Taste Testing Pretentious Ingredients . The world’s most expensive chocolate

Mike and Jamie have found some potentially PRETENTIOUS INGREDIENTS for our Chef Ben to taste test!! Will they impress him? Will they annoy him? Will they be worth splashing the cash?
Find the Pretentious Ingredients we reviewed here:
Chinese Oolong Tea - bit.ly/3oMXm2y
Tequila Aged Dark Chocolate Bar - bit.ly/3Jp50tq
Gourmet Popping Corn - amzn.to/3bNyS6i
Gooseneck Barnacles - bit.ly/3d51YhW
And of course, our very own strawberry gin which you SHOULD buy! ;)
sortedfood.com/gin
Wanna become an awesome home cook? Sign up to our Sidekick app and be the hero of your kitchen: bit.ly/3tfFgsR
- Discover Smarter Recipe Packs - 3x delicious recipes, 1x simple shopping list
- Cut out food waste - share ingredients across recipes so nothing gets wasted
- Smash your cooking - plan, shop and cook like a chef, no effort required
- Start your 1 month free trial today: bit.ly/3tfFgsR
#SortedFood
#PretentiousIngredients
#TasteTest

[@esmeecampbell7396]

Any chocolate that tells me how to eat it and assumes I live in a stinky house is incredibly pretentious...

[@laurahubbard6906]

Not to mention the packaging, which probably costs a large percentage of the price.

[@sullychow4123]

The packaging probably has a large carbon footprint too.

[@tereasia]

I still wish I could try a taste. But I'd never buy it

[@coucoubrandy1079]

@@tereasia hi, actually you can but not with that packaging . Which I agree is pretentious. But, the chocolate itself is so delicious! 100gr costs about 3£ ? Another thing is that Ecuador doesn't export that much either. The farmers respect that the cacao trees need to rest. If you can find any where you live, please know that 50% of the price goes to the farmers.

[@casitarosa92]

Depends how much money goes to the growers etc, if they’re paid well i think it’s awesome. If they get paid the same as usual, then nope for me!

[@Tempestwolf79]

The real question here is, Does having Barry do the ad read, make the Sorted Strawberry Gin inherently pretentiou?

[@Secoutal]

Yes.

[@cassieoz1702]

Absolutely

[@WhatKindOfNameNow]

If it wasn't before the point where Barry talked about how he drinks it, that part made it pretentious as hell. lol

[@Fwibos]

Absolutely

[@takemetoglasgow09]

@@WhatKindOfNameNow the dash of collagen powder got me 😂

[@jarsky]

It's worth noting, that the To'ak chocolate, is actually US$55. The particular package was US$200 because of the packaging with the wooden box, the information pack, the wrapping, etc... So Ben wasnt actually that far off with the price of the chocolate.

[@christianstonecipher1547]

I was coming to the comments to say that regardless of the product, that sort of packaging falls into the realm of pretentious. Makes sense that it would be the 'premium' offering.

[@marybell2897]

So, the chocolate on its own wasn't pretentious, but with the packaging and price markup it was.

[@PhilBoswell]

That's a candidate for /r/egregiouspacking 👀 sure it's edumacational and all that, but an extra $145?

[@AbiGail-ok7fc]

So, really expensive chocolate, wrapped in packaging which quadruples the price? That makes it pretentious in my book.

[@petrirantavalli859]

Imo just for the state of blooming on that chocolate with a price tag of 55-200$ regardles of packaging and resons, I would definetely call that as a pretentious.

[@darklingnz8017]

Would like to see an episode where Jamie gets some justice! Have the guys use colourless ingredients (or make them wear tinted glasses) to make a dish! Over the years I've seen Jamie have to struggle with being colourblind (I can relate) and he has yet to get some redemption! To top the episode off it would be great if you presented Jamie with some Enchroma colourblind correction glasses and record his reaction. If you haven't seen these before, YT them. Theres reacts of big grown men crying because they can see colours they didn't know existed!

[@JustAName-hi6mh]

They make corrective glasses for color blind people maybe we could just have an episode where he’s wearing them.

[@ILYTH23]

I had never even considered this! very true!!💙

[@ParalelCosmos]

YES! Also, get Ebbers to make something without tasting it lol

[@ishtara9470]

I know it's literally in the title, but the level of pretentiousness in Barry's ad still caught me off-guard. I'm really impressed, he managed to do that without even standing in front of the camera. 🤣

[@DigitalDevil77]

And I thought I was the only one that thought this 🤣

[@darcieclements4880]

I like how he used fancy words instead of just saying geletin.

[@natwel1544]

Hotel Chocaulat Banoffee Slab 🍌🍫👍🏻

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Jamie: “The tea is steeped in legend.” Me, an Intellectual: “It must’ve taken an Oolong time to reach the channel.”

[@SortedFood]

Good one!

[@clrobinson1776]

Makes me miss Jamie’s dad jokes.

[@CollinOffTheCuff]

Drop the an, joke rolls better

[@whynot131313]

Thankfully it wasn't toolong, it made it just in time!

