The Great Debate: Penguins vs Tim Tams.

I’ve come to the conclusion that there really isn’t that much difference. This statement may result in Australians gasping in horror at my lack of national pride. But really, it’s not like comparing apples and oranges, is it? It’s more along the line of comparing apples and apples (eg granny smith vs royal gala vs pink lady).

Having said all this I don’t want you to think I don’t like Tim Tams or that I don’t know much about them. I do. Anyone in my family can vouch that I am extremely acquainted with the iconic treat. In fact I have mastered the art of doing a Tim Tam Slam without any spillage into my hot beverage. Hot Tip: bite the corners off diagonally. Although in the end it’s all about the timing. Check out Natalie Imbruglia showing Graham Norton how to slam a Tim Tam:

I have tried a myriad of Tim Tam flavours (even the breast cancer charity one – and yes Arnotts – we all know you made the plastic separators bigger in the packet leaving us with fewer biscuits). Cheeky cheeky. So, even though I’ve said there isn’t that much difference between the two,  there are a few nuances which I’ll list below.

The Packaging
Penguin packaging kicks arse over tim tams. It’s not just the cute little penguins with different colours and poses, but the portion control. Each biscuit is individually wrapped. So purchasing a penguin means you (and by ‘you’, I mean ‘I’) will be less likely to suffer from over-indulgence. With Penguins, it’s as though I’ve magically become self disciplined. Usually I can resist anything but temptation and there is not a chance in hell that I aint going to devour the whole pack of Tim Tams once it’s open. (Well, with Pete anyway). Every time the two of us sit down to watch TV or a film we plan to open a pack and just have one or two and then without quite knowing what has happened (as though we’d been sucked into a time warp) the entire lot is gone. You can try and do the old, put the pack in the kitchen, take out one or two, and eat it on the couch. But let’s be honest here, this little buffer just results in five trips to the kitchen until the pack is empty. All attempts of Tim Tam moderation are futile. The only way I can portion control Tim Tams is to restrain from buying regular packs at all and stick with the Tim Tam Finger.

Taste
Tim Tams taste better. They’re rich, decadent and smooth.  Penguins are the no frills of Tim Tams (in taste and price). The chocolate tastes lower in quality, it’s flakier and they fall apart easier. Penguins are sickly sweet which makes them less moreish and more kiddie-ish. Tim Tams feel a bit more forbidden and adult opposed to a Penguin which you can imagine seeing in a six-year-old’s lunchbox. And you can’t do a Tim Tam Slam with a Penguin. Which in the end, is probably Penguin’s biggest downfall.

For more articles on Tim Tams and Penguins.

A controversial piece which shows that Tim Tams are a rip off of Penguin.
An oldie but a goodie. One Brit who does really care about his biscuit.