Candy Review
COCONUT M&MS


I was just a little surprised when I saw this M&Ms variation at Dollar Tree yesterday. Cybele May of Candy Blog had written about them recently, in an entry about upcoming releases. But if I'm remembering correctly, she said that the Coconut M&Ms wouldn't be out for another month or so. That was the thing that surprised me.

First, let's get the obvious bits out of the way. This is a variation on the milk chocolate M&Ms candy -- what used to be called "Plain M&Ms." The inside is milk chocolate which has been infused with coconut flavor. No coconut, just the flavor. This coconut-flavored chocolate is covered in the M&Ms sugar shell makes it . . . well, I think you all know the slogan.

The shells for this limited edition have a different color scheme than the usual M&Ms. There are only three colors -- brown, white, and green. Brown and white to represent the outside and inside of a coconut, and green because, well, the M&M spokescharacter Green is featured on the bags. (That's the conclusion that first comes to mind, anyway, and Occam's Razor would seem to apply.) While most of the shells have the usual "M" imprint, a few of the candies bear imprints of the "M" with an umbrella, a palm tree, or a sun. This seems to be in keeping with the tropical theme of this candy.

The coconut flavor is stronger than some of the other flavors Mars has used in previous M&Ms limited editions. This is good; in some of those other variations, the infused flavor was too subtle, almost to the point of it barely registering on my tastebuds. Not here. The coconut and chocolate flavors are on equal footing here. Neither overwhelms or dominates the other.

As I said, there is no actual coconut in these M&Ms. When I tried my first candy, I thought there might have been some coconut in the chocolate, but I quickly realized that any texture I was encountering was the crunching of the candy shell.

As I said, this is a limited edition, so the usual disclaimer applies. I have no idea how long these will stay on the shelves. The tropical theme of both the flavor and the packaging would make it ideal for an annual release every summer. Whether Mars thinks this is a good idea is another matter.


-jc-

Candy Review
STRAWBERRIED PEANUT BUTTER M&MS


The Snickers Nougabot Bar isn't the only tie-in that Mars is producing in conjunction with Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen. Mars is also bringing us the Strawberried Peanut Butter M&Ms.

I must confess that this particular edition leaves me just a little puzzled. As i mentioned in my review of the Nougabot Bar, it at least has a connection of some kind to the Transformers through the yellow color of the nougat. There doesn't seem to be any particular connection between this M&Ms variation and the Transformers universe. But as I have mentioned previously, I am not a Transformers fan, so there could easily be a connection, and I am not aware of it.

This edition is a variation on the Peanut Butter M&Ms. It starts with a core of peanut butter, which is covered with milk chocolate that has been infused with strawberry flavor. This is covered with the M&Ms sugar shell. And since I have probably gone through every possible joke on the M&Ms slogan by now, I think I will let you make up one of your own.

The shells have a slightly different color scheme for this edition. There are only three colors for the Strawberried Peanut Butter M&Ms: Red, brown (both of which can be found in the regular M&Ms bags), and a red-splotched yellow. The last one gives the appearance of something yellow that has been splattered with red paint.

The strawberry flavor in the milk chocolate is pleasant, but almost too subtle for this edition. It might have been better if Mars had made an M&Ms edition that was just strawberry-flavored milk chocolate. When the peanut butter is added to the mix, the strawberry flavor is almost too subtle, becoming almost overwhelmed by the flavor of the peanut butter. It isn't a bad combination of flavors; it's just that the strawberry flavor need to be a little stronger to make it a better balance of flavors.

Unlike the Nougabot Snickers, the Strawberried Peanut Butter M&Ms didn't come with any Transformers Bits & Bytes. I was a little surprised, because after last year, I was rather expecting some interesting bits of trivia on the packaging of both movie tie-ins.

And since this is a limited edition, the usual disclaimers should apply. This should be around for at least the first few weeks of release for Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen. After that, I have no idea if Mars will ever plan a re-release. So enjoy them while you can.


