&f=Calibri-Bold&ts=14&tc=d4d4cc&it=gif&c=round&bgt=gradient&bgc=ad6807&ebgc=d98807&be=on&w=125&h=30){kind=small}
Kcal ??? Fat ??? Fat(sats) ???Back at the start of the year in February Storck brought three new chocolate based products to market in the form of their Werther's Original Milk, Dark and Caramel Chocolates. Six months now down the line, Storck then announced the launch of a new variant for this range called Caramelts (See article HERE). On the packaging these came described as 'caramel flavoured candy confections'. Now before any of you start asking why these are being reviewed on a chocolate review site, I can tell you that they did have some cocoa content in them - so you can save yourselves the effort there haha! Despite being made in Germany and only just making it to the UK market in the last few months, Cybele at Candyblog.net has already given her perspective on these - I would suggest a wander over there for a second opinion (See HERE).
As with the other previous three variants these Caramelts came in a 125.0g bag that contained around twenty or so individually foil wrapped pieces. To be honest had I not been on the 'look out' for these in the shops I'm not sure I would have been able to pick them out from the other existing 'Caramel' variant, as the packaging does look very similar. That point aside the pouch looked attractive, though I had further reservations when it came to the inner pieces, which I thought were a little dull in colour. Given the ingredients list already (more on that later) it probably wouldn't have hurt to have brightened them up a bit just to make them look more attractive. Whilst they weren't the most good lucking candy ever, they did smell pretty tempting, and there were forthcoming caramels scents wafting from the pouch as soon as it was opened.
One glance at the leaderboard will tell you that I am in every sense a caramel fan, so I was looking forward to seeing what these had to offer. Cast your minds back to my reviews on the original three variants in February you will have noticed that I had a few issues getting used to the odd texture of all of those products - I'm sorry to say this was again the case with these Caramelts. Apologies for taking this review down a bit 'science' route but a glance at the ingredients list provided real insight as to why this was. From the top: sugar, vegetable fat, high fat milk powder, whey powder ... the list goes on. Now I'm sure we are all aware that several of our most famous products here in the UK (Cadbury Dairy Milk for example) contain vegetable fat, but I'm 100% confident it would be nothing like the levels in these Caramelts. I'm not one for normally getting overly fussed about ingredients, but the waxy, greasy melting sensation these created was just not to my liking at all. The creamy caramel taste had a pleasant butteryness smoothness to it, but the pieces had such a short lived longevity I didn't ever feel like they were satisfying in any manner.
Overall despite being fully prepared for the textural sensation this time around I still just couldn't get to used to it and felt it was just as detrimental to these Caramelts as it was the previous three variants I had reviewed. What I find so disappointing about all of these offerings from Storck is that if you look at the scoring charts for most of them, the only place they really fall down is in the texture and sustenance criteria, with one very much being a consequence of the other. When it comes to the packaging and the taste of all these products they are all relatively decent offerings of a sound to good quality. Unfortunately just like the others, the texture and mouthfeel of these Caramelts just couldn't be overlooked, and it did ultimately sap my enjoyment of these. If you are a real Werther's Original fan then you should probably still give them a try, but I can't give them any sort of recommendation.
6.5 out of 10
Posts
32 comments:
I wasn't sure you were going to review these because of their dubious chocolate content or not. Lol I bet you wish you hadn't bothered now. They don't sound as if they were worth it.
Oh no have they not learnt from those god awful chocolate ones they made? Surely they must of had people complain about them!
I tried the milk chocolate kind when they first came out and I couldn't believe the way they were made. They are exactly like you say, like lumps of chocolate wax. I definitely wont be buying these caramelts since they are the same.
Rxxx
Werthers Originals are so nice but I don't understand the obsession for making their soft sweets textured like that. I did see your reviews before I tried them for the first time but I didn't realise they were going to be as off putting to the extent you said. Great review Jim.
Where are these on sale? I have been wanting to trying them for weeks now but still cant find them anywhere.
I am still going to give these a try but I wont be expecting that they are anything great.
Jim did you ever get to try the chocolate flavoured hard caramels they used to make? They used to just be the original werthers but with chocolate on the outside. I think you would have liked them more than their attempts at soft caramels lol.
Oooooh yum you have reminded me I havent bought werthers for ages now. I used to buy their packs of caramels all the time but I cant even remember the last time I did.
Lol if I do buy some I will make sure I avoid the caramelts ;) Thank you for the warning.
I just read all your reviews of these werthers chocolate - are we thinking about the same products? I think they are great.
