Truth be told, I had stopped reviewing products for this website. I had done so many that the reviews felt ‘forced’. I got bored writing about make-up and hair products and I’m guessing they were also pretty boring to read. By Kiesha Meikle
Then I got an email from a liquorice company asking if I’d be interested in trying out their liquorice for a review. Not your everyday liquorice mind you – liquorice balls covered in chocolate or caramel, that come in a range of flavours.
I have to be honest, my first response was ‘NOOOOOOO!’ … I’m not a big fan of liquorice. Is it just me, or is that bitter variety very reminiscent of…tar? (Apologies to those who love it, just speaking my truth). I stand by my dislike, apparently it could be genetic:
‘The sense of taste is genetic, so when someone complains that black licorice is too bitter, they’re tasting the glycyrrhizin, the compound in licorice root that’s chemically similar to saccharin. This may be why they taste the bitterness. This may be why for other people, licorice tastes too sweet.’ (Taken from somewhere on the Internet).
Suffice to say, I didn’t hold out much hope for Lakrids by Bülow.
‘Like Marmite except that I love it and hate it in equal amounts, all at the same time.‘
I almost deleted that PR email, then I remembered that I had recently decided to mix things up a bit – to experiment with new things and not ‘write them off’ (excuse the pun), without even trying them. Fast forward a few days and a box full of elaborately packaged, liquorice balls were delivered to my door. Despite the fact that these glamorous looking little balls resembled the beads my aunt used to wear around her neck, I was intrigued.
Here’s what I have learnt from my box of Lakrids by Bülow liqourice…
- Chocolate / caramel covered liquorice is the sweet treat you never knew you needed – but you do, you really do. It’s like salted caramel’s weird cousin, the bitter/earthy and the sweet together is like poetry. Even that very ‘distinctive’ liqourice after taste isn’t so weird when surrounded by a crisp caramel or chocolatey layer.
‘Liquorice balls taught me a valuable life lesson‘
2. I still hate liqourice, but I like Lakrids by Bülow. I heard someone once say (please don’t troll me) liquorice tastes like what they imagine an STD would taste like – I’m sorrrrrrryyyy. Anyway, little did they know that when you encase bitter liqourice in a ball of something deliciously sweet and/or chocolately, it becomes more gourmet than gonorrhoea. Go figure!
3. I need to try new things ALL the time. What else could I be missing out on?
4. I am going to start gifting people with things that are a bit different. My husband and kids loved these little liqourice balls and they are VERY particular about the sweets they eat. Would they eat liqourice by itself? Probs not. Did I have to wrestle the Lakrids box away from them and hide it on a very high shelf? Yes, I did.
5. Life is not like a box of chocolates at all – it’s more like a box of chocolate covered liqourice: You need to give it a go, even if it sounds weird.
Mother’s Day is coming up, if your mum (or whoever you are gifting) likes liqourice, the chances are she will LOVE Lakrids by Bülow.
www.lakridsbybulow.com
*Jars start at £8, large selection boxes are around £35+