-jc-

As with the Snickers Adventure Bar, the wrappers on the M&Ms Mint Crisp came with "Indiana Jones Arti-FACTs" printed on the back. For some reason, though, Mars decided to print 16 different Arti-FACTs on the M&Ms, instead of the eight on the Snickers. I have no idea why Mars decided to go the way that they did; I wasn't consulted.

As with the Snickers wrappers, each Arti-FACT has one little bit of trivia about the Indiana Jones movies, followed by a piece of trivia about M&Ms. Maybe Mars could come up with more trivia about M&Ms than they could about Snickers, and that's why there are more M&Ms Arti-FACTs. There are at least one or two of the M&Ms trivia bits that are done somewhat tongue in cheek, which leads me to think that Mars needed to pad out the M&Ms list just a little.

After doing a little archeological digging of my own -- in other words, digging through more than a few cases of Mint Crisp M&Ms -- I discovered all 16 Arti-FACTs. I present them to you for your edification.

1. More than 100 live tarantulas were used in the opening sequence of Raiders Of The Lost Ark.
*Milk chocolate was invented more than 100 years ago -- in 1876, to be exact.

2. For one scene in Raiders Of The Lost Ark, 300 TV antennas had to be removed since TV hadn't been invented in 1936, the year in which the film is set.
*M&Ms Brand Chocolate Candies were first sold in the US in 1941 and quickly became a favorite of American GIs serving in World War II.

3. One of the producers of Raiders Of The Lost Ark said the film's monkey was "impossible" to work with.
*Directors and producers everywhere say that Red is a "dream" to work with . . . according to Red, anyway.

4. The truck-chase scene in Raiders Of The Lost Ark took about eight weeks to film.
*Each M&Ms Brand Milk Chocolate Candy, on the other hand, takes about 8 to 12 hours to make.

5. The dress Kate Capshaw wore in Temple Of Doom was partially eaten by an elephant during a location shoot.
*It would be natural for Yellow to be nervous around elephants; he has a whole roasted peanut inside him.

6. The Mola Ram character doesn't make his first appearance in Temple Of Doom until an hour into the movie.
*Green made her first TV commercial appearance in 1997.

7. The car driven by Short Round in Temple Of Doom is a 1936 Auburn Boattail Speedstter.
*Red is too short to reach any car's pedals -- but he'd never admit it.

8. The sounds of the mine-car chase in Temple Of Doom were actually taken from a roller coaster ride.
*M&Ms Brand took its first space ride in 1982 aboard the space shuttle.

9. Where did Indiana Jones acquire his famous fedora? From the character who stole the Cross of Coronado in The Last Crusade.
*Where did Blue get his cool? He was born with it!

10. Harrison Ford and Sean Connery shot the entire zeppelin sequence of The Last Crusade without wearing any pants.
*Red went without trousers until 2003 -- and he's still often seen without them.

11. When it came time to pick an actor to play Indy's father, Sean Connery was always director Steven Spielberg's first choice.
*When it came time to pick a new color to join M&Ms Brand, blue was the first choice of more than 10 million US consumers.

12. During filming of The Last Crusade, the Queen of Jordan visited the movie set.
*M&Ms Brand is a hit with heads of state. It's a frequent "guest" on Air Force One.

13. Indiana Jones is known everywhere by his kangaroo-hide bullwhip.
*M&Ms Brand Chocolate Candies are known everywhere by our "M" imprint, first used in 1950.

14. The Indiana Jones films are the result of a partnership between two legends: George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.
*Red and Yellow are legendary partners, too, captivating audiences for decades.

15. Actor John Rhys-Davies plays the role of Sallah in Raiders Of The Lost Ark and The Last Crusade. Sallah's full name? Sallah Mohammed Faisel El-Kahir.
*Red has been playing himself since 1954. Red's full name? Red.

