Universal Yums November 2014 Yum Yum Box Review!

Universal Yums is a new snack subscription box that focuses on treats and snacks from a different country every month.  November 2014 is Germany.  Now I’ve traveled fairly extensively all over the world and I have to say that I think our US candy is pretty great.  But trying other countries candies and snacks is so much fun!  Especially when you can’t read the language so you have absolutely no idea what the snack might actually be.

In any case, Universal Yums has taken the best snacks from Deutschland this month and sent them to me for review.  You can actually still get this box if you order before December 1st.  This particular box that I received is the deluxe Yum Yum box.  There is also a regular Yum box that has fewer snacks.

The Cost: $25/month for the deluxe Yum Yum box ON SALE for $20 for the life of your subscription if you sign up before December 1st.  $13/month for the regular Yum box ON SALE for $10/month for the life of your subscription if you sign up by December 1st.

What You Get: The deluxe Yum Yum box contains 13 or more snacks and the regular Yum box contains 6 or more snacks.  Each box will have a mix of salty, sweet, spicy and more to suit every taste and tastebud.

First of all, I loved how the tissue paper made the German flag!  The attention to detail was completed by facts about Germany, a map and a little Deutsch tossed in for good measure.  Luckily for you, they translated it.  Very loosely. Haha!

Not only that but the back of the card has each product listed with a photo (so you’re not guessing which description goes with what product, of course) and a description of the snack or candy.  I personally am a sucker for a good info card and this one is pretty perfect for someone who has no idea what they’re getting into
Lorenz Monster Munch in Cheese Flavor– These are hilarious.  They actually look just like the pictures with a face and everything.  They have a great crunch and are very light but the cheese taste is a little weird.  It kinda grows on you, though.  Okay, I have to put a photo of the actual chip.
See!!  Super cute!  And its a big bag of snacks, too.  Actually both of these chips were big bags.  I would say probably the biggest size of chip bag that they have in Europe.  They don’t have huge bags like we do in the US.  I should have taken a picture of the back of the back because the ingredients list is written in eight languages!  If a snack company wants to make it big, I guess they have to ship all over Europe.  That would explain how I found the next item.

Lorenz Naturals in Paprika– I’ve had these before, most recently when I was in Croatia. They aren’t bad.  They’re kinda like barbeque potato chips but… more sweet?  The aftertaste is what is surprising.
These definitely grow on you and my husband ate the entire bag.

Lorenz Saltletts Pretzel Sticks– These are great! Really skinny pretzels with the right amount of salt.  You can’t really go wrong with pretzels and I love them so these made me happy.  Lorenz must be Germany’s version of Lays.  They sure make a lot of snacks.

Lorenz Curly Peanut Classic– So these are awful.  I like to experiment when I’m in other countries and getting strange snack foods is one thing I like to do.  Now, when I snagged these off the shelf, I thought they were going to be like Cheetos. No. No.  Not like Cheetos.  Not like peanut butter. Not good. At all.  I didn’t even open this package because that’s how hard of an impression these Curly snacks made on me.  I remembered them the second I saw the name. Haha!  Still, it was fun to try them but I’m going to stick these in someone’s stocking just for fun.
Manner Vienna Lemon Cream Filled Wafers–  According to the info card, these aren’t authentically German.  They’re Viennese and therefore from Austria.  I’m totally okay with that because these are the best Lemon wafers I have ever eaten.  The BEST! The perfect amount of crunchy wafer to tangy, tart lemony filling.  Absolutely delicious.  And gone.  Already.  Yes.  And I only shared one.  Which means I ate seven of them.  I don’t even care because thats how good these were. 😀

Leibniz Pick Up Choco– A chocolate Leibniz sandwich! This has a thick slab of chocolate in between two crispy thin biscuits cookies.  It’s like a smores without the marshmallow and with something way better than a graham cracker.  Which makes it not like a smores.  Oh, well!  It’s really good.  The crackery cookies is very tasty and while I don’t love milk chocolate, it’s a great chocolatey snack.

Ritter Sport Fine Milk Chocolate– I know that you can find these chocolates everywhere now but that’s not the point.  This is a snack box.  And it also has Ritter chocolate in it! Yes!  Snack boxes with chocolate are always good!  Manufactured in Waldenbuch, Germany, this is the real German Chocolate.

Dr. Quendt’s Dinklechen– I thought these were going to be chocolate covered raisins.  They look like it on the package!  But oh how wrong I was.  Thankfully.  Because I hate raisins.  No, these are far more interesting.  They are chocolate covered wheat bran and spelt. Yes, get your daily dose of fiber in one bag.  They are crunchy and actually quite tasty.  And strange.  This was definitely a fun one to try.
Haribo Gold-Bears– Technically these aren’t German either since they’re made in Turkey but the nod to Hans Reigal, the inventor of gummy bears and founder of Haribo in 1893 is very much appreciated.  Because I love Haribo gummy bears. Mmm!  Best flavor, for sure.

Kinder Happy Hippo Biscuit– I don’t know that I would call this a biscuit.  Or a cookie.  It’s like one of those Ferrero Rocher Truffles.  Except it’s shaped like a hippo.
Tell me that isn’t adorable!  It *is* adorable!  Mr. Hippo has a creamy milk and hazelnut filling surrounded by crisp wafer.  I took one bite and new DH would *love* this.  He loves the Ferrero Rocher.  I gave it to him, sure that he would think it too ridiculous to eat but he took a bite and then held it as far away from me as he could so that I couldn’t take it back.  So yeah, I think he liked it!

Schluckwerder Marzipan– This is marzipan covered with dark chocolate.  I don’t think I’ve eaten marzipan before.  I tried it and it’s… interesting. I’m not sure I like it but I don’t think I don’t like it either. I’m neutral.  The dark chocolate is good and I like almond flavor but I think it’s the consistency that throws me off.

Hitschler Softi Kaubonbon– Yum! It’s like Laffy Taffy only way better!  These strip chews have been made in Cologne, Germany since the 1920’s.  They are sweet and delicious.  I wish there were more! Omg, I’m laughing so hard right now.  I just emptied out the box and found another one! Yay!

VERDICT:  Universal Yums has put together a fantastic box!  The variety is spectacular.  There is something for everyone.  It’s never guaranteed you’ll like everything (at least in my case, I’m picky) but it’s always just as much fun to find out what you don’t like as finding what you do.  This is the Yum Yum box and it had 13 items in it this time around.  That’s a lot of items!  I’m very happy with the ratio of snacks to sweets, too. I had a lot of fun trying everything, it was a pretty great adventure. I’m also very impressed with the thought and curation from a very new company like this.  And I love the fast shipping.

If you would like to sign up for Universal Yums, you can do that right here.  I suggest doing it now because the lifetime price special only runs til December 1st.

Don’t forget this would also make a great gift!  I have a brother who would love something like this and for $20 it’s a fun box to have sent to him.  He lives in Alaska.  And Universal Yums ships to ALL 50 states.  No leaving Alaska and Hawaii out like they’re red-headed step-children.  Currently they only ship to the US but they’re working on expanding.

December’s hint indicates the next country will be Portugal or Brazil (I think).  Here’s the hint:
Spicy snacks, amazing treats
You’re about to get some real good eats
To say hello, they’ll often shake hands
but if you speak Spanish, they won’t understand.

What do you think?  Does anyone love those Curly peanut snacks?