Yushoi Snapea Rice Sticks Smoked Salt & Szechuan Pepper

Noble Friend produced this tiny 10g, 45 calorie packet which she was given as a free gift. She wasn't about to try it on her own, so donated it to me and the reluctant taste testers.

This is another of these strange modern allegedly healthier crispy snacks made of peas.

Now, the reluctant taste testers and I have tried several M&S versions of pea snaps including Smoked Salt & Mixed Pepper flavour. And you may have read that none of us was over-impressed. However, the M&S version is made with marrowfat peas. And according to the packet, these peasnaps are made with green peas. And rice. Which I confess I don't remember from the M&S ingredients.

I put out the contents of this tiny packet in the kitchen and I wasn't very surprised to see that the reluctant taste testers were distinctly reluctant to try. But History Graduate has a bold sense of adventure. Despite being (as he put it) scarred by the M&S pea snap experience, he ventured in where others feared to. And pronounced that this was a far superior and tastier snack than the M&S version.

Sorry M&S: we really didn't like your product very much at all. But this Yushoi snack made by Japanese snack giant Calbee is a different kettle of piranhas altogether. And Calbee appear to have a UK branch now, based in Leeds.

The crunch is still a bit soft but these pea shaped snacks don't gum themselves to your teeth. And the taste, I find, is less nasty.

Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't like these very much either but it is my own personal taste and it is likely that others will be pleased to try and come back for more.