[@mrs.thomas-usmcwife5686]

One of these days they need to have just a picture of Barry under the closh as a potential pretentious ingredients as a joke.

[@setyourspacewithsusan]

Also, I can’t stop laughing at the “collagen powder” in the gin drink with a pretentious Barry sigh- Golly! It made my day!

[@darcieclements4880]

I also found that hilarious.

[@rulitossimplyrulitos1088]

It was not only the hint of collagen powder; it was the mention of Manuka Honey and using that tone of voice that reminds me of the guys’ free Prosecco high tea of some year ago. Excellent ad!

[@sonicseaweed]

I feel like those barnacles would be pretentious in a British restaurant, but okay in a local restaurant wherever they are harvested.

[@freethis222]

Very good observation!

[@horsenuts1831]

They tend not get eaten where they are harvested. They can make €250 a kilo for the person happy enough to risk their life, or as little as €50 a kilo and it is considered a way of making a bit of extra money. They tend to get shipped from Galicia straight to Madrid.

[@goncalotavanez]

Exactly, they're quite common in the summer in Portugal, but still considered a delicacy compared to other barnacles

[@sneer0101]

Yeah, these are pretty readily available all over Spain

[@Isa_bea]

@@horsenuts1831 Yes they are eaten where they are harvested. I'm from Galicia, and we eat them here. Yes, they're expensive, and a a lot are shipped to Madrid or other regions, but in Galicia we ate them too. Delicious, just boiled a few minutes in salted water, with anything else. No butter, no garlic, just water and salt.

[@psiwire]

I'd like to see how that chocolate performs in a blind taste test with people who don't know how expensive it is.

[@Rommel12]

Pretty sure Epicurious did that in an episode. As I recall, the chocolate expert identified it as more expensive than the comparison they were fairly shocked at the price.

[@JessDurden]

Get James Hoffmann on to talk about coffee and show him some weird coffee machines and pretentious coffee. Would be great collab

[@hopefletcher7420]

Oh, yes! I only discovered James Hoffman about six months ago and have binged on his vids. I would love to see the boys and James discuss coffee and try some pretentious ones along with equipment.

[@SquidandCatAdventures]

Having Ben doing all the tasting was a lot of fun, especially since he's the type of chef that's very practical with cost of ingredients and the prices illicit a reaction from him just like it does for the typical viewer. Only thing that would have made it better? Me sitting beside tasting everything too, lol. Has there been any fan guest moments in any videos, besides people who are at festivals?

[@kevinvaldez5163]

Inviting a local fan or a couple fans to judge a battle would be super interesting.

[@whynot131313]

(just fyi, it's "elicit"! Totally agree with all your points otherwise.)

[@ArtieAzulra]

@SortedFood Quick video idea: £60 and 60 minutes. Give each member (or the group) £60 to shop with, but for each pound they use, they lose a minute of cooking time. Balance between price and cooking time to make the best dish. Regular pantry items are free and take no extra time off.

[@GCOSBenbow]

Antipasti and caprese salad here I come!

[@AUsernameILike]

Great idea, I hope they see this :D

[@ArtieAzulra]

@@AUsernameILike Thanks! I hope they do too! I love seeing how creative the guys can be, especially if they have the space to experiment, but with a time limit in which to mess it all up, lol. 🤣

[@CedarSanderson]

I was surprised to hear that people die collecting gooseneck barnacles. My grandmother taught me how to harvest them (leaving the rock behind!) when I was small. Then again, in the Pacific Northwest they weren't a commercially harvested commodity, so much easier to find.

[@fluffycritter]

I appreciate that the chocolate wants the room to be “room temperature.”

[@gerryilu851]

The tea seemed to be priced suprisingly affordably. You're paying 12.49 pounds for a package or 0.33 a cup for a high quality limited production tea. Thats surprisingly good considering a cup of coffee or tea from a cafe would be something like 4-5 pounds. Certainly a lot better value than the chocolate. Sure you need a lot of measurements and equipment to brew the tea but generally most people that drink tea on a regular basis would already have those things.

[@parmentier1984]

When I lived in China, I learned this way of brewing tea and my office life changed. I had a little tea set at my desk, and in China every water dispenser had hot water. Fill it up, by the time I got back to my desk, drain, and sip. Love this style of brewing.

[@poppiejones5485]

Lmao I fully make corn-on-the-cob-popcorn for my hamster it’s about £1 from the pet shop (for 3 dried ears) - Pretentious hamster or not? 🐹 🌽 Great vid guys!!!

[@bcaye]

Can't remember where I got it, but I bought a bunch one Christmas as gifts for my coworkers children. They loved it and it wasn't expensive.

[@alexandrasmith7682]

Not pretentious ..... Simply the refined palate of the "gentleman around town" hamster 😉

[@NekoBazu]

Funny enough, my housemate's birthday is coming up, and he loves popcorn and likes to treat himself to gourmet suppliers every now and then. I feel like that Zaramama corn is EXACTLY the gift I need to buy him - more about the experience than anything else, probably something you'd only buy once, but a cool little novelty that he'd probably enjoy. Sorted!

