Candy Bar Lab

The Double Decker is a British candy bar made by Cadbury. The name is presumably a reference to those red, two-level buses that are an iconic symbol of the country. Sadly, the packaging for the product has nothing to do with the buses. Instead, it’s bright orange and purple with a big, slanted logo across the front. Personally, I’m not a fan at all of the packaging design, but I won’t let that sway my opinion of the candy.

Structure
The name Double Decker fits the structure of the bar. It has two inner layers; the bottom one consisting of rice crispie balls spread amongst milk chocolate and the top one comprised of nougat. The whole bar is enrobed in milk chocolate.

Note: When your friends bring you candy bars back from overseas in their suitcases, don’t expect them to arrive in perfect condition.

Texture
The nougat is somewhere below a Charleston Chew and above a 3 Musketeers on the chewiness scale. The crispies are harder and larger than expected. I was thinking they’d be more like the kind in a Nestle Crunch. Instead, they reminded me of the ones in a Twix ice cream bar if you’ve ever had one of those before. Together, the chewy nougat, crispies and chocolate work well together.

Taste
There’s supposedly a light coffee flavor in the Double Decker. Either my taste buds were asleep or it’s REALLY light because I didn’t notice it at all. I’m sad because I thought this bar was bland. It was of course sweet, but neither the chocolate nor the inner layers had much flavor - just vanilla. I think a stronger coffee flavor would have helped.

Verdict
I’ve heard many times in my life that British candy bars are the best in the world. The Double Decker isn’t helping that cause. While the textures were good and different from anything I’ve had before, the flavor just didn’t cut it and ultimately, that’s what matters.

I was really excited to try this bar out. The packaging describes it as milk chocolate, peanuts, and caramel. That sounds like an awesome, simple combination that’s different from any of the mainstream candy bar options in the US. The closest I could think of was the limited edition Snickers Xtreme, which I hadn’t tried.

Structure
The center is caramel with chopped peanuts and crispies (not mentioned on the packaging) mixed throughout. The whole bar is enrobed with milk chocolate.

Texture
The milk chocolate is soft and mostly imperceptible. The “caramel” center is dry and chewy. I put caramel in quotes because I’m not sure it was actually caramel. It was dense like a nougat. The peanut bits were soft and scarce. Disappointingly, there were more crispies than peanuts.

Taste
The chocolate was again an afterthought. The caramel center doesn’t have much depth of flavor - just sweetness and vanilla. The whole bar has a weird aftertaste that lingers for a few seconds after each bite. The peanuts don’t deliver any roasted peanut flavor. This is all a detailed way of saying I was disappointed in the flavor.

Verdict
This is a big pass for me. On paper, milk chocolate, caramel, peanuts and crispies should all go together very well, but the Starbar just doesn’t taste very good and the caramel center is too thick and grainy. I’d recommend a Snickers Cruncher if you’re looking for something similar.

Just about everyone I work with has a blog. Most focus on web development and design. When I recently began telling them that I’m writing a blog devoted solely to candy bars, most were intrigued. One of my co-workers was even awesome enough to buy me a candy bar, which I of course promised to properly review on this blog. So here it is, the Nestle Crunch Crisp.

Structure
The center consists of alternating wafer and chocolate creme layers, which aretopped with a layer of milk chocolate and crispies. The entire bar is enrobed with a thin shell of milk chocolate.

Texture
The wafers are very crisp and the chocolate cream is soft - exactly how it should be. I expected a powdery texture like those cheap sugar wafers I was once addicted to, so I was pleasantly surprised. The top crispies don’t stand out. They have to be there for branding reasons, but I wouldn’t have missed them. Most importantly, Nestlé made this bar the perfect thickness. I panned Kit Kat Caramel for being too thick. Crunch Crisp didn’t make that mistake.

Taste
Nestlé chocolate has a unique flavor. When I was a kid, I loved it. Now, I find it to be a little too sweet and it has a distinct burnt caramel aftertaste. I probably should have eaten this in two sittings because the off flavors became unpleasant by the end.

Verdict
I really liked the texture of the wafers and chocolate creme; more than I disliked the chocolate flavor. If given the choice between this bar and a regular Nestlé Crunch, I would choose this. Therefore, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes Nestlé candy bars.