I didnt think that the textures were bad at all. I thought they melted just like any other chocolate. Chocolate and caramel together? Whats not to love.
the only place they really fall down is in the texture and sustenance criteria, with one very much being a consequence of the other. When it comes to the packaging and the taste of all these products they are all relatively decent offerings of a sound to good quality. Unfortunately just like the others, the texture and mouthfeel of these Caramelts just couldn't be overlooked, and it did ultimately sap my enjoyment of these.
There must have been something else bad about them since they only got 6.5. I thought these were going to compete with the glorious caramac bar but it sounds like they dont even come close. Booooooooo.
I couldn't agree more with your reviews of these werthers chocolates jim. Against your recommendations I ended up trying the dark chocolate flavour after your reviews last time around. I thought the chocolate and caramel tasted ok but I couldn't believe the lumpy way they melted. It felt so disgusting, like hard butter.
Thanks for the review Jim. Its good to see you not recommend something to us for once :) It helps me know what I need not spend my money on. Lol I think I have to save it all up for Hotel Chocolate stuff anyway if your recent reviews are anything to go by. Cheers.
At least these are cheap to try. I still think I will buy them at some point just to see what they are like. Its not like it is going to be an expensive mistake if they turn out crap like you are telling us LOL. How much did these cost you btw Jim?
Is this a problem you find a lot with German chocolates or just these Storck ones? The reason I ask is that they may think there is nothing wrong with the way they make them, it could just be what people in that country expect!?
Thanks for the review Jim its another really good one. I do like the normal werthers originals but I have avoided their chocolates due to what you have said about them. If there is one thing I really hate it's cheap tasting choc, it sounds like the cheap supermarket value chocolate you can buy.
It looks like we have new owners at Pool :-) Things are going to be on the up.
Not all of these werthers chocolates are bad. You should review the ones with the proper soft gooey caramel fillings. I bought a bag of them a while ago and I thought they were every bit as good as any cadburys caramel product.
I haven't tried the solid ones yet so I can't comment on these.
Yuck you can tell these are nasty by your picture. They look so unnatural in your photo where you cut one in half. I dont know what it is but they just dont look right.
I think they have made like this on purpose so that they are 'soft and melting' (look at the packaging). In trying to be unique I think they might have gone overboard if what you say is anything to go buy. I think I'm going to do what Richard says and still give them a go some day. Like he says its not as if I will feel like too much of an idiot if they are rubbish. Its not like they are going to max out by bank balance lol.
Aw, I'm so dissapointed that these are greasy...
It's a really tempting concept to have a buttery caramel flavour chocolate... but from your review (and Cybele's!) I think I'll just avoid them.
I wasn't as bothered by the texture as you obviously were cause when I had the choc ones I didn't think the were bad at all. To be honest I dont think I even noticed that there was anything wrong with the way they melted. Perhaps I just wasn't being as observant lol. Nice review.
What a shame they didn't sort out their problems from the first batch they made. I bet they dont even know that there is a problem like this. It was the first thing that some of my friends remarked about when we tried them. There were lots of 'yum these taste good' followed be 'hmmmm I'm not sure about the way these melt'. :-) You aren't the only one Jim.
Did you not learn your lesson the first time? If you knew that you didn't like the textures and that stuff first time around it wasn't likely that anything was going to drastically change was it.
Werther Originals remind me of visiting my grans when I was younger . She always used to put a bowl of them out when me and my brothers went round there. They always bring back nice memories whenever I have them.
I've not seen these around atall yet (despite those excruitiatong new adverts, like the other ones for the other varieties last year but worse) but wouldnt mind trying them just to see what they are like. I didn't have much problem with the others, I enjoyed the soft caramel ones, they reminded me of galaxy caramel but they were small.
There I was thinking they would have made these differently from the first lot. That was obviosuly too much to expect lol.
When I first heard about them I was just expecting them to be the usual hard boiled caramels with chocolate on the outside. I'm still not sure why they chose to make them like this. I think they feel really fatty and greasy when you suck on them. It doesn't feel nice at all.
I somehow missed your reviews of the first lot Jimbo. For some reason or other I still haven't got around to trying these new werthers bags. If they made them in smaller roll tubes I would have problem have given them a try. Carrying around a nig pouch of them all the time just puts me off.
I've tried these, and wasn't sure what to make of them. I pretty much agree with what you've said though. I kinda liked the buttery/salty taste combo, but the texture is just...weird. The ingredients list doesn't make for pleasant reading either. They remind me of Caramac with a poorer texture.
