Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky (peanut butter)

Product name: Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky (peanut butter)
Purchase details: £0.60 for a 48g bar or three for £1.20 (tesco.com)
Calories: 259 per bar
Country of origin: UK

The Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky (peanut butter) is one of my all-time favourites. However, I’ve obviously been slacking as I know for a fact that, since I started this blog 14 months ago, I’ve only had one (and that didn’t even get a review as I ate it on a motorway journey!). This treat was certainly long overdue.

The ‘crisp wafer finger with a creamed peanut topping (19%) covered with milk chocolate (60%)’ came in a red Kit Kat-branded wrapper that feature a yellowy-orange panel to represent the flavour. I also noticed, for the first time, the clever way the recycling image on the back used the logo’s ‘K’ to look like a person putting rubbish in a bin!

The bar had the same outward appearance as the original Chunky but cutting it in two revealed its soft inner secret. The thick peanut butter layer was quite dark in colour and almost looked like a caramel. I also thought that the filling between the wafer sheets looked darker than normal and wondered if this could be peanut butter, too, but it turned out to be chocolate.

As soon I opened the wrapper, the aroma was apparent, with an emphasis on the peanut butter rather than the standard Kit Kat scent. Whilst this was good, it didn’t quite compare to an actual jar of peanut butter.

Obviously, the base flavour and texture was the same as the plain Chunky, but the 10% ground roasted peanuts and 2% peanut flour combined to provide a great flavour. It was nice and salty on the sides of the tongue, there was a peanut aftertaste, but the usual sweetness of the product was maintained.

I don’t know if anyone else ever has this problem, but I sometimes find that the chocolate on Kit Kats tastes a bit odd in places. I did find that here but I know from experience that it does tend to vary from bar to bar – it’s a taste I can’t compare to anything but, at the very least, it’s not a natural one. Thankfully, though, this didn’t spoil my enjoyment of this particular bar and, overall, there was a great balance of salty and sweet flavours.

The soft, fudgy texture of the peanut butter transformed the bar so I couldn’t not give it full marks in that area! I just loved the way it practically collapsed, before the crisp, as I took each bite. Amazing.

I’m pleased to say that my love of the peanut butter Chunky hasn’t lessened – it’s still a fantastic product. The levels of salt and sugar can both seem a bit intense, at times, but I think this is a good thing as it stops me from eating too many at once! I’m still waiting for a white chocolate version, though, Nestlé.

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 8.5/10
Texture: 10/10
Overall score: 8.38/10

Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky

Product name: Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky
Calories: 247 for a 48g bar

I still remember the day I started my love affair with the Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky. I was 10 years old and staying with an aunty during the Summer holidays. I was sat in the back of her car as she filled the tank with petrol and, before she went to pay, she asked me if I’d ever had one because she loved them. I told her I hadn’t and, when she emerged from the little shop, she handed my first ever Chunky in its classic red wrapper. As much as I liked the standard bars, I didn’t find them particularly exciting, so I wasn’t sure how this was going to be any different. It turned out she was right and, until the peanut butter version came out later, it was my favourite chocolate bar!

Anyway, this particular bar was a gift from a colleague (who was oblivious to the back story!) and was made for the UK and Ireland market. It contained no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives and was described as a ‘crispy wafer finger covered with thick milk chocolate’.

In terms of appearance, it looked exactly the same as the mint version, although I didn’t think the chocolate layer looked as thick as it used to, despite contributing to 67% of the product.

The aroma was the great, strong Kit Kat one I’ve grown accustomed to – pretty chocolatey and sweet. The chocolate wasn’t amazing quality but I still loved it since it had a good flavour and a deep sugary taste. The usual sweetness from the wafer tasted as fabulous as ever against this richer coating.

Of course, it’s the very chunkiness of the chocolate that made this bar what it was. I particularly loved biting off each end where the relatively soft chocolate was particularly thick. The ratio of chocolate to wafer basically produced the same great, chunky but crisp texture as the white choc version of the bar.

