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Kcal 272 Fat ??? Fat(sats) ??? Carbs ???Just a few weeks ago it was brought to my attention by ChocolateMission readers Phil & Susanne that Nestle were ridding of the Kit Kat Chunky Peanut Butter and replacing it with the Kit Kat Chunky Caramel. Although I was a little disappointed about the loss of the Peanut Butter variant as we have such a lack of peanut butter based chocolates already here in the UK, I was relatively pleased to hear that the 'superb' Caramel would be taking its place. I say 'superb' as it wasn't long ago that I reviewed the Kit Kat Caramel Chunky from Australia which I have to say is still one of my favourite bars I have tried this year (score 9.2 - review See HERE!).
I had high hopes that this bar was going to be more alike the Caramel Chunky from Australia and not like the newly released Kit Kat Caramel multi pack two finger but I was immediately alarmed when I saw the on pack details. Described as 'a wafer finger with a creamy caramel topping coated in milk chocolate' it was obvious that this was going to be a different proposition to the bar from the Southern Hemisphere. It not only differed in composition but also in its weight (50.0g rather than 65.0g) and also rather more oddly in its lack of full on pack nutritional information. Despite the lacking information I thought the new golden foil packaging looked pretty awesome and thought it had great stand out on shelf. On the contrary I must say I wasn't exactly bowled over by the bar when I cross sectioned it. The inner filling looked remarkably like the Peanut Butter variant, with the caramel looking more paste like rather than the more traditional (and better looking) gooey caramels ala Cadbury Caramel.
Putting aside my minor disappointment at the way the bar looked I was soon more encouraged by the smells that I detected once I opened the foil wrapper. The aroma was chocolaty with sweet hints of toffee which certainly did fail to entice me. I won't waste my time describing the outer chocolate and inner wafer as this is something I have covered many times before in my many Kit Kat reviews. In summary the chocolate was fair and substantiated a nice chocolaty taste with each bite and the wafer brought some pleasant biscuity, malt flavours to the party with its superb crunchy texture. With that out the way it is time to get to the important factor and that was of course the inner caramel filling which if I was to also sum up in one word would be classed as disappointing. Just as it looked and was billed on pack it was nothing like the gooey sort of caramel I desired and it had more of a dry, creme like texture. In regards to taste it was unfortunately quite like the Kit Kat Caramel bars we have just released in the supermarkets. It started off by generating a toffee like taste in the mouth but as the flavours progressed they became increasingly sweet up until the point they produced that awful throat burning sensation. My initial displeasure of seeing our UK Caramel Chunky dwarfed by its Australian equivalent was soon all but gone as I struggled to even finish off this bar due to its sugary nature.
Overall on reflection the replacement of the Peanut Butter Chunky with this Caramel Chunky looks to be a pretty damn poor decision due to the poor execution of the caramel. Where were the elements of butter, salt, butterscotch??? ... answer ... nowhere to be seen! The caramel filling was fundamentally just not great. It was more of an overly sweet, sugary paste rather than the gooey, golden layer of amber nectar that I was really hoping for. The decision to replace one of the more unique bars on the UK market, with a bar that is quite frankly poo interms of quality to me appears to be a pretty bad one. Maybe I have been spoilt by trying a better version of the bar we now have gracing our shelves, but in my estimation the Australian variation of the Kit Kat Chunky Caramel is the far, far better out of the two. Probably worth trying if you like your Kit Kats but beware for a major disappointment.
6.9 out of 10
I tracked this bar down in my local Co-Op ... why not tell me what you think by adding a comment to the review!
Posts
47 comments:
Oh dear this doesen't sound all that promising. I will have to try it for myself but having read this I do not have high hopes.
-Mark
Looks like I am going to have to stock up on my beloved PB Kit Kat.
Lauxxx
Hey Jim!
Oh dear! what a difference between our one and the australian one! I want to try this (if I see it) but rather like the Editions caramel, Nestle seem to be struggling with the concept of what caramel is (in the UK at least - why can't they just use the same recipe as they do in australia??!).
Can you imagine how nice this would be with cadburys caramel in the middle? or galaxy? and/or their chocoalte! lol. but it is definitely the caramel that they can't get their heads around. it does look remarkably like the peanut butter filling though! Also the proportion of filling I always find they somehow lack, but in this case it is probably agood thing!
Deeply disappointed to hear of the demise of the PB Chunky... I love PB and there is just not enough of it around in UK bars!!
They are getting rid of PB kitkats?! How could they be so callous? Nestle you are being absoloutely ridiculous. I hope when chunky sales are down they feel thoroughly chastened and rebuked by this poor descision.
Sorry, I'm in shock.
