Universal Yums is a snack subscription box that sends out snacks and candies from a different country each month. The contents of the boxes change each month as they highlight the best snacks from each featured country. However, you can always expect a mix of flavors: salty, sweet, spicy, fruity, and more. Only authentic snacks from the featured country are included in this box. Choose from the Yum Box for $16.00 per month, the Yum Yum Box for $27.00 per month, or the Super Yum Box for $41.00 per month.
This review is of the Yum Yum box, which is $27.00 per month.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we review boxes.)
First Impressions
December is my favorite month of the entire year. Not only is Christmas housed in this month, but it is also my dad's, sister's, and son's birthday! While extremely busy and full of fun, I find myself very much looking forward to the Universal Yums box this month as it contains special treats from...EVERYWHERE and seriously who can resist that?!
What's Inside The Box
Every month we receive a fun, illustrated map that usually shows where our Yums are coming from, because this month's snacks are coming from a variety of places, we received some fun clipart of this month's snacks along with a variety of trivia. The backside is traditional, in that it has the Yum Scoreboard and scavenger hunt. Also included is the fun booklet packed with beautiful graphics, recipes, photography, and more trivia, educating us about geography while snacking our way through the box.
Green Leaf and Red Flower Popcorn - Buy a pack of 2 for $6.80
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How festive is this lovely red and green popcorn? I am imagining this Taiwanese popcorn laid out on my buffet in my grandma's crystal bowl along with the traditional orange ball, lefse, kringle, and krumkake... That is until I tasted it...I am not a tea drinker, and green tea sort of tastes like dirt to me, and so did this popcorn. I wish I liked it, I really did, as it has so many health benefits, but I just can't bring myself to drink the stuff. This popcorn has a very similar taste, though when combined with the strawberry kernels, it is okay, just very earthy and odd. Would I serve this to guests? No, but it was fun to try. What did you think of this fancy popcorn?
Prosecco Bonbons - Buy a pack of 4 for $4.80
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Come to mama!!! These prosecco bonbons from Devon, UK are where it's at. Soft and chewy but tasting like champagne mixed with a Starburst, these little balls of delightfulness are everything I could hope for in a candy. If I can muster the strength to save a few of these precious sweets, I think they would be an absolute delight dropped into an actual glass of prosecco for an extra little amount of excitement! Did anyone else enjoy these as much as I did?
Popcorn Flavored Chocolate Truffles
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Now, these are something interesting! I am not the biggest fan of dark chocolate, and truffles can be a little too rich for my milk chocolate-preferring taste buds, but I think I may have discovered the best chocolate truffle to ever exist. The title had me wrinkle my nose a bit, but these rich cocoa truffles (from France) are rolled with popcorn for a sweet and salty surprise that just about melts in your mouth. Not too sweet and not bitter, these little cocoa dusted drops are amazing, so why on earth are they not for sale in the Yum Shop?!
Goat Cheese & Espelette Chili Potato Chips - Buy a pack of 3 for $4.80
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Upon first inspection, these French chips look like they may be a bit spicy, as they are smothered in red powder and have chili's pictured on the front of the bag. After a sniff of the bag and a taste of the chip, I definitely got a bleu cheese vibe, and then salt. I appreciated the ripples and goat cheese aspect, but really wish the chili would have come through a little more to make it a little less forgettable.
Dulce de Leche Filled Plum Cake - Buy a pack of 6 for $4.20
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I have to admit when I read the words 'plum cake' I wasn't all that intrigued. I was envisioning dull, heavy flavors of a dried-up old fruit cake, but was pleasantly surprised. Moist, soft, and invigorating, this delicious vanilla cake from Argentina didn't taste like plums at all, and the dulce de leche filling was heavenly. Reminiscent of a softer, creamier Fig Newton, this packaged cake was surprisingly one of my favorite items in the box.
Assorted Baklava - Buy a pack of 2 for $4.14
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So prettily packaged, these Jordan baklavas are everything you could hope for and more. Flaky, crispy, caramelized, and nutty, these little treats always remind me of Christmas. Enjoyed by everyone in our family, these little bites were gone in a flash.
Roast Beef & Spitfire Ale Potato Chips - Buy a pack of 2 for $3.78
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Straight from the UK, these roast beef and spitfire ale potato chips are made from hand-cooked Kentish potatoes and Britain's oldest ale. These chips are made to taste like a steak and ale pie, and while I have never had one of those, I can say I can detect a slight "hoppy" flavor on some of the chips. Smelling the bag gives me no hint that these are beef and ale flavored, and I am having a hard time picking that up in the flavor as well. The crunchiness paired with the salt is perfect, but I wish these would have packed a little more of a flavor punch to really impress me. What did you think of these crisps?
Assorted Turkish Delight - Buy a pack of 2 for $4.32
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The description for these famous confections sounds delicious, as rose, lemon, and orange are some of my favorite candy flavors, but the large chunks, the intense sweetness, and the overall flavor just didn't do it for me like I had hoped. Sprinkled in powdered sugar, these Turkish treats are beautiful, and the rose-flavored one left very heavy floral notes on my tongue, but I just didn't care for them. My boys thought they were alright but didn't go back for seconds. Lunch pail treat it is! Love you Dusty!
Cappuccino Cream Cocoa Pandoro - Buy a pack of 2 for $4.32
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Who doesn't love receiving a loaf of bread in the mail, and from Italy to boot?! This soft and sweet mini loaf reminded me of a gingerbread, that is until I hit the cappuccino cream center. The cream flavor was quite strong and melded well with the rest of the cake, though I wish there would have been more of it. I felt the cake was a bit dry where it wasn't filled with cream, and it just wasn't my favorite. Did I eat the entire loaf? Yes, I did, but I think it could be improved.
Christmas Pudding Fudge - Buy a pack of 4 for $4.32
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I've had an assortment of pudding in my lifetime though I can't say I've ever tried figgy pudding, today is the day that changes! This fudge, straight from the UK, is made out of figgy pudding. I didn't even know what that was until reading the description. It is a dark, dense fruitcake made of dried fruit, candied fruit peel, brandy, and spices. So this is figgy pudding made into fudge. Now I like fudge, but I don't like pudding....did I like these? Nope. This fudge is very dark in flavor - I like the caramel notes, but the dried fruit and brandy prove to be a little too strong for my weak palette.
Cinnamon Spice Cookies - Buy a pack of 2 for $5.58
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Crisp, sweet, and deep, these Danish cookies are surprisingly sweet upon first taste but fade into deeper notes of molasses and cinnamon. I found it well-rounded taste-wise, and loved the bite-size shape in the large package. Paired with a cup of coffee, these cookies were really tasty.
The Verdict
Universal Yums came with a very interesting round-up this month. Featuring items from eight different countries we enjoyed the variety of sweet and savory snacks. While we didn't love every item in the box, we had a lovely time slowly working our way through this month's booklet, savoring the flavors of foods from around the globe while learning about places new and old. We can't wait to see where we are headed in the New Year! Any guesses?
Scorecard Picks:
- Favorite: Prosecco Bonbons
- Runner-up: Popcorn Flavored Chocolate Truffles
- Worst Yum: Christmas Pudding Fudge
- Most Unusual: Christmas Pudding Fudge
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Yes, sign up now and choose to start with either the Everywhere, Scandinavia, Taiwan, or Turkey box.
Value Breakdown: This box is $27.00 per month (including shipping). I received 11 individually wrapped snacks which average out to $2.45 per item.
Which Universal Yums snack would you most like to try?
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