These delicious almonds don’t need any introduction here in South Korea, because of their continued popularity with each new nutty release. If you’ve never heard of the small company, Tom’s Farm, let me get you acquainted, because I guarantee the nut craze isn’t going to end just here in K-Nation. Several years ago, this company suddenly became incredibly famous after releasing their Honey Butter Almonds for the first time. I’m not sure where the whole honey butter craze started, but we were seeing everything from honey butter chicken to honey butter chips, and the list goes on until almost infinite. Tom’s Farm had impeccable timing with their release and really capitalized on the ongoing honey butter madness. From that humble release, we now have several dozen different flavors of nuts to try from Tom’s Farm, including: almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, and even peanuts!
For today’s review, I picked Tom’s Farm’s Cookies & Cream Almond, because I’m not only a fan of almonds, but also a huge fan of cookies with some cream. So, I hope you’re ready, because here are my thoughts on these tasty nutz…
Packaging:
I guess I’m a sucker for cute almonds… In general, I like how Tom’s Farm showcases their nutty friends. These little almonds are always up to something different, depending on which flavor you purchased. This time around, we can see: almonds wearing cookies & cream hats, using cookie shields, surfing on cookies, and sitting on a cookies & cream filled chair. There’s also a cookie and almond planet spewing liquid cream from its core into the blue abyss on this package. The artwork is both fun and really clever. Also, the bluish hue of the packaging really pops!
So, to test and review these nuts, I opted for the extra small packages that contain 25 grams (.88 ounces) of cookies & cream coated almond goodness. These packages are very, very small. They only contain 9 candy coated almonds, which is a good size for tasting and not going wild with the calories. The package is easily pocketable for having a sweet snack always with you. There are definitely much larger sizes available, such as the 190 gram packages (6.7 ounces) you can find on Amazon or your local snack aisle here in South Korea.
Flavor:
The flavor of Tom’s Farm Cookies & Cream Almonds reminds me of cookies & cream ice cream from Baskin Robbin’s. The flavor is very similar, but much less sweet. I actually prefer the the flavor of these almonds compared to cookies & cream ice cream for this reason. These almonds aren’t overly sweet, which I absolutely love. The candy coating is also very dense. On some of these almonds, the coating was nearly a centimeter thick! This leads me to one of the negative points about these almonds from Tom’s Farm. These almonds are runts! They are very small, but I guess they make practical use of undersized almonds that probably can’t make it directly to market. I wish I was getting more almond for the price, because these packages of nuts aren’t cheap. With that being said, the thick candy coating is well-balanced and works amazingly well with its delicious almond center.
Smell:
Trying to catch a whiff of almonds through the dense crust and mantle formed by the cookies & cream candy coating is seriously impossible. You’re not going to smell or taste almonds until you really start to breakdown the little candied treasure. The aroma definitely smells like cookies & cream and is similar to both the cookie and the cream filling of a classic Oreo cookie. I’m able to smell the sweet fragrance of both the cookie and the cream independently. Tom’s Farm has clearly gone to great lengths to ensure this cookies & cream flavor and aroma stands with the best of them.
Verdict:
What is my verdict for deez nuts, you ask? Well, other than the almonds being a bit teeny-tiny for my liking, I can’t find anything wrong with this version of Tom’s Farm Almonds. The cookies & cream flavor pairs incredibly well with the flavor of almonds. These are absolutely mouthwateringly, delicious! I only wish that I bought the large package of these nuts, because I’m both a fan of almonds and cookies & cream, especially when it comes to Oreos. Best of all, these almonds taste very similar to Oreos, so what more could you ask for in life?
So, what do you think? Do cookies & cream almonds sound delicious to you? What other desserts do you like with this flavor? Let me know in the comments!
If you’re interested in hearing more about Korean snack nuts or instant ramen, check out my on-going series, Noodle Story: An Exploration of Korean Instant Noodles and my other series, I Think I’m Going Nuts: An Eyeful of South Korea’s Little Snack Nuts, here on Medium.
