Forrest Gump’s mother once told him that life was like a box of chocolates. That’s all well and good, unless that box of chocolates happens to be opened by someone else in your family who eats all of the caramels before you get a chance.
There is nothing better than a candy box piece of chocolate-covered caramel. Or at least I thought so, until I stumbled upon a magnificent candy known as Storck Chocolate Riesen. In essence, having a bag of Riesen (pronounced “reason”) is like having an endless supply of the best part of the candy box- the thick, chewy chocolate caramel squares covered in a thin layer of rich, creamy chocolate.
Each Riesen comes individually wrapped in a piece of waxy brown paper that is somewhat similar to the paper that covers pieces of Salt Water Taffy. The pieces are nice and thick, with a generous amount of buttery chocolate caramel making up the bulk of the candy.
The chocolate caramel is unique, in that the chocolate taste never overpowers the caramel, but the two are both quite present and yet hard to separate, as opposed to say, a Milky Way bar, wherein the chocolate and caramel flavors blend nicely, but are fairly discernible when eating the candy.
The chocolate that coats each Riesen is fantastic – sweet and milky with a tendency to flake off into your mouth as you chew the caramel, providing an excellent double chocolate-melting/caramel-squishing sensation that is hard to beat.
Riesen’s slogan is: “All you need is one good Riesen.” That may be true for some people, but since I started eating Riesens, I’m pretty sure I’ve eaten about 9 million more than one. We all know Forrest’s Mama was right – life is truly like a box of chocolates. But in a truly perfect world, I’d like to think that life would be more like a bag of Riesens. I’d know exactly what I was going to get, and I’d know it was going to be really, really good.
Buy Riesen Online:
- at Amazon.com
These were my mom’s favorite candy.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:59 amShe is now in the final stages of Alzheimer’s,but I still buy them for her anyway.
She still seems to enjoy them.I’m impressed with a candy that can have that affect on her!
I love caramel and I love chocolate, but for some reason these taste like burnt coffee to me. Does anyone else taste that or am I just strange?
May 12th, 2008 at 12:43 pmThis is my FAVORITE chocolate treat. I’m eating one as I eat. I love that you can find a bag at the 99 cent store.
May 12th, 2008 at 8:25 pmriesen candies are my absolute favorite! everyone always forgets about them, but these, i think, are the best value you can get.
May 13th, 2008 at 4:38 pmI taste it too, Elizabeth! I think it’s a weird chemical thing maybe.
May 13th, 2008 at 7:46 pmThank goodness, oakling, I thought it was just me.
May 14th, 2008 at 2:58 amMmm Riesen… I love these. The first time I had one I was back when I was the manager of a photolab.. One of my customers brought in a bag for the staff, and I was instantly addicted. I’ve never been able to eat just one, and yet I love that they are individually wrapped… Oakling and Elizabeth, I’ve tasted the burnt cofee-like flavour too.. not sure why, but it seems to be more pronounced when I’ve eaten a massive quantity of them.
May 14th, 2008 at 3:10 pmMan, I LOVE Riesen. I just can’t stop eating them. I’m even eating some as I type this message.
On another note, my “anti-spam word” happens to be “candy”. Odd.
May 14th, 2008 at 11:04 pmI always liked a good bag of Riesen when I was younger, but I don’t get them much anymore. Since they’re not really that popular, I can never find a store that stocks fresh ones regularly. Still, I pick up a pack of old ones every now and then. When you’re really in the mood for them, nothing else will do!
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:57 pmI love these things! I always take them on a flight with me, but end up having to buy an extra bag at the next airport!
November 22nd, 2011 at 8:38 pm