[@beautifulmidnight]

I had exactly the same thought. I was going to check out if there’s a Canadian alternative.

[@jadespider7526]

I love this series, but I'm always chaffed by the lack of a proper definition for Pretentious. so I'll offer: "Something that claims to be 'more special' than it's basic equivalent, but is not an improvement at the table." And I'll say that "being different than X" is not the same as being "more special than X".

[@Forestgravy90]

Pretentious just means pretending to be greater than it is

[@georkost]

I loved the Gin ad with the Manuka honey! Hilarious 😂

[@SortedFood]

😂😂😂

[@tenakeefe6293]

I just wish I could buy it here in Canada. It sounds so good

[@20031023]

@@SortedFood Please, when can we get it in the states!?

[@dancerb249]

The pop a cob made me laugh because here in Ontario, Canada this style of popcorn is something you can generally get at festivals and fairs for a couple bucks. Was surprised that it wasn't something common for you guys. Edited to add: usually with a paper bag to microwave it in

[@SortedFood]

It’s so funny how one thing can be common in one country and rare in the next.

[@Talatharas]

LOL. Ontario'ian here... I'm not one for going to fairs (been a decade or so since went to the nearest one), but I've never seen anything like this. Might be a regional thing maybe? Or I didn't look for them... I was always drawn to the Elephant ears :D

[@dancerb249]

@@Talatharas I just had an elephant ear yesterday! I was gonna put my city but figured most people wouldn't know where I am. I will say I see them at Rockton fair every year!

[@blankname6517]

I've only ever seen these at a Fair, but have been to Fair's all over Ontario and cannot think of one I *haven't* seen these sorts of things at ... can even be found at the CNE (or used to be, it's been a good decade since I've been there myself).

[@SquidandCatAdventures]

In this case, it's not even just country to country difference, but a province to province one too, which is fun. I don't think I've seen it before and I'm in Vancouver, BC, Canada. I like that the cob had popped kernels attached and the idea of comparing different varieties. It would almost be better sold in pairs and threes in combos that show off that difference.

[@SquareViking]

I've had the chocolate once, and here's the story: I bought a bottle of Laphroaig in a giftbox on auction, having no idea what the "gift" part consisted of. It was roughly the same price as a regular Laphroaig 10 so I thought "why not?". I ended up with a personalised letter to the original owner thanking them for their purchase and describing the entire process of aging the chocolate in the Laphroaig whisky cask. STUPIDLY delicious chocolate, CLEAR notes of Laphroaig that went super well with the chocolate. Worth the 165 quid? Hell no. Worth the 40 quid including a full whisky bottle? Yes.

[@cisquo]

The name Percebes is Portuguese also! And there's a lot of harvesting of theme here! Gordon Ramsay came here to harvest them on his "Uncharted" show

[@Getpojke]

The goosneck barnacles also grow on floating debris in some waters & have been used to forensically tell how long some things have been floating out in the water. Would love to see the lads tackle that largest of burrowing clams sometime the "geoduck". They taste great & there's a lot of eating on them. On the popcorn I bought some of the loose kernels a few years ago & was able to grow & dry them to popping stage even up here in Scotland. Made the experience a lot of fun, Ben could try them in his allotment. A friend used to send me tins of the Tie Guan Yin "monkey picked" tea from China. It's not really picked by monkeys but so worth it flavour wise. Fun video, nice seeing what a chef makes of some of the more precious ingredients.

[@xXcoldteaxXx]

Tie guan yin is an amazing tea flavour! In my country, you can get tie guan yin bubble tea and its delicious

[@garethwesleyevans]

The chocolate is HUGELY pretentious! The corn, crazy expensive but interesting for the different taste and textures of the coloured corns. Probably something you do once, and never again. I'd love some of the tea!!!

[@dr.health1688]

The chocolate itself is only about 50 dollars. So yes, the packaging is what made it so expensive.

[@alexsis1778]

I mean sure it would be a lot of popcorn to do for yourself but spending that much on the corn to try for 4 or 5 people? Its less than you'd spend buying popcorn from a movie theater. I think the packaging of the chocolate is what made it pretentious. Its high quality chocolate but once you start including wooden tongs and literal pounds of packaging for a 50g bar of chocolate it gets ridiculous. There's also no way that the packaging is worth 3x the price of the chocolate itself.

[@justinprepodnik3881]

Really love that Ebbers is letting his gray hair just come in and not hiding it. Legend.

[@terrarosa8181]

Properly made Gongfu Tea! Super happy to see! I wouldn't consider it pretentious (saying that, Gongfu is the best way to prepare quality tea). It is just a great way to sample the nuances and changes for the tea you're paying for. Good tea changes texture, taste, and scent with different steeps. Some Puer and oolongs you can get infusions into the teens! Your paying for that experience instead of the one shot good old cuppa. Plus paying a decent wage for the farmers who are tending to these super old tea orchards. Typing as I drink my Imperial Grade Jin Jun Mei (Black tea) from Tong Mu Guan Village harvested Spring 2021. Am I pretentious with my tea? Maybe. Is good tea worth every penny? Absolutely!

