I have to say, I’m a bit afraid of popping one of these almonds today. It’s nothing that Tom’s Farm has done, but because I suddenly developed an allergy to bananas back when I was doing my undergraduate degree at university. I had eaten bananas my whole life up until that point. It came on suddenly and left me unable to enjoy bananas again. Strangely enough, Chamwae (a type of tiny yellow Korean melon) also gives me the same reaction. So… I guess I’m allergic to the color yellow? It’s very strange and I’ve only met maybe 1 or 2 people in my lifetime that have the same problem.
Now, you’re probably thinking that this guy would be dumb to risk eating these almonds, but I’ve tested the waters with bananas before and realized it’s only real bananas that set that allergy off. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the banana flavoring is probably not 100% bananas and from the looks of it, only makes up .429% of the ingredients. I think I’ll be just fine, but I guess we’ll find out after today, if I post this review…
Package:
Only two almonds featured in the artwork of the package today. This is probably a good choice, because honestly, there’s not a whole lot of room for our almond friends on this package. The theme of this packaging, is definitely, tropical. There are palm trees, mangoes, bananas, and even a ukulele playing almond with a giant, beautiful flower stuck in her outer shell. The second almond is basically just chilling in the corner and catching some rays. He made excellent use of the banana peel as his lounge chair, but most fun of all, he’s almost like his own fruity cocktail with a tiny cocktail umbrella stuck in his head. This little guy must be on vacation, because he’s also wearing shades and his Hawaiian shirt, while he enjoys his drink. This artwork was fun today and really drives the point home that we’re going to be tasting something tropical. I hope these almonds really do deliver on that tropical promise, because the art really set that up well.
Artwork aside, let’s get down to the package specifics. I believe this ultra-tiny, 10 gram (.35 ounce) package was a sample given in my order from Tom’s Farm. Other than just tasting a certain flavor, it makes no sense at all to buy a package like this. It only contained 7 almonds, which barely makes for a mouthful. What frustrates me even more is that I was cheated out of a gram again. These almonds weighed in at 9 grams, instead of the 10 grams marked on the package. It seems that Tom’s Farm not only can’t get their consumer packaging right, but also their samples. If I was running a company, I would set that dial to 11 grams or less, rather than the obviously 10 grams or less Tom’s Farm is currently using. The customers deserve more, not less. Even if it costs thousands of dollars per year extra…
Flavor:
I’m just about ready to bust out my Hawaiian shirt and wear it, while I write this review comfortably indoors. Although, the actual weather here in Korea is brutally cold for this time of year (-10C), these almonds have me feeling festively tropical. The outer exterior of these almonds is coated in a thin dusting of mango banana flavoring. It’s only a white, powdery residue, rather than a solid candy coating today. The initial taste is a strong hit of artificial banana flavoring, but it is followed up quickly by the tartness of mango. These two flavors in combination make for a surprisingly balanced and unique flavor. I never quite expected for this flavor to be even remotely satisfying, but it is… Finally, you can really taste the almonds at the end of the flavor. This is great, because I would like almonds to be the central flavor that are only enhanced by the secondary flavoring. However, that’s just my opinion. Overall, these tropically flavored almonds are quite tasty!
Aroma:
Mango Banana Almond is almost entirely scentless. I had a really hard time trying to detect any sort of aroma from these almonds. This might just be my imagination, but there is only a slightly sweet aroma of mango banana to them. No surprise there! There’s also no earthy notes or hints of almonds in the aroma either…
Verdict:
Guys! I made it! I’m still alive! Thank goodness for artificial banana flavoring, because that was a close one…
Tom’s Farm Mango Banana Almond is a unique flavor that I never knew would pair well with almonds. It truly is a summery and tropical flavor, just like the artwork suggested. While I don’t think it’s anywhere near the top tier almonds from Tom’s Farm, it does make for a uniquely enjoyable snack experience. I’m not sure I would want a mega-sized package of these almonds to snack on, but if you get the chance I do recommend you at least give these almonds a try. If you’re heading somewhere with warm sunny beaches or just want to taste the flavors of summer, these almonds will serve you well.
So, do you have a banana allergy as well? What do you think of tropical flavors with your almonds? Are there any other flavors of the equatorial regions you’d like to see paired with you almonds?
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.
