In the town where I work, there are 3 Costa coffee stores. All within a 2 minute walk from each other. Most recently, there has been a Costa Coffee stall that has appeared, again, well within a 2 minute walk from each others. So, when I decided to start reviewing coffee shop mince pies, Costa had to be the first choice because they were everywhere I turned. Lets see how their mince pie tart does this year.
Presentation - 5
This is the same as last year in terms of appearance. A large Christmas tree on a tart shaped base with shards of almonds and a light dusting of icing powder. Apart from this actually being a tart and not a pie, It just still qualifies to be on this blog.
Last year I ate in, this year, I had it to take-away and was given in in the above bag. I would have expected a different bag around Christmas time rather than the plain standard bag they shove everything in. The Costa colours are already bordering Christmas, so maybe a few red snowflakes on the bag or a Christmas tree instead of the red cup on the front would have been a subtle nod acknowledging Christmas. Unfortunately, its just a regular paper bag.
Nutritional Content & Price - 4
There is plenty of nutritional data on their website on all their coffees and teas, but very little on their sweet foods. I spent quite some time searching for the mince tart itself, let alone the nutritional data. It was hidden away in their festive section (which is impossible to find if you don't read their homepage properly), and just mentioned as a "Christmas treat" FOURTH from the bottom. Thats shocking! Mince Pies definitely rank higher at Chirstmas than their Honeycomb Crunch and Rich Chocolate and Raspberry Torte, which are both supposedly festive!?
As for price, if you take-away, each one of these will set you back £1.55, where as if you decide to eat-in then it will cost you £1.85 each (thank you VAT). To put it into perspective, If Costa sold these in boxes of 6, you would pay £11.10 for that box. That's almost as expensive as Fortnum & Mason. In fairness, these are fairly large mince tarts.
Pastry - 27
The pastry is pretty sweet. You may think that that is okay as its a tart, so it's missing its lid, which means that there is less pastry. I would have to disagree, I think as it is a large tart there is the usual amount of pastry there. It is evenly spread around, so no one edge is thicker than the other, including the pastry Christmas tree on top. It is crumbly and holds its shape very well. You also get a nice nutty taste from the almonds on top. While the overall flavour is most certainly sugar in this pastry, there is plenty of butter to give it a rich taste.
Mincemeat - 32
There is a generous helping of mincemeat, spread evenly over this tart. It may look a little dry on top, but break through that outer layer and you are welcomed to a moist, fruity, tangy and sweet filling. It really is very nice. The perfect balance between apple purée and vine fruits. Just the right amount of spices too.
Overall Satisfaction - 7
This is a great mince tart. It is larger than you average mince pie/tart, so don't under estimate it. I could only eat one before having to take a break. It is unfortunate that the pastry was so sweet as it then made the whole mince tart too sweet. Had they let the fruit in the mincemeat provide the sweetness, this would have been a contender for the top spot, but it's definitely recommended.
My fellow mincers seemed to absolutely love this mince tart, which is reflected greatly in their scores!
Here are the scores from my fellow mincers;
Tester 1
Presentation (9.5) Nutritional content & Price (9) Pastry (33) Mincemeat (34) Satisfaction Level (9.5)
Tester 2
Presentation (7) Nutritional content & Price (5) Pastry (33) Mincemeat (33) Satisfaction Level (8)
85.3 / 100
Look at where these fit in on our leader board.
(Don't forget to follow us on twitter @TheMincePieBlog and on Facebook)
Presentation - 5
This is the same as last year in terms of appearance. A large Christmas tree on a tart shaped base with shards of almonds and a light dusting of icing powder. Apart from this actually being a tart and not a pie, It just still qualifies to be on this blog.
Last year I ate in, this year, I had it to take-away and was given in in the above bag. I would have expected a different bag around Christmas time rather than the plain standard bag they shove everything in. The Costa colours are already bordering Christmas, so maybe a few red snowflakes on the bag or a Christmas tree instead of the red cup on the front would have been a subtle nod acknowledging Christmas. Unfortunately, its just a regular paper bag.
Nutritional Content & Price - 4
There is plenty of nutritional data on their website on all their coffees and teas, but very little on their sweet foods. I spent quite some time searching for the mince tart itself, let alone the nutritional data. It was hidden away in their festive section (which is impossible to find if you don't read their homepage properly), and just mentioned as a "Christmas treat" FOURTH from the bottom. Thats shocking! Mince Pies definitely rank higher at Chirstmas than their Honeycomb Crunch and Rich Chocolate and Raspberry Torte, which are both supposedly festive!?
As for price, if you take-away, each one of these will set you back £1.55, where as if you decide to eat-in then it will cost you £1.85 each (thank you VAT). To put it into perspective, If Costa sold these in boxes of 6, you would pay £11.10 for that box. That's almost as expensive as Fortnum & Mason. In fairness, these are fairly large mince tarts.
Pastry - 27
The pastry is pretty sweet. You may think that that is okay as its a tart, so it's missing its lid, which means that there is less pastry. I would have to disagree, I think as it is a large tart there is the usual amount of pastry there. It is evenly spread around, so no one edge is thicker than the other, including the pastry Christmas tree on top. It is crumbly and holds its shape very well. You also get a nice nutty taste from the almonds on top. While the overall flavour is most certainly sugar in this pastry, there is plenty of butter to give it a rich taste.
Mincemeat - 32
There is a generous helping of mincemeat, spread evenly over this tart. It may look a little dry on top, but break through that outer layer and you are welcomed to a moist, fruity, tangy and sweet filling. It really is very nice. The perfect balance between apple purée and vine fruits. Just the right amount of spices too.
Overall Satisfaction - 7
This is a great mince tart. It is larger than you average mince pie/tart, so don't under estimate it. I could only eat one before having to take a break. It is unfortunate that the pastry was so sweet as it then made the whole mince tart too sweet. Had they let the fruit in the mincemeat provide the sweetness, this would have been a contender for the top spot, but it's definitely recommended.
My fellow mincers seemed to absolutely love this mince tart, which is reflected greatly in their scores!
Here are the scores from my fellow mincers;
Tester 1
Presentation (9.5) Nutritional content & Price (9) Pastry (33) Mincemeat (34) Satisfaction Level (9.5)
Tester 2
Presentation (7) Nutritional content & Price (5) Pastry (33) Mincemeat (33) Satisfaction Level (8)
"If you forget price, its a very enjoyable pie."OVERALL
85.3 / 100
Look at where these fit in on our leader board.
(Don't forget to follow us on twitter @TheMincePieBlog and on Facebook)
No comments:
Post a Comment