've taste tested.  There's always a list of local stores suggested to me, and I really appreciate all of the information these people provide.  In fact I probably wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't for the advice of others helping me find new and fun treats.  The thing is, many people expect that I've already visited their favorite place, and often that's not the case.  I do my best to visit lots of sweet places, but I'm only one man, and in many cases these places are hard to find, and impossible to know about without prior knowledge.

In other words, many of the best places in the world to buy sweet treats (or any food for that matter) are often not well advertised. The only way to find them is to be told about them, or to stumble across them randomly.  While I do my best, I find there are many holes in my "must try" candy lists.  Fortunately for me, many people also feel the need to bring me their favorite sweet treats, so they can either impress me, or at the very least get my opinion.  I can't tell you how much I enjoy this.

I don't enjoy it totally because of the massive amounts of great treats I get to try, but instead because enthusiasm and stories I get to hear from the people presenting me with these sweets.  It's one of the extra dimensions of the candy world that really interest me, and one of the main reasons I do what I do.

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Classic/Creative Candy Advertising - Black Dog

I'm not sure that it's safe to give a dog licorice, I'm not sure if it's as dangerous as chocolate, but it can't be a good idea.

I found this ad on Vintage Ad Browser.

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Part 5 of the Variety Review-A-Thon!

Today I learned something about Reese's.  I learned that there is a strange anomaly when it comes to what they name all the different varieties of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  Sometimes they call them "Reese" and sometimes they call them "Reese's".  I can't find any particular reason or pattern to how they use the name, it just seems random.  I also learned that I had in fact named several of the Reese treats on Candy Critic incorrectly, I've updated them since.  If you happen to know why they use "Reese" sometimes and "Reese's" other times please share it with the rest of us.

Click here to read our Reese Minis review.

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Thursday's Candy Links

What if they could make the wrapper for your food, from the by-product from your food... that's awesome.

Learn a little something about "candy scientist" Michele Fram, she has a pretty impressive job.

I think I've mentioned these "World's largest gummy bears" before, but just in case you missed it.

Two pieces of relocation news, first of all Farley's & Sathers Candy Co is closing a bunch of it's factories including a location in Chattanooga, secondly Madame Chocolat is moving out of Beverly Hills.

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Marshmallow Tomato

The other day I came across this bulk bin filled with what appears to be giant marshmallow tomatoes.  They're each about the size of an average tomato, and the colour is pretty close.  I can't think of what fruit they're supposed to represent, if not a tomato.  I'm just not sure why anybody would want to eat a giant marshmallow tomato.

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Old Candy Critic Articles - When Candy Goes Bad

I've decided to take down several old articles from the candycritic.org and re-post them here on the Candy Critic blog.  This week is an article I wrote after eating some pretty rotten candy.

You might think this article is all about that strange candy, like a pickle flavoured lollipop, salted plums, or meat flavoured ice cream. Well it's not. This is all about eating the wrong candy at the wrong time or wrong place. It could be as subtle as eating chocolate covered coffee beans right after brushing your teeth or it could be as bad as eating a Halls lozenge that's been sitting in a drawer for 2 years. As you know every editorial is based off an experience and this is no different. Even while I write this, I'm suffering through a nasty little cold/flu. Being the “Candy Critic” I figured that all the answers to my illness lie in the candy drawer. After digging through my massive candy stash, sitting at the bottom, was a very beat up package of cherry Halls. Once again candy comes through for me. Is there nothing in the world that candy can't fix?

The first thing that would have come to mind had I been in a right state of mind, would have been the fact that I don't really remember having a Halls in the candy drawer. Having said that candy almost never steers me wrong so my cure must be at hand, or so I thought. Let me make something very clear to everybody reading this, never eat really old Halls. If cough syrup could rot, that's exactly what this tasted like. A smart man would have spit out the candy, but me I figured I could just bite right through it and all would be fine. Candy why would you treat me this way?

I've also had some pretty bad chocolate bar experiences when exploring a new corner store that hasn't updated their candy shelves since the Carter administration. Right before this flu hit me, hey wait this might explain everything, I was in a store and craving something sweet, this store was a little scary. On one shelf was a bag of kitty litter, a bottle of olive oil (which I think Zeus himself pressed), and a watch battery, that was all. So this was not the best store in the world, but as you know a candy fix must be met, so I figured I would go for a Kit Kat bar, one of my favorites.

