For anyone that hasn’t stumbled across Universal Yums, it is a monthly subscription box which promises yummy snacks from all around the world. Each month, a country is featured and you can opt in for one of two boxes – Yum Box (6+ snacks) or Yum Yum box (12+ snacks).
Here’s a colourful diagram from them outlining how it works:
I was intrigued after coming across a promotional video on Facebook, in which various tasters tried goodies from Pakistan. I went on their site which can be found here and ordered a box straight away! As it was my first box, I decided to opt for the smaller Yum box to trial it out. A few days after I placed my order, Universal Yums dropped the country name on their Instagram page. Needless to say, as a self proclaimed chocolate lover, I was delighted that it was Belgium! Here’s what I got:
Picnic Suikerwafel
As a lover of waffles (and all things sweet!) I was looking forward to this waffle as I’m more used to the lighter American versions, smothered with delectable toppings. I was a little disappointed as the best way to describe this waffle was stodgy, dense and sweet. I don’t know whether it was meant to be heated, but there was no indication of that. Eiter way, I managed to scoff the lot.
The Belgian Seashell
Having been gifted some seashell pralines, I wanted to finish them before opening these so, these were the last thing I opened in the box. I think it was a case of the best till last! I could taste the difference between the mass-produced ones I had been gifted and these silky smooth chocolaty goodness.
Trefin Vienna BonBons
These bon bons tasted like a less flavoured version of Fox’s Glacier Fruits sweets with a hard outside and a chewy centre. I had the lemon and lime and my little sister had the plum. Whilst they weren’t exactly anything out of the ordinary, they were a nice change from the chocolate in the box – an amuse bouche if you will.
Strawberry Nougat
This was the only thing in the box I couldn’t eat as it contained gelatine (written both on the ingredients and also using a key in the booklet – brownie points Universal Yums!)
Roger’s & Roger’s Black Pepper & Sea Salt
I absolutely love handcooked crisps, especially salt and pepper and these definitely did not disappoint! They were not greasy at all and tasted well flavoured with the salt and pepper taste lingering through the entire bag.
Caramelized Biscuit Milk Chocolate Bar
This wafer bar was slightly melted unfortunately so I the biscuit and chocolate was not as intact as it could be. As a lover of Lotus and Speculoos (I did say I have a sweet tooth) I enjoyed this bar and could imagine it would be the perfect accompaniment to my break time coffee. I would have liked a thicker wafer as I did feel that the chocolate overpowered the wafer slightly.
Hamlet Buttercream Truffles
These were a lovely bitesize treat, but one bitesize was certainly enough. They are super sweet, perhaps I felt more so due to already sampling the other sweets. The dusting of cocoa powder definitely helped counter the sweetness and left a nice velvety finish to the truffle. These are best saved for times of indulgence.
Creme Brulee White Chocolate
With white chocolate being super sweet in itself, I didn’t really get the creme brulee taste. Maybe if the creme brulee flavouring was added as a buttercream in the centre of the chocolate, it would be easier to distinguish.
The box also contained a booklet with some trivia on Belgium, puzzles and a clue to next month’s box (I didn’t get the country so I cheated and spied on the Instagram page – we’re heading to Turkey next month – excited!)