What kind of caramel is all pastey like that? That's not caramel, that's just, like..stuff. Like they couldn't be arsed to actually make caramel so replaced the peanuts from the PB kitkat with muchos sugar and hoped we wouldn't notice. Perhaps the delicate economy has caused soaring peanut prices that nestle can no longer afford?
Saying that though, I am still eager to try :)
well I was looking forward to trying one of these but reading this maybe not! I can't bear anything that leaves that burning sensation in the throat - cadbury white buttons are like that!
nestle are doing the 'my favourites' big quality street from september so lets hope they'll be a better option.
have you tried the thorntons summer collection Jim - can you fit a review in before we get any more rain?!
Is this a joke? Not more Peanut Butter Kit Kat???????? April Fools is long gone so Jim you must be being serious. Nestle actually don't know what they are doing do they.
Dave
Like everyone is saying I am amazed that this has taken over from the peanut one. Lets hope this is just a temporery thing
Sounds every bit as disappointing as I feared it would. What a poor substitute for my beloved PB Kit Kat. Will have to stock up. And maybe we should start petitioning Nestlé not to get rid of it - after all, it worked with Ritter Sport and the re-introduction of the Olympia bar :-)
Nice review. Although you didn't like it I still think I will give this one a try as Kit Kats are generally pretty nice. I remember that Kit Kat Editions bar that used to have runny caramel - I liked that one.
Paul from Dorset
How did you get one of these? I only just read the article you posted, Nestle must be bloomin quick getting things to market. All this review tell me is that we have to hold tight and waite for the messiah that is the Wispa Gold lol
Oh no, the loss of the peanut butter variety for a poor caramel. :-(
But I will have to track down the Aussie version as you rate it so highly!
Gutted about this, everyone knows that caramel is gooey and not like 'paste'. For anyone who loves the PB ones, the Duo bars are being sold off fairly cheap in some shops. I wonder if we'll be getting caramel KK in Duo too?
ooooooh where can I gets onje of these. That photo is gorge *SWOOON* you sold it to me.
luv Dx
Wowzer alot of feedback today ... lets get started :D Sorry if I repeat myself.
Mark
Let me know what you think of it!
Anon 1
Indeed they are still pretty widely avalible though so no need to panic just yet.
Alan
The caramel in the Aussie one was near enough just as good as Cadbury Caramel. Why on earth they didn't use the same recipe I do not know. It was pretty awful in comparison.
N1David
Indeed there is already a shocking lack of PB, but that said Reese's does look to be getting a bit more distribution nowadays!
Lottie
My favourite comment of the lot ... a nice full on rant and fully justifiable. It is a poor decision to rid the PB for this crappy caramel one. It is exactly like you say - its as if they have replaced the PB with Sugar! It is shocking behaviour.
Lily
New reader? I also can't stand that burning sensation! Yuck!
I always try fulfill my readers requests so consider the Thorntons Summer Collection well and truley on the request list! Be sure to check back everyday!
David
Unfortunately I am seriously not joking - sad times!
Golden Touch
According to the article this is a permanent thing which is rather unfortunate.
Susanne
Haha I think we should give it a while before we start a petition ... its not as if they are going to pull it straight away. I am looking forward to this Olympia bar now... you have given it the big build up :D
Paul
I can't remember that Editions bar myself but I hear it wasn't all that great. Give this one a try and tell me what you think of it.
Steve F
The Wispa Gold Messiah haha I like that. I found this bar in my local One Stop! Best place to look if you want to get hold of one!
Cinabar
I am gonna hunt down some more Aussie ones as well. It was so so much better! Why don't you do a side by side comparator review?
Phil
Duo Caramel Chunkys .... BLAH! That will be awful! I could hardly handle the 50.0g without my throat feeling it was an inferno!
Daisy
You like my photographs? Why thanks I do try my best :D :D :D
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Blimey a lot of feedback today! Taken me nearly as long to write back to you as it does to write a review :D :D
Thanks for leaving your comments - its always appreciated!
Jim
I just grabbed one of these in my local Tesco - quite enjoyed it.
But then, I have a cold and a blocked up nose so my taste buds aren't exactly working :P
I think we should all start a petition to get Nestle to bring out a proper caramel KK. Afterall it worked to get Cadbury to bring back Wispa. I'd even settle for a Caramac Kitkat.
I'm still fuming about this...
I would sign a petition. Nestle have proper stuffed it here.
-Mark
DOH. Went to find one of these in my local one stop but they still didn't have any in stock. Looks like you struck gold Jim - well sort of :) If it is as bad as you make out I will defo sign a petition to get the peanutb one back.
Hey Jim,
I tried one of these today and I have to agree with you - far, far too sweet for my liking. It really does beg the question why on earth they did not just use a proper caramel? ho hum.
Claudia
As I always say I don't think my opinion is gospel ... maybe the majority of people would really like this. Was it as good as you hoped it would be?