I learned a valuable lesson about the freshness of chocolate that day. When I opened the bar it practically turned into dust in my hands. It was as if I had unearthed a relic from the great tombs of Egypt. Desperate for anything sweet, I bit into this bar, and I tell you it had to be the worst tasting bar I have ever had in my life. I don't blame the Kit Kat folks, since I'm sure they wouldn't recommend eating a 20 year old chocolate bar, but heed this warning never eat old chocolate.

My final tale of eating old candy has to be the dumbest one, on my part, yet. When I was a kid I would always stash candy all over the house, and I think my Mom did too. Because every once in a while I would find treats I knew nothing about, hiding around the house. Well one day while playing in the basement in a back room I came across a can of caffeine free A&W root beer. At least I'm sure that's what it said. The label was so faded you could hardly read it and there was a little bit of rust on the top. Even as a child I couldn't resist the sight of a treat going uneaten. So I opened it up and took a big gulp. To this day I find it difficult to drink root beer, I generally don't mind it but that first gulp brings back memories of a flavour to horrible to describe.

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Part 4 of the Variety Review-A-Thon!

Not all varieties are equal, in fact, I'm certain that some treats really shouldn't have varieties.  There are many treats that depend on the perfect blend of flavours in the original, and making a variety version often screws that up.  I often complain that these treats should just be left alone, and the candy companies making them should focus their attention on new treats instead, but do they listen?  Nope.

Click here to read about the Peanut Butter Snickers.

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Wednesday's Candy Links

Did we really have this many berry varieties when I was kid, it was only yesterday that I discovered "lingonberries" were real, and now "Crowberries"?

I found this great "History of Chocolate" (from the Cadbury perspective) on the Cadbury UK website.  It's well worth checking out.

It turns out our friends at "Chocolate Skulls" are famous, and the chocolate skulls seem to be finding their way into the Hollywood elite.

The folks at Tel Aviv University have discovered that eating a sugar filled breakfast might actually be more healthy... I love Tel Aviv University!

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Lebanese Baklava

While living in Greece I've learned a little something about baklava.  For those that are unfamiliar with this treat, it's basically philo dough, honey, and some nuts, presented with different spices and formed in many different ways.  It's one of the tastiest and sweetest desserts I know, and well worth sampling if you can.

The thing I learned about this treat living here in Greece, is that it's not just a Greek sweet.  It's a little strange to learn that a sweet you thought was the pride and joy of one country, is in fact available and popular in many other places.  It's particularly strange to learn this in Greece, as opposed to the many other countries that also celebrate this food.  The great thing I learned as well, is how different and tasty many of these different baklava's can be.  This past week I was given a box of Lebanese baklava and it was spectacular.

While I can't deny that Greek baklava is good, this Lebanese stuff was great as well.  It's not as nutty as most of the Greek baklava's I've tried, but the philo dough was super buttery.  I really think that this dessert might be a better representation of the Mediterranean, than of just Greece, but I don't want to step on any toes by saying this.

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Stuff I Want To Try

Jelly Belly Mystery Flavor - Jelly Belly - I love a good mystery. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

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Candy Art - Models in an Awesome Candy Shop

My friends at The Candy Shop, in Ottawa were visited by some lovely models.  The photos and the models look great, but the candy store looks fantastic.

I've said this before about The Candy Shop, it's one of the best looking candy stores I've ever stepped foot into.

Click here to see more shots from this series.

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Part 3 of the Variety Review-A-Thon!

Last week I talked about Pocky being one of the most successful Asian candies in the world. I've found out that Pocky is even manufactured on other continents than just Asia.  That's a big deal for a candy, that's when you know you're a global favorite.  The thing about Pocky that I'd like to see, is varieties of Pocky based off of the tastes of places other than Asia.  Right now, all of the varieties of Pocky are based on flavours that are popular in Asia.  I want to know how South America, Europe, and North America would flavour their Pocky.

Click hear to read our Blueberry Pocky review.

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It's National Chocolate Pudding Day!!!