There’s no doubt about it...the Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky will always hold a special place in my heart.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8.5/10
Overall score: 7.88/10

Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky (white choc)

Product name: Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky (white choc)
Purchase details: £0.29 for a 48g bar or four for £1.00 (Home Bargains)
Calories: 250 per bar

I like to take credit for the current availability of the peanut butter and white chocolate versions of the Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky bars. You see, a few years ago, I did something I’d not done before or since – I e-mailed Nestlé to see if these two fabulous varieties could be brought back because I missed them so much. I still have the e-mail response I received on 26^th November 2011, informing me that, to their knowledge, there were no plans to bring back these bars, but my comments would be passed on. Fast forward two months, to January 2012, and there was suddenly the first Chunky Champion campaign that featured both of my beloved flavours – no need to thank me!

Anyway, here is my review for the limited edition white choc bar, which was made for the UK and Ireland. This ‘crispy wafer finger covered with white chocolate’ came in a simple but effective white chocolate-coloured wrapper that looked lovely.

The bar itself was the usual Chunky shape and size and, although this particular bar wasn’t perfectly formed (there was an air bubble on the base and weird black speck on the side), it looked lovely and fresh and the chocolate’s colour contrasted nicely with the inner wafer.

The bar had a mild but creamy scent and the thick outer layer had a delicious white chocolate flavour, with hints of sweet vanilla, and a lovely creamy melt. The wafer was the standard kind with quite a sugary filling and I loved how these two elements of the bar went together.

In a lot of ways, this white choc Chunky was much like the mint one, but I found the white chocolate didn’t just provide a preferable flavour, but an improved texture too.

Now, Nestlé, if you’re still listening to me, please could we have a white chocolate coated peanut butter Chunky next? Thanking you!

Appearance: 8/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 8.5/10
Texture: 8.5/10
Overall score: 8/10

Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky (mint)

Product name: Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky (mint)
Purchase details: £0.19 for a 48g bar (Home Bargains)
Calories: 246 per bar 

The Nestlé Kit Kat: Chunky has been a favourite of mine for a long time so I can’t quite believe that this is my first one since I started my blog nearly six months ago! The peanut butter and white chocolate varieties are, probably unsurprisingly, my absolute favourites, but I couldn’t turn down the bargain price that this mint one was on sale for. (In fact, they’re currently three for £0.50 in Home Bargains, but I decided my snack stash was big enough without buying extras!)

Although I’m very used to mint-flavoured Kit Kats, having been an offering of the two-finger variety for a long time, I’ve only had this Chunky form a handful of occasions. It was the winner of the most recent ‘Chunky Champion’ contest and, as enjoyable as I’ve found it, I have previously felt that the extent of the minty flavour in this larger bar bordered on becoming sickly towards the end.

It is the thick chocolate layer that the Chunky bars are famous for that makes me love them so much. As a teenager, I regularly bit off all of the chocolate before proceeding to eat the wafer on its own – a bit messy but worth it! These days, I tend to alternate between eating these bars in a ‘normal’ way, and nibbling off some chocolate and eating that section of wafer before moving down the rest of the bar in the same manner.

The familiar red wrapper didn’t specify where this ‘crispy wafer finger covered with mint flavoured milk chocolate’ had originated from but the only contact details provided were for the UK and Ireland so it didn’t appear to have travelled far. I liked the freshness of the green section on the packaging, and I also thought the unusual choice of an image depicting actual mint leaves was a nice touch, rather than making me think that the product might not be very sweet.

The angular bar was divided into three sections which each featured the Kit Kat logo. The chocolate coating looked and felt lovely and smooth and it also produced a beautiful minty smell without being too strong. I was excited to see that this chocolate accounted for a whopping 67% of the bar, although also surprised that it didn’t look quite as thick as the chocolate on the Milka Leo. However, I do tend to find that the chunkiest bits of chocolate on these bars are at the two ends.

Although difficult to make out on my picture, the standard Kit Kat-style wafer consisted of five very thin layers interspersed with four sections of some kind of chocolatey crème. The resulting sweet finger was incredibly crispy whilst avoiding the trap of being dry.

As for the infused chocolate, this had an incredibly fresh flavour with only a slight bitterness, and I’m very grateful that Nestlé chose to use milk chocolate, rather than dark, for this reason.

There’s no denying that the concept of the Kit Kat: Chunky is a simple one but, when the resulting product is so tasty, who cares?! In this case, the mint flavour was delicious, and I also found that, despite my previous experiences, it wasn’t sickly on this larger scale. 

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 8/10
Taste: 8/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 7.88/10