[@kamilmigas1490]

I wish James was there when the price of the chocolate was revealed. He would be furious xD

[@Murasadramon]

Man, I miss that old egg cracking intro. It was so fresh.

[@b_uppy]

No.

[@Karlyr_]

It really helped us crack into the video.

[@Quiltfish]

Also it sounded like they'd queued up Men At Work - Down Under which is always a plus.

[@cannonfodder15]

I preferred the intro before that.

[@seastarbutterfly]

Nope. I'd forward it.

[@spitfiresoul698]

Perhaps another pretentious ingredients idea: things that may become pretentious outside their country of origin. eg. I'm from Belgium. the amount of usually mediocre "Belgium" chocolate I see sold for huge price abroad that would at best be like a budget b brand chocolate in Belgium if they were selling/competing here is ridiculous. wondering if there are more examples like this and if you can get an episode out of it.

[@sullychow4123]

What are the best brands of Belgian chocolate and which ones to avoid, asking for a friend.

[@elizabethcronin7582]

Neat idea!

[@darcieclements4880]

I live in the USA and pure chocolate made with cocoa butter instead of dairy is next to impossible to find.

[@spitfiresoul698]

@@darcieclements4880 Yeah In USA it's very difficult. USA f'ed up so much food/ingredients. I really don't get it You have the biggest tomatoes I've ever seen but they taste like the least tomato I've ever eaten. A lot in the US seems to be geared towards bigger portions with "picture perfect" ingredients for the same price but the entire image falls through as soon as you taste it. Any and all cost cutting even if it drastically impacts flavor/taste is allowed. (even cost cutting measures that may be unsafe for consumers seems allowed) just to be able to present ingredients that look (but don't taste) tasty/perfect and are often abnormally large. I really wonder if all the American cartoons I watched as a kid where kids wouldn't eat spinach, broccoli or other vegetables is more related to how the US variant of those taste versus the actual stereotype of kids that won't eat vegetables.

[@princessk2822]

@@spitfiresoul698 I absolutely agree with your thoughts. Most American companies producing food are more so thinking of quantity over quality. Also, many of the foods are made up of weird chemicals that aren't natural at all. As for the cartoons with American stereotypes, I believe there's multiple reasons for that. Even as an American, I would see those cartoons and be confused. Vegetables were the main type of food in my household growing up. We even grew our own vegetables and fruits in our backyard. My mother made so many delicious meals using vegetables and a mix of herbs (no salt or msg) and I loved them even more than chips or candy. In conversations with friends, many had the idea that vegetables were disgusting based off of the same cartoons of children disliking them, and the way vegetables were served to them as children (completely bland, and steamed with just water). They loved the unhealthy version of vegetables though (steamed and heavily covered in fake melted "American" cheese, salt, and pepper 🤦‍♀️). Many of them were surprised when I taught them various ways to make vegetables taste amazing using herbs they can grow in their own home. Another thing, I have noticed that fruits and vegetables taste much better outside the country than in. That plays another part, the way our foods are being farmed and cultivated with a number of chemicals that significantly dilute the nutrients and overall taste of the fruits and vegetables. Last, Americans here advertise junk food like it's their life (and to some it is). For those apart of the low income system, junk foods are actually more affordable than "organic" (*sarcasm heavily implied here*) fruits and vegetables, or any other "healthy" foods and ingredients. Fresh fruits and vegetables usually cost even more than a burger, french fries, and a coke. This is the land of taking out any nutritional value from foods that are good for you and submerging them in salted butter, frying them with salt or sugar, and/or covering them with salty cheese (that actually isn't real cheese). We even have something called fried butter. I thought it was a joke until I saw it at a food festival smh I have constantly spoken out about this amongst my peers and family, as I am highly concerned, especially for the children. We have higher rates of child obesity now more than ever. Young people are having strokes and dealing with things like high blood pressure, hypertension, and diabetes largely due to poor food choices and the lack of daily physical activity. Thankfully, there are many who are starting to see that wellness is necessary, healthy food doesn't always mean nasty food, and that you love yourself better when you make better food choices. So yeah lol I apologize for this rather long comment. I am very passionate on this subject 🤣 I hope you have a great day 😇

[@PokhrajRoy.]

Barry’s Gin Ad was the MVP of the video.

[@christinamatzen4214]

I live in Northern California along the coast and we have a lot of historical Native American sites, pueblos and missions. The gift shop in every one of them sells the popcorn on the cob and the kids just adore it. I’m glad you guys got to experience it!

[@Rapturnal]

That oolong is twice the cost of the 'premium' loose leaf teas I stock in my cupboard. That said, if that oolong tea really can be steeped over and over AND tastes good, it's probably worth a try at least once before writing it off.