I have to admit, chocolate is not my favorite pudding, it's butterscotch.  But I'm pretty sure that butterscotch is my favorite more for novelty reasons than taste.  There just aren't that many butterscotch treats in the world, so when I find one I tend to prefer it.  I think if it was just based on taste, a nice rich chocolate pudding would be much preferred.

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Tuesday's Candy Links

A new book by author Kate Hopkins called Sweet Tooth, is all about the history of candy, it sounds pretty good.

New York's recent ban on large size soda's was a really big deal, but as it turns out, there may be more bans to come.

A 15 year old kid, and his very business savvy father, are starting a line of un-junk food candy.

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Marshmallow Sketch

As I mentioned last week, I'm starting a new art project with the theme of marshmallows and texture.  It's a piece designed for my fine art series of photographs/mixed media called "Senses".  I've also decided to post regular updates on its progress, and give you guys an inside look at how I make my art.  I've finally come up with a basic idea for this piece.  The first thing I do is sketch out my ideas and I often use colour.  This lets me see any problems I have to deal with, and if the basic look will work out.  In this case, I've decided to burn a photograph of the marshmallows and have the frame leak out (what looks like) melted marshmallow.  The next step in this process is to photograph the marshmallows and figure out how I can make convincing melted marshmallow that will be leaking out of the frame.

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This Week In Candy

Candy News -  Summer is officially here, and that means two things.  Many frozen treats are starting to pop up in the candy world, and many delivery companies will not ship chocolate great distances.  The frozen treats make me happy, it's a great way to cool off in the summer, and the variety of treats you can get now a days is pretty spectacular.  The lack of chocolate delivery makes me sad because I've been thinking about ordering a few things, and now I have to wait for it to cool down a bit.

What's Happening At Candy Critic - We had two new projects start up last week.  One is my latest art project, in association with our sister site bewarethecheese.com.  I've decided to create a piece for my art collection known as "Senses" on theme of marshmallows and texture.  I still have no idea exactly what the piece will look like, but I'm going to document the process of making this piece regularly on this blog.  I've also decided to do a food experiment.  I'm going to attempt to acquire a taste for Marmite, a spread that either people love or they hate.  I've been told if you eat enough of it, you'll learn to love it, so that's what I'm going to try and do.

Rant - Lately, I've been reading a lot about diet.  In particular I've been reading books about diets and how people can lose weight.  I have yet to read about a diet that works for everybody, in fact I'm fairly sure that picking your diet (to lose weight and to keep healthy) is a very personal choice.  These books can create a nice guide, but you really have to look at yourself and be honest.  This might sound strange coming from a guy that writes about candy all the time, but I believe that a sweet treat can be incorporated into any diet, and that moderation in your sweet treats is the key.

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Part 2 of the Variety Review-A-Thon!

In Japan they excel at varieties.  Some treats come out with a new flavour or variety every month.  In many of these cases these varieties will only be available for a limited time as well.  Often these varieties can be very bizarre and creative, but other times they're a little predictable.

Click here to read the Green Tea Collon review.

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Monday's Candy Links

When you mix internet memes and cakes, you get some of the strangest creations ever.

Two famous people that apparently eat a lot of junk food on the road, Conan O'Brian, and President Obama.

I can't tell you how many times candy companies have said that they want to limit the size of bars to keep people healthy, some people think this might be a cover story to hide the fact that cocoa prices are going way up.

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Part 1 of the Variety Review-A-Thon!

All last week we featured some of the many treats we've reviewed on Candy Critic that had spawned different varieties.   Well to continue that theme this week, we've decided to do a "Variety Review-a-thon".  Every day this week we'll feature a new review, of a version of a classic treat.

Click here to read our review of M&M's Peanut Butter.

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Candy Varieties - Oh Henry

How do you know if you're a commercial success in the candy world?  One of the ways is that your treat will spawn different varieties. A variety, in this sense, is when a treat is released featuring a different flavour, an added ingredient, or a different size.  It's basically when the "classic" version of a bar is changed and released as something new.  Some brands have started to expand their "varieties" into new heights, and spawned dozens of different versions.  All this week I'm going to feature some of the treats that have released so many versions of their treats that the original might even be forgotten.