Phil
A full sized Carramac Chunky? Boy now we are talking.
Looks like you have a bit of support for your petition already. I say we leave it a while as lets be honest they aren't exactly going to ditch the Caramel straight away! I have a feeling that once they look at their repeat rates they might be regretting it! I really like your enthusiasm - good stuff!
Mark
Have you tried it yourself then!? What did you think?
Golden Touch
Wouldn't quite say I have struck gold here chap ... it wasn't that good! According to a source (who was blatantly from Nestle!) this bar was supposed to be released today so have a look again tommorow.
Steven F
This is still a question I am wondering myself! If they had used a proper caramel like with the Aussie one I could probably deal with the loss of the PB bar a little better.
Keep the feedback coming when you try folks
Thanks
Jim
I tried one of these today - have to agree Jimbo not at all to my taste either. Going to stock up on the peanut butter right now.
Justin
Not sure if the stockpiling is necessary just yet - everywhere seems to be pretty stocked up still. Such a shame it is going .... I think Nestle are shooting themselves in the foot here.
Thanks
Jim
Ok so I've tried this at last. It tasted more like fudge than caramel to me. I thought it was nice enough but far too sweet, it'd be too sickly to eat often.
Oh and how ridiculous is this from their music promotion website:
"We've injected our Chunky with Caramel, the gorgeous golden ooze of the gods. "
Oh really Nestle? I didn't notice any oozing action from the 'paste' in my Kitkat Chunky.
Phil
I am glad you think similarly and that I am not being overly harsh on this bar.
Why on earth they didn't just use liquid caramel is beyond me .... its not as if they don't have the capability to do so. The caramel element is purley utter rubbish.
I had another just to check I didn't have a duff one and I thought exactly the same thing. Way too sweet!
Great to hear your opinion!
Thanks
Jim
Hey Jim
I too have just found this bar on thelves of my Sainsbury's Local and had to try it!
I had mixed feelings about it rather like Phil, I didn't think it was the worst bar in the world but then I can't see me rushing out to buy it again, which I would if it had been that bit better.
It smelt quite nice but at the end of the bar I got a very sweet sickly sugary taste which I didn't enjoy atall. I'm intrigued to try the Australian one! The caramel paste was rather bizarre to me too! Nice idea but as we've seen, has been done so much better.
Alan
It seems like we are all coming to the same conclusion eh!?
I garuntee you will like the Aussie one better. Make sure you try it and let me know what you think.
I for sure won't be buying this one again in the near future. I reallllllly want to talk to someone at Nestle to see what their thoughts are about this bar.
Thanks
Jim
I've been thinking about this lately (sad I know lol), maybe Nestle haven't used real caramel because they don't want to compete with the caramel Wispa? I mean Wispa has been very popular recently and I suppose given the choice between Kitkat or Wispa most people might choose Wispa? Just a thought.
Also I had a Kitkat Duo milk today and realized that it tastes different to a standard KK Chunky, it has a creamier taste with a hint of hazelnut. Then I realized it's because it's made in Europe, I remember reading a while back that they moved production of KK Duo to Europe.
I have to say (hides from flying boots!) I really enjoyed this. I do like Kit Kat Chunkys though, especially when they have been chilled.
But but I do agree with the majority that it wasn't a "caramel" by my definition, almost like a smooth caramac/fudge/butter icing type of paste in the middle, not some gooey caramel that you probably would expect when buying it.
Phil
I think that may be a fair comment, though I personally think this bar has been used to saturate the market with caramel bars so that the Wispa has less of an impact.
I will have to track down one of these Kit Kat Duos and see for myself! Sounds like an investigative review is called for :D thanks for sharing!
Heidi
Woah woah woah! You stick to your guns you! I am glad you enjoyed it ... we all have different tastes after all don't we.
If we all liked the same things have bloomin boring would life be eh!?
I am glad you agree that the 'caramel' description is misleading though. Maybe because I have tried the fantastic Aussie one I had higher expectations than others!?
Always glad to hear peoples views of things. Believe me I am not one of those people that think their opinion is gospel! More so the opposite!
Thanks both
Jim
I tried one a few weeks ago. Massive chocolate fan and try anything new this saddened me though. I adore peanut butter chunkies and (long story as to why) I get a weekly bar every Monday at work. I am deeply upset to hear they will no longer be available (www.aquarterof.co.uk may have them for longer. Rock on old school sweets)
I was really unimpressed with the caramel kit kat chunkie. I found it sickly and I can drink condensed milk ffs! I bought one for myself and one for a co-worker. As I said, I was unimpressed with it. The texture was too...mouth makey stickiness. My co-worker loved his though and gobbled it all up! Took me 3 attempts to get mine down
boo nestle!
How CRINGE-WORTHY are the adverts for these that are popping up everywhere at the moment?
