REVIEW: Sugar Free Sweets Tasting Session
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| Nom nom SWEETIES! |
Sugar free sweets have a bit of a weird association in my mind. As my mum was a Weight Watchers leader, the only sugar free sweets I have come across before are the little hard chews that they used to sell at meetings. I never really liked them that much, but I remember that my mum and all her members said that if they ate too many they would get terrible wind!! Fingers crossed that sugar free sweet technology has come along since then!!
So, on to the tasting. First up, we have the Sugar Free Lun Jeelers. Apparently they were originally called ‘Lung Healers’ and were sold as cough sweets! They smell ever so slightly antisepticy, mixed with sweet shop. They’re not hugely sweet and have an aromatic, almost herbal cough drop background note. The Boy says they taste like a cough sweet, but in a good way. As I continue to suck (The Boy is crunching his down happily) I am starting to realise I’m actually not that fussed on these. I think I’d only really want these if I actually had a tickily throat! Nope, that ones back in the wrapper, I’m not interested in finishing it.
Me: 3/10 Extreme Points
The Boy: 6/10 Hippy Points
Next on the agenda are the Sugar-Free-Little-Bears – I’ve been looking forward to these, a bit of a childhood favourite! They are the right shape and smell really fruity as I get them out of the packet. The flavour is more fruit like than overpoweringly sweet, which I really like. The texture is just right, just the right amount of chew! The Boy says he needs another couple to make sure he likes them because he can still taste the Sugar Free Lun Jeelers! After another couple (that’s them gone then!) The Boy likes them because he thinks he can taste different flavours and they are just like the Haribo ones. I am liking that there are pinky-purple ones!
Me: 8/10 Extreme Points
The Boy: 8/10 Hippy Points
Onwards and upwards, to the Sugar-Free-Lime-Lemon-&-Acid-Drops-Sweets. We have a yellow, a green and a white one. I’m going for the yellow one, The Boy’s having the Green one. These boiled sweets have a slight citrusy odour, and immediately give a pleasant lemony flavour in the mouth. They are quite tangy, particularly noticeable on the back of the tongue now I am crunching through them. The Boy says they are good, but they could do with being a bit ‘fizzier’. I agree, I think they would be great if they had a bit of sherbert in the middle. Now I’m nearly done, I am finding the sour flavour quite overpowering. I like them, but I couldn’t eat too many.
Me: 6/10 Extreme Points
The Boy: 7/10 Hippy Points
Next to the taste test are the Sugar-Free-Sweets/Sugar-Free-Aniseed-Twist-Sweets. I love aniseed sweets, but seeing the shape of them, I initially thought they were barley twists, so I was a bit disappointed, but I still have quite high expectations of these… Down the hatch… These have a nice, sweet, aniseedy flavour. They’re a tad on the big side – for my tiny mouth. The Boy seems to be having no such trouble. This is a really good flavour, definitely my favourite of the boiled sweets so far. Crunching through gives a really strong burst of aniseed, all of these sweets seem to have a slightly stronger flavour. The Boy has just said there feels like there’s some missing – err, sugar? I am finding it quite pleasant not to have any coating feel to the mouth. Once I’ve finished each sweet, my mouth is quite fresh.
Me: 7/10 Extreme Points
The Boys: 9/10 Hippy Points
And finally, on to the Sugar-Free-Mint-&-Aniseed-Sweets. Another decent sized boiled sweet, deliciously striped, I must admit to approaching this flavour combination with some trepidation… Again, like the Lun Jeelers, they smell a little clinical. Initially, there’s a sweet flavour of mint (glad we left these til last!). The mint is definitely stronger than the aniseed, that is more of a hint in the background. However, it is not altogether unpleasant. The Boy says they are strange. He looks unconvinced. He says they need to be sweeter. I’m not sure about this, but we are both furrowing our brows and now he’s not sure if they need to be sweeter. If you like sweets that puzzle you slightly, then these are for you.
Me: 6/10 Extreme Points
The Boy: 5/10 Hippy Points
So there you have it. The Sugar-Free-Little-Bears come out a clear winner. And overall, our opinion of sugar free sweets from the lovely @sweetjunkie is overwhelmingly positive. Now I have finished, both mouth and head feel clear and untainted by the evils of sugar. All of the sweets had an enjoyable sweetie flavour, so you don’t feel like you’re denying yourself anything. The Boy thinks they are ‘OK’ – an overwhelming compliment from Himself.
Sweet Junkie have an absolutely huge selection of sugar free sweets from the lovely @sweetjunkie – personally I was surprised just how many. I reckon next time I’ll be looking to try the Sugar-Free-Cola-Bottles or perhaps old favourites like the SF Sherbert Lemons or SF Rhubarb and Custards. Nom.