I decided that this list needs a little Canadian influence, and that's why I'm including the Oh Henry bar.  It's not a bar with a million different varieties like M&M's or Kit Kat, but it's probably the most varied bar in Canada.

- Best Variety
Sure the fact that this maple flavoured variety came out around the time of Canada Day (Canada's National Day) is pretty neat, but the real hidden bonus is the fact that they made sure the inside was colour appropriate.

- Worst Variety
The idea of this bar was to create a protein bar that tasted like a chocolate bar... needless to say it didn't.

- Most Creative Variety
The strip of fudge in the center was red and white... that's so awesome.

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Friday Candy Video - Cake and Animation Together At Last

This chocolate tribute to Tim Burton is pretty spectacular.  I think it looks great when it's not spinning, but when it's spinning it's mesmerizing.

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It's National Chocolate Eclair Day!!!

I love the idea of eclairs, but to be honest, I've never tasted an eclair that I truly love.  The pastry is either a little too dry, the cream too light, or the chocolate too crappy.  Just once, I'd like to eat the ultimate eclair.

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Friday's Candy Links

India is about to experience the Toblerone bar, I hope you guys love it too.

Have you ever heard of Radz?  It's apparently the perfect mix of toy meets candy, I'll just have to see about that.

I love reading about small time candy makers getting bigger and more successful, Betsy's Buns is just one great example.

Going to the Olympics in London this year?  You might want to check out Cadbury House.

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Candy Varieties - Reese's Cups

How do you know if you're a commercial success in the candy world?  One of the ways is that your treat will spawn different varieties. A variety, in this sense, is when a treat is released featuring a different flavour, an added ingredient, or a different size.  It's basically when the "classic" version of a bar is changed and released as something new.  Some brands have started to expand their "varieties" into new heights, and spawned dozens of different versions.  All this week I'm going to feature some of the treats that have released so many versions of their treats that the original might even be forgotten.

I have a pet peeve about people and what they call this treat.  They are not called Reese's Pieces, that is a different candy.  These are called Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and yes, they've come out with many variations on this treat as well.

- Best Variety
Hazelnut and chocolate are pretty much guaranteed to be a winner in my book.  It's only logical that a candy company that use peanut butter as a primary ingredient, try another nut that goes well with chocolate.  It might have been an obvious choice, but it's also really, really tasty.

- Worst Variety
I've mentioned in the past that certain varieties will almost always lead to failure (coconut).  Well white chocolate is another, almost, guaranteed failure in my book.  There are few treats that work with white chocolate, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are not one of them.

- Most Creative Variety
There are two reason's why this treat blew my mind, and both of them are related.  First of all this might be the only non-pie related treat to use banana cream, secondly, they brilliantly tied it together with Elvis.

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Classic/Creative Candy Advertising - How To Break a Kit Kat

I don't want to get into the logic of this Kit Kat ad, but don't "you" have to do the Karate, don't "you" have to use the hammer, and don't "you" have to drive the steam roller?

As always this ad was found on Vintage Ad Browser.

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Thursday's Candy Links

Have you ever needed a nut butter on the go, well you're problems are solved.

It's come to the point where every restaurant in the USA will have a bacon sundae.

The original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is one of my all time favorite movies, now I realize how much Gene Wilder contributed to it.

Have you seen the "Peanut Butter Cup Bandit"?  He's been stealing hundreds of dollars worth of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups from gas stations in Ohio.

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Candy Varieties - Pocky

How do you know if you're a commercial success in the candy world?  One of the ways is that your treat will spawn different varieties. A variety, in this sense, is when a treat is released featuring a different flavour, an added ingredient, or a different size.  It's basically when the "classic" version of a bar is changed and released as something new.  Some brands have started to expand their "varieties" into new heights, and spawned dozens of different versions.  All this week I'm going to feature some of the treats that have released so many versions of their treats that the original might even be forgotten.

Pocky is probably the latest candy sensation to to become a classic treat. It's a very simple concept, cookie sticks covered in chocolate, but it works very well.  This treat started as being a popular Asian import, and now it's made all over the world, and, as you can see, comes in many varieties.

