Mint Straws (Nestle After Eight Straws)

Member Name: Whizz11

Product:	Nestle After Eight Straws
Date:	03/02/09 (193 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Tasty, different

Disadvantages: Calories

After Eight Thin Mints (After Eights) are a confectionery product described as "mint enrobed in dark chocolate".

They were created in 1962 by Rowntree & Company Limited. Since the 1988 acquisition of the United Kingdom-based company, the mints have been produced by Nestlé. According to various articles I have read, "Rich in British heritage, After Eight is known as England's finest mint." They are advertised as an after-dinner mint, hence the product's name but I like to think that it is "after eight" somewhere in the world so it's really acceptable to eat them at any time of the day!!

The new After Eight straws are described as, "A modern new twist on the after dinner mint, rich dark chocolate straws with a smooth mint centre." I think they are a nice addition to the After Eight range and a little something different than the regular thin mints. They remind of the Matchstixs chocolates that were popular a few years ago.

The straws are approximately 6 inches long and are quite thin too.
Like the description says above the straws are filled with a smooth mint centre. This is a fondant mint and is just the same as the mint in the thins chocolate mints. Apparently the fondant in the centre of After Eights is made as a stiff paste of sucrose, water, and a small amount of the enzyme invertase. The fondant is quite thick and not runny so when you bite into the chocolate the insides do not come running out. In fact it is possible to nibble away all of the outside coating of the chocolate to just be left with a stick of fondant which is quite fun to do. The mint has a lovely, refreshing taste to it and mixed with the chocolate is a perfect combination.

The dark chocolate covers all of the fondant middle except for at the ends where you can see the fondant poking out. The chocolate layer is fairly thick but not too thick as these sticks are quite thin. The chocolate, as mentioned above, is Nestle so it's a good quality chocolate and tastes great. I like the fact that the straws tend to snap if you break them in the middle.

I've found that they are a great conversation piece too as everybody is really intrigued that the mints are After Eights.

The straws come in a round tin, almost like a barrel. What's nice is that the tins opens in the middle and one part slides over the other to open it. This way, you can serve the straws still in the tin and it's a handy way to put them out on the table as a after dinner mint.

Even though these straws may look mall, unfortunately the calorie count is not. In each straw there are 24 calories, not much you may say but you will definitely be able to eat at least 10 straws in one sitting, giving you a grand total of 240 calories. Also there are 1.4g of fat per straw, but in my opinion these are perfect as an after dinner treat and a nice change from the original After Eight's!

Summary: After Eight Straws