Good to be back after a wonderfully long holiday break that actually includes my birthday and the end of the semester grades! A lot has happened in the span of just a couple of weeks, but it’s also been a relaxing time full of moments with family and friends. Since today is New Year’s Day, it’s time to get back to the grind and set a positive example by staying productive. So, I’m back to reviewing Korean ramen and nuts, ladies and gentlemen!
Here’s what’s on the menu for today. I searched through the pile of nuts I have and picked out Tom’s Farm Toffeenut Latte Almond. These almonds are supposed to be a delicious combination of toffee and a latte with a taste of almonds. It kind of reminds me of something you would get at Starbucks. You know, one of those ultra-sweet whipped cream concoctions that are more dessert than actually coffee. I’ve only taken a sip or two of said dessert drinks from Starbucks in my lifetime, because I would like to keep the heart attacks at bay until I at least hit 40. However, from my limited experience, these almonds taste similar. It should make for a beautiful flavor combination with almonds that almost always benefit from rich, milky, and sweet flavors.
Packaging:
Yet again, I opted for the smaller 25 gram (.88 ounce) package of Tom’s Farm Almonds for this review. These small packages have been a godsend for testing out flavors and seeing if they are worthy or not. Tom’s Farm must have a lot of confidence in their products to allow for such miniscule sizes. It definitely works in our favor as the consumer, which I definitely favor.
There were nine almonds in total in this package, which is certainly not a lot, but has been the standard throughout most 25 gram packages. I also didn’t get ripped off this time! This package ended up weighing exactly 25 grams, just like the label intended. The almonds are once again very small, so don’t expect to get mammoth sized nuts from Tom’s Farm. These nuts with their candy coating make for an excellent way to cutdown on waste.
My favorite part in this section is always talking about the packaging. Tom’s Farm does great art! Or maybe, almonds are just cute? Anyways, we’ve got little almond dudes wearing toffee and latte coated helmets and one mega-sized dessert latte speckled with toffee in this piece of artwork. I like how the almond is chilling on whipped cream topping and the almonds jumping for joy about toffee latte blocks. Dotted throughout the artwork are mounds of almonds and toffee blocks. Finally, there’s an almond feasting on some toffee. The toffee looks pretty hard, because he’s snapping down on the block with some force! I love the colors and the design. It all just seems so relaxing and low key with the brown tones. This is definitely going into my book of favorites!
Flavor:
Toffeenut Latte Almond has a flavor similar to a fancy Starbuck’s drink loaded with sugar, calories, and some almond milk. The half-centimeter thick candy coating of these almonds is initially layered with the latte flavoring and transitions into nuggets of toffee stuck in the exterior like camel-colored gems. The flavor ends up being one that is a perfectly balanced milky latte and toffee flavor. Once you’ve made it through the flavor of the exterior, the last note of the flavor is almonds. All of the flavors swirl together nicely into a rich, sweet, milky flavor where almonds remain the star of the show.
Aroma:
Tom’s Farm Toffeenut Latte Almond smells like a mixture of toffee and a light aroma of sweetened instant stick coffee with milk. These almonds smell absolutely delicious! Coffee and toffee fans alike will be pleased by the pleasant aroma of these nuts. The toffee aroma dominates the overall sweet profile, but there’s not a hint of almonds to be found. This stays in line with the other offerings from Tom’s Farm as well. The candy coating is about a half centimeter thick, so no aroma of almond is escaping from that barrier!
Verdict:
Tom’s Farm never fails to introduce perfectly balanced flavor combinations, at least with their more dessert-like flavors. Toffeenut Latte Almond is a spectacular pairing of toffee, latte, and almonds. It’s almost like a latte made with almond milk or a Starbuck’s heart attack dessert coffee. The almond flavor also remains the star of the overall flavor with its finishing notes. If you’re into your frothy milk coffees or sweet Starbucks drinks, these will be your jam going into 2021.
Are you more of a toffee fan or a latte fan? Have you ever tried a dessert drink from Starbucks? Do you have any recommendations? Let me know in the comments!
If you’re interested in hearing more about Korean snack nuts or instant ramen, check out my on-going series, Noodle Story: An Exploration of Korean Instant Noodles and my other series, I Think I’m Going Nuts: An Eyeful of South Korea’s Little Snack Nuts, here on Medium.
