Chocolate Toffee Trio

Mel's Toffee Trio

On Wednesday you met the woman behind Mel's Toffee so today I'm going to introduce you to three of the seven varieties of chocolate toffee they make. There are the alcohol free varieties; I'm going to be helped out by three Acolytes when I test the four other varieties because they have more expertise with different types of liquor than I do. Let's get back to the three types of toffee I'm looking at today. First thing to note is that there are not made with almonds so this is a safe toffee for anyone with tree nuts. I'm not going to get into the debate about whether or not it even qualifies as toffee when there aren't almonds, I'm just glad that some of you could enjoy this because I know that tree nut allergies are common. The three types I'll be covering today are Plain Jane, Sea Salt Pretzel, and Chocolate Peanut Butter. Mel's Toffee sent me one bag of each of these three flavors to test out and write as objective a review as possible here on The Chocolate Cult; no other form of compensation was received.

Mel's Toffee -- Plain Jane

Plain Jane Toffee is jazzed up a bit with that dark chocolate drizzle that Michelle mentioned in our interview on Wednesday. Didn't read that? Go check it out then come back. It is made with butter (cream), sugar, water, dark chocolate, and salt and has both dairy and soy in it if those are allergy concerns. As you can see, the chocolate drizzle is generous and the toffee is thick. The toffee has a rich caramel color to it but the drizzle stands out against it. I cut open the resealable bag and the buttery sweetness hit me immediately. When I take a bite the toffee makes a snap and then continues to crunch as I chew. It gets stickier with each chew as I expect with thick toffee but it also melts off of my teeth with a few more chews. The flavor is buttery and sweet but the dark chocolate adds a hint of bitter when I bite into. As expected the toffee flavor itself is the dominant one. I like it.

Mel's Toffee -- Sea Salt Pretzel 

The Sea Salt Pretzel Toffee is more than just drizzle with chocolate, it has chocolate on the top and the bottom, the amount of pretzel pieces varied from piece to piece. I chose one that was looked to be balanced between toffee, chocolate, and pretzels. Of course this has more ingredients on the label but for those of you with allergies the ones that stand out will be dairy, wheat, corn, and soy. The sea salt is himalayan pink though I can't really see the salt crystals. This had a salt and chocolate fragrance when I opened the resealable bag but the sweet buttery scent became apparent when I brought the piece I selected to my nose. This piece makes a loud snap and continues to be crunchy as I chew it. it is a bit less sticky on my teeth. The initial flavor is the chocolate followed by the salt and the buttery sweet of the toffee which builds as I continue to chew a bite, the pretzels themselves are more texture than different flavor. Of the two so far, this is my favorite and you know that is all about the amount of dark chocolate.

Mel's Toffee -- Chocolate Peanut Butter

Chocolate Peanut Butter Toffee has very few ingredients again with salted peanuts and dry milk powder added to the basic list from Plain Jane Toffee thus you have three allergens -- dairy, peanuts, and soy. The orange label makes me think of peanut butter which isn't orange but still for some reason it feels right. I was not expecting a strong peanut butter fragrance when I opened the resealable bag but it was the dominant scent. As you can see, the toffee looks quite different from the Plain Jane version because you can see the pieces of peanuts in what appears to be a lighter colored toffee but also less chocolate drizzle. I was expecting more chocolate drizzle given the name and given the photo on the website, weren't you? Maybe I just got an under-chocolated batch. The toffee itself without drizzle is crunchy and has a flavor almost exactly like a sweet crunchy peanut butter would, the light chocolate drizzle doesn't affect the flavor very much. Of the three flavors this is my least favorite but if you really love peanut butter this would be the variety you'd want.

While I liked all three flavors of Mel's Toffee, the amount of chocolate on them really made it easy for me to pick my favorite: Sea Salt Pretzel Toffee. You can buy quarter, half, and one pound bags of these flavors at multiple locations in Michigan or online. If you've had any of these three flavors yourself please leave us a comment and let us know what you think about them.