16. Fearless Indiana Jones’s greatest fear: Ophidiophobia -- the fear of snakes. The Last Crusade explains the origin of Indy's phobia, first seen in Raiders Of The Lost Ark.
*Orange's greatest fear? Pantophobia -- the fear of everything.


-jc-

Candy Review
MINT CRISP M&MS


For M&M/Mars, the licensing tie-ins with Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull didn't stop with the Snickers Adventure Bar. They also produced a special variation of M&Ms for the movie's release -- Mint Crisp M&Ms.

The Mint Crisp M&Ms are a variation on the theme of the Crispy M&Ms, which seem to have disappeared from the shelves. Well, they disappeared from the shelves in my area about a year ago, at least. Now, the Crispy M&Ms started with a nugget of crisped rice at the core. This nugget was covered in milk chocolate, which in turn was covered by the signature M&M sugar shell.

For the Mint Crisp M&Ms, the rice nugget was covered in mint-flavored dark chocolate. The shell for this edition was given different colors than the regular M&Ms. The shells of the Mint Crisp M&Ms are white, green, and light green. (I suppose you might even call the last color a mint green.)

Mars also played around with the signature "M" imprint on some of the candies. One design depicts the M wearing Indy's fedora, and another has Dr. Jones's bullwhip coiled up and resting on top of the M. There are a couple of other designs that incorporate the M into what appear to be Mayan or Aztec designs, which more than likely reflect parts of the movie's plot.

The Mint Crisp M&Ms have an irregular shape, even more so than the Peanut or Almond varieties. The rice nuggets at the core are irregularly shaped, and even have what could be called a wide variation in size. This is just speculation on my part, but I'm guessing that it would cost too much to make the rice nuggets a uniform shape and size. It would probably also take away some of the crispness as well. But whatever the reason, this lack of uniformity gives the Mint Crisp M&Ms a bumpy, pebbly appearance.

Biting into a Mint Crisp M&M is an interesting blend of textures. There is both the sharp crunch of the sugar shell, and the slightly softer crispness of the crisped rice core. Both of these are contrasted by the smoothness of the chocolate.

The mint is clearly the dominant flavor in the Mint Crisp M&Ms. I didn't even realize that this M&Ms version used dark chocolate until I read the ingredients panel on the back of the wrapper. The chocolate flavor is there, but it is almost overwhelmed by the mint that it is difficult to distinguish that it is dark chocolate. (At first, I thought that the Mint Crisp M&Ms used milk chocolate. Okay, I assumed that it was milk chocolate, because most of the time, Mars probably would have used milk chocolate. This time, they managed to surprise me.)

The overwhelming flavor of the mint also drowns out the flavor of the crisped rice. If Mars had added just a little less mint flavor to the chocolate, we would also be able to clearly detect the slightly malty taste of the rice nuggets. It can be detected on occasion, but just barely. If not for the difference in textures between the shell and the rice (particularly as you crunch one of these M&Ms between your teeth), you might not even know that the crisped rice was there -- unless you looked at a cross-section of one.

Like the Snickers Adventure Bar, the wrappers of the Mint Crisp M&Ms come with "Indiana Jones Arti-FACTS." But while there were eight different Snickers Arti-FACTS, there are 16 Arti-FACTS for the Mint Crisp M&Ms. Each one contains a little bit of trivia about the Indiana Jones movies, and something about M&Ms. In this case, though, some of the M&Ms trivia is a little less than completely serious.

The Mint Crisp M&Ms hit the shelves a few weeks ago, at the same time as the Snickers Adventure Bar. They are available in both individual-size bags and party-size bags. And while I am sure that they will be around for at least a few more weeks, I suspect that once the Mint Crisp M&Ms are gone, they will be gone for good.

I wouldn't mind seeing Mars doing another edition of the Mint Crisp M&Ms, or even just a Mint M&Ms without any other embellishment. I would hope that, if Mars does try again, they would make the mint just a little more subtle -- and give the chocolate a chance to make its presence known on the tastebuds.


