For my entire adult life, I have maintained that the Spice Girls will forever be Europe’s greatest contribution to the United States. Let’s face it, “Wannabe” was the biggest radio hit in 1997. These days, I only hear it while sitting in the waiting room at the dentist’s office. And every time, I have to endure the subsequent joke from my dentist to open my mouth and say “zig-a-zig ahh.” Every. Single. Time.
While the only notable thing I’ve done lately is spend an entire day watching “Spice World,” the folks at Mondelez are making a splash by bringing another group of marquee stars from overseas. Milka Oreo Choco-Mix is the third part of the treat trifecta — treat-fecta? -— from the Milka and Oreo brands, the others being the Big Crunch Bar and Chocolate Candy Bar. It’s got mini Oreo and Golden Oreo cookies, Milka chocolate buttons, and candy coated chocolate pieces. Yeah, I’m gonna go ahead and schedule my next dentist appointment now.
?Opening the bag of Milka Oreo Choco-Mix to a visage of only Oreos brought a wave of conflicting feelings. On one hand, I’ll never complain about a surplus of Oreos. But on the other hand, what happened to the other stuff? I soon discovered that the lighter ingredients had settled to the bottom, and all I had to do was jostle the bag. The Spice Girls once exclaimed, “slam it to the left…shake it to the right!” Fun fact: they were actually singing about Choco-Mix.
Let’s deconstruct Milka Oreo Choco-Mix for a minute. The mini Oreo sandwich cookies are the familiar Oreo flavors you know and love. The mini classic Oreos have a slightly bitter chocolate cookie, while the mini Golden Oreos use a sweeter, vanilla-flavored cookie. Both contain the same sweet, sugary creme. The candy coated chocolate pieces are identical to M&M’s: creamy milk chocolate, with a crunchy candy shell. If those pieces use higher quality Milka chocolate instead of Mars chocolate, I didn’t taste a significant difference.
Speaking of that higher quality Milka chocolate, it’s scattered throughout this Choco-Mix in the form of round, thin discs. The chocolate is rich and creamy, and hands down better than anything we have here in the United States. The discs are light and firm, providing a crisp bite that melts instantly in your mouth.
To my surprise, the separate ingredients actually come together quite well. I was half-expecting a handful of Milka Oreo Choco-Mix to simply devolve into a mouthful of sugar, but the components manage to play off of each other without getting lost. The bitter classic Oreo cookie is a good counterpart to the sweeter chocolate candies and sugary Oreo creme. The golden Oreo cookie introduces a vanilla flavor to avoid going too heavy on the chocolate. The crunchy cookies, hard candy shells, and creamy chocolate create a nice variety in texture.
But even though Milka Oreo Choco-Mix works well, it seems one-dimensional after a handful or two. I found myself yearning for more variety—for example, through the addition of nuts (candy coated chocolate pieces with peanuts, perhaps) or different flavors of Oreos (cough mini Reese’s Oreos cough). And the proportion of the ingredients leans heavily toward the Milka discs, which can be a bit overwhelming if you don’t get an even handful.
Milka Oreo Choco-Mix is a solid snack mix and a welcome addition to the candy aisle. I’m hoping that in the future, we’ll see new versions with even more ingredients and Oreo flavors. For now though, it’s worth the extra dentist appointment.
I can’t wait to hear “Wannabe” again.
(Nutrition Facts – 1/4 cup – 200 calories, 80 calories from fat, 9 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 120 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of carbohydrates, less than 1 gram of dietary fiber, 20 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein.).)
Purchased Price: $3.50
Size: 6.17 oz. bag
Purchased at: Walmart
Rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Good combination of flavors and fun textural variety. Excellent, high-quality chocolate. The Spice Girls are first-ballot Rock and Roll Hall of Fame candidates.
Cons: Taste becomes slightly redundant after a couple of handfuls. Might contain too many Milka discs. Could benefit from addition of new ingredients or Oreo flavors. Corny dentist jokes.