Kinder Licorice Cat-Shaped Drops 200g licorice pieces by Katjes

My first impression was "this is awful." All my life I'd never been a fan of black liquorice candy, but recently I'd begun to wonder why that was. I did some research into the good stuff and I ordered this and some softer American-style liquorice.The other turned out to be a wonderful purchase, chewy and complex and not oversweet. Then I got these. These were salty and hard and felt strangely warm in my mouth. They got stuck in my teeth. Everyone in my family hated them.For some reason I kept them on my desk. Every now and then I'd have another one. I learned to chew them gently. And the flavour really grew on me.I still don't think they're the best I've had, but I really like them, and I'd order them again. There's something different in candy philosophy between these and American candy—you certainly can't eat a bag in one sitting. But they reward the mouth effort with a wonderful sweet full-bodied flavour.

This is my secondorder. These have green licorice flavor and you cannot find these in any store!

It tastes ok but it's so hard you can't chew it, big waste of money

They are somewhat hard and need to be in your mouth to soften enough to chew. Taste a little salty at first. Not super sweet, just licorice.

After searching for a more constant and less expensive supply of "real" licorice over my favorite (more about that later), I decided to try this one based upon other reviews and the description. I have to say that I was disappointed. It is not intense enough and a bit too salty for my preference since all that I noticed was salt and more salt until it got down to the licorice flavor which I would charactize as "modest". My all time favorite licorice was discovered years ago while visiting a St. Louis mall has been and remains an excellent choice made by Bissinger's Chocolate Company and they call it French Long Licorice. It is not noticeably salty and packed with flavor without being a sicky-sweet candy. I say that and caution licorice lovers to know their favorite "type" of licorice; this is important when reading reviews and purchasing. I was looking for something not American-style junk candy, with actual licorice extract not anise, chewy, lasting, with true strong licorice flavor and no other flavor overtones.As far a Bissinger's is concerned, they do not make this licorice year round nor advertise it on their website or in their catalogs so you have to call their toll free number and ask if it has been in production. It is expensive but well worth it for excellent flavor and lasting ability (I can enjoy one for at least 15 minutes if I don't chew). These are my favorite thing to have when reading a great book and I limit myself to 2 at a sitting for my "fix"; okay, sometimes 3 if it is a superb book:D.The last time I ordered it they were generous and added a pound of their premium chocolate as a thank-you for being a customer that troubled to find their particular product because I do not live near one of their stores and unless I visit say St. Louis (where it is headquartered) I have to mail-order.Anyway, I prefer my licorice hard and let it soften in my mouth so when I get an order ($56 for 2lbs) I leave it out lightly wrapped for a few days to harden off. That makes it last longer in my mouth and does not affect flavor but that it personal mouth feel preference. It frezes without problems so I will just have to go back to that and pay for my pleasure and stock up :). Licorice-gotta have it!

When I eat black licorice I want the flavor to be strong enough to grab my taste buds, pull them from their slumber, and slap them around a bit. This did not happen with the Katjes Kinder Licorice Cat-shaped Drops 200g Licorice Pieces. Of course the term "Kinder" does evoke the thought that this is for children, but not many children enjoy black licorice. Heck, even my dog would not eat a piece of black licorice and this same dog will happily munch litter box encrusted cat turds. But I digress. The product is fine as advertised. If you grew up with Katjes products it will probably invoke memories of your childhood at Oma's house in the country but it just was not what I was looking for. And the search goes on.

These are a great option if you are looking for a unique candy or gift and like black licorice! I like the taste of these a little better than the standard Red Vines or Twizzlers. The shape is cool, the pieces really do look like little cats. These came exactly as pictured and tasted fresh. They were perfectly chewy and delicious. I can't speak to the longevity since these did not last very long in my house, but I would definitely order these again!

I keep them in the car in case of a tire puncture.