Honey Cheerios (Nestle)

Reviewer: Ben Kirby
Purchased: Tesco Extra (Scunthorpe)

Honey Cheerios......

As I've established before (see my review of Chocolatey Cheerios), I'm not a massive fan of the plain Cheerios taste, but it isn't the worst thing in the world.  So a variation of Cheerios is always a welcome opportunity.

So, we have Honey Cheerios.  I know folk who love these "Little O's", and I see some of the appeal, but I don't see past them being Cheerios to be honest, and that standard flavour is still there.

You open the box, and there's a lovely sweet smell.  Not sure it's a classic honey smell, but it's not just a sugary smell.  It's sweet and pleasant, and gives the cereal a great start.

Splash some milk on them and you're good to go!

The first few are great! Nice sweet and almost creamy taste.  I don't think it tastes like honey, but it's not some awful powder coating, you can see they have an almost "glazed" look about them.  Presumably, this is to encourage the idea that they've been dipped into honey.....

So, you go through a bowl, they taste great to start with, then you have the semi-soggy ones and they keep their taste pretty well, but there is that classic Cheerio taste becoming more prevalent now.  Then you get to the soggy ones......these are, to all intents and purposes your plain old cheerios, sat swimming in milk that's flavoured by the sweet remnants of the honey-glaze.  Yes, you still get the sweetness, but it's not in the same way, this is where I get disappointed.  It goes from being an almost excellent cereal to a pretty average bowl by the end.

The last few soggy ones are almost a chore, and the sweetened milk isn't enough to save the day.  Yes it's pleasant, but it's not the equivalent of their chocolate counterpart, or the wonderful (now non-existent) Banana Bubbles ("the cereal that thinks it's a milkshake!").

The degradation into soggy blandness is a slow process, so if you wolf though a bowl, it may not be an issue, but when trying to enjoy some and take your time, it becomes more chore than pleasure towards the end.

I would buy them and eat them again, because even at their worst, they aren't awful, just inadequate when hoping to satiate an appetite for a consistent and delicious treat.

All in all, they're better than the chocolate variety when it comes to the actual taste of the cereal, but the soggy remnants and poor flavouring of the milk mean it has some work to do to become a "King".

3/5 (but I'd chooses these over the chocolate ones!)

Do you agree with me? Am I out of control with my assessment?  Let me know in the replies!

-Ben

Toffee Crisp (Nestle)

Reviewer: Ben Kirby
Purchased: Tesco Extra (Scunthorpe)

Well, a cereal created with the branding and flavours of a chocolate bar!  Not an original concept, but certainly the first one I've reviewed.  Certainly an appealing prospect, and something I seriously looked forward to.

The initial question I had was "do I even enjoy a Toffee Crisp?", I couldn't tell you the last time I had one, but I don't dislike them, I just don't favour them over other options.

So, is the cereal the same satisfying gooey/chocolatey/crunchy experience? Erm....no. 1 out of 3, and I don't think that one particular factor is a good thing to be honest.  Fact: the "crunchy" element is actually a detriment to the cereal.

Let's start at the beginning though.

You open the box, and the bag, ready to experience a chocolatey smell, not dissimilar to maybe the choco caramel Shreddies I've already reviewed, or even the chocolate Cheerios, or any other chocolate cereal really.  Alas, nothing but a strange cardboard-type fragrance.

Not a good start.

So, ok, not hitting one of my sense immediately doesn't mean that there's not going be a bad taste or anything really.  It just means it's not a fragrant cereal right?

Nope!  It means (in this case) the flavour was apparently the least important factor when creating this cereal.  Perhaps behind branding and pricing?

I seriously think that this cereal was put together to be bought due to it being a familiar looking box that would make you think "ooh, I bet they're good!".  Let's be fair, it's exactly what happened to me!

You pour them out into the bowl and you have 2 types of cereal, some hard (crunchy) chocolate bobble clusters, and some crispy  balls of what I expect is supposed to be a toffee flavour.

They look appealing, but the flavours just aren't there.  There's a sweet and almost creamy taste, but a cardboard-esque flavour the sits behind anything pleasant.  The chocolate bobbles are reminiscent of other "crunchy" chocolate cereals, but the taste of chocolate is at a minimum, and they really are incredibly hard or "crunchy", maybe too much so.  As for the "toffee" crispy balls, well, they're so smooth on the tongue that the contrast in texture alone is off-putting, and the lack of anything other than a creamy sweet flavour that barely resembles toffee is just the final nail in the coffin.

You might think "hey, Ben, wait! Maybe all the flavour washed into the milk!".  No. It didn't.  You're left with some semi-sweet milk, but it's not exactly noteworthy.  Just another addition to the list of disappointments.

Maybe my expectations were higher than they should be? Surely though, anyone who sees the bright package and is familiar with the brand, would have similar expectations?

It's not inedible, but it's not nice to eat.  It's just a big disappointment that (metaphorically speaking) leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

Lack of flavour, horrible mixture of textures and what would appear to be more time spent on packaging than actual development, means that this is one to avoid.

1/5 

Don't be suckered in! If you like a Toffee Crisp, have one.  Avoid this abomination at all costs.

Have I been too harsh on this? Am I right? Join in! Leave a comment, let me know what you think!

- Ben

Cornflakes (Kellogg's)

Reviewer: Ben Kirby
Purchased: Tesco Extra, Scunthorpe

So, Kellog's Cornflakes eh?  A cereal mainstay for decades, a true classic, and a highly revered cereal in it's own right.

