Reese's new Thins are 40% thinner than its regular peanut butter cups, but chocolate lovers might actually prefer them to the original (2024)

• • Hershey is set to release a new variety of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups called "Thins" in early March.
  • I taste-tested the Reese's Thins in both the milk and dark chocolate flavors, comparing them to the original and "Big Cup" versions of the treat.
  • The tiny peanut butter cups, which are 40% thinner than the original Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, come individually wrapped, making them ideal for snacking and sharing.
  • The most significant difference between the three sizes was the amount of peanut butter stuffed into the center.
  • In my experience, chocolate lovers generally embraced the new Thins, while peanut-butter enthusiasts preferred the other options. I personally liked the Thins and would definitely pick them up as a quick treat.

Back in October 2018, Hershey's announced its latest creation: a thinner version of Reese's ever-popular peanut butter cups. At the time, people were less than pleased at the prospect of a 40% thinner version of the treat.

It turns out, most of Reese's faithful customers are interested in getting more chocolate and peanut butter packed into each cup, not less. And when Hershey North America president Michele Buckdescribed the Thins as "appeal[ing] to those consumers who want something sweet with more permissibility," some fans were critical of the company's messaging on the new product.

Nevertheless, byoffering more sizing options, Reese's seems to be closer than ever to providing a peanut butter to chocolate ratio that satisfies everyone.

To see for myself, as someone who usually prefers peanut butter over peanut chocolate, I tried the Thins next to the original and "Big Cup" versions of the treat. Hershey is set to release the new Reese's Thins nationwide in early March, but I had the chance to try them before they hit shelves.

On first glance, I was impressed with the packaging and the fact that milk and dark chocolate options are offered

Each bag comes with 18 individually-wrapped Reese's cups, making them perfect for sharing with friends or co-workers.

For those who aren't so fond of sharingtheir Reese's, however, this arrangement may not exactly be ideal.Admittedly, I was a bit disappointed that the individual wrappers would prevent me from plunging my hand into the bag and downing thecontents in one sitting, but not everyone adheres to my open-minded definition of self-care.

Even though I was expecting a tiny treat, I was still not prepared for just how small the Thins were. The entire disc was only slightly larger than a quarter, so you could easily eat it in one bite.

The bag of milk chocolate Thins were absolutely delicious, as any die-hard Reese's fan would expect

As with the standard Reese's cup, the Thins tasted predominantly of peanut butter upon the first bite.

Still, the Thins boasted more chocolate than I'm used to getting in a Reese's cup. In my opinion, the only difference in taste between the Thins and the original Reese's Peanut Butter Cups was the ratio of peanut butter to chocolate, but we'll dive deeper into that later.

The Dark Reese's Thins were a chocolate lover's dream

These Thins were rich, decadent, and had a silky, smooth texture. I thought the decreased ratio of peanut butter to chocolate allowed the creamy center to complement the flavor of the dark chocolate nicely rather than overpoweringit.

Even as someone who isn't a huge fan of dark chocolate, I still liked these, but I imagine that dark chocolate lovers would rejoice over them.

Then, I compared the Thins with the standard and Big Cup peanut butter cups

We're all familiar with the classic Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, but I decided to add the "supersize" version of the treat into the mix as well. The Reese's Big Cup is 50% taller and 12.5% longer than the classic peanut butter cup, but, after my taste test, I realized that the most significant difference between the two is actually the amount of peanut butter stuffed into the center.

The Big Cup is advertised as the "peanut butter lovers cup" on the label, so you know right off the bat that it will be stuffed to the brim with peanut butter filling. On the other end of the spectrum, the Reese's Thins seemed to have less peanut butter than chocolate shell relative to their size. As such, the standard Reese's cup served as an important benchmark for comparing the peanut butter to chocolate ratio between the three sizes.

The Big Cup stayed true to its label. In my opinion, there was so much peanut butter packed into its core that I craved a glass of milk to wash it down. It was a delicious, sticky mess that melted in my hand as I ate it, and I think anyone looking to take a moment to treat themselves would enjoy one.

The standard Reese's cup, meanwhile, was exactly the reliable 50-50 ratio of peanut butter to chocolate we know and love, making for the ultimate balance between salty and sweet. It felt right.

The Thins didn't pack as much of a creamy, salty punch, in my opinion. There was only a small dollop of peanut butter in every thin, making it a lighter, quicker snack for those craving a touch of what the larger Reese's Peanut Butter Cups have to offer.

Since the Thins make for a good snack, in my opinion, a "share pack" with the chocolates out of their individual wrappers would be a dream. Ideally, I would be able to eat Thin after Thin without so much as a look back into the bag, but instead I would be slowed down by every wrapper I'd have to peel away.

Nevertheless, the Thins seem to serve their purpose well. For those who are craving a heartier treat, the original Reese's are still the best choice, in my opinion. But for those looking for a smaller snack, the Thins are a perfect option.

Read more: Hershey is trying to boost sales by selling Reese's Cups that are 40% thinner than the classics

To see what others might think of the Thins, I convinced some colleagues to try them

Even though she claims to eat Reese's Peanut Butter straight from the jar, Shivani Gonzalez, an editorial intern on the INSIDER freelance team, liked that there was a greater ratio of chocolate to peanut butter in the Thins.

"I like this a lot better," Gonzalez said. "The other sizes are so sweet and just too much for me. They're too dense. This was a nice, sweet treat."

Rebecca Wilkin, a video intern on Business Insider's science team, agreed. "I like the chocolate to peanut butter ratio better in the Thins than in the regular Reese's, but then again I'm not the biggest peanut butter fan," she said.

But both sports reporter Tyler Lauletta and senior sports reporter Scott Davis thought that the Thins could use some more filling.

"I mean, they're still good, but I knew already that I liked the big cups best," Lauletta said. "So they're moving in the wrong direction for me."

"When[Reese's] do the eggs or the Christmas trees, those are the best because they're all peanut butter," Davis added.

Jay Reed, a video intern for Business Insider, may have summed it up best on behalf of peanut butter lovers.

"The good part about this is that you don't really need to take a big bite into the [chocolate] shell before you hit the peanut butter, but overall the peanut butter's lacking," Reed said. "There isn't enough peanut butter, and that's kind of the point of Reese's."

It all comes down to whether you prefer peanut butter or chocolate

The general consensus among chocolate lovers was that the Reese's Thins were ideal because they boasted more chocolate shell than peanut butter filling. Likewise, those who generally found the standard Reese's cup to be a heavy treat enjoyed the lighter, slimmer nature of the Thins, but the peanut butter die-hards who are most likely to pick up a Reese's cup in the first place had a very different opinion.

Many of those who preferred the disc-sized Reese's to the standard and Big Cup versions said they would be more inclined to buy the Thins than any other Reese's offering. Personally, I'm all for everyone getting a Reese's cup that satisfies their cravings, so I'm excited to see how the world responds to the new Thins.