-jc-

Candy Review
WILDLY CHERRY M&MS


I'm guessing that Mars produced this limited edition for Valentine's Day. It does seem to be appropriate for the day, in any case. There is just one little thing, though. I don't think I saw this in the stores until a few days after Valentine's Day.

When I first saw the Wildly Cherry M&Ms, I assumed that this would be a twist on the standard milk chocolate M&Ms. I looked at the ingredients list on the back of the package, and quickly discovered that I was wrong. It's not a variation on the milk chocolate M&Ms.

It's a variation on the milk chocolate and dark chocolate M&Ms.

The Wildly Cherry M&Ms are disks of milk chocolate and dark chocolate that have been infused with a cherry flavor. Like the Razzberry M&Ms from a few months ago, these M&Ms are slightly larger than the standard M&Ms.

Of course, like all M&Ms candies, the chocolate is coated with the distinctive sugar shell so that it . . . well, you know the slogan. For this limited edition, the shells come in two colors instead of the various rainbow hues. The milk chocolate M&Ms in this mix have a bright red shell, while their dark chocolate counterparts have a darker red, almost maroon shell. Obviously, Mars is trying to suggest the idea of two different varieties of cherries with these shells.

The cherry flavor is noticeable but not overwhelming. It strongly hints at the idea of a chocolate-covered cherry, but still manages to retain a degree of subtlety. And the cherry flavor seems to be stronger in the milk chocolate M&Ms. I rather suspect that the same amount of flavor has been added to both the milk and dark chocolate, but the stronger flavor of the dark chocolate provides more competition on the tastebuds.

As I said, I would have thought the Wildly Cherry M&Ms would be a perfect choice for Valentine's Day. Maybe they were, and for some reason, they were shipped out later than originally planned. But since I started seeing them right after Valentine's Day, it also means that I have no clear idea of how long they will be staying on the shelves.


-jc-

Candy Review
RAZZBERRY M&MS


I just saw this new limited edition earlier this morning. To give you an idea of just how new it is, I was in the same store last night, and the display with the Razzberry M&Ms was not in place then. (And the retail display for this candy is not easy to miss; if it had been there last night, I would have noticed it.)

The Razzberry M&Ms are larger than the standard M&M size. If I'm not mistaken, they are the same size as the Mega Size M&Ms. I would probably say that they are about twice the size of the standard M&Ms. They are milk chocolate, which has had raspberry flavor infused into it. Instead of the usual multi-hued rainbow, the outer candy shells are a uniform dark pink. I think Mars was trying for that shade of magenta that most of us think of as "raspberry," but what they got was just a shade or two lighter. The color I think they were trying to get is the primary color of the wrapper. Now, that is a shade I would call raspberry.

I like the combination of raspberry and chocolate. (Hell, I like the combination of chocolate with just about any fruit.) And Mars did a fairly decent job with the Razzberry M&Ms. The raspberry flavor is subtle; almost a little too subtle at times. I think the candy could have been improved if the raspberry flavor was slightly more intense, but that may be my own personal preferences coming into play. And as always, the crunch of the candy shell adds an interesting texture to the blend.

The raspberry and milk chocolate go well together, but I think that raspberry is a flavor that goes best with dark chocolate, and I was a little disappointed that Mars didn't try this as a Dark Chocolate M&M. Again, though, this may be just my personal preferences coming into play.

As I said, I saw the Razzberry M&Ms for the first time today, so they should be around for at least a month or two. I don't really see this becoming part of the regular Mars product line, though. For some reason, it just has the feel of something that Mars released because they thought it would be fun to do.


-jc-

Candy Review
DARK CHOCOLATE PEANUT M&MS


The first time I saw this new M&Ms variation on the shelves, I was not all that surprised. If anything, once I determined that it was indeed a new product, my first thought probably was something like, "Oh . . . I wonder took Mars so long?" Personally, I think the Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms were probably inevitable after Mars made the Dark Chocolate M&Ms part of their regular product line.

