June 30th: Storck Toffifee

Kcal 200 Fat 11.0g Fat(sats) 5.0g Carbs 25.0g (per 5 pieces)

I hope you have noticed that fulfilling requests is something I take very seriously on this site. After all, if I'm not giving you guys the stuff you want to read then it is pretty pointless me writing my reviews, thus I always try and keep on top of the products you ask after. Saying that, I have to hold up my hands and admit that for some reason or other I had never made it round to reviewing one of the most commonly mentioned products amongst all the e-mails and comments. The product I am talking about is Storck Toffifee, which can be found quite easily in most of the major UK supermarket - especially around the holiday seasons.

Despite being widely distributed in the likes of Tesco and Sainbury's etc, Toffifee is actually an imported brand made by the German based company Storck - the same guys who make Riesen chocolates. On the box Toffifee are described as 'a hazelnut in caramel with creamy nougat and chocolate', and for the purpose of this review I bought a 15 piece pack. Speaking of the box itself, I thought it was all well presented with the branding, on-pack blurb and illustrations very effective at communicating the inner contents. As displayed by the pictures, the actual Toffifee pieces were very unique looking, and when cut in to, it could be seen that they were very intricately layered. Whilst it can be said that they created impact aesthetically, I can't say they had the same allure in regards to aromas, as aside from some faint sugary scents not much managed to register.

Not being perturbed by the lacking smells, I shared these with some work colleagues who I was surprised to hear had eaten Toffifee quite a few times before between them. From the ouset I felt each piece was just a little oversized for a comfortable mouthful, though I was more pleasantly surprised at how fast the outer chewy caramel layer softened. During the time of the caramel softening, an ever increasing amount of buttery, sugar flavours became present and they provided a nice smooth, flowing taste that led nicely into the inner chocolate layer. Sat in the middle of each Toffifee, the chocolate constituents was supposedly dual layered, though both really merged in to one single chocolate flavour delivery by the time the caramel had melted away. The chocolate wasn't particularly cocoa heavy in taste, but it was relatively unsweetened which made a nice change from the normative sweet milk chocolates. Amongst the milky, cocoa flavours a pleasant undercurrent of woody hazelnut was ever present, and this nutty influence was the lasting impression left in the mouth due to the single whole hazelnut that was left to crunch on once the chocolate had melted away entirely. The hazelnut was a fitting end to a chocolate that was wonderfully progressive and variable in both taste and texture, however it was commented on by some of my fellow taste testers that some of the nuts seemed a little soft and not all that fresh tasting.

Overall when it comes to caramel and chocolate products I like to feel I am pretty clued up given that it is one of my all time favourite combinations, so I think my judgment on these Toffifee is made in good knowledge. Whilst I have had many high end offerings such as Paul A Young's Salted Caramels, you may also have noticed that I do have time for the more standard caramel chocolate products (See Cadbury Caramel etc!). Judging these Storck Toffifee within that latter category of lower end products I would say they were a solid and unique offering, though at the same time I would also make the point that they don't do anything at a level I would deem outstanding. By that I mean the caramel, chocolate and nut constituents are all of a fair to good quality, though it isn't as if any of them stand out as being superb in isolation. What does work nicely for Toffifee is the way that each of the different elements to combine and contribute towards a multi-dimensional taste. If you are a fan of Storck's Riesen chocolates and you like your nuts, then I would suggest you give these a try. If the shops are anything like mine round near you then it is likely you can find these at some bargain prices - you have little excuse not to give them a go then.

7.6 out of 10