Kcal 180 Fat 10.4g Carbs 19.8gThe Timeout seems to be one of the most unloved Cadburys products on the market...its never advertised, its had the same wrapper for years, its been removed from Cadburys Heros and seems to be fast disappearing from distribution..oh dear!
I found one of these bars cowering at the back of my local corner shop the other day and decided to remind myself (and probably you guys) of what its all about.
A standard bar compromises of 'Two milk chocolate covered wafer fingers with milk chocolate centres' which combined weigh 34g. This didn't make for the most filling of bars but it would certainly suffice for an afternoon snack.
As you can see above the appearance of the two fingers are not to striking - they are simply just long fingers with a slightly rippled surface. The bars did not have a particularly strong aroma either - they had a slight cocoa scent though as I have mentioned it was really rather weak and was not particularly detectable.
Texture wise the milk chocolate coating was very thin, though had a relatively smooth feel once melted. Disappointingly the wafer wasn't the crispiest and this was mainly due to the relatively moist middle chocolate layer. The middle chocolate centre had a very similar texture to that of a Cadbury Flake/Twirl, it was a nice crumbly which in isolation was good, though due to its partial nature to melt quickly, made the wafer limp and devoid of any crunchyness.
Tastewise I was surprised by the flavouring of the chocolate. Its almost taken for granted nowadays that Cadburys chocolate products will be made using Dairy Milk - this wasn't the case here and the milk chocolate was quite different in taste. It was no where near as creamy and if I'm honest really wasn't as nice in flavour. It tasted slightly less milky and had more of a flavour that I would aliken to hot chocolate powder...quite strongly cocoa based but very sugar rooted. The wafer had a very weak flavour and due to the nature of the middle chocolate layer dominating it, offered very little in terms of taste. The chocolate centre like in texture was very similar in taste to a Cadburys Flake and was far more like Dairy Milk chocolate - it was the dominating flavour of the bar which was rather lucky considering it was also the best out of the three elements.
Overall upon reflection its now a bit obvious why this is the 'forgotten child' of the Cadburys portfolio. When you think about the calibre of the other chocolate wafer products on the market (KitKat anyone!?) then its obvious why this bar does not receive much backing from Cadburys. The bottom line is that bars like the KitKat are far superior - Cadburys haven't quite got the wafer aspect nailed here and the with the majority of the chocolate not being Dairy Milk its always going to struggle. I wouldn't overly recommend this bar to anyone, and I can see the 'Timeout' being quietly removed from the portfolio altogether soon...why not take pity and pick one up for old times sake.
6.5 out of 10
Posts
18 comments:
Nice review. I always found these things had a weird sort of saccharin aftertaste. Couldn't make out why.
Peej
PJ - Hi there as i said in the review the chocolate that coats the bar isnt the 'cleanest' tasting though I think its the wafer that must be sweetened and is probably where your detecting that saccharin flavour...its pretty disappointing isnt it! Thanks for the comment keep on reading :D
Jim
I actually really like Time Out's. I like the taste that the wafer and the chocolate create. It's almost nostalgic to me as I used to eat these every time I visited my Gran. :)
Very cool concept for a blog! I really enjoy blogs that are so focused on one topic! Keep having fun and keep those reviews coming!
Welcome to The Foodie Blogroll! :)
I always feel somehow . . . cheated . . . after having one of these. Not one of my favourites.
Gemma - its wonderful how bars can bring back all types of nostalgia isnt it. Crunchies always remind me of friday nights in front of the tele as a kid...oh what glorious days when well had no worries :D
Jenndz - thanks for the compliment I hope you keep reading.
Amanada - this could be something to do with the size/weight ratio...it looks pretty big..biger than a twirl etc but in reality its actually lighter than a flake...its definately not a bar you want to eat if your hungry.
Thanks for the comments everyone
:) :D
Jim
My mom and sister brought back a couple of Timeouts when they went to London.
I was surprised the chocolate coating melted so quickly inside the wrapper from holding it. They are definitely not a filling snack. About 100 cals less than a Twix without any contrasting taste features like caramel.
The Ribbon pattern of the chocolate center was kind of fun... Overall, kind of 'meh' in my opinion too.
