KitKat Caramel

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.



PURCHASED FROM:
Albertsons Supermarket

Chocri: Gigi's Sour Cherry Spice Bar

Today is a sad day for me on many levels...

First, as you read this, I am either on a plane heading home from New York City, or at an airport trying to get home from New York. (I hate leaving the city -- anyone there want to hire me?) And second, this is the last of my Chocri stash. I loved both of the previous bars I created to an insane degree (read those reviews here and here), and while I take credit for the combinations that I put together, it is really all about the truly great chocolate and ingredients Chocri makes the bar with.



As with my other Chocri reviews, I will be rating the bar based on said ingredients rather than the overall flavor of them bar. After all, the ingredients could be great, but since I chose the combination, I couldn't fault Chocri if the mixture I picked doesn't work very well.

Sour Cherry Spice was inspired by my love of all things sour. It contains sour cherries and orange pepper, and is made with dark chocolate.



The sour cherries are great! Large, plump and tart. They're just a little salty and that is always a good thing.

The orange pepper is pretty mild. While I could taste both the citrus and the pepper, neither was assertive enough to stand up and say "Hey, I am just as lovable as the Persian Bar!"



Props again to Crocri for the dark chocolate. It's 64%, and has a great snap and a smooth melt. There's a very coffeelike finish. It's good enough that I would be happy to eat it naked...wait, that came out wrong. I meant plain.



Overall I loved the chocolate, loved the cherries. The orange pepper wasn't bad, but it didn't blow me away the way some of the other ingredients have.

I love the whole concept of Chocri, and being able to make a bar with exactly what I want in it is a lot of fun for me. I have literally thought up dozens of bars since I came up with the three I have reviewed. Maybe if I am lucky, I will get some for Valentines day!



PURCHASED FROM:
Sample from company

Make your own by visiting Createmychocolate.com.