Coffee Crisp

[alacarte]

I received an invitation to an event held here in NY intended to attract Canadian expats living here and friends of same. The invite included the following as enticement:

In promotion of this inaugural event, we will be distributing COFFEE CRISP chocolate bars, only available in Canada

Can anyone tell this stray New Yorker what Coffee Crisp is? Who makes it? And why isn't it carried outside of Canada?

Thanks!

[fresco]

Made by Nestle, sort of a coffee-flavored honeycomb biscuit affair coated with chocolate. If you really feel strongly about them, you might consider signing the Coffee Crisp petition:

http://coffeecrisp.org/

[merlin]

alacarte:

It is a chocolate bar containing waifers made by Nestle. Usually about the size of a Mars bar but with the texture of a KitKat only larger in rectangular form rather than "fingers".

try this site:

http://www.nestle.ca/en/Products/Browse_by...offee_Crisp.htm

I had no idea that Nestle did not market it in the US of A and have no idea why if that is so.

[merlin]

Here is a follow-up URL with regard to the petition [not vouching for its authenticity] that I found with the assistance of the "good folks" at Google

http://coffeecrisp.org/

[alacarte]

thanks for the info and the links!

Is it really that good that it merits an online petition campaign?

[Carolyn Tillie]

I'm surprised they state they are only distributed in Canada... I have bought them here in California (usually only at specialty shops).

I don't find them coffee-flavored enough for my tastes, so I gave them up.

[fresco]

thanks for the info and the links!

Is it really that good that it merits an online petition campaign?

I think it's an expat Canadian homesickness thing.

For a comprehensive list of things that Canadians abroad crave, check out this site:

http://www.canuckabroad.com/forums/ftopic11.html

[Varmint]

I have a great Coffee Crisp story. My wife and I were eating a magnificent dinner at Gramercy Tavern with my in-laws and Fat Guy & Ellen. This was one of the best meals we have ever had, and we were having a great interaction with the sommelier and the captain (Christopher Russell, who is now at Union Square Café, I believe). The sommelier (who is Canadian, his name is Paul, and he’s at Hearth, I believe) brought us perfect wines with each dish, and he occasionally challenged us to name the country of origin. I recall one wine from the Golan Heights. When we had finished the savory portion of the meal, Christopher informed us that the chef had prepared a special pre-dessert, and upon each plate was a single Coffee Crisp, still in its wrapper. Paul then told us that he had just the perfect thing to go with the Coffee Crisp, and out he came with the milk. It’s the first time I’ve ever had a sommelier serve me milk! Ah, those wacky Canadians!

This is off topic, but another funny moment in the meal was when Christopher informed us that the chef had made us a dish to honor us and our Southern heritage. He brought out a bowl of canned boiled peanuts that I had given to Fat Guy and Ellen as a gift the prior year. They don’t like “bawled” peanuts much. No wine was paired with this course, however!

[alacarte]

Varmint, that's HILARIOUS! I can only imagine the look on your faces....

[alacarte]

thanks for the info and the links!

Is it really that good that it merits an online petition campaign?

I think it's an expat Canadian homesickness thing.

For a comprehensive list of things that Canadians abroad crave, check out this site:

http://www.canuckabroad.com/forums/ftopic11.html

Thanks fresco. I don't even know what half of the things are that are mentioned on the homesickness link. Ketchup chips? Poutine's? huh?

I guess I need to get out more.

[tammylc]

Ketchup Chips are just ketchup flavored potato chips. There are many more flavors of potato chips in Canada than here. Some of the wackier ones I remember from my childhood are no longer being made, but boy did I like the Butter flavored ones when they were around. And then there was Roasted Chicken. Dill Pickle is the one I miss the most.

One of the things that American's find the strangest about us wacky Canadians is our preference for eating french fries covered with gravy. When I was in high school, fries and gravy made up at least 50% of what the cafeteria sold at lunch time. Poutine is a Quebecois dish of french fries with gravy and cheese curds. Yum.

Chocolate bars I miss from Canada - Crunchies (sponge toffee covered in chocolate) and Crispy Crunches (kind of like a Butterfinger, but not nasty like Butterfingers are). My (American) husband adores Coffee Crisp, so we buy some for him when we're over there. Also, the chocolate used is different, so even chocolate bars that you can get here (like Kit Kat and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups) taste better from Canada.

(And yes, in Canada we call them chocolate bars, not candy bars.)

Okay, after writing that treatise I'm all homesick... I'll have to see if I can get a side of gravy to go with my fries at the restaurant tonight...

[Marlene]

you can still get Roast Chicken potato chips here

[Andrew Fenton]

Coffee Crisp is one of my favourite (er, favorite) candy bars.

As a kid growing up in Seattle, I would see ads for them all the time on Canadian TV. It drove me crazy with unfulfilled candy desire; a young Tantalus. Damn you, Canada, for flaunting your candy at me!

[Marlene]

Coffee Crisp is one of my favourite (er, favorite) candy bars.

As a kid growing up in Seattle, I would see ads for them all the time on Canadian TV. It drove me crazy with unfulfilled candy desire; a young Tantalus. Damn you, Canada, for flaunting your candy at me!

Bwaa haaa haaa

[alacarte]

I caved and ordered some Coffee Crisp online from Vermont Country Store. I also ordered Chocolate Digestive cookies from the UK and Stroopwaffels from the Netherlands. I will be having an international sugar fest in about a week!

I didn't see any ketchup chips. Good thing, I probably would have ordered those too.

