Taste Test: Bourbon Creams

A while ago I had the chance to talk to two people who worked in the groceries sector. Through our conversations they got to know that I ran this blog and asked me certain queries about their own value line, specifically my attitude towards it, so that they could understand what their consumers want. I noted that while most people I know treated value lines as a way to reduce expenditure on frequently used essential items, I have noticed that there is another demographic distinct from this - that of university student societies and clubs.

Some memories came back of eating Sainsbury's Basics crisps and other such tidbits while attending various meetings held by the societies I participated in. A thought occurred to me if what they were doing was just a way to stretch out of extreme necessity the club's budget for as long as it can hold out, or if they were really on to something.

Where I work now, it is customary for a member of the team to bring something to snack on for our weekly team meetings. I thought that it would be the perfect opportunity for me to bring along two lines of Sainsbury's Bourbon Creams, one Basics, one own-brand, and arrange for a blind taste test. With that in mind, I got to the office early that morning, piled the biscuits into two separate plates and set them before my colleagues to sample from. Surprisingly it was difficult to tell them apart, as they tasted the same. That is, until somebody spotted a visual difference in the biscuits themselves.

The photograph you see below is a poor attempt at showing that difference. The Sainsbury's Basics Bourbon Cream on the left has less chocolate cream compared to the regular own-brand one on the right. To be honest, as noted above, none of us at the workplace could tell the difference, so considering the savings of almost 50%, if you are buying biscuits in bulk for the next gathering of any sort, do give the Bourbon Creams a try.

Description	Price per Unit	No. of servings	Trade-up Premium	Trade-up Benefits
Bourbon Creams	£0.45	400g	+£0.38	Thicker chocolate filling.

Taste Test: Soya Milk

One of the problems living near my alma mater's campus is that there is little access to Asian groceries, which means that we have to go into London Chinatown on a regular basis, which can be a hassle. Alternatively, one could source for similar items in the nearby Sainsbury's. Soya milk from Asia is pretty expensive, so it might make sense to try the one offered by Sainsbury's. For today, I've set up a blind taste test between Vitasoy, a leading Asian brand, and Sainsbury's Basics Sweetened Soya Milk, to see if I can tell the difference.

Sadly, I can. Vitasoy, pictured left above, had a much stronger sweet soya taste, while the Basics soya milk felt more like slightly sweetened water. The colour also looked a lot paler to Vitasoy. A brief check of the ingredients list quickly revealed that there was a stark difference in soya bean content - 65% vs 6%. The regular Sainsbury's sweetened soya milk is little better at 8%. I had a brief discussion with my flatmates and we concluded that the supermarket chain made this as a milk substitute and is hence not supposed to be like the soya milk we are familiar with back home. That said, I personally feel there's nothing wrong with using Vitasoy with your breakfast cereal.

Well, at least it has additional vitamins and minerals.

Description	Price per Unit	No. of servings	Trade-up Premium	Trade-up Benefits
Sweetened Soya Milk	£0.59	1l	+£0.06	Marginally higher soya content. Skip both and get Vitasoy.

Orange Juice Taste Test

As we near the start of term at my former alma mater, I thought I should push out a few more posts which would deal with items that you may commonly use. I drank a lot of orange juice over the course of my time at university, in order to maintain my intake of Vitamin C, so that my family back home wouldn't have to worry about my health, given my aversion to fruit in general. Despite being a regular purchaser of Basics products however, I strangely never touched the Basics Orange Juice. Now that I maintain this blog though, it is about time that I put it to the taste test against its regular counterpart.

The taste test is simple: get the flatmates to pour the two cartons of juice into two separate but identical cups while I am not looking. Sample both and determine which one is better. Repeat with more people if necessary, see below.

We actually found the two orange juice to be very similar to each other; however if we were pressured to choose, we would actually go for the Basics one, as it was just that little bit less acidic in taste. The regular one does have higher vitamin C content though, and you can also choose to have either the smooth juice or the one with pips as shown in the photos. The Basics one on the other hand only comes in smooth.

Description	Price per Unit	No. of servings	Trade-up Premium	Trade-up Benefits
Orange Juice	£0.56	1L	+£0.19	Higher Vit C content, choice between smooth juice and juice with pips