[@chrisicu4236]

Nice job as usual. As to the Chinese Oolong preparation you got the 'pour out the first brew part' correct, but you may get a different experience if you don't use the metal mesh sieve inside the pot and instead let the leaves bounce around a bit in the pot. If you want to use a sieve you would do that as you pour into the cups then dump the leaves back into the pot before the next brew. I've seen many Chinese who keep basic quality leaves soaking in water all afternoon at work, but I probably wouldn't want to use this special tea all day. Tea like this certainly gets used for multiple brews. In fact, there are differing opinions of which brew is the best - and each should have a unique flavor/scent. Nice job!

[@kat_the_mouse]

that chocolate broke all records for most pretentious thing ever shown on this show, wow.

[@Fyreflier]

yay! Another episode of "Raiding Barry's Cupboards!"

[@Serperi]

Im surprised at the price of the tea. Knowing the story behind and how its harvested, definitely expected much more, like in range of that chocolate. for the actual price, pretty good and maybe even worth a try if someone is into tea.

[@fluffycritter]

Yeah, I’m tempted to try buying some myself. I’m amazed at that price.

[@RunButton]

its because the tea they descibe in the ad copy isnt the tea they sold. da hong pao is everywhere. it can be nice, or terrible, but its a famous tea and easily accessible. you're right to think it doesnt make any sense how they described it vs the price. places like wuyiorigin or yunnansourcing or white2tea will sell you the same tea at similar prices without lying about it

[@RunButton]

some extra info: the tea they describe sounds like they're talking about the "original" da hong pao plants and buying tea from them costs thousands and thousands of dollars, not 10 bucks

[@Williamchan87]

Like run button the original tree cost several thousands to millions per kg of tea. However some crossbred/similar relative tree tea leaves or blended tea that tastes similar cost substantially cheaper and is what I believe what they sourced for the episode

[@vancouverlex]

Their teas are so good, the jasmine silver tip is really worth experiencing even if you have pretty basic tea tastes like I do

[@valliarlette6596]

"Glad I tried it, wouldn't necessarily try it again". Very important point.

[@sgiang]

Big fan of Mike’s new shirt. You know you watched Sorted a lot when you recognize the majority of the lads wardrobes

[@acelee632]

in Japan, those gooseneck barnacles are called "turtle hands"!

[@Foodgeek]

I used to make Bean to Bar Chocolate and was lucky to win a couple of awards for some of my bars (International Chocolate Awards and Academy of Chocolate). I'd sell my chocolate for 4 pounds pr. 50 grams, and I wasn't getting rich off that ;) It's nowhere near 165 pounds, but still a lot more expensive than garden variety chocolate (not sure what gardens chocolate bars grow in. but if somebody knows, can they please tell me?)

[@firesurfer]

Willy Wonka knows.

[@evilmissmunchkin]

I literally gasped when the price for the chocolate was revealed 😂 I’m sure it was a real experience to eat, but way out of the range I’d even considered for chocolate

[@citylemon7832]

It was the gasp around the world.

[@micheinnz]

@@citylemon7832 $ NZ 3416 per bar at current exchange rate. I don't care how good it is, it's not THAT good.

[@palibakufun]

I gasped when he said Don Joo-lios instead of Hoo-lios lmao

[@nerodia]

neat, I have that same teapot. Hario Maru, $15-17 on Amazon depending on size, not exactly a complicated or expensive apparatus. And measuring the tea is as simple as weighing it once and finding a measuring spoon that gets close to holding exactly that amount of leaves, then just keep the spoon with the teapot. Nice loose teas are way more affordable and easy to enjoy than the pretentious perception of them implies, especially with nice greens and oolongs that are good for many infusions. But even just a good loose Irish breakfast, Darjeeling or Ceylon black tea isn't gonna break the bank at $20/lb or so.

[@erikkennedy]

Yeah, even expensive teas are much better value than people think.

[@eileendoucet2573]

Shocked by the popcorn: maybe because we grow a lot of corn in Canada, but you can get a pack of three here in all different colors for about $2, just about a pound.

[@laurahubbard6906]

US as well.

[@johnd6487]

To be honest, I’ve bought the same stuff here in the UK and it certainly wasn’t that expensive or it would have stayed on the shelf. It is the kind of stuff you find in pretentious places though - delicatessen, farm shops, garden centres (in the UK these days garden centres are 10% plants and seeds, 10% gardening equipment and 80% unusual foods, expensive drink, cane furniture, cooking utensils and a cafe designed to serve coach parties.. oh and cheap books.. there must be a law or something that it can’t be a garden centre if there isn’t at least a couple of shelves of books, mostly kids activity books, with dodgy American spelling on the covers), so more than possible they found it in a shop that felt they could get away with a premium price

[@thatonehatgirl]

I very much enjoy Ben's personality and all the interesting things he has to say in every video.

[@Bjorn_R]

You guys are waaaay too kind! 80% of the stuff you show would fall in the pretentious category if I was the judge! 😅

[@turtlepenguinXkizuna]

We got gooseneck barnacles from the rocks by the shore in Japan, boiled them in salt water and put them in miso soup, they’re delicious but they were easy to get and free 🤔

[@FilipeSena15]

Portuguese here! Don’t know how my neighbors in Spain do it, but here we usually cook the barnacles in sea water. Filtered and clean, it’s boiled, cooled and served as a snack to go along with a beer. In coastal towns it takes the place of peanuts, lupines or any other sort of appetizer/snack :)

[@pearTtree]

So true! If they had just steamed them they would have gotten the full pure flavour.

