I still say it's a shame that the KitKats made for our Japanese friends come in so many different flavors, and yet the KitKats made for the U.S. are so boring. We don't get special edition flavors. OK, sometimes the portions are different or they will have seasonal imprints on them, but that's about it. I am sure the root cause boils down to the manufacturer. KitKits for the U.S. are made by Hershey, whereas the rest of the world's supply is made by Nestlé. Whatever the reason, Hershey isn't big on special editions (with the exception of the Kisses line, which does have frequent variants)
This KitKat Caramel bar has actually been out for several years. I have just never gotten around to trying one. The bar is in the same format as the KitKat Extra Crispy bar -- rather than being four fingers with a few layers of wafers, this bar is one solid finger about the length of an average candy bar and has several more layers. The Extra Crispy bar is my favorite U.S. version. The flavor is the same, but the texture is really dense and gives you the sense that you are actually sinking your teeth into something.
The KitKat Caramel has a puddle of caramel that lies on a slab of chocolate above the wafers. Because they have made room for the caramel, this bar has a slightly smaller wafer layer than the normal Extra Crispy bar.
The chocolate is standard issue Hershey's milk chocolate. A little grainy, a little too sweet, but cool on the tongue.
The wafers are crispy, very sweet. If you have ever had a KitKat (any version) there is just not all that much to say about it.
The caramel: I wasn't expecting world class caramel, and I didn't get it. The overwhelming flavor of this caramel is salt. Normally I would call that a good thing, but in this case it was just a little too much. There is also a buttery thing going on. I didn't like that either. It wasn't like I was eating real caramel, but something that was flavored to taste like caramel. The texture was pretty liquid -- that part I liked.
If I must eat domestic KitKats, I am going to stick to the Extra Crispy Bar.
Be sure to check out Cybele's review here. She liked the bar more than I did.
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I am surprised to see this score so low but reading the review it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteSeemingly own the Aussies can make a a proper Kit Kat Caramel!! Our Caramel fails hugely in comparison :(
Jim: I wonder how much of it is the difference between the bars being made by different companies.
ReplyDeleteBut I have had Aussie caramel and really liked it so it may just be as simple as they just have a good caramel to start with.
In that last shot, the caramel looks like wood glue.
ReplyDeleteJosie: I think I would have liked wood glue slightly more...
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