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, but 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 $19.00 per month, the Yum Yum Box for $33.00 per month, or the Super Yum Box for $51.00 per month. (You also have the option to save by purchasing a 3,6-, or 12-month plan.)
This review is of the Yum Yum box, which is $33.00 per month.
Author's Note: This particular box did go up in price in recent months.
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
Summer vacation is here folks, and the boys and I are basking in the glory of sleeping in, patio lunches, and baseball. Don't be fooled, our summer isn't completely fun and games, we also are in the process of purging every room in our house, trying to maintain our gigantic garden, and keeping up with a homeschool regimen. In that, we like to incorporate the Universal Yums box into a Geography lesson that proves to be educational, interesting, and tasty. Read below to see what we thought of this month's treats.
What's Inside The Box
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Every month we receive a fun, illustrated map that shows where our Yums are coming from. This month, our brightly colored map depicts Thailand with a variety of trivia. The backside hosts the usual Yum Scoreboard and scavenger hunt. Also included in this box is a lovely pamphlet that guides you through each country via trivia, recipes, photography, and activities. Usually, we receive a sticker featuring the country of the month but did not this time around. I wonder if that is the thing of the past? Anyways, onto the items!
Mala Seaweed Roll - Buy a pack of 9 for $9.00
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The first item we received this month was a spicy seaweed roll wrapped in a beautifully bright wrapper. Full disclosure - I am really not an adventurous eater, the only kind of seafood I will touch is deep fried walleye or northern smothered in tartar sauce. That being said, seaweed rolls scare me. When I signed up to review this box, I made it my personal mission to try every single item that was included, so here I am. Thin and flaky, this seaweed roll definitely packed some heat. The seaweed itself crumbled upon eating, and my youngest mentioned it looked a lot like our betta fish's food flakes, and he isn't wrong. I personally did not like the texture nor flavor of the seaweed roll, but feel like I would enjoy the spicy flavoring on some sort of land animal cuisine. Hank was terrified of this treat and wouldn't go near it, while Charlie tried a flake and found it too spicy and not appetizing.
Chocolate Coconut Chips - Buy a pack of 2 for $7.60
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As a lover of both Mounds bars and Almond Joy, these chocolate flavored coconut chips were one of our favorites. Crunchy, sweet, and surprisingly light, these were fantastic on their own, but would also be absolutely decadent in a trail mix containing almonds and pretzels!
Chocolatey Caramel Cookies - Buy a 24 pack for $8.20
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Speaking of decadent, we also discovered these deliciously sweet and adorable chocolate caramel cookies. Layering caramel and smooth chocolate over a lightly sweetened cookie is where it is at with this treat. Perfectly balanced on flavor, with the yummiest texture, I really could have gone for an entire box of these little morsels! Both boys agreed - two tiny cookies were definitely not enough for this group of dessert lovers!
Sweet & Spicy Sausage Flavored Potato Rings - Buy a 3 pack for $4.80
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If you were to ask my son Charlie what his favorite summer food is, he would say "homemade venison sausage!" So as soon as I caught a glimpse of this package, I knew his thoughts would be the ones that counted. We were all surprised at just how much like sausage these little potato chips really did taste. Fun to eat because of the little tube shapes, and deliciously sweet and spicy, these were a definite win. Charlie now is asking Dustin if we can start making our own sausage flavored chips!
Thai Iced Tea Wafer Cookies - Buy a pack of 4 for $4.80
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I was very excited to see a wafer in this box but paused a moment when I noticed it was Thai milk tea flavored. I actually just started drinking coffee about a year ago and have tried tea in the past but just don't care for it, so I wasn't sure what to expect with this Yum. Well, the vanilla wafer was typical of most American wafers, so that was just fine, but the cream had a slightly natural "tea" flavor, but amped up with a caramel spice flavor. While it wasn't my favorite treat in the box, it was decent, and worth the try.
