Pops Sweets an Treats – A Local Candy Store in Michigan

Over the next little while we’re going to feature candy stores all over the world that are bringing a little bit of sweetness into the world right now. We’re going to start with our friends at Pops Sweets an Treats in Mt Clemens, Michigan (USA).

This fun retro candy store is not only a place to buy candy, but it’s a destination.

They not only have a huge selection of bulk treats, but they have regular visitors to entertain the kids.

Pops Sweets an Treats also knows that it’s important to support the community, and they do their best to make sure everyone in the area is a little happier, and they’re always trying to make the world a better place to be.

While the doors are closed right now, because they want to make sure they’re keeping their community safe and following the local guideline, they still offer sweet treats for sale on their website.

So, make sure to check out popssweetsantreat.com (or facebook.com/popssweetsantreats) to see what they have for sale, and help support a fun retro candy shop trying to make the world a little sweeter right now.

(ED – This is not a paid advertisement, we here at Candy Critic want to help the local candy shops in this very difficult time. If you’re feeling down, and you need a little sweet treat, make sure to visit the website of your local candy shop, and consider placing an order, many are still open for curbside pick up or delivery. If you run a small sweet, snack or dessert shop, let us know, we’ll be happy to feature you on this blog and on our social media to let people know you’re still open for business.)

Canadian Candy List - Part 3 - Best Local Treats

Over the last few years I've been living away from my home country, Canada.  I've been traveling the world exploring all kinds of snack foods, junk foods, and sweets, but my heart is still in Canada.  I'm going to be back home for an extended period, and I've decided to compile various lists on the theme of Canadian candy and snacks.  Each week, for the next several weeks, I'll be posting a different list of Canadian candies I've reviewed in various categories.  Some of these treats may be available in other parts of the world, some are exclusive to the Great White North, but in my mind all of them are Canadian.

Above I've mentioned that I wasn't really sure if all of the treats on these lists are in fact exclusively Canadian.  Today is the exception, today all of these treats are Canadian, and I know it.  I know this because I bought almost all of them directly from the people who made them, and I bought these all in Canada.

 Nothing is more Canadian than the idea of eating a bear.  For some reason Canada has this reputation with wild animals, and many of our candies are themed with nature.  Lanark Village treats is a fun little candy store in Ontario that capitalizes on this trend with a really tasty, chewy treat.

Click here to read the Bear Paw review.

Cocoa West, a candy store recommended to me by some friends from British Columbia, makes an egg that has the most peculiar name.  It's called the "Unbelievably Good Egg" and it lives up to its name.

Click here to read the Unbelievably Good Egg review.

My friend Carrie is a proud Canadian, one of the things that proves her Canadianess is her love of cranberries.  While she has a normal day job, annually she heads out to the cranberry marsh to work the fields.  She also always has some cranberry treats for me to try.

Click here to read the Dark Chocolate Cranberries review.

The last two entries in today's list are all about potatoes.  Prince Edward Island is famous for some of the best potatoes in the world.  They're also not shy about promoting their amazing products, and this bag of chips is a great example of that.

Click here to read the Prince Edward Island Potato Bag Chips review.

This treat on the other hand, is a great example of how the people of Prince Edward Island like to innovate with their potatoes.  Not only does this ball of fudge look like a baked potato, but the fudge itself is made of potato.

Click here to read the Spudge review.



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The Best Local Chocolate

Here in Athens there are so many local chocolate companies it would take a lifetime to taste them all.  I’ve even written about one particular street down town (that I call chocolate street) that has dozens of chocolate stores in one block.

The thing about local chocolate companies is I find they can be split into two categories.  One is the great local company that produces original treats using high quality ingredients.  The other is the company that uses average quality ingredients and pretty much produces the exact same kind of treats as everybody else.  Often these lower quality shops don’t even make 80% of their stock, the just sell factory made sweets.  I think I’m going to start an investigation here in Greece, I’m going to find out which shops are really doing creative work, and which are just slacking off. I welcome you to do the same thing in your town or city, and let me know what you discover.

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Strange Cyprus Treat

I just got back from Cyprus where I got to try something really unique.  At a local market in Larnaka I was introduced to something I'd never seen before.

I can't say that it looked appetizing, in fact I can't even say that it looked like food at all.

I was told by a local that it's a special Cyprus traditional candy.

They told me what it was called, but I can't remember, if you know I'd appreciate a little help.  I've written a review for it here if you want to get a few more details of this strange, strange treat.

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Chocolate From Home

Chocolate artist and manufacturers all over the world are starting to really think about where they buy their chocolate. I think with the market opening up more and more countries are starting to produce the beans locally. This becomes a key selling point to some businesses because they not only support the community but also save a bundle on shipping.

Click here to read about just such a case.

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