Review | Snack Surprise – Turkey

It’s crazy to think that last month I blogged July’s Snack Surprise box, so now it’s time for August's. Both my September and October boxes arrived in quick succession – within two weeks of each other and all I can say is thank God the wedding is over… I have so many snacks to get through and review!

The August Snack Surprise box came courtesy of Turkey. Now, I've never been to the country, so had no idea what to expect, but at first glance it looked a good – if a bit exotic –selection of products. As usual, I had the original box. So, what did I sample?

Sweet

• Biscolata Stix: The perfect harmony of creamy chocolate and crispy pretzel sticks. These were basically like Mikado, so you can't go wrong. They must have been good though, as Alfie managed to demolish half the packet.
• Eti Puf: Biscuit and marshmallow coated with sprinkles. Now I didn't have the version described, as tasty as that sounds – I had the coconut one. Much like a tea cake, minus the chocolate coating and jam centre. It was nice enough.
• Ulker Dore: Biscuits filled with chocolate and cream. These were teeny tiny biscuits which looked a bit like mushrooms. Delicious and not too sweet – they reminded me of something, but I still can't figure out what that is.
• Eti Popkek: Sponge cake filled with lemon sauce and covered in lemon icing. The cake was nice enough, but the exterior was like that cheap chocolate that has a plasticky texture – not so good.

Savoury

• Eti Grax: Sticks seasoned with herbs and spices. These would have been great accompanying a glass of wine. Savoury pretzel sticks with a salty and savoury flavour. Initially, I couldn’t figure it out, but it reminded me of sour cream and chive, to begin with, before hints of pepper and spice came through.
• Patos Aci Baharatli: Hot pepper corn chips. These were like round Doritos – tortilla chips with a really salty, savoury taste and a touch of spice. I was expecting them to be hotter, but they were really nice. It was almost like a Mexican flavour.

Confectionery

• Kent Tofita: These chewy sweets have the scent and taste of oranges. Consider these Turkey's answer to Fruit Tella! Chewier than Starburst, but with a strong orange flavour. I consumed the packet in one sitting.
• Mini All Star: A mixture of mini Ulker chocolates including Coco Star, Metro, Albeni and Cikolatali Gofrei. I only received three varieties:

Cikolatali Gofrei: milk chocolate wafer with hazelnut cream; like a Time Out

Albeni: milk chocolate coated caramel biscuit; a bit like a mini caramel Rocky

Coco Star: milk chocolate with coconut filling; basically, a mini Bounty

• Bebeto Ice Cream: Fruit flavoured ice cream shaped jelly gums. Even for me, these were quite sweet and very artificial. The white (or vanilla flavour) ice cream cones even tasted fruity, which I found quite weird.
• Eti Chocolate Pistachio Stick: Milk chocolate stick filled with crushed pistachios. I was expecting more of a contrast between sweet and salty, but the chocolate was creamy, and the bar was delicious. I ate it in two bites.
• Turkish Delight: Chewy soft treats come in rose, lemon and mint flavour. So, this was my second experience of Turkish Delight (as an adult, and that I remember). I liked the citrus ones, and I think there were lemon and orange flavours. The mint one was like eating toothpaste and don't get me started on rose…

Drink

• Gazoz: Light, fizzy and delicious mixed fruit flavour carbonated drink. No, this one wasn't for me. It was far too sweet and artificial. I couldn't even tell you what the fruit flavour was, but it reminded me of that sickly energy drink flavour, which was just not nice. I had a sip and then poured most of it down the sink.

Another mixed box – seven products received full marks, while I really disliked two, bringing the score down. This means that the Turkey Snack Surprise box receives a score of 29/36. So, where does it rank on the leader board?

1. Spain – 94%
2. Italy – 92%
3. Portugal – 89%
4. Australia – 87%
5. New Zealand – 87%
6. Turkey – 81%
7. USA – 79%
8. Germany – 75%
9. Bulgaria – 69%

Middle of the road – and now a quick *spoiler alert* for you... The next box comes from Greece. I'm half expecting there to be some similar products, but how will it fare? Find out next month.

Love, Lucy xx