At first glance, the Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms are lumpy, irregular shapes, rather than the regular, even disc shape of both the Dark Chocolate and Milk Chocolate M&Ms. (Or what used to be called "Plain" M&Ms, until some marketing genius decided to get into the act.) That, of course, is because peanuts are irregular and lumpy, and do not come in even, regular shapes.

The Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms start with whole roasted peanuts. (At least, I'm assuming that they are roasted.) The peanuts are coated in dark chocolate, and finished with a sugar shell that makes sure that the chocolate "melts in your mouth, not in your hand." (Does M&M/Mars still use that slogan?) And of course, the sugar shells come in a rainbow of colors (just not purple, damn it!)

Peanuts and dark chocolate are a flavor combination that I have always thought worked well together, and to me, the Dark Chocolate M&Ms are a good example of how good a combination they are. Neither flavor dominates your tastebuds; instead, the two blend together harmoniously. The rich sweetness of the dark chocolate provides a contrast to the slight saltiness of the peanuts. As I said, neither flavor overpowers the other -- they compliment each other. The sugar shell doesn't contribute anything in the way of flavor; rather, it adds an interesting crunch that provides a minor contrast to the texture of the peanuts.

Like the Dark Chocolate M&Ms, the Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms come in a purple bag. The peanut variety is distinguished by a bright yellow stripe across the bag, and that stripe was what originally brought this new product to my attention. Best of all, it does not appear to be a limited edition, so this is something that should be around for a long time to come.


-jc-

Candy Review
ALMOND M&MS


This is another of the many types of M&Ms that I have more or less ignored. And like the Peanut Butter M&Ms, I thought it was time to give the Almond M&Ms a try. (And as I said before, do I really need an excuse to consume some chocolate?)

Structurally, the Almond M&M is almost identical to the Peanut M&M. A whole almond is covered in milk chocolate, and once the chocolate has set, it is given a sugar shell. And like the Peanut M&Ms, the Almond M&Ms come in irregular shapes. For the same reason, too -- the almonds don't come in regular shapes, and both the chocolate and the candy coatings follow the contours of the nuts.

Almonds are much harder than peanuts, and I have discovered that it is easier if you just pop the entire Almond M&M in your mouth before biting down. Trying to bite one in half to view a cross section usually leaves you with a half shell of chocolate and sugar that begins to crumble around the remaining half almond. (This was learned after quite a few attempts to bite one cleanly in half, only to realize that it isn't as easy as it might seem.)

More than anything, the Almond M&Ms remind me of jordan almonds that have had chocolate added to them. This is one time when a candy with nuts doesn't have the flavor of the nuts overwhelmed by the chocolate. I find that when I bite into one, I usually taste the almond first, then the chocolate. The sugar shell doesn't provide any additional flavor; it just adds a second type of crunch to the candy. (And of course, it makes sure that the candy melts in your mouth, not in your hand.)

The Almond M&Ms are packaged in light beige (dare I say almond?) color bags. They come in both individual size bags, and at least two different large size bags suitable for parties.


-jc-

Candy Review
PEANUT BUTTER M&MS


Usually, when I indulge in M&Ms, I gravitate toward the Plain M&Ms. (Oops, I'm sorry, make that the Milk Chocolate M&Ms. I forgot that Mars made a big deal out of changing the name a few years ago.) That may have changed a little since the Dark Chocolate M&Ms came out earlier this year, but I've never really paid too much attention to a few of the M&M varieties. Since I now am writing about chocolate regularly, I thought it was a good enough reason to pay them a little more attention. (Yeah, like I really need an excuse to eat chocolate.)

The Peanut Butter M&Ms are a little larger than their Milk Chocolate or Dark Chocolate counterparts. There are also three layers to this particular M&M. The core is a round disk of peanut butter, which is approximately the same size as either the Milk or Dark Chocolate M&Ms. Surrounding this core is a mantle of milk chocolate, which is coated by a sugar-shell crust.