[@bradtsui3270]

should have just steamed or boiled it for the most natural delicious flavour

[@carlamgraca]

And they're delicious!!!!! Costa Vicentina, alguém?

[@puffinbasher]

Da Hong Pao is an amazing tea, I've spent far too much on it over the years, but you really didn't see the biggest difference here. A normal good quality oolong is present for three or four seeps, where as that will easily handle 10, and has different subtleties between each cup. Given how much less of it you need for a full day of tea compared to other leaves, it's actually not an outrageous price.

[@mathewfournier2422]

I'm a sucker for a good pu'erh tea. Also my kingdom for a good lapsang souchong. A little goes a long way --I spend more on coffee.

[@puffinbasher]

@@mathewfournier2422 good is a wildly variable term for Pru Erh's! I don't exactly budget teas, but some of them are *SILLY* expensive

[@qq13563817153]

@@puffinbasher I drop about 150 on pu'er bricks a month due to religious ceremonies and personal consumption, and I have to say I've not gotten sick of it yet

[@puffinbasher]

@@qq13563817153 that's a good sane level for nice tea. I've seen single bricks at 300+

[@ThePippin89]

In Berlin a few years ago I had Flammkuchen, a sort of German Pizza. They are amazing and have a great story behind them. They were used by bakers to measure the temperature of their oven. Would be great to see a Sorted version of it!

[@moonymuch]

I had a box of the da hong pao - got it from a friend whose father received it as a gift from Chinese colleagues. He wasn't much of a tea drinker and knew that I was, and passed it on to me. It's a really lovely, special tea - highly recommend it!

[@ConConReeves]

Always enjoy watching these taste test videos. Especially the pretentious ingredients. Keep up the awesome content gents! Cheers!

[@raccoonthatneedssleep]

I actually knew and recognized the goose-neck barnacles right away!! So proud of myself

[@nicolejohnson7897]

A local farmer here in central IL grows several different varieties of popcorn (including Ruby Red and Midnight Blue) and sells the kernels (though not on the cob). Midnight Blue kernels are our favorite by far because of the texture. It is far crunchier than regular popcorn and has none of the "Styrofoam" quality popcorn tends to have. The flavor with butter and salt is phenomenal. We can't eat any other varieties anymore. Really cool to see Sorted get to try that variety.

[@johnsmit3573]

Incredible show guys! Happy how found you.

[@SupaSmartCellistGirl]

Good quality tea isn't ever pretentious. It's the bougie ass people that gatekeep it that are pretentious

[@gamerpro0187]

ong stuff like tea ceromonies are just tradition, but then again i grew up with it so it was never pretentious to me

[@doc8125]

while I agree to an extent ... I'll have to say if you truly look at the highest end chinese teas they 100% are pretentious, we're talking stuff that costs like 100 USD++++ per 10 grams and the such, they truly only exist because someone has the money to pay it, not becuase it costs much to produce (at least not that much), which in my opinion is the definition of pretentious.

[@jeffreysmithster]

I'm glad you all realize what a privilege and a treat it is to try all of these rare and exotic delicacies. Keep em coming. I really enjoy your shows.

[@Nooticus]

Such an excellent video!

[@suspensory9126]

You guys always make me so happy! Not knowing anything about cookig, you educate in the coolest ways. Please don't ever stop!! If Barry says it's ptetentious, it definitely must be! Way to go guys! 😊💜

[@sugarlump8875]

It's time for y'all to try the Trinitario chocolate. Hailing from Trinidad and Tobago. Keep up the great work guys 💛

[@FNmey]

Would be really cool if you guys could invite Don/team from Meileaf teahouse in London. They have really amazing tea and all the knowledge!

[@stickmakerman]

YES! 100% agree!

[@claireisacamel]

I *love* topping up tea leaves (esp teas like jasmine tea) to experience the changes in the cup 😋

[@akaicedtea6236]

That video was a great experience. Thank you.

[@iwanellis-roberts1704]

Pretty sure we get Goose barnacles in N Wales pretty regular. I wonder if they are the same. I'd live to see a sorted seafood forage video.

[@RamenHokage]

Would definitely love to try the Strawberry Gin~ But it seems shipping outside the UK is a bit difficult. Guess I'll have to hold tight for now. Looks good though~

[@rachelblaquiere9134]

Used to work at a shop that sold big red robe and it's so interesting to see the first one. Ours was £20/100g

[@Cheeky_Raccoon]

That dad joke at the end from Jaime, almost went over my head. Could be just a coincidence, but appreciated none the less. Somewhat miss the old dad jokes at the end bit. I get it, there's only so many jokes that you can tell, before they go off like milk left out too long.

