Well Fed Network

Posted by Joanna Miller on Sugar Savvy.

I am a longtime fan of Werther’s Originals. So when Cybele at Candy Blog gave us a teaser of this new item a few weeks ago, I was intrigued and excited. Werther’s, it seems, is having a go at chocolate, and is set to release their new product sometime next month. I will definitely keep my eyes open for these ones, I thought to myself.

Turns out, I didn’t even have to lift a finger. Just a couple of days after I read about them, I noticed a box on my front porch. How touched I was to receive an advanced screening of the new Werther’s Originals, packed neatly and lovingly with ice packs in stiff Styrofoam, completely unsolicited by me. I put them out of reach of my very tall and dexterous dog, and left for a meeting and errand-packed day. When I returned later that afternoon, I wasted no time in ripping these babies open and taking them for a test-drive.

And this is where my troubles began. It (honest-to-God) took me FIVE minutes to open the first bag. I was taking care not to rip the entire side of the stiff plastic bag wide open, in order preserve it for storage, but doing this proved impossible. The seal would not budge, and I was pissed off at the candy before I’d even laid eyes on them. Come ON! Pull-tabs were invented at LEAST 25 years ago – this is not new technology. Packaging 101: Do not force the customer into a profanity-laced rage in order to get to your product. Please!

So, with chocolate finally in hand, I was prepared to forgive the company for their errant and sadistic packaging. I removed the foil and was surprised to discover a disc of actual milk chocolate. Even though they are described on the package as “Rich Milk (or Dark) Chocolate Marbled with Smooth Creamy Caramel in Fine European Tradition,” I subconsciously (like Cybele) imagined them to possess the rich, chewy consistency of a Storck Chocolate Riesen, the same company behind Werther’s.

I was wrong. And speaking of wrong, I don’t know where to begin in describing the complete and utter wrong-ness of this candy. I apologize, Werther’s. I sincerely appreciate having these sent to me, and I wanted to like them. I really did. But I cannot understand where they are coming from with this new item. I will not even bother to break down the tasting notes between the light and the dark, simply because I was unable to differentiate between the two. One is bland and tastes of powdered milk, and so does the other one. The “Dark” claims to be 42% cacao (not particularly “dark” in my book), but I have trouble believing it’s even that high.

The ingredients on the Dark start out like this: Sugar, Dark Chocolate, White Chocolate (cocoa butter, sugar, cream powder, skimmed milk powder… some other weird junk…  cream powder (again) whole milk powder, whey powder… skimmed milk powder (again), condensed skimmed milk… What? How many times did I just type the work “milk” and “cream” in an ingredient list pertaining, supposedly, to DARK chocolate? And what… WHAT? is white chocolate doing in dark chocolate, especially when not included in the front-of-package description? Do I even need to tell you why this is troubling?

By the way, I don’t think “dark chocolate” is an ingredient; it is a description. More on that here.

Believe me, I went into this one with an open mind, but my conscience will not allow me to tell you anything less than my honest opinion, which is that Werther’s really missed it on this one. I cannot believe that anyone who loves (or even just sort of likes) chocolate could be responsible for this travesty of a mockery of a sham. The people behind this product must truly have contempt for chocolate, or perhaps have never eaten anything close to good chocolate. I can think of no other explanation. The Werther’s Caramel Chocolates make a Hershey’s Special Dark seem like a bar of Pralus Madagascar 75%. Seriously, this is what Werther’s considers chocolate? Really? Excuse my outspoken disappointment. It’s just that I’m very… well, disappointed. No, I was not expecting a Recchiuti Fleur de Sel caramel. I did, however, assume this would be a few steps above a Palmer’s Bunny Big Foot. I am sorry to report that it was not.

In case you haven’t had one in awhile (and for the sake of not leaving you on a bitter note)  Werther’s Originals (the toffees), I am quite happy to report, are still very lovely and delicious.