Eating the Peanut Butter M&Ms reminds me a little of eating a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. The flavors of the peanut butter and chocolate blend together similarly in both candies. The candy shell adds a nice crunch to the M&Ms, as well as eliminating the occasionally irritating paper cup in which the Reese's Cups are packages. (And of course, that shell also cuts down on melted chocolate mess, and is the source of the candy's famous tagline.)

Mars packages the different varieties of M&Ms in different colored bags. The Peanut Butter M&Ms are bright red bags, for reasons that escape me at the moment. They are available in individual size and party size bags.


-jc-

Candy Review
WHITE CHOCOLATE M&MS


Last year, M&M/Mars released Dark Chocolate M&Ms as a tie-in with Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith. This year, they swung to the other end of the chocolate spectrum for a merchandising tie-in with Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. They released another M&Ms limited edition, this time in white chocolate.

The Dead Man's Chest promotion has different varieties of M&Ms as pirate treasure. The Milk Chocolate M&Ms in this promotion are packaged as "Jack's Gems," the Peanut M&Ms are "Captain's Gold," and the White Chocolate M&Ms are "Pirate Pearls."

From previous experience, I have learned that M&M/Mars makes a very good white chocolate, and the White Chocolate M&Ms match their previous standards. Under the candy shell, it's the same pale ivory color I saw on the White Chocolate Twix (which I reviewed not too long ago). It has a creamy, mild, sweet flavor, and the candy shell adds its usual crunch.

The shells for the Pirate Pearls come in pastels -- white, yellow, cream, and pale blue. About half of the candies have the customary "m" imprint. The other half incorporate the "m" into a variety of pirate motifs -- a skull, cannon, crossed swords, hook, telescope, and a sailing ship. (I think that was all of them.)

As I mentioned earlier, the White Chocolate M&Ms are a limited edition. But last year's Dark Chocolate M&Ms were also intended as a limited edition, and they proved popular enough for Mars to make them a permanent part of the product line. If the White Chocolate M&Ms prove to be equally as popular, they too may become a permanent part of the M&M/Mars product line.


-jc-

Candy Review
DARK CHOCOLATE M&MS


Last year, as part of a merchandising tie-in with Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith, M&M/Mars released Dark Chocolate M&Ms as a limited edition. In this case, the promotion was "Choose your side -- Jedi or Sith." The Jedi were represented by the standard milk chocolate M&Ms (albeit in different colored candy shells than you normally see), and the Sith by the dark chocolate. Sometime during the summer, though, the dark chocolate M&Ms disappeared, apparently unlikely to be seen again. (There was supposed to be a re-release in conjunction with the DVD release of ROTS, but if they did come back to the shelves, I never saw them.)

Well, I am guessing that M&M/Mars received a lot of consumer feedback along the lines of "We love the Dark Chocolate M&Ms, bring them back!" Last month, Dark Chocolate M&Ms made a return to the shelves -- this time as a permanent part of the product line.

From the outside, the dark chocolate M&Ms look just like their milk chocolate counterparts. The candy shells are the same colors, and the only giveaway is that some of them -- repeat, SOME of them -- have the word "dark" printed under the "m" on the shell. Bite into one, though, and you crunch through the shell into a rich, velvety-smooth dark chocolate.

There is just one drawback to both the candy shells and the size. You don't have the opportunity to savor the chocolate as it truly should be savored. That's by letting the chocolate melt on your tongue, and letting the dark sweetness suffuse your tastebuds. On the other hand, the small size does let you get your chocolate fix in small doses, if that happens to be how you get the most out of your chocolate enjoyment.

Dark Chocolate M&Ms come in both individual and party size bags, both in a distinctive purple color. (Now if M&M/Mars would only put the purple on the chocolate as well as the bags.)


-jc-