Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Good Smell, Taste, Price, Packaging |
| Disadvantages: |
Lots of Sugar |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
♦Thorntons♦
Thorntons is a British chocolate company founded by Joseph William Thornton in 1911. Thorntons today has a £180m turnover with almost 400 shops and cafes and evens offers its own mail order service. Since being established Thornton's has become the UK's largest chocolate manufacturer.
♦Me and Thorntons♦
I had spent about 20 minutes queued up in a shop to buy a gorgeous pair of shoes only to be told that they were a different price to which I had asked of the assistant (he told me they were £15 when they were really £20.) I was gutted as I had spent so long queuing up only to leave empty handed as I didn't have enough money on me at the time. Feeling annoyed and rather angry I left the shop (which shall remain anonymous) and turning the corner I came face to face with a lovely laid out, mouth watering Thornton's shop. I hadn't lived here long and hadn't really paid much attention to this part of the shopping centre but I was glad I had found it as I needed cheering up. I looked up and down the neatly laid out shelves supporting Fudge, Toffee and Chocolate, trying not to drool! A large box of chocolates caught my eye but I didn't need cheering up that bad so I settled on a pack of Original Toffees….
♦Location of stores♦
To find the nearest store to you visit this part of the website;
http://www.thorntons.co.uk/ThorntonsSite/ourstores/Thorntons/
There are tonnes of stores in London and other big cities such as Birmingham, but also it smaller towns like Barnstaple, Ipswich, Exeter and many more places.
♦Thornton's products♦
Thornton's sells many delicious sweets such as Fudge and Toffee. They do a huge selection of Chocolate and the chocolate can be broken down into categories, these are:
Organic - Chocolate made with 100% organic ingredients
Continental - Taste associated with the continent
Desert - Mixtures of chocolate
Eden - Fruit Flavours
Classic - Milk, White and Dark chocolate
Single Origin - Different chocolates from around the world
Diabetics - made with reduced sweeteners and sugar.
You can even buy gifts and presents for people as they can personalize chocolate. When I moved my friends got be a large flat piece of chocolate with a message they wrote iced onto it. There were also balloons and a border made from chocolate added. This is a great gift that comes with lots of effort, thought and is well presented.
The different types of Toffee which are available are:
Chocolate Toffee
Brazil Nut Toffee
Original Toffee
Fruit and Nut Toffee
Treacle Toffee
Liquorice Toffee
Orange Toffee
Banana Toffee
Strawberry and Cream Toffee
Mint Toffee
As you can see there is a wide selection of Toffee available in packets and boxes or tins. I myself have tried the packets of Mint, Treacle, Original and Chocolate Toffee. The treacle Toffee was too sweet for me but my family enjoyed finishing it off! My personal favourite is a toss between the Original and the Chocolate. If I fancied something really sweet I'd probably go for the Chocolate but If I wanted a more creamy sweet I'd certainly go for the Original.
♦Packaging of Original Toffee♦
*Front
The front of the packet looks natural, as does most of Thornton's packets. This is done by using subtle brown and yellow tones. The middle of the packet is simply a large rectangle. In the top half if a picture of Toffee and in the bottom half the name: Original Special Toffee, and underneath that the "slogan"; Tempting Toffee Lovers since 1925.
Below the rectangle is the Thornton's name (also its logo) and slogan.
*Back
The left half of the back is dedicated to the contact information, the barcode and in the top left, a message to us; the customer. The message reads:
"The secret to Thornton's special Toffee is the combination of fine quality ingredients, sourced from around the globe and the timing of adding them to the Toffee as it cooks. The Toffee is cooked slowly n small, individual pans, to develop the unique flavour."
In a separate paragraph underneath they go on to say how they don't use Emulsifiers or stabilisers.
On the right side on the back of the packet is the Ingredients and the Nutrition Information. By reading this you can see:
- Sugar is the main ingredient in the Toffee, meaning it can cause hyperactivity if given to children in high doses.
- There is milk and butter so it is not suitable for people who have an allergy to dairy.
HOWEVER, it is suitable for Vegetarians and it is Gluten and Alcohol free.
Per 100g (packet is 125g) there is 510 kcal, 21.4g of saturated fat.
Therefore, this isn't a great product if you are dieting (but what toffee is suitable for dieters!) or if you are on a low calorie meal plan.
Store the Product in cool, dry conditions.
♦Cost and Purchasing♦
The toffees are obviously available in Thornton's but also is some large supermarkets such as Tesco's.
I purchase my 125g pack in Thornton's for 99p, however 180g packets are available form Tesco for £1.25. The Toffee works out cheaper when you get it from Tesco, however you have to buy larger packets as they only stock and sell the 180g bag.
I think 99p for a bag of carefully prepared Toffee is good.
♦Ingredients♦
Here is the full list of ingredients:
Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Vegetable Oil, Butter, Whole Milk, Humectant (Sorbitol), Partially Inverted Sugar Syrup, Salt, Flavouring.
