Storck Toffifee

Product name: Storck Toffifee
Purchase details: £1.50 for a box of 12 pieces or two for £2.00 (tesco.com)
Calories: 43 per piece
Country of origin: Germany 

I think I’ve subconsciously been aware of Storck Toffifee all my life but, for some reason, I’ve never really taken notice of the product, let alone tried it.  

I tend to be wary of hard toffee products which is what I feared this product would be. However, on closer inspection, I realised that the dome-shaped pieces weren’t entirely made of caramel but, instead, were simply cups that contained whole hazelnuts and a hazelnut chocolate filling. The latter two contributed to 10% and 37% of each piece, respectively, whilst the ‘chewy caramel’ only accounted for 41% (the other 12% was made up of the chocolate topping). Realising this was a lot more different from chocolate eclairs than I’d realised, I decided it was time for me to sample Storck Toffifee! 

The Toffifee box was an attractive shade of orangey-brown with a prominent illustration of the unusual-looking product within. I also liked how the back of the box depicted the different stages of each cup’s production.  

Despite knowing the box was relatively small, yet contained 12 low-calorie pieces, I was surprised at just how small they were. However, having cut into a piece (very easily, I must say), I was impressed at just how much was going on with the different layers. I also liked the smooth, neat finish of the ‘creamy nougat’ filling, even though it was this that initially fooled me into thinking this would be a solid toffee product – it was only when looking at the base of a cup that it became clear that the caramel was more of an orange colour compared to the hazelnut filling’s pale shade of brown.  

On first removing the cellophane, I could smell a pleasant hazelnut scent, but this seemed to fade away very quickly. Thankfully, though, the box promised a ‘delicious’ flavour combination that was ‘guaranteed to satisfy every taste’. 

The chocolate topping was dark and pretty standard in taste. It was also a bit soft and grainy, texturally, so it didn’t appear to be very high quality. However, this wasn’t noticeable when combined with the other elements. 

The praline filling had a good hazelnut flavour and was very creamy. Like the chocolate, it was slightly grainy, but I still enjoyed its flavour. 

As promised, the sweet caramel was chewy but, due to being spread thinly, this wasn’t problematic. I actually quite enjoyed its flexibility as, if I wanted, it was possible to bend and bite it away from the rest of the product. The caramel did linger after the other ingredients had been swallowed, since it took more work to break down and, although this wasn’t ideal for me, it was far preferable to the teeth-breaking prospect I’d originally been concerned about. 

The ‘crunchy hazelnut’ was just that and it also added an incredible amount of additional flavour and prevented the fudgey-tasting product becoming too sweet (sugar was the main ingredient, after all). 

I can’t deny that the four elements that made up Storck Toffifee worked well together. What I liked best, though, came as a surprise – there was a very creamy aftertaste!  

So, what have I learnt? Not to assume I won’t like something without at least reading the product description first! 

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 6.5/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 6.5/10
Overall score: 6.88/10

Storck Werther's Original: Butter candies

Product name: Storck Werther’s Original: Butter candies
Calories: 213 per 50g pack
Country of origin: Germany 

When I was a toddler, there was an elderly lady in my church who, every week without fail, would give me a Werther’s Original. I’ve never forgotten that about her so, on the few occasions I’ve eaten their toffees since, it’s taken me back to that period in my life. In fact, when I received this pack of traditional Butter candies in one of my Christmas stockings, I realised that this is possibly the first time I’ve ever had a whole packet to myself! 

Storck now have a fairly large variety of products under the Werther’s Original brand, but these Butter candies were recognisable by the burgundy tip on the creamy yellow wrapper. There was also a picture of the dimpled toffees on the front and, whilst no nutritional information was provided here, this was obtainable from their website.

Each ‘classic candy made with real butter and fresh cream’ came individually wrapped in simple cellophane and, beneath this, the sweets had a glossy butterscotch appearance which was smooth throughout. 

 

The 10 candies in the pack mainly consisted of sugar, but also had cream and butter accounting for 7% and 4.5% of the ingredients, respectively. They gave off a very, very slight caramel aroma but, in contrast to this weakness, they had a very rich taste. They were quite syrupy and creamy and the toffee flavours on offer were juicy. Furthermore, their smooth and shiny appearance was just as noticeable on the tongue as it had been to the eye. 

The Butter candies were very hard so pressure had to be applied in order to chew them. When doing so, the sweets would crunch, but then splinter in the process. These tiny pieces would then stick together again as chewing continued. For me, this felt like a bit of a chore and, really, is the only reason I don’t tend to buy this type of product. They were enjoyable to suck, too, but this would have taken even longer to get through the pack! 

Despite my slight frustration with the texture, these Storck Werther’s Original: Butter candies were very tasty, so I’d love to give their Creamy filling variety a go to see if I find it less of a hassle to eat! 

Appearance: 8/10

Aroma: 6/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 6.5/10
Overall score: 7/10