Universal Yums January 2018 Review

For those who may not know, Universal Yums is a monthly food subscription service. For $14 or $25, you will get a box of 6+ or 12+ candy and snacks from a different country. Check them out here: UNIVERSAL YUMS

(I pay for this service with my own money and all opinions are my honest ones)

January brings us goodies from GREECE. Here's some trivia for you. Answer at the end of the post.  TRIVIA: In ancient Greece, throwing an apple at someone was a way to say: A.I'm in love with you!; B.Happy New Year; C.Good luck!; D.You and your family shall be cursed

There are a couple items in here that I will NOT be eating. One, because they're too hard to chew or two, I vomit a little just thinking about them. I'll get those out of the way first.

Olympas Sesame Pasteli with Almonds: I couldn't even break this bar within the package to test how crunchy it might be so yeah. Not gonna eat it. Which makes me sad because there are only 3 ingredients: sesame seeds, honey, and almonds. It sounds so good, dammit!

Bliss Cocoa Toffee: Even without my Invisalign issues, toffee is hard for me because of all my crown work. Sometimes if there's sufficient chocolate coating, that helps to break up the stickiness. But these little bricks...no way. *all the crying*

Parthenon Green Olives with Fennel & Corriander: Olives, man. EWWWWWWWWWW.

Tottis Onion Bread Chips: Remember bagel chips? That's basically what these are if they had a one-night stand with some Melba toast. The onion flavor is a little sweet and subtle, not too overpowering. Very nice.

Serenata Dark Chocolate Wafer: I think EVERY country has some kind of wafer cookie in their arsenal. I have to say that I think this is my favorite so far, though. Because it's dark chocolate, it's not overly sweet and the filling between the layers is not too thick or too thin. It's pretty dang perfect.

Bergamot Jelly Candies: Though the bergamot in these tasted a LOT like perfume (and not in a good way like those mints from Turkey), I loved the texture. They're like a cross between Jello Jigglers and a Chuckles Fruit Slice.

Tottis Chips: I'm not a huge oregano fan but the flavor is these chips is subtle enough for me to handle. Texture is like any regular potato chip so they're easy for me to eat, too!

Derby Chocolate Bar: OMG this is my favorite item from the box. Coconut, caramel, crisp rice, and chocolate. What's not to love?!?

Overall, a very nice box (that's what he said). The clue for next month makes us think we'll get some snacks from France. It would super cool if, like last year, we get the bigger sized box as a Valentine's ILY. Yes, I'm a greedy bitch.

TRIVIA ANSWER: A.I'm in love with you! Hey, it's a lot cheaper than a ring! Throwing an apple at a woman in ancient Greece was considered a marriage proposal. As that tradition slowly faded away, a new one appeared: many couples in Greece ate an apple as part of their wedding festivities as a sign of their love for one another.

Universal Yums May 2016 Box

In case you don't know, Universal Yums is a food subscription box. For $13 or $25 a month, you'll get a bunch of snacks and candy from a different county. How cool is that? Check them out here: UNIVERSAL YUMS.

Trivia: Contrary to popular belief, which of the following ISN'T typically eaten in Greece?   A.Feta Cheese; B.Greek yogurt; C.Hummus; D. Pita  (answer at the bottom of the post)

Mikio Sun-Dried Tomato & Olive Bread sticks: At first these crunchy bread sticks tasted just like sun dried tomatoes. Not my favorite but not terrible. But the olive finish (or perhaps too much oregano) was pretty bad. Neither the hubs nor I cared for these. Even Dozer was a little suspicious of them.

Serenata Chocolate Croissant: WHERE HAS THIS BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!?!?! This was a good sized croissant, soft and buttery, filled with what I can only describe as chocolate pudding heaven. I ate half when we got the box and the rest the next day with some coffee. In fact, the wrapper in the picture is already empty. OH PLEASE tell me the UY folks are working on their storefront right now!!

Rose Mex Pastilles: I've recently discovered how much I like the flavor of rose candy. Unfortunately, these rose gum drops taste like anise and cloves. Clove is a favorite of mine but not in these. Ick.

Ion Assorted Chocolates: We got 2 hazelnut (which were technically from the Ion Noisetta line), amaretto, and nougat. The hazelnuts were great, amaretto even better, but the nougat was too sugary and didn't taste like much of anything. The chocolate tasted a little like Hershey's but better. Smoother, richer flavor.

Ouzo candies: Let's get liquored up! Actually I don't think there's any booze in these hard candies but they did taste really great. Not too over the top anise flavor. Nice and sweet.

Serenata Chocolate Wafers: Think a Kit Kat on crack. Crispy wafer covered in smooth chocolate. This is from the same company that made that chocolate croissant so you know it's good.

BONUS ITEM: Saffron Herbal Tea. What a pleasant surprise! I do like tea so I was excited for this. Not sure I taste the saffron, or the lemon grass, but there's a nice soft flavor of mint that was very nice. 

This was a very good box - that croissant alone was worth it! The clue to next month pretty much tells us it'll be the good ol' US of A!! USA! USA!

TRIVIA ANSWER: C. Hummus