Before I left school for Thanksgiving break, I checked my PO Box one last time. Surprise! There was a box of caramel samples from Das Foods. I was thankful that I’d thought to check my mail; otherwise I would have had to wait an extra week to taste these.
The caramels may come in a small box, but Das Foods packs that box to the brim. I was surprised at how many caramels fit inside (not that I’m complaining). I was also surprised to see that my caramels differed a little from the ones in the website’s photo. Where were my visible grains of fleur de sel (French sea salt)?
Even if I couldn’t see the salt, I could taste it. If you’ve never had a salted caramel before, you’re missing out! While it may seem like an odd flavor combination, the salt really cuts through the sweet to bring out the darker, burned sugar flavors of the caramel. The Das caramel had a dark and dusky flavor that I found quite enjoyable. The website claims lavender and honey flavors; I could taste the honey component (which probably brought some of the darker sugar taste) but didn’t notice the lavendar.
Texture-wise, it had a creamy, buttery, and slightly greasy mouthfeel. I loved the buttery and creamy; the slightly greasy I could do without, but I don’t think it’s physically possible to get the first two without the latter. Life’s tough like that. The chew was quite soft and enjoyably sticky – it gets stuck in your teeth but eventually works its way out without you having to commit a social faux pas by picking it out.
Das caramels come in a wide assortment of flavors, including cafe cortado, ginger and pistachio, chocolate walnut, lemon and honey, orange and honey, and chai latte. They all sound intriguing. An OMG on these guys, even though I probably won’t buy them again (I’m not one who likes to regularly eat caramels). The box that I do have, however, I will slowly savor.
Varsha