[@LooNciFeRx]

The tea shows its real value after 3 steeps, the flavor will be strong even after that

[@FeatherFall101]

Perfect timing! I'm halfway through making a pasta bake and love watching your videos while im cooking :3

[@SortedFood]

Enjoy!

[@pkmnmaster760]

My heritage is from the Fuzhou province, which is where the Da Hong Pao is grown! I actually had the pleasure of visiting and touring the national heritage site pre-covid had the opportunity to try the tea in person. It's sweet, light, and dark, but much less harsh than other oolong teas that might leave the dry taste in your mouth. It's extremely expensive because there are only a few trees nestled in the heritage site that still produce the tea. It was quite a surprise for our guide to point at a few trees in the site and say "these are the only trees that grow the Da Hong Pao"!

[@andreiafitzgerald1555]

Hi First of all, I’m a huge fan of yours. I love everything you do, but my favourite videos are the ones when you guys show foods and ingredients from around the world. I’m naturally from Brazil, but living in Ireland for more than 15 years. On the 7th of September we celebrate 200 years of our independence. It’s a pretty important day for us. Would be interesting if you show a bit of our food or ingredients to the world. All the best to all of you. ❤️

[@re_animatedabby6791]

Still waiting for when the gin is avaliable in the USA!!! I'm not a bug drinker but would love to try it to support yall as well as enjoy the next concept of using leftover produce to make booze! Any idea if it will be avaliable in the USA???

[@christinamatzen4214]

The website said to call them for delivery outside the UK so it might be available, you just have to call.

[@re_animatedabby6791]

@@christinamatzen4214 Ah thank you!!!

[@jonathanfinan722]

I’ve had that tea in Skipton and I assure you it wasn’t that expensive. I’ve also had percebes in southern Portugal. In common with a lot of food there it was originally food of desperation. You don’t go into boiling seas to scavenge food with the risk of death without being very hungry indeed.

[@atarm]

Straight up, fresh picked boiled Percebes are amazing!

[@jambalie]

I haven't had it on the cob, though I've seen that for sale, but I have had "gourmet" red and blue and purple popcorn and the taste is massively different between them. The blue really is super white when it pops, much more so than yellow varietals.

[@Anna-uh3jq]

Barry describing how he drinks the Sorted gin is 💯. And I think the drink should be called the pretentious cocktail. 😜

[@black_rabbit_0f_inle805]

The Bententious

[@ladycrayon608]

I recently saw Mark Wiens try the barnacles at a high end restaurant in Spain (literally the last week or so of his videos) and they had a much better way of opening the barnacles where they also got meat out of the top bits. You should check it out!

[@charitysheppard4549]

With the gooseneck barnacles, you can also pop the shell bits off the end. Underneath, there is a small, spongy bud that is also edible.

[@elizabethcronin7582]

Iowan here. The seeds for a wide variety of popping corn are readily available and inexpensive. It is as easy to grow as sweet corn. Perhaps a possible addition to your allotment… I really enjoy the videos. I utilize the pretentious ones to see what could be worth adding to our family events for a bit of wow factor as all my now grown children love food experiences. I have learned so much watching over the last couple years and it is something we do together. Thank you. Oh, and I hope you are enjoying yourself in the States! You are in a lovely part of the Country, steeped in culture, history, and delicious food. Happy travels!

[@Steampunk_Kak]

Yeah, Iowan here as well. Popping corn, even those that label themselves as special, are pretty cheap. Also, as someone who has had that tea once, I highly recommend to try if you get the chance!

[@tracey7870]

i just wanted to say that I've been using the sidekick app for a couple of weeks now and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!!!! It puts my mind at ease, that I don't have to worry about dinner during the week while still having couple of days where I can cook what I'm craving at the moment. THANK YOU GUYS! for creating this awesome app ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@Anna-uh3jq]

Sidekick is awesome! What’s your favourite pack so far?

[@tracey7870]

@@Anna-uh3jq I loooove the peanut noodle dish from sunshine calls and the baked feta bruschetta from light and mighty!!! and yours??

[@SortedFood]

That’s honestly so amazing to hear. We live for feedback like this! Happy cooking and THANK YOU! 🙏

[@Anna-uh3jq]

@@tracey7870 my favourite pack right now is Taste of Japan. And my favourite dish is the Chicken Tikka Naan Pizzas with Chickpeas from the Ultimate Comfort pack.

[@tracey7870]

@@Anna-uh3jq can't wait to try them!!

[@OliviaaaMaaay]

Devo I can’t buy your gin in Australia! :( I’ve never wanted to buy a product from KZbin so much - sounds delicious guys!

[@SortedFood]

So sorry! 🥲

[@GSBConstantine]

@16:00 "a Saturday morning kitchen show of some sort". "Live and kicking" hahah.

