14 reviews for Trader Joe’s Taste Test of Caramels Reviews
Rated 2 out of 5
Noelle –
I loved the idea of these. However, the reality was disappointing for the following reasons:
1. The chocolate covering was much too thick so you mostly were eating a thick slab of chocolate.
2. The chocolate is much darker than pictured on the box so if you don’t like dark chocolate very much, this is not for you–especially since each candy is about 2/3 chocolate.
3. The caramel itself is not good. It is not chewy. It is very liquidy/soft and has the texture and taste of slightly undercooked homemade butterscotch sauce. I make butterscotch sauce from scratch and if I don’t cook it properly, it will come out with this texture.
All in all, these caramels are very little caramel, much too much dark chocolate which overpowers them and the caramels themselves are far too soft and liquid with no chewiness to them. Not good at all.
Two stars for the nice idea of a variety of flavors. No stars for texture or proportion.
Rated 5 out of 5
Anonymous –
I GOT ONE FOR MY BIRTHDAY IT WAS GREAT
Rated 5 out of 5
Mamacoco –
My daughter bought two of these for Christmas Day. We made it a game among 8 of us. She cut each into 4 pieces and we all wrote our guesses on paper. It was harder than you would think. FYI: before tasting, look at the filling and smell it. It was a fun game with lots of laughs. Will definitely buy them again if available; hopefully they’ll have new flavors.
Rated 5 out of 5
Gracie –
Delicious assortment of chocolates. Hope they will be available again this season.
Rated 5 out of 5
D1Nonly –
Received these as a gift….
I completely disagree with Noelle… They are delicious and I am NOT a big dark chocolate fan. And if your read the box it suggests refrigerating them first. It was FUN to guess..
We enjoyed the flavors and the caramel.
The chocolate us a bit thick but I was able to enjoy all the flavors as they were distinct but subtle. Found this page while lookIng to buy more! We will be sharing them with friends!
Rated 2 out of 5
Ubi Dubium –
I’m with Noelle on this. The idea was great. The execution, not so much. The suggestion to cut them up is not workable, because the chocolate is too thick and hard, and the caramel inside is too soft and runny. The chocolate is indeed very very dark, and I would appreciate this more if it was milk chocolate instead. The strong bitter flavor of the dark chocolate overwhelmed some of the fillings.
Of the flavors, some of them were very distinct, including ginger, hot pepper, and coffee. But some of them were much too subtle – I could not taste any maple flavor, or fig, for instance.
I’m glad I tried this, but would not buy it again until some reformulation happens.
Rated 5 out of 5
Lindy Wilson –
Well done you! This was fun and they were all VERY GOOD! ♡
I hope ya’ll keep these on board and make available more than once a year pretty please! 🙂
Rated 1 out of 5
Sam –
I am very unhappy with the product. While they are technically caramels, the centers are runny, which is horrid to me.
I expect “caramel” to be chewy, if I wanted to drink it I would just open a can of cola.
Rated 1 out of 5
Richard Lake –
The packaging really sucked. After carefully cutting into quarters everything popped out on to the floor when I tried to pick it up. The cheap plaster container does not sit right or whatever inside of the cardboard board box.
Yuck. Do not buy.
Rated 2 out of 5
Mary Beth –
These aren’t caramels, at least not by my definition. The chocolate shells are too thick, and the filings are too runny. I’m very disappointed and won’t buy them again.
Rated 1 out of 5
TJ –
I received a box of these and, contrary to the claim on the outside of the box, the answers are NOT inside. This is a problem for me since I cannot eat black pepper or chili of any sort. I’m hoping Trader Joe’s can provide me a list!!!!
Rated 5 out of 5
Rina –
I am a dark chocolate fan and the chocolates taste delicious. It is hard to cut the chocolate into 4 pieces because the outer shell is thick. However, it was fun trying to guess the flavors.
Rated 5 out of 5
Jacob –
Contrary to many of the reviews here, I think this was a great product. For the people complaining that they are runny, if you read the packaging it recommends refrigerating the chocolates before cutting the chocolates. The box also clearly says that it is dark chocolate. I will say the chocolate is pretty thick so it was a bit difficult to cut, but in terms of overpowering the taste, it is easy to get around that by simply not putting the whole thing in your mouth and being a bit more careful with smelling, observing, and tasting the caramels, because there were more hints than just the taste itself. Overall it was a great experience and would recommend to anyone!
