Lindt Lindor: Caramel

Product name: Lindt Lindor: Caramel
Purchase details: £3.50 for a 200g box (tesco.com)
Calories: Unsure – estimate 73 per truffle
Country of origin: Switzerland 

I love Lindt chocolate and their Lindor truffles used to be one of my favourite products which I loved receiving as birthday and Christmas gifts. Then one day, to my horror, I ate a milk chocolate one and discovered I’d completely gone off them. I thought I’d previously eaten too many of them as it just tasted too rich and sickly, but I’ve not managed to enjoy them since – major sad face. I’ve refused to be defeated, though, so when new varieties have been released, I’ve still wanted to try them. It’s for that reason that today I’m bringing you my review of Lindt Lindor: Caramel.

I found out that this variety was being released a while ago and, despite having kept a look out for them for quite a long time, I nearly missed them on Tesco’s website when I finally did find them since the orangey-yellow box wasn’t too different in appearance from the gold box that contains a variety of truffles. Since these Caramel truffles were a continuation of a theme, the box was, as always, well-presented, and the individual wrappers were also of the usual quality.

The truffles’ outer appearance were identical to the milk chocolate ones – neat milk chocolate balls with a knobbly top where the truffle centre had been placed in the outer shell. I don’t know why, but there’s something I love about that little bump, along with the thin line that goes around the centre of each truffle, indicating where the two halves of the balls have been joined together. In the case of these Caramel truffles, the ‘melting filling’ was a pale colour and looked lovely and smooth.

I have to say I was nervous about trying these truffles due to my previous experiences, and the immediately obvious familiar Lindor smell did not initially help alleviate my fears. I used to love this scent but it’s one I now associate with feeling a bit queasy. However, I did gradually notice that the caramel was also present in this particular aroma and it actually seemed to become the stronger element over time.

At the height of my love affair with Lindor truffles, the thing I loved most was their unique texture. I found their thick Swiss milk chocolate shells filled with such a smooth, cool filling, really special and enjoyed how, after cracking through the chocolate, the filling almost instantly felt like liquid in the mouth as it melted so quickly. Thankfully, this familiar experience was as present as ever in these Caramel balls, so I certainly agree with the box’s claim that they were ‘irresistibly smooth’.

Now for the bit I was worried about: the taste. The chocolate contained a minimum of 32% cocoa solids and offered the familiar usual quality, creamy flavour. They did taste similar to the original milk chocolate truffles but, despite only containing 5.5% caramel, this additional flavour was very much evident and really helped offset the richness of the chocolate and truffle centre. Whilst it was the filling that contained this deeper flavour, it was also hinted at in the chocolate itself, and I was delighted that this caramel stopped the product being too rich and sickly.

I have to say I’m delighted that I’ve found a Lindor variety I properly enjoy again! According to MyFitnessPal, each truffle was 73 calories which, for the size, seems like quite a lot (although it’s understandable when considering how much texture and flavour was crammed into each one!), so I decided to have no more than one a day. For the first time in a couple of years, though, I actually wanted more since, whilst still rich, I didn’t find them sickly. Now it just remains to be seen if I’m ‘cured’ from such an unfortunate dislike of the original truffles, or whether these Lindt Lindor: Caramel truffles are just particularly special. 

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.25/10