- Best Variety
I don't often credit fake strawberry flavours as being the "best" of anything, but this is that one time.  The truth about Pocky, I've tasted a few different varieties, but none has even come close to the original.  In fact, in the case of Pocky, most of the varieties kind of stink.

- Worst Variety
It wasn't hard picking the worst type of Pocky, as I said above they've had a few failure, and fake banana flavour pushes this variety over the top.

- Most Creative Variety
I'm not sure why I picked Men's Pocky as the most creative variety, probably because I really didn't understand what the marketing angle is. That's actually one of my favourite things about eating foreign treats, my complete lack of understanding.

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Old Candy Critic Articles - Coke and Pop Rocks

I've decided to take down several old articles from the candycritic.org and re-post them here on the Candy Critic blog.  This week is part two of an article I wrote about what to pair with your Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I've decided to take down several old articles from the candycritic.org and re-post them here on the Candy Critic blog.  This week I answer one of the ultimate candy questions... What happens when you mix Coca-Cola and Pop Rocks. 

For your benefit we have done this experiment twice: Once by mixing Pop Rocks and Coke in a glass and videotaping it.  In the second experiment I simply eat the pop rocks and coke and pray I don't die. The first experiment allows you to see what horrible things are happening inside my body.

We shall first examine the results from in the glass.

We started off by filling the glass with one full packet of Pop Rocks. Pink seemed appropriate. The initial popping and explosion of liquid was rather shocking, but it calmed down quickly and continued to pop with all the ferocity of a bowl of Rice Krispies. Minutes later, it just fizzled out completely.

The smell of the “beverage” afterward was rather horrible, and after one sniff I decided that maybe taking a sip was a bad idea.

Next, we take a look at what happens when you (or in this case me) consume this kind of concoction directly.  We started off by filling my mouth with one full packet of Pop Rocks, blue was all we had left.

Putting a whole bag of Pop Rocks in your mouth is not really my idea of fun… No wait a minute, it is. Instantly my mouth was transformed from your average everyday mouth into a party of popping and fizzing.  After adding a little of the brown bubbly goodness into the mix I soon discovered that my biggest problem might be the fizz trying to escape from my mouth. Let’s just say, the party got out of hand.

I was keeping it in my mouth for the benefit of the photos, but eventually I did have to swallow what didn’t shoot out of my mouth when I tried to close it. Whenever I tried to close my mouth my cheeks would inflate, thus spewing what appeared to be green foam from my mouth. This did make it difficult to swallow but eventually I managed.

Thinking the worst was behind me, or at least safely inside me, I started to relax. Then, I felt the rumblings of a ball of gas in my stomach that kept getting bigger and bigger. In fact, it’s still there and it’s not feeling too hot right now. My stomach that is; I’m sure the gas is fine.

So now I wait. I’m either off to the hospital, going to burp myself senseless, or just drop dead. I’ll let you know tomorrow.

Day 2 part 1 (the first 12 hours)

I'm not dead if that means anything. I'm pretty sure at this point that I'm not going to die as a result of the Pop Rocks and Coke mix. I did feel really bloated for a while after, but nothing the occasional belch couldn't deal with. It's only been about 12 hours since I did it and they say that it takes about 24 hours for your “system to clear out”, so let's see how I do.

Day 2 part 2 (the 24-hour mark)

Well, it’s not really the 24-hour mark; I was watching a movie and I lost track of the time, sorry. No matter, I’m feeling fine and the gas has subsided. It appears that lady death has decided to pass me by, this time. So ends the horrible rumour that coke and pop rocks are a deadly combination.

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It's National Vanilla Milk Shake Day, and National Ice Cream Soda Day!!!

I wonder if you could combine both of these drinks into one super drink?  Soda on the bottom and instead of ice cream the top layer would be a vanilla milk shake.

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Wednesday's Candy Links

The Daily News has a suggestions for what looks like an awesome place to get a traditional Pakistani dessert in New York.

Mental Floss has a great list of some of the most creative postage stamps, check out the Swiss stamps.

Do you obsess over chocolate, you probably do if you're reading this blog, well there's hope for you.''

The NCA has some pretty interesting statistics about how much chocolate we eat.

The New York Times reviews Taco Bells, Doritos Locos Taco, and it doesn't do that bad.