Caramel & Garlic Crisps - Buy a pack of 2 for $5.60
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Our next snack was one of the most unique and ended up being my favorite snack in the entire box. These caramel and garlic wheat snacks were ahhhmazing! Bizarre and surprising, these sweet and spicy crisps packed a punch with flavor and were soooo addicting. Another snack that would be a fantastic addition to a homemade trail mix but are also amazing on their own. The only qualm I had was the terrible, terrible breath I produced from eating them. Good thing we received mints this month!
Cookies & Cream Sandwich Cookies - Buy a pack of 4 for $5.20
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Mentioned as "The Thai answer to Oreos", these handsome cookies are very similar, but contain cookie crumbles in the filling itself. Because I am all about the cookie, and much less about the filling, I am all for the additional crumbs, and actually preferred these to Oreos. Because our cookies were turning into crumbles themselves, we all shared one cookie and crushed the rest to mix in with our vanilla ice cream.... delish!
Dutch Cheesey Wafer Cookies - Buy a pack of 4 for $4.80
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Because we are such fans of wafer-based snacks, we were excited to see another version pop up in the Thailand box. Admittedly, we were all a little surprised to see it was a cheese variety. With a sweet wafer and a soft and salty cheese in the middle, this was an interesting combination, but one that actually worked. Would I go out and buy this to pack in my lunch on a daily basis? Probably not, but it was fun to try, and I wouldn't be disappointed if at some point, I received one again.
Chicken Larb Flavored Seaweed Chips - Buy a single pack for $5.10
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Oh boy, another seaweed snack! Because I wasn't a fan of the seaweed roll listed above, I was very apprehensive to try this, but knew I must for the sake of the review. Because this contained chicken flavoring and wasn't quite as flaky as the roll, it was a little more enjoyable, though I can't say I ate more than one chip. My kids weren't convinced and decided to skip this one, and I can't say that I blame them. Maybe by the time we visit Thailand again my palette will have matured by then!
Dynamite Chocolatey Mint Candies - Buy a pack of 50 for $4.30
I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I read "Dynamite" on the blue package of these hard candies. Was it going to be super spicy?! Nope, it was actually a peppermint hard candy with a chocolate flavored center. Unique and a "breath saver" after the caramel & garlic crisps, this was one hard candy I would definitely buy in the future. Side note: eat one of these and then drink your morning coffee for a spicy little chocolatey treat!
Hot & Spicy Chicken Wing Rings - Buy a 2 pack for $4.40
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Being a fan of chips and chicken wings, we all knew right off the bat that these potato rings were going to be a winner. With the same fun tube shape the sausage chips had, these hot and spicy rings packed a punch of flavor, that left us wanting more. As a side note, you may want to save one of the "Dynamite" candies for after these as well because they do contain some garlic.
Milk Chews - Buy a pack of 50 for $4.20
Last but certainly not least, we received four soft, creamy milk chews to try. With a taffy like texture, these really reminded me of a softer version of a vanilla tootsie roll. Mild and sweet, yet not overpowering, these were a nice little end to an action packed box.
The Verdict
This month we felt Universal Yums did a really good job at taking us out of our comfort zone. We appreciated the equal mix of sweet and savory snacks along with the fact that most of these treats were new and not repeats from previous trips to Thailand. While there were a couple snacks we didn't love...cough...seaweed...cough. We were glad to have the opportunity to branch out and try them. Paired with the pamphlet, playlist, and trivia, my kids enjoyed our Thailand Geography lesson and can't wait to see where we get to travel too next. Any guesses where we will be headed next month?
Scorecard Picks:
- Favorite: Caramel & Garlic Crisps
- Runner-up: Chocolatey Caramel Cookies
- Worst Yum: Mala Seaweed Roll
- Most Unusual: Dutch Cheesey Wafer Cookies
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 you can choose to receive the Thailand or UK box.
Value Breakdown: This box is $33.00 per month (including shipping). I received 18 individually wrapped snacks which average out to $1.83 per item.
Which Universal Yums snack would you most like to try?
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