Is it a cereal king? Maybe a 20 years ago, maybe if my tastes veered away from childhood.  Not right now though.  That doesn't mean i dislike them, or that they're not deserving of their acclaim, they are, truly, but the competition is greater now than it ever has been, and they're like the sturdy old man in the corner, going nowhere, but not actively competing anymore.

As per my Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, these have the masterful thinness to the flake that creates the perfect crunch initially.  Sadly, they suffer the same fate in that they go soggy very quickly.

I really do enjoy a bowl of Cornflakes with ice-cold milk.  The taste is almost creamy, not sweet, but not bland.  It's a great flavour, of which I've never found in any competitors (there are a lot!).

Cornflakes, to me, are a masterful and consistent bowl of cereal, great taste, great crunch, excellent with cold milk.  To their detriment and their credit, they never go beyond "great".  They'll never blow your mind, but they'll never disappoint either.

They are a perfect and solid mainstay, something that can always be relied upon, you know what you're getting, and you know it's going to be good.  Maybe because they are so rock-steady, they should be crowned a king?  Not to me.

They key deciding factor is the question when you want some cereal, that is "what would I really love right now?" and I can honestly say 9 times out of 10, it isn't going to be Cornflakes.

4/5

Solid, consistent, never more than you expect and have expected for decades.

Agree/disagree?  Let me know in the replies!

-Ben

Crunchy Nut Cornflakes (Kellogg's)

Reviewer: Ben Kirby

Purchased: Tesco Extra, Scunthorpe

Where do I begin? A personal favourite, always a contender to the crown and a consistently good cereal.

Sold as "irresistible", and as far as I'm aware, pretty highly thought of by all (although this could be due to their marketing?).  Is it true? Are they really that good?

Erm, kind of, but not really.....

As good as they are, they aren't without flaw. 

I've devoured many a bowl of these. They are always excellent. The smell upon opening the box, the first few mouthfuls, consistently divine. Shortly after though, it just goes away and you're just left with a pleasant (but not outstanding) bowl of very soggy flakes and bits of nut.

The biggest strength (and weakness) is the thickness/thinness of the flakes themselves.  Many other brands of "honey nut cornflakes" and the like never seem to have the excellent thinness, and are often too thick and sometimes a bit too "crunchy".  With these, you don't have that, when hard and fresh, they're perfect to bite into.  Sadly, the strength is a double-edged sword though, because it also means a super quick "soggy time", and you end up with mush quite quickly.

Because of this, I could never allow them the title of "King", and despite their strong marketing, they aren't quite "irresistible".

Never a bad choice, a top tier choice, but not a crown-worthy option.

4.5/5

Certainly Kellogg's are the "named brand" of choice, and they seem to have some excellent cereals to back it up.  I would love to find a contender to their Crunchy Nut Cornflakes though, and this is one quest I intend to follow through for as long as it takes.

Am I right? Am I wrong? Any thoughts or comments are welcome!

-Ben

Chocolatey Cheerios

Reviewer: Ben Kirby
Sourced: Tesco Extra, Scunthorpe

Ah, Cheerios. You don't quite do it for me, I don't dislike you, but you're way down on my list of "go-to" cereals.

Then come the "chocolatey" variation..... Will these redeem the Cheerios name?

Not quite.

There's no wonderful aroma upon opening the box, but that's fine, there's no awful smell either.

So, here they are, in the bowl, covered in ice cold milk....

I think to myself "a new contender to weetos", that can't be a bad thing right? Well Weetos, don't worry too much.

These are quite literally Cheerios that have been coated in a chocolate flavour. The chocolate basically washed off upon contact with the milk, so soggier ones are just plain Cheerios.  The harder, non-soggy cereal was much more on par with a Weeto, but they became so few and far between in such a short space of time, they just don't compete.

The redeeming factor here though is that, because the chocolate washes off, you're left with a wonderful chocolate milk at the end, not powdery, not sugary. Just delicious.

All things considered, these aren't a bad cereal, they just don't do anything that other cereals already do better. It's a fair effort, and no doubt very appealing to children and parents alike (get those grains and vitamin D!), but I can't get past the traditional Cheerios taste.

Not awful by any stretch, but they won't be a "must have" when I see them on offer or something I would choose over other chocolate hoop cereals.

3/5 (good)

Have you tried these? Have I been too harsh?

Let me know in the comments!

-Ben

Choco Caramel Shreddies

Here we go, post number one!

So, where do we begin?

The first, and possibly most important part of the whole experience, the aroma, the sweet caramel scent that you detect as soon as you open the packet.  This cereal isn't messing about!  The smell is exactly what you would imagine, and it is delightful.

Texturally, these are much more akin to their frosted counterpart, and not the lesser "choco" brother of the family.  They don't have that over-hard crunchiness, but don't go too soggy quickly either.  These are important factors, and this cereal scores well.

The taste.....well, the taste is a sweet, almost creamy caramel with a hint (faint hint might I add) of chocolate.  It is really very nice, but just not quite chocolatey enough for me.  Combined with it's fragrance though, it really is pleasant.

Now, after all the cereal has been devoured, there's something special left in the bowl.  The milk has turned into a sweet chocolatey delight, something I loved, and reason enough to want more of this cereal.  I love a good milkshake, I love a good cereal, these have found a great balance in providing both.

So, compared to the rest of the Shreddies family, these stand taller than the original and "choco" varieties, but fall marginally short of the older brother that is the Frosted Shreddies.

As a cereal on it's own, it's a delight, but with not enough chocolate flavour, it's not exactly perfect.

4/5 (great)

A great cereal, just not a strong a contender as the Frosted Shreddies and not enough chocolate flavour for me.

- Ben

Do you agree/disagree with me? Let me know in the comments!

The exterior

The joy