[@JustAName-hi6mh]

These pretentious tastings and the kitchen gadgets videos are my favorite! Also can you get the gin in the states? Strawberry and gin are 2 of my favorite things so I need to try it!! -love from Seattle

[@detritus10001]

Here's my question. By definition, how can a room NOT be room temperature? I mean, I live in south Louisiana, and we get hurricanes like you wouldn't believe, and during the week or two without power after one, the room gets to about 88 to 95 degrees F, but as it is a room, that's still room temperature. It sucks, but it's the temperature of the room. I'm terrified, because it looks like we're going to be hit again this year by a strong storm, and my large ass isn't built for high temperature rooms. Cross fingers that my rooms don't get ridiculously hot this hurricane season, please 🙏

[@venron242]

Taking your definition of room temperature as baseline, it will mean that you do not keep your product in the freezer/warm it in the oven before taking it out and eating it immediately (for example). Because then that's not at room temperature. So depending on where you live, the room temperature is gonna be different, yes. So by inference, it's more of a "do not temper with its temperature" scenario. However, there're guidelines to what room temperature is defined as (depending on where your room is). It can be a good guide if you need clarity and specificity!

[@celticecho]

That chocolate is beyond pretentious! I like and appreciate what they are trying to do, but my god, the faff that comes with it and the price point is unreal!

[@nicolethomas2893]

I love the way Ben talks about food, ingredients and traditions.

[@stephenlittle7534]

Love to try the Tea. Have seen the barnacles on driftwood here in Dawlish Devon where I live. But didn't have chance to get any. I now wish I had.

[@bludelight]

Always great to see what you all find. That chocolate comes with a lot of how-to. I get the point, but I'd be frustrated with all the admin. Points to why I've not ever heard of any of these pretentious ingredients.

[@ericaschner3283]

£165 is the most shocked I've ever been in one of these. 😱

[@ethan4165]

Gooseneck barnacles also grow off the Oregon coast. I've collected them there and attempted to cook them.

[@no_activity]

I define pretentious as something you use to demonstrate the appearance of superiority. Here in the States, popcorn is so widely available, that it's difficult to make popcorn pretentious, unless you add the words organic or sustainable. This may be different in other countries. The barnacles aren't inherently pretentious. The chocolate and tea are the most pretentious items in this video. Both are rare or expensive enough to use as an indication of superiority.

[@Silverizael]

I would need to see the whole box for the corn. I did see the "100% GMO free", so the brand is clearly pseudoscience pushing. I wouldn't be surprised to see the other terms you mentioned on there as well somewhere else.

[@no_activity]

@@Silverizael I didn't catch the label, but you are correct in the implications. It's actually hilariously wrong to see a company label any corn product as GMO free. Corn is the original GMO food.

[@shitlista4283]

I liked the question "do we need them". I'd ask that question too for the snails. You get very little, it's tasty because of garlic and butter and you literally are kidnapping someone from their home where they're supposed to feel safe. That sucks. Yeah, it's tradition, but f tradition.

[@Tiabliaj1989]

Honestly I'd rather people eat them than see them squashed :( I know it's not really the same but the most benign thing that makes me sad is seeing a squashed snail shell

[@shitlista4283]

@@Tiabliaj1989 People actually hunt them by kilo, it's so many of them :( When you squash a snail it's rare and it's usually one, but some people are "harvesting" them, as they say, but kilo, which is a huge amount as their are tiny :(

[@Tiabliaj1989]

@@shitlista4283 Oh gosh, I didn't consider the industrial scale and how many snails that must be. I honestly thought they'd just...Idk, do it like cows I suppose. Have a little snail farm with happy well-fed little snails enjoying their lifecycle.

[@shitlista4283]

​@@Tiabliaj1989 I'm not even talking about the industrial scale - in my home country people go out after the rain and they "harvest" them in big bags and sell them for almost nothing, it's insane! Like they get 50 cents for a kilo of them, that's a lot of lives and you get no nutrition out of it whatsoever because they are 80% water and super small and not even tasty (as I understand they taste like butter and garlic because that's how they're prepared, I'd never eat them). People are literally killing them for no good reason at all. At least a cow can feed a lot of people, you know...

[@Erin_Wilson_Studios]

I rarely watch your videos with headphones on, but I am now...and I appreciate the clean audio. 🙂

[@j.rinker4609]

I remember a raspberry tea that tasted of soap. I like Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice, which is an herbal tea with chai spice flavors.

[@sprightlyghoul]

That oolong tea was far cheaper than I was expecting. I'm shocked Ben didn't bring out his own gaiwan for the tea brewing 😅

[@jayceperlmutter4317]

Yes I have some Formosa oolong that's quite a bit more expensive

[@DeltaDemon1]

That popcorn is absolutely pretentious. You can get the same amount for a few pennies and it tastes almost the same (exactly the same if you add butter and salt.

[@cassandragunkel6101]

Those ears of corn show up as Halloween decorations here in the US, usually tossed after the holiday. Small farmers are trying to re-educate consumers in this traditional Native American food, first enjoyed in just this way, popped from dried cobs.

[@naomiarram5187]

Ebbers on the first one was in total Sherlock Holmes mode!!!

[@jensen_z]

Haven’t even seen it, yes the worlds most expensive chocolate is pretentious, quality chocolate is not.

[@sullychow4123]

It most likely tastes the same as much cheaper but quality chocolate too.