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Candy Varieties - M&M's

How do you know if you're a commercial success in the candy world?  One of the ways is that your treat will spawn different varieties. A variety, in this sense, is when a treat is released featuring a different flavour, an added ingredient, or a different size.  It's basically when the "classic" version of a bar is changed and released as something new.  Some brands have started to expand their "varieties" into new heights, and spawned dozens of different versions.  All this week I'm going to feature some of the treats that have released so many versions of their treats that the original might even be forgotten.

M&Ms are probably the most famous candy coated chocolate treat in the whole world (sorry Smarties).  I have yet to travel anywhere in the world, and not find these on a store shelf.  Finding anything other than plain and peanut M&M's is a different story.  North America holds the record for the biggest variety of M&M's so far, but it looks like these flavour varieties are starting to spread.



- Best Variety
I wasn't really sure if this counts as a variety, or if the plain chocolate M&M's were a variety.  For my whole life I've seen both peanut and plain M&M's available, and only recently have I discovered the many other varieties.  Truth be told, I like the Peanut ones more than the plain.


- Worst Variety
It takes but one simple word in the candy world to almost guarantee I won't like it, that word is "Coconut".  These coconut M&M's are proof of just that.

- Most Creative Variety
Filling M&M's with peanut butter isn't the most creative thing in the world.  Filling them with both peanut butter and Jam is very creative indeed.

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Candy Art - Marshmallow Art Idea

My friends at Marshmallow Studio have inspired me.  Recently I learned that my friends at Marshmallow Studio (I've featured them in the past as Candy Art),  have come together with Jet Puffed Marshmallows to do a cross promotion.  When I found this out, I went back to their website, and explored their Facebook page, and I was inspired.

As you may or may not know, I'm not only a Candy Critic, but I do some art stuff on the side (You can click here, here, and here to see some of my stuff).  In my series called "Senses", I often try and incorporate some of my love of food.  I realized that marshmallows are a really unique food, and that their texture might make for an interesting art piece.

So I've decided to make a piece of art with a marshmallow theme, my friends at Marshmallow Studios have agreed to help out too.  I don't actually have a particular idea in mind as of yet, it's just a basic concept at this point.  I've also decided that for the first time ever in my life, I'm going to document my  entire creative process.  This week I'm going to inspect marshmallows, play with marshmallows, and figure some ideas as to how it can be turned into an art piece.

There is more to come... sketches I imagine.

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Tuesday's Candy Links

Mental Floss examines some of the stranger flavours of chips they know of.  I'd like to add these, these, and these to the list as well.

It seems the war on sugar is back all over the USA.  While I don't disagree with the basic principle, it better not turn into a war on candy.

I love chocolate milk, I'm not sure how I feel about root beer and cotton candy milk.

Do you smell cotton candy?  Well it's probably coming from that huge truck over there.

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Candy Varieties - Kit Kat

How do you know if you're a commercial success in the candy world?  One of the ways is that your treat will spawn different varieties. A variety, in this sense, is when a treat is released featuring a different flavour, an added ingredient, or a different size.  It's basically when the "classic" version of a bar is changed and released as something new.  Some brands have started to expand their "varieties" into new heights, and spawned dozens of different versions.  All this week I'm going to feature some of the treats that have released so many versions of their treats that the original might even be forgotten.

The Kit Kat bar is the only treat ever to receive a perfect score on Candy Critic.  The principle of the bar is very simple, chocolate covered wafers with a creamy filling between the wafers.  The thing that sets this bar appart from other bars is the fact that the wafers are divided into four (or more) long strips and each is covered with chocolate.  By doing this, the folks at Nestle have created the perfect balance of chocolate and wafer and thus created the perfect bar.

- Best Variety
The best version of this treat I've ever tasted is the Kit Kat Chunky.  While it pales in comparison to the original, it's still pretty good.


- Worst Variety
I wish I could even start to tell you why this bar is such a failure.  It starts with the white chocolate coating, and it's pretty much down hill from there.

- Most Creative Variety
Plum Soda, do I really have to explain why this bar is the most creative flavour I've ever tried?  I know there are a few other Kit Kat varieties I haven't tried, and they may be even more creative.  This just means I have more Kit Kat bars to eat, and I look forward to it.

CC