Justin - you seem to sunm it up brilliantly here...there are just other bars on the market at the momment that have that extra ingredient which make them a more inresting proposition. 'meh' probably is the best way to describe these...like me it sounds as if you wouldnt necessarily turn your nose up at one of these but at the end of the day your not overly fussed about them either.
Thanks for writing :)
jim
Hi Jim, nice review.
As every seasoned chocolate palate knows, TimeOut holds a unique taste among chocolate bars, yet is criminally overlooked in favour of the more mainstream KitKat.
Cadbury's negligence of this delicious confection is a travesty against chocolate itself, not seen since the harsh, uncaring withdrawal of the Wispa bar.
I look forward to your continued efforts to find the ultimate chocolate bar.
Master_Miller
Master Miller Hmm I agree with you thats its taste it a tad unique..though persnally I much prefer the Kit Kat! Of course as I always say thats just me though im sure there are millions out there that agree with you aswell.
I do feel a tad sorry for the timeout due to the lack of press/advertising and just general buzz round the brand...as for the Wispa well you may be glad to know thats its being permanently reintroducded soon...bye bye CDM Bubbly!
Thanks for the comment hope you stick around!
its years since i ahd a time out lol never my favourite bar to be honest- doe anyone remeber the Spira? Dairy milk twisted into s spiral shape, like 3 tubes twisted, so it had 3 holes running thru the middles/ they were lovely!
cheers
alan
Alan You waite buddy I reckon Timeout's will be gone before we know it! I just don't seem them half as much as any other Cadbury bar.
As for the Spira I have heard many things about it - just i never recall having tried it myself! Shame huh as it sounds awesome! Really annoying aswell as I cant seem to find any pictures just to even see what it looked like! Oh well!
Cheers
Jim
hey jim,
well here is a link to a 1991 advert for the Spira on youtube.
They do look slightly different though, i think the later ones had a flatter bottom edge and were not so 'gappy' and the wrapper was jazzed up but still, you get the idea and they were delicious!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoZ5QT1nz5M
cheers
alan
Alan Ahhh cheers for that my friend - nothing like a few 90s commercials eh!?! The Spira looks awesome! What a shame its gone! It is always great seeing stuff like this - but equally as frustrating as its no longer available :( Oh well!
Cheers for that my friend! Much appreciated!
Jim
lol i know, when i think only a few years ago, the variety and interesting bars there were around and slowly thyve all died off like fuses, spiras, wispas, the list goes on lol spiras were lovely though, the choclate wasn't as soft as you'd imagine either, quite crisp so when you bit into it it hasd a nice 'crack'. they were pure Dairy Milk too, so tasted as you can imagine delicious. i used to hear people used to drink tea and coffe through the holes by using each finger like a straw!! lol ahh those were the days. its quite sad really, the younger generation (im ony 26!) are missing out on these old bars :(
you'd have liked Golden Cup - it was made by Mackintosh's (origianl makers of quality street) and was devine. it looked a bit like a frys choclate cream but with milk chcoclate and was a bit like a cross between a cadbury caramel and galaxy caramel. think they went in the mid 90's :(
cheers
alan
Alan That Spira sounds like it was quiet the bar!! Unique in design and with some great textures by the sounds of it.
It really is a shame how all these companies have gone for more streamlined portfolios nowadays! As you say there used to be such massive diversification - nowadays so so little.
As for the Golden Cup - a cross between the CDM Caramel and Galaxy caramel you say.... man that must have been a sure fire winner!
Thanks for the info - really interesting!
Jim
I noticed a few days ago - a brand new look Time Out! Theyve updated the wrapper for the first time in ages! It's now pale blue with more modern looking text. I still don't like the bar much but the wrapper looks better lol
I agree with most of what you said in your review, Jim. It is no surprise that the Time Out bar is hardly around anymore; it is a very disappointing bar. It has no sustanance to it, melts far too quickly and the wafer just isn't very impressive.
When I first bit into this, I was very surprised by the taste of the chocolate. I thought it tasted like coffee, which was odd because I would have expected such a taste to be advertised on the bar. I then looked at the ingredients and there was no trace of coffee essence. Did you not taste any coffee? Maybe it is just me.
I think that is a unique selling point - although I must admit, I wasn't very keen on it - but the recipe could be improved and the product could be given a new lease on life if it just tweaked a few things.
I have a feeling that a few years down the line though, it won't be on the market anymore.
Post a Comment