[fresco]

Be careful. It starts with our candy, but soon, you move on to poutine and pea meal bacon sandwiches on a bun. And then your friends start noticing that you pronounce "out" and "about" oddly. And you start saying "eh" at the end of every sentence...

[NVNVGirl]

Made by Nestle, sort of a coffee-flavored honeycomb biscuit affair coated with chocolate. If you really feel strongly about them, you might consider signing the Coffee Crisp petition:

http://coffeecrisp.org/

I signed the petition! I love Coffee Crisps and I dont' even eat candy bars! They're the best as far as I'm concerned. I have friends from Canada who used to send them to me, but I kept forgetting what they were called....all I could remember was they were light and crisp and good and the wrapper is purple and yellow isnt' it? I think it would be great if they sold them here in the US..and then I want them to start having those C. Howard's Violet candy in all the stores again. (altho I can get them at Cost Plus sometimes).

[alacarte]

Be careful. It starts with our candy, but soon, you move on to poutine and pea meal bacon sandwiches on a bun. And then your friends start noticing that you pronounce "out" and "about" oddly. And you start saying "eh" at the end of every sentence...

Sounds like a terrible fate, eh?

[cwyc]

In my opinion, it can't be just ANY ketchup chips or dill chips. It's got to be Old Dutch Chips. It seems Old Dutch is available only in the western provinces, so most people east of Manitoba don't seem to know about it.

[prasantrin]

In my opinion, it can't be just ANY ketchup chips or dill chips. It's got to be Old Dutch Chips. It seems Old Dutch is available only in the western provinces, so most people east of Manitoba don't seem to know about it.

For me, Old Dutch Barbeque chips are the only barbeque chips worth eating. No other barbeque chip will do. For dill pickle, Old Dutch are best but Hostess dill pickle were good, too.

Hostess O'Ryan's sour cream and onion chips were my absolute favourite chips of all time, though. I even e-mailed Hostess asking why O'Ryan's chips were discontinued and begged for them to bring them back. Someone replied, "I'm sorry, but I think you have the wrong company. We make Hostess Twinkies, not potato chips." Oops! I suspect that the company that makes President's Choice chips is the same that made Hostess chips since the flavours are very similar. While not in the same league as O'Ryan's, they are the only sour cream and onion chips I'll eat.

Oh, Old Dutch chips are available in some parts of Ontario. There used to be a website giving names of stores that carried them, but I can't seem to find it now. If you lived in Minnesota or North Dakota, you'd have an easier time finding them, though!

[maggiethecat]

At this point, I've lived more years in the States that I have in my home, my native land. I went into Coffee Crisp withdrawal during my first decade stateside, and I still miss them.

In a bizarre twist, my neighbors' son attended the University of Manitoba, and when they'd drop Little Dale off at school, Big Dale and Charlene would buy me about fifty Coffee Crisps. They're excellent frozen, by the way.

What else do I miss? Peak Frean Digestives. Aero bars. Matinees. Balderson's eight -year-old cheddar. Habitant pea soup. Pitchers of Molson Ex. Fiddleheads. A brown paper bag of frites sprinkled with white vinegar.

And a smoked meat sandwich from Schwartz's on St.-Laurent, dammit.

Note: Canadian McDonalds have little baggies of white vinegar for their fries, right there with the ketchup and mustard baggis.

[nanuq]

I sent this to a buddy who hails from western Canada earlier this week. Like me, she's here in the San Francisco area, and loves Old Dutch. Used to get puzzled looks from hubby and I, who come from Toronto - what are Old Dutch we wondered?

I get a giggle at my local grocery stores. They have displays of English products - you know, McVities, wine gums, pickles and chutneys, and ... Coffee Crisp!

Now, how come no - one has mentioned Smarties?

And, once in a while we are asked to bring back packets of Swiss Chalet gravy for others craving it.

I miss the Kernels caramel corn.

Better stop now...

Tracey

[porkpa]

I've been a Coffee Crisp lover all of my life. I notice that that they now make them in several flavors as well as the original. They also make Coffee Crisp ice cream. I can't bring myself to try any other than the iriginal. Has anybody tried the other flavors? If so, what did you think?

Other favorites are Cherry Blossoms, which no one has mentioned. Glossettes, Aero bars(now in numerous flavors), O'Henry bars(also several flavors) and MacIntosh Toffee. My kids always preferred Smarties to M & Ms. I'm not a fan of either, so cannot offer an opinion. I still have standing orders to bring Coffee Crisps, Cherry Blossoms and Smarties for my kids, even though they now have children of their own each time I visit Canada.

Porkpa

[alacarte]

I caved and ordered some Coffee Crisp online from Vermont Country Store. I also ordered Chocolate Digestive cookies from the UK and Stroopwaffels from the Netherlands. I will be having an international sugar fest in about a week!

I didn't see any ketchup chips. Good thing, I probably would have ordered those too.

I'm still waiting for my order to arrive.

Every day, I check the mailbox for a package slip....waiting is driving me crazy!

[presto]

When I first moved from Thunder Bay to TO in the early 90s I was devasted to find that Old Dutch weren't available....but you learn to make do, right? I thought I'd moved on and was content with the Hostess, etc.

Until the day I was driving eastbound on the 401 and an Old Dutch truck went by in the westbound collectors - almost gave myself whiplash and nearly smacked the guy in front of me as I watched the truck go past...

After that I made it my mission to find the stores that stocked ODs - finally found a little shop in Yorkville - that charged 7$ a box!!!

One of the many reasons coming back to Thunder Bay wasn't such a bad idea after all...