Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky (double caramel)

Product name: Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky (double caramel)
Calories: 109 for half a 42g bar (218 per bar)
Country of origin: Bulgaria

I’ve been looking out for this Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky (double caramel) for a couple of weeks but was unsuccessful in the shops I’d visited. Thankfully, my colleague was able to locate it in a newsagent, although she refused payment so I don’t know how much it set her back!

I had been wondering why there’d been no advertising campaign around this variety but, on reading the gold-themed wrapper, I realised it had been imported by Nestlé Singapore so figured this was the reason.

The bar felt noticeably lighter and less, well...chunky, than the other varieties I’ve reviewed. It turned out that all the UK versions are 48g – it’s amazing what a difference those extra 6g made! The image on the wrapper showed that there was something else different about this bar, though, since it was split into two milk chocolate covered ‘chunks topped with contrasting fillings’: one contained smooth caramel and the other was crunchy with caramel pieces (the bar contained 3% caramel flakes overall). I was vaguely aware of this multi-flavour concept existing overseas but this was the first time I’d come across it in reality so I couldn’t wait to try it.

Still containing no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives, the chocolate looked a tiny bit paler than that used on the traditional Chunky. There was a nice, deep dent to make it easy to split the sections apart, although I did think it was silly that a portion was only supposed to be one half. The smooth side’s caramel had a lovely, gooey appearance, whilst the crunchy filling was a much milkier colour and contained lots of dark flecks. These toppings produced a really sweet scent that was more like caramel than chocolate but, if I hadn’t know that’s what it was, I’m not sure I would have made the connection.

I tried the runny side first and found that the thick, smooth caramel was properly soft and gooey. Its flavour contrasted really nicely against the chocolate and wafer and gave an overall feel of brown sugar.

I expected to prefer the crunchy side and thought it would be like a textured version of the old Kit Kat: Chunky (caramel). In reality, it was a lot sweeter than the other side of the bar, but not quite as enjoyable in comparison. However, it still tasted good, with the tiny pieces providing a buttery toffee flavour and a brittle-like texture that blended with the crispy wafer beneath.

In terms of the Chunky’s basic features, I found the smaller size was noticeable but, thankfully, the chocolate still felt pretty chunky. However, one thing that wasn’t quite as enjoyable was the wafer’s texture which was a little chewy in places. Whether this was down to a different recipe or just having softened from being in contact with the toppings, I’m not sure, but this was only a minor issue for me anyway.

Eating this bar was certainly a pleasurable experience and, whilst I preferred the smooth side, I could happily eat a whole bar of either flavour. I think Nestlé UK need to get more adventurous!

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.75/10