Rated 5 out of 5
Eliza –
I bought some last year and loved them. I was fun trying to match the flavors and the ingredients were of good quality. Maybe they weren’t perfect for everyone, but if you have an open mind, enjoy good chocolates, and like to have fun these are perfect. I wish I could find them this year.
Noelle –
I loved the idea of these. However, the reality was disappointing for the following reasons:
1. The chocolate covering was much too thick so you mostly were eating a thick slab of chocolate.
2. The chocolate is much darker than pictured on the box so if you don’t like dark chocolate very much, this is not for you–especially since each candy is about 2/3 chocolate.
3. The caramel itself is not good. It is not chewy. It is very liquidy/soft and has the texture and taste of slightly undercooked homemade butterscotch sauce. I make butterscotch sauce from scratch and if I don’t cook it properly, it will come out with this texture.
All in all, these caramels are very little caramel, much too much dark chocolate which overpowers them and the caramels themselves are far too soft and liquid with no chewiness to them. Not good at all.
Two stars for the nice idea of a variety of flavors. No stars for texture or proportion.
Anonymous –
I GOT ONE FOR MY BIRTHDAY IT WAS GREAT
Mamacoco –
My daughter bought two of these for Christmas Day. We made it a game among 8 of us. She cut each into 4 pieces and we all wrote our guesses on paper. It was harder than you would think. FYI: before tasting, look at the filling and smell it. It was a fun game with lots of laughs. Will definitely buy them again if available; hopefully they’ll have new flavors.
Gracie –
Delicious assortment of chocolates. Hope they will be available again this season.
D1Nonly –
Received these as a gift….
I completely disagree with Noelle… They are delicious and I am NOT a big dark chocolate fan. And if your read the box it suggests refrigerating them first. It was FUN to guess..
We enjoyed the flavors and the caramel.
The chocolate us a bit thick but I was able to enjoy all the flavors as they were distinct but subtle. Found this page while lookIng to buy more! We will be sharing them with friends!
Ubi Dubium –
I’m with Noelle on this. The idea was great. The execution, not so much. The suggestion to cut them up is not workable, because the chocolate is too thick and hard, and the caramel inside is too soft and runny. The chocolate is indeed very very dark, and I would appreciate this more if it was milk chocolate instead. The strong bitter flavor of the dark chocolate overwhelmed some of the fillings.
Of the flavors, some of them were very distinct, including ginger, hot pepper, and coffee. But some of them were much too subtle – I could not taste any maple flavor, or fig, for instance.
I’m glad I tried this, but would not buy it again until some reformulation happens.
Lindy Wilson –
Well done you! This was fun and they were all VERY GOOD! ♡
I hope ya’ll keep these on board and make available more than once a year pretty please! 🙂
Sam –
I am very unhappy with the product. While they are technically caramels, the centers are runny, which is horrid to me.
I expect “caramel” to be chewy, if I wanted to drink it I would just open a can of cola.
Richard Lake –
The packaging really sucked. After carefully cutting into quarters everything popped out on to the floor when I tried to pick it up. The cheap plaster container does not sit right or whatever inside of the cardboard board box.
Yuck. Do not buy.
Mary Beth –
These aren’t caramels, at least not by my definition. The chocolate shells are too thick, and the filings are too runny. I’m very disappointed and won’t buy them again.
TJ –
I received a box of these and, contrary to the claim on the outside of the box, the answers are NOT inside. This is a problem for me since I cannot eat black pepper or chili of any sort. I’m hoping Trader Joe’s can provide me a list!!!!
Rina –
I am a dark chocolate fan and the chocolates taste delicious. It is hard to cut the chocolate into 4 pieces because the outer shell is thick. However, it was fun trying to guess the flavors.
Jacob –
Contrary to many of the reviews here, I think this was a great product. For the people complaining that they are runny, if you read the packaging it recommends refrigerating the chocolates before cutting the chocolates. The box also clearly says that it is dark chocolate. I will say the chocolate is pretty thick so it was a bit difficult to cut, but in terms of overpowering the taste, it is easy to get around that by simply not putting the whole thing in your mouth and being a bit more careful with smelling, observing, and tasting the caramels, because there were more hints than just the taste itself. Overall it was a great experience and would recommend to anyone!
Eliza –
I bought some last year and loved them. I was fun trying to match the flavors and the ingredients were of good quality. Maybe they weren’t perfect for everyone, but if you have an open mind, enjoy good chocolates, and like to have fun these are perfect. I wish I could find them this year.