What surprises me is that apparently they're really successful sales-wise. Oh and the new adverts for them are a bit on the desperate side, it's a woman saying "They're really really nice. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't tasted it" (or something to that effect).
The candyblog review made me laugh:
"The color is kind of dead - it’s not yellow (or even artificially colored at all) but more of a that grayish color that some people turn before they faint. They’re shiny, but not slick looking. The color reminds me of support stockings."
If these are just the same as the other chocolates ones then I'm not interested in them at all. I thought both the chocolate variants were horrid, I think not even my brother wanted them in the end.
I dont see how people are saying they tasted similar to normal worthers originals. I thought they couldn't have made them taste more different if they tried.
@Alan lol the ad is so cringe isn't it. I don't know why these companies make those faked interview adverts. No believes that they are their actual thoughts.
Yuck I don't think I will be trying these. There is blatantly quite a fundamental problem with these chocolates if absolutely everyone who comments on here is making remarks about the same issue. I haven't tried them ever but I will make sure I never buy them now. There are too many other things that are more worthy of my money.
I'm a Werthers fan in the sense that I greatly enjoy their original products. These and the previous similar Werthers products you've reviewed always temp me but I've read too many reviews that have mentioned a strange texture and so I've not bought them yet. It's a shame the texture lets them down as they could have a really strong product as chocolatey caramely type products are always popular. Thanks again for the review!
Do you not ever try things and just come to the conclusion that they are average? Your reviews seem to either go down one of two routes with you either saying they are really good or really bad. Ive never seen one where you just say something was ok for what it is. Its something you might want to consider.
Hi All,
I bet I had you all scratching your heads when you first saw this :D I know they don't explicitly say they include chocolate, but like I said in the review there was some cocoa in there .... I think we all know the rules of this site are flimsy at the best of times anyway ;)
Rachel / Phil / Golden / Nick / Steven / Gary / Justin / Lucy - Re: Texture
It's not often that I come across a product that is so off putting for just one reason. It's also good to see that I'm also not alone in my dislike of it either. For those that haven't tried any of these Werthers chocolates yet it is really hard to describe the texture of them because there is simply just nothing like them on the market. You really have to try them for yourself to understand what I'm talking about it the reviews. Like someone has already said this month be a pretty common problem for people considering the proportion of people that have said stuff about it today.
Anon - Re: Where are these on sale?
I found them in Wilkinsons but I believe they should be in most supermarkets soon.
Robert - Re: 'Jim did you ever get to try the chocolate flavoured hard caramels they used to make? '
I can't say I did to be honest. Were they nice? Anyone else here remember them?
Alex / james - Re: 'I didnt think that the textures were bad at all. I thought they melted just like any other chocolate'
I respect your opinions but I don't think the texture of these werthers chocolates are like anything else out there on the market.
Richard - 'How much did these cost you btw Jim?'
Too much haha! I honestly can't remember ... they must have been in the region of £1 I think.
Henry - Re:'Is this a problem you find a lot with German chocolates or just these Storck ones?'
I've tried hundreds of different German chocolates and none of them have been like these.
Nigel - Re:'It looks like we have new owners at Pool :-) Things are going to be on the up'
You better hope your new owners are better than your old ones. Things cant exactly get worse now.
Duncan - Re: 'You should review the ones with the proper soft gooey caramel fillings.'
I already have done matey! Check the suggested reviews links you see below.
Mark - Re: 'Did you not learn your lesson the first time?'
Obviosuly not :D Everything is worth a second chance.
Alan / Phil / David - Re: Tv Advert
In FMCG we call them 'Testimmonial adverts'. They are getting far more popular but they are very difficult to pull off and make them come across as genuine. I haven't actually seen the Werthers one yet, but I can imagine it probably isn't the best. I will look it up on Youtube now.
Phil - Cybele's an awesome writer isn't she.
Ria - Re: 'I greatly enjoy their original products
If this is the case I still think you should give them a try sometime. It would be good to see if they meet your expectations taste wise.
Resph - Re: 'Do you not ever try things and just come to the conclusion that they are average?'
I always try to come down on one side of the fence to make the reviews most worthwhile to people. To be honest it's just within my nature to either like something or not ... I like having an opinion :D
Thanks for all the comments again today everyone. It's good to hear that so many of you have an opinion on these. I hope I haven't put too many of you off the idea of trying them for yourselves.
JIM
Post a Comment