Nestlé Toffee Crisp

Product name: Nestlé Toffee Crisp
Purchase details: £1.00 for a pack of four bars (Tesco Superstore)
Calories: 229 per bar
Country of origin: UK

Ah, Toffee Crisps. They’re nothing new (they were first produced in 1963, apparently) but it’s only recently that I’ve come to appreciate just how good they are and so I am now of the opinion that they are underrated.

It’s not uncommon for me to have multipacks of ‘standard’, non-imported chocolate bars in my stash since they are a cheap way to get my daily fix. I do wonder, though, if part of the attraction of the Toffee Crisp, when choosing what to buy, is the bright orange wrapper that I also associate with Reese’s products, and obviously makes the packet stand out on the shelf.

I have to confess that Nestlé chocolate is not my favourite. I don’t dislike it, but it just doesn’t have the creaminess that other brands have. However, as a coating, I find it works really well, and it also smells pleasant, although its aroma is not a strong one.

This bar was a decent size (43.2g) and, beneath the milk chocolate outer layer, consisted of a cooling and texturally different chocolate (it was softer and almost looked cake-like due to its crumby appearance), filled with a large quantity of ‘crisped cereal’ that contributed to 11% of the bar’s total make-up. These cereal pieces were effectively Rice Krispies and they certainly delivered on the product name and the first part of its slogan – ‘crispy crunch’ – by providing a crispy sensation, both when cutting through the bar, and when eating it. These pieces were widely distributed throughout this bottom layer, although they did only add to the texture and appearance, rather than the taste.

Unsurprisingly, this bar also contained toffee (18%, in fact), and this soft layer sat neatly on top of the crispy base. Appearance-wise, it blended in nicely and actually wasn’t as obvious as the picture on the multipack wrapper suggested. However, this didn’t surprise me as the image looked fake anyway. I will also add, though, that the toffee layer looked darker in its compacted and undisturbed state, so the colour shown on the packet was more realistic when the toffee was allowed to stretch. My overall impression of the toffee was that it was thick and chewy (hence the second part of the slogan: ‘chewy munch’) but without being an effort to eat. It also had a tasty, buttery element to it.

Whilst I find that Nestlé chocolate melts well, I prefer not to suck it due to it not having an amazing taste. Therefore, I eat Toffee Crisp bars in two different ways. The conventional way is to eat it like a standard bar and the not-so-conventional way is to bite the top toffee layer off and then eat the crispy chocolate base on its own. I find both methods to be enjoyable and simply vary them based on my mood at the time. 

Since I had four bars to work with, I ensured that I tried both methods for the purpose of review. When eating the bar in the ‘normal’ way, I loved how the soft, chewy and crispy elements all combined, and particularly enjoyed the way the toffee layer lingered a fraction longer in the mouth towards the end of each bite. As for the more unusual method of consumption, it allowed me to appreciate the flavour offered by the toffee and also made the base layer feel like a more extravagant chocolate crispy cake, with more chocolate substance present between the cereal pieces.

In writing this review, I really don’t want to pretend that the Nestlé Toffee Crisp is some state-of-the-art chocolate bar. However, I do think it deserves more appreciation than, I think, it currently gets. When I ate this product, it put a smile on my face, and I can’t ask for much more than that! 

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 6.5/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.25/10