Toffee Treat KitKat

KitKats are probably one of my most reviewed categories - funny that I'm actually not a huge fan. It just so happens that the format of chocolate, light 'cream', and wafer really lends itself to having limited editions come out, no matter what country you're in. So much so, that this is actually one of two KitKat reviews I plan to do this week.

Maybe I'm more of a fan than I realized...I've covered Shinshu Apple KitKats, Golden Citrus Blend KitKats, Pumpkin KitKats, Matcha Green Tea KitKats, Wasabi KitKats (I'm shuddering inwardly), Baked KitKats, and in some of my earliest baby reviews, the UK Chunky Championships of 2013: Chocolate Fudge, Mint, and Coconut - wherein I crowned coconut to be champion of them all, only for it to fall on deaf ears, as the nation clamored for more, more, more mint & chocolate combinations! By the way, where is our Chunky Championship this year?..or last year, for that matter?

Well, perhaps it's been replaced by a healthy & regular series of limited editions who aren't required to battle, brother against brother, for supremacy. I can dig it.

I've tried the Double Caramel Chunky, and while it was totally nice it didn't inspire me to write a review - although that also was hindered by the fact that it was a "today sucks" treat on the train rather than one of my more ritualized snack sessions at home. Basically, it was good & I'm thankful it existed in that train station Boots.

When I caught wind of these Toffee Treat bars, I was excited - I'm a big fan of Caramac, the Gold bar, and their classy cousin, Valrhona Dulcey...the blonde chocolate. Those sweet, toasty-butterscotch notes are just heaven to me, and when reviews started coming in from the awesome Kev's Snack Reviews & Grocery Gems comparing it favorably to my much-loved Caramac, I was all in.

It's worth noting that the 4-finger packaging does make it a bit harder to notice any new varieties, as I probably walked past the single unit Toffee Treat KitKats a few times before I noticed them. The packaging always just faces upward, rather than outward, so you have to really be looking to see the phrase 'Toffee Treat' and the slightly altered color scheme.

Once discovered, I grabbed one to have with a cup of tea. Really, that's the only way to enjoy chocolate that was gearing up to be this sweet.

The smell is just like a Caramac, which is very sugary & toffee-like. I consider toffee flavored things in the UK to go two ways: sometimes they taste like slightly burnt caramel, and sometimes they taste like what we in America call butterscotch. Just a tiny bit less sweet than plain caramel, and more buttery, vanilla, kind of toasted, and very round if that makes sense. Caramel in America is very one-note, it's just liquefied sugar and I think it's rarely left to brown for long in industrial kitchens. Butterscotch is the more interesting choice as it's rich like brown sugar (versus white sugar) or toffee. That's why I like English toffee things as much as I do - because it's not caramel as I know it.

So, long toffee aside...aside, this was totally delicious with tea. Without tea, yeah, it was a bit too sweet. When you add in the slightly savoury hit of a PG Tips dunk, however, it's ambrosial. I'd go so far as to say that when dipped in tea, this reminded me of the Valrhona Dulcey. Cheap way to get that sweet, toasty, buttery & rich flavor with the cirspitty crunch of a KitKat.

Shame this one will be limited edition, because it's a really nice addition to the 4-finger style KitKat.