Loacker Classic Napolitaner Hazelnut Wafers

The hazelnut in a Napolitaner is not a background note; the sheets around it are kept nearly flavourless, so the nut has the mouthful to itself. Loacker says the hazelnuts are Italian and roasted at its own site.

Built around the hazelnut cream

A Loacker Classic is three crisp wafers around two layers of cream, and in the Napolitaner the cream is where everything happens. The published ingredient list puts hazelnuts at 9% of the cream, and the full list also names coconut oil, sugar, whey and skimmed milk powder, soy flour, lean cocoa and Bourbon vanilla pods. The wafer itself is mostly air, more like a pastry than a biscuit dough.

Nothing coats it and no dough surrounds the cream, so opening the pack releases the filling's aroma straight away: warm and gently toasted. That makes freshness easy to judge, because a pack with little smell has already lost its hazelnut. Loacker says it roasts Italian hazelnuts on site for this cream, and that aroma is the reason to buy it over a plainer wafer.

What the label says, and who bakes it

Hazelnut is named on the front, and the published ingredient list for this barcode confirms it contains wheat and barley (gluten), milk, soya and nuts (hazelnuts). It may also contain mustard, peanuts and sesame. If tree nuts are a problem in your household, choose something else, and everyone should check the current UK pack, since formulations and allergen advice can change.

By its own account, Loacker avoids colourants, preservatives and hydrogenated fats. The company was founded in 1925 by the pastry maker Alfons Loacker in Bolzano and now bakes at Auna di Sotto on the Renon plateau and at Heinfels in East Tyrol, both around a thousand metres up. It is still a family business, and wafers are what it is known for.

Espresso, breakfast tea or rooibos

Hazelnut and coffee are among the oldest partners in European baking, because roasted nut and roasted bean share their aromatics and the coffee's bitterness sits against the sweet cream. A small, strong black coffee is the classic match, and two wafers beside one is what the format was made for. Never dunk: the stack absorbs instantly and falls apart, and no clever timing saves it.

For tea, pick a malty breakfast blend but brew it rather than stew it, around three minutes and no sugar, so the cup has body without burying a delicate wafer. Rooibos is a good alternative, its own nutty warmth complementing the hazelnut. It is the one to put out when dinner has been large and a full biscuit would be one step too far.

The packs we stock

• Loacker Classic Napolitaner Hazelnut Wafers, 90g (barcode 8000380153442)

What the label says

The published ingredient list for Loacker Classic Napolitaner Hazelnut Wafers, 90g (barcode 8000380153442) says it contains wheat and barley (gluten), milk, soya and nuts (hazelnuts), and it may contain mustard, peanuts and sesame. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.

Ingredients, as published: wheat flour, coconut oil, glucose syrup, sugar, hazelnuts 9% in the cream, whey powder ( milk), soy flour, skimmed milk powder, lean cocoa, dextrose, barley malt extract, raising agents (sodium bicarbonate, disodium diphosphate), salt, emulsifier soy lecithins, bourbon vanilla pods, spices.

Ingredient and nutrition data for this barcode: Open Food Facts (openfoodfacts.org), ODbL. The pack in your hands is the final word.

What to drink with it

• Yorkshire Tea Original Everyday Blend, 80 Tea Bags 250g: A strong everyday blend with enough body to stand beside the hazelnut, brewed for three minutes rather than stewed.
• Glengettie Welsh Breakfast Tea, 80 Tea Bags 250g: Another strong breakfast cup for anyone who likes their wafer with a proper brew.
• Teapigs Rooibos Creme Caramel, 15 Tea Bags, 37.5g: Rooibos warmth and a caramel note sit alongside the hazelnut cream for an evening cup.
• Twinings English Breakfast Loose Tea, 125g: Loose English Breakfast in a pot, poured at three minutes, for an afternoon with a plate of wafers.

Elsewhere in the Loacker range

• Loacker Classic Double Chocolate Wafers, 90g
• Loacker Classic Vanilla Wafers, 90g

The full range is on the Loacker brand page.

FAQ

Does Loacker Napolitaner contain nuts? Yes. The published ingredient list shows hazelnuts at 9% of the cream, and the pack may also contain peanuts.

Does it contain gluten? Yes, from wheat and barley, according to the published ingredient list for this barcode.

Can you dunk a Napolitaner wafer? No. It soaks up tea instantly and falls apart, so eat it beside the cup.

Which Loacker Classic suits tea best? Napolitaner is the easiest of the three with tea, especially a malty breakfast blend; Vanilla suits Earl Grey and Double Chocolate a black coffee.

How can I tell if a pack is still fresh? Smell it. The hazelnut aroma is the first thing to fade, so a pack that smells of very little has lost its best; keep an opened one sealed and dry.

Curator's note: After a big dinner, a plate of these and a pot of tea is exactly enough. Two each, and put the rest away before anyone asks. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: Loacker Classic Napolitaner Hazelnut Wafers

More from the tea wiki

• Tea and Biscuits
• Biscuit Dunking Physics: The Real Science
• Tea Pairing Principles: Reason, Don't Memorise
• Tea With Cake: The Pairing That Never Fails (If You Get It Right)
• Tea and Food Pairing: The Five Principles

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