♦Texture of Toffee♦
When you pick up a piece the first thing you noticed is that, unlike some Toffee, it doesn't stick to your fingers or make them feel horrible and sticky. The Toffee feels smooth, not powdery, when you touch it and when you put it in your mouth it also feels smooth - not sharp. When you start chewing as with all Toffee it can stick to your teeth but I have found it doesn't stick that badly. With a brace I was told not to eat Toffee encase I broke it, but I find by having a piece now and again is okay, if I just suck the Toffee. It doesn't take that long for the Toffee to become a tiny, swallow able size. Also, I still get all the flavour, no bits stuck in my teeth and it lasts longer.
♦Size of Toffee♦
As you can see form the second picture I added, the toffee comes in different shapes and sizes. The majority are small and can just be popped into your mouth, but you can also get larger pieces. You can either suck on these pieces for a while or you can put the Toffee in the fridge, wait for them to harden, and then once they are harder, break them up into smaller pieces.
♦Taste of Toffee♦
The Toffee is first creamy and sweet. The taste isn't too overpowering or sickly which is great. It just tastes smooth and light, and your don't get a horrible overpowering taste or even an after taste. The Toffee is more creamy than sweet I find.
♦Smell of Toffee♦
The Toffee smells like toffee! I know it's a stupid statement but its true, nothing can describe the sweet, remembered smell of Toffee. Once your smelt Toffee you can remember the rich smell forever. When you first open the packet, be sure to breathe in the scent. The smell isn't unbearable and wont make you feel sick, its faint and sweet.
♦Ways To Eat The Toffee♦
1. Chewable
A simple method or popping a piece into your mouth and chewing and swallowing.
- Good for people with strong teeth or in a hurry.
- Bad for people with braces, wobbly teeth or young children.
2. Lasting Suck
Pop a piece into your mouth and suck until it's a small, thin, smooth piece which can easily be swallowed.
- Good for people with braces, who like taking their time, children or older people.
- Bad for impatient people.
3. Dip and Choc
Use a skewer or your fingers to tip a piece into melted chocolate before popping into your mouth and eating it either of the above two ways.
- Good for sleepovers or parties and Chocolate lovers.
- Bad for people who don't lie sharing or making a mess and for people on diets.
4.Toffee Bake
Use as decoration on the top of a cake. I recommend on top of a chocolate layer cake covered in melted chocolate.
- Good for parties, people who like baking or eating cake.
- Bad for people who don't like cake or cannot have too much sugar.
I eat the "Lasting Suck" way as I have a brace and cannot chew toffee encase it breaks (orthodontists orders). I also like dipping it in chocolate at sleepovers with friends as I don't like marshmallows so toffee is a great substitute.
♦Suitable For♦
The Toffee is suitable for Vegetarians and its is Gluten and alcohol free. As there is a lot of sugar younger children may get hyper if given a lot of the Toffee at once. Therefore I recommend giving them a only a few pieces at a time for there sake as well as yours! Also, if you have false teeth or have a weak jaw you may prefer to either suck the Toffee or either only eat small pieces.
The Toffee is not suitable for people allergic to Dairy or Nuts as the back of the packet states "May contain Nuts" and the Ingredients list contains Milk and Butter.
Overall, this product is really suitable for anyone unless you have one of the allergies I mentioned above.
♦Dentists best friend?♦
Bascially, its obvious that Toffee isn't good for your teeth as its high in sugar and can rot them. Also, if you have a brace toffee can loosen it or indeed pull it off.
On the subject of whether a dentist would like you to have teeth which has chewed alot of toffee, it depends on your dentist. If you have to pay privately or pay alot for your teeth to be checked, having rotten teeth will please the dentist but if you don't have a friendly dentist or if you don't pay alot fora checkup, the dentist will not be happy sorting out your rotten teeth and therefore making Toffee, an enermy rather than a best friend.
Overall I don't think dentists appreciate what Toffee can do to your teeth, but as long as you brush your teeth well and don't eat alot of it I can't see why Toffee and Dentists cant be Best friends.
♦Changes I Would Make♦
The first thing I would do is use less Sugar, the reason for this is because the Toffee is high in sugar, although drastically reducing the amount may change the taste.
I would make the pieces smaller before adding them to the packet. I thing they include an appropriate amount for pieces for the price they charge.
It may be a good idea to store them in a small box, separately instead of in a packet where they may tend to get stuck together.
♦Contact Information♦
Free customer phone line: 0800 454 537
Thorntons Direct Call: 0845 121 1911
Thorntons
PLC Derbyshire
DE55 4XU
www.Thorntons.co.uk
♦Conclusion♦
To conclude, I would definitely rate this product to anyone with a sweet tooth. To adults mainly due to the high sugar content, but to children if eaten in small doses in order to avoid rotten teeth and hyperactivity. I recommend because of the cheap price, the great taste and look of the product and also because unlike some Toffee's out there, it doesn't stick to the inside of your mouth.
.♦Thanks for reading, Flo♦
Display pictures
very helpful
very helpful
very helpful