"OMG! My Chunky just got Funky :)"
What an embarassing attempt to 'get with the youth'.
Anon
Hi there - leave your name next time!
I don't think we quite have to panic with the loss of the PB yet ... all the shelves I have seen recently are dual stocking both the Caramel and Peanut Butter at the moment. Could be ages until they run out of stock.
I agree with you on it being too sweet. As I have said above many times already it was really just a result of the caramel being executed poorly!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts - make it a habit!
Thanks
Jim
Phil
I don't know what is sadder ... the sound of that campaign or the fact that I'm obviously not young enough to be viewing the channels where it is airing haha :)
Thanks
Jim
I admit that when I saw KITKAT caramel, I also that it would be smooth gooey caramel.
But after the second bar I purchased I prefer that fact that it isn't gooey and 15 bars later I am adicted to them!
But it would be a shame to get rid of the Peanut Butter version.
By the way the caramel reminds me of caramac, remember them?!
Russ.
Just had my first KitKat Chunky Caramel and totally disappointed.
I was hoping for a smooth creamy running caramel like a Wispa Caramel. Instead you get some wallpaper paste style layer of caramel flavouring.
A complete missed opportunity and a total disapointment. One bar I won't be buying again.
Russ
I do remember Carramac and I'm rather partial to one every now and again. Thanks for sharing your opinion about this bar. I don't always believe I'm right!
Steven
Yet another who was disappointed from the pastey centre rather than the desired gooey caramel ... I can't see more and more people commenting about this as well!
Come on Nestle - sort it out!
Thanks for sharing your views guys!
Jim
I've just had a Rocky caramel and I thought 'this type of caramel would sit nicely in those kitkats!' lol It's like runny caramel but not TOO runny if you see what I mean, a bit like the CDM caramel, soft but slightly firm so it doesn't just run everywhere lol
just spread thick layer of peanut butter on regular kitkat and its much, much better than 'kitkat pb' ;p
just spread a thick layer of peanut butter on regular kitkat and its much, much better than 'kitkat pb' ;d
Well at risk of public ridicule and execution, Kudos to Nestle, I like it.
Don't get me wrong it's far from perfect, but it dose have a caramel taste, and I prefer the texture, I'm sick of the constant bar being turned out full of horrible gooey, sticky, Sweet, caramels, the market is full of them. This makes a nice change and better for me is I can slowly pick lumps of chocolate off like I tend to do without ending up covered in a web of caramel.
I recently tried the new Wispa Gold and gave half away as the facial hair entangling caramel overwelmed my pallet, drowned out the chocolate tate and rendered my saliva to an undulating mass not unlike 'Slimer' from the Ghost busters.
All in all I like the change this bar offers, but in no way, shape or form can this be justify the end of the Peanut, that is just evil, especially with the poor selection of nut bars we have to start with.
Mungo
That is something we may have to resort to now :)
Lynx
You wont be getting any ridcule on this site at all - all my reviews are subjective opinion which I value no more than anyone elses.
I always welcome other peoples opinions. I am obviously on the other side of the fence when it comes to what you say about the Wispa Gold but I can at least agree with you about the poor decision to rid of the PB ... bad times.
Please do keep sharing your views - they are very welcome indeed.
Thanks
Jim
seriously people, ur talkin about bein dissapointed by chocolate, get a job! btw new kitkats are sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!!!!!!! chocolate pushups!
Anon
You are so totally right ... damn us all for expressing an opinion on a chocolate bar on a CHOCOLATE website!! What on earth were we thinking eh!?
I don't know what is worse ... that? Or going on a site of little interest yourself and trying to belittle people!? Hmm I will leave that one for the rest of you to ponder.
Jim
I am soooo disappointed that they have ditched the peanut butter version. Was my favourite chocolate bar (and my colleagues' at work too!). The caramel one is just awful. GIVE US BACK THE KIT KAT CHUNKY PEANUT BUTTER!!!!
haha I just looked this up to post "too sweet" and found out everyone already beat me to it. The funniest thing was that halfway through eating this bar I forgot it was a Kit Kat and started thinking the recipe used to be better, thinking it was a Twix. It made me appreciate though that Kit Kat has its own strengths, and should stick to what it does best. Like I thought the regular KitKat chunky was superb (I had the Canadian version), it would be nice to see the plain one reviewed on CM and find out if anyone else enjoyed it as much. And bring back the PB Kit Kat please, I want to try it! :(
I don't know if the recipe has changed since you made this review, but I've had a completely different experience with the KitKat Caramel. I for one am pleased to see that it replaced the peanut version as I hate peanuts - although I'm sure they could have equally have kept the peanut version and added this one to the line up.
I thought the paste-like texture of the caramel actually worked for this bar better than a liquid based caramel would have. I think a runnier version would not have worked with the wafer so well.
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