Tuesday 24 December 2013

Lucky Charms


Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. I however, couldn't sleep with anticipation for trying my newest breakfast cereal: Lucky Charms. Having been very kindly given them by my friend, Natasha, at the end of her sister's 21st birthday party, I thought it was only fit that I reviewed them on this year's Christmas eve.
I must admit that this is not my first taste of Lucky Charms, having previously tried them at a USAo'Phile's house, but that was a rather long time ago, and I had forgotten just how bright and how many E Numbers this cereal contained - a real Christmas treat! The actual cereal component of this is rather plain. An oaty based cereal that takes on the form of a number of different shapes. Although frosted, it is still rather salty. However, the little marshmallow's are the redeeming factor of this cereal. They are an array of colour and shapes from pink love hearts to blue and yellow rainbows. In fact, they are so colourful and sweet that they counterbalance the saltiness and plainness of the cereal, making for a wonderfully harmonious, balanced bowlful of breakfast. Lucky Charms claim to be 'Magically Delicious' and I believe that this unity between salty and sweet creates this magic. As time goes on, the cereal remains fairly crisp and the marshmallows soften somewhat, but this is a welcome factor. Perhaps my only qualm with Lucky Charms is the fact that you are left with an unappetising grey/green milk once you've eaten all the cereal, nonetheless, it still tastes fairly sweet, if that's your kind of thing.
I would urge people to put aside their fears of E Numbers and Colourings just for one day and try a bowl of Lucky Charms, treat yourselves, it's Christmas!
Here are my ratings for Lucky Charms:

Crunch Factor: 3.5/5

Flavour: 4/5

Aesthtics: 4.5/5

Filling: 3/5

Overall Rating: 3.75/5

Tuesday 17 December 2013

All-Bran Red Berry Crunch


Home again. Christmas time once more. Having finished exams I am finally feeling festive and therefore have decided to try All-Bran Red Berry Crunch. I have been searching for a specifically christmas themed cereal but to no avail, so thought the red berries muddled amongst the All-Bran clusters would suffice for now. 
When I saw the cereal in my bowl, my initial response was that it looked like a hybrid between bird food and rabbit droppings. Thankfully it tastes like neither. The flavour of the cereal is not too sweet or powerful so the berries are a welcome addition, and they leave you with pink milk at the end, even better! The cereal also stays crunchy for the time it takes to eat a bowl full so that's an added bonus. However, those with a more delicate mouth may want to give this cereal a miss as they certainly do live up to the 'Crunch' part of their name. 
All-Bran is perhaps not the most exciting cereal out there but it is not the worst i've ever had. It could probably do with a bit of work on the aesthetics, but i'm glad that it's not overtly sweet, as this is clearly not a cereal specifically for children; it has to appeal to adult tastes too. Although not my favourite cereal in the world, I would not be completely against eating more bowls of All-Bran Red Berry Crunch, however, will probably not be in any hurry to have my next bowl. 
Here are my ratings:

Crunch Factor: 4/5

Flavour: 2/5

Aesthetics: 1/5

Filling: 3.5/5

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

Tuesday 10 December 2013

Cookie Crisp


In the midst of exams and revision all the days seem to merge into one. The same old routine, day in, day out. Christmas seems like a century away, and, despite the plethora of paper chains, snowmen and even singing Santas surrounding me, regardless of how many mince pies or selection boxes I eat, I just can't seem to get into the festive frame of mind. It is therefore in this rather 'bah humbug' mindset that I have decided to try and cheer myself up with a box of the very novelty Cookie Crisp.
This cereal is supposed to look like cookies and taste like them too, but I can say that it only half fulfils one of these brash claims. The cereal vaguely resembles a cookie shape and colour, but the chocolate chips could do with a little work; in my opinion they look more like dog biscuits than cookies. As for the flavour, they taste like generic cereal, not cookies as promised by the name on the box. I personally think that they are a little too salty and the texture needs more density. Thankfully Cookie Crisp's one redeeming factor is that they don't loose much of their initial crunch, living up to the 'Crisp' element of the name.
Some may say that I have been a little harsh on Cookie Crisp, but they really are nothing special. Once the novelty of your mum letting you eat 'Cookies' in the morning wears off, you are left with an uninspiring bowl of something vaguely resembling a cookie. Some would blame this harsh review on the lack of Christmas cheer in my life, and maybe this is true, but Nestle really should look at improving this cereal in the meantime.
Here are my reviews for Cookie Crisp:

Crunch Factor: 4/5



Flavour: 2/5


Aesthetics: 2.5/5


Filling: 3/5


Overall Rating: 2.5/5

Tuesday 3 December 2013

Kellogg's Frosties


With the onset of revision week and christmas just around the corner, it seems that the days have lost all sense of structure and purpose. Thankfully with the start of advent, and a new box of cereal, there is still some sort of incentive to wake up before midday. Therefore, this week I have turned to a childhood favourite of not just myself, but also many others and have chosen to review Kellogg's Frosties.
With every bowl of Frosties you can see the sugar coating glistening and glittering in the sun pouring in through the window. Unfortunately as soon as the milk touches the cereal this shimmer fades instantly, nonetheless, Frosties still maintain their initial sweetness. Yes, the flavour may be slightly less intense than at the start but I feel like this is somewhat inevitable. The only issue is that Frosties do go a little soggy towards the end, however, not as much as other cereals such as Corn Flakes or Crunchy Nuts. This is feel is thanks to the sugar coating. In my opinion it acts as a sort of shield against the milk. For me, Frosties are like a tarted up version of Corn Flakes. What's great about them is the fact that you don't need to add anything else to them as they are sweet enough to begin with. Even at the end you are left with a bowl of sweet milk; Frosties truly is the cereal that keeps on giving...
Here are my ratings for Kellogg's Frosties:

Crunch Factor: 2.5/5

Flavour: 4/5


Aesthetics: 4/5


Filling: 3.5/5


Overall Rating: 3.5/5