A taste for British chocolate

[jmc_bks]

Check out this NYT piece on the taste for British chocolate.

Hershey chocolate is sour to anyone whose palate is accustomed to British chocolate. The reason is explained in The Emperors of Chocolate, if you're wondering why.

I like European chocolate...and Hershey chocolate...but I've been enjoying Mexican chocolate lately.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

While I am sadly guilty of purchasing upwards of a couple hundred dollars of Thornton's (http://www.thorntons.co.uk/ThorntonsSite/pages/home/default.asp) every time I go to the UK, you can get real (aka UK) chocolate lots of places in this here Yankee wasteland. Several of my local grocers carry the imported bars. The Aero bar is definitely one of my favorites, along with that Cadbury Flake.

What I want, though, is a Droste Apple; my parents used to put those things in our stocking each Christmas, but I haven't been able to find one in years. Recently found the Dutch chocolate shoes I had as a kid (from the Vermont Country Store), but WHERE are those Droste Apples? The Pastilles just don't cut it, because half the fun was cracking that apple open (and the fake derivative chocolate apples don't cut it -- I need that Droste chocolate -- yum). Oh, and Piper's in Iowa makes the best filled chocolate egg for Easter -- chocolate outside and lots of homemade caramel, toffee, and nut clusters inside. Hmm, now I'm hungry for some chocolate (which only happens a few hundred times a day).

Robin

[dogzzz2002.livejournal.com]

I knew it!

Years ago when Bob and I were traveling the States I bought my favourite chocolate bar Kit Kat and took a bite. I swore the chocolate was bad! We bought another one later and sure enough it tasted just as bad.

I was so relieved when I got home and could have a real chocolate bar again. Since then I think the Canadian bar has changed it's recipe to the American one because the bars are now too sweet and don't have the right texture. I miss the old kind but now that I know British chocolate is out there I'm going to google and see if I can find a store near me!

Not that I need another vice.

CindyS

[(Anonymous)]

Cindy, if you can't find a store, try this site: http://www.englishteastore.com/british-store-candy.html

I haven't ordered from them yet, but I've been thinking about it!

Also, for other types of hard to find candies, try www.vermontcountrystore.com

Not that I'm a candy addict or anything ;)


Robin

[rosario001.livejournal.com]

Oh, damn, I'm going to have to be incredibly strong to resist the temptation while I'm in Britain. I can't eat chocolate at all, because I've insulin resistance and shouldn't eat sugar. I'm having to go for sugar-free chocolate these days, which is a total misnomer, because IT DOESN'T TASTE LIKE CHOCOLATE AT ALL! But I'm a total chocolate-addict, so I have to make do somehow, so I still eat the crap.

BTW, Japanese chocolate? Fantastic (well, I had to try it, didn't I?)

[(Anonymous)]

I hear Russian chocolate is good, too.

Try Thorntons sugar-free, though, Rosario. I haven't had it, but they make a really high quality Belgian chocolate, so I imagine it's relatively good. Also, I think Godiva is even making sugar free these days. I can personally recommend this chocolate: http://www.amberlynchocolates.com/

It contains Maltitol, which apparently is a natural sweetener but not harmful for insulin resistance, and it honest to goodness tastes incredible!

Robin

Sorry for hijacking the thread, JMC!

[(Anonymous)]

Ohhh, thanks for the tips, Robin! I'll make a note of them and see if I can find them in the UK... the variety here in Uruguay is just pitiful >:-(

[(Anonymous)]

I meant to tell you, too, Rosario, that if any of these places won't ship internationally that I'd be happy to be the intermediate shipper, especially for those places that sell in the US. I don't even order from Thorntons internationally because the shipping is so high, but I don't know anyone in the UK who can ship to me privately, so I am fortunate that I tend to travel there every couple of years. So I know a little about the challenges of getting something you want from far away!

Robin

*raises hand*

[(Anonymous)]

As long as there aren't any complicated customs rules about chocolate, I'm happy to post from the UK. (To anyone.)

When my dh was in the US on a course, he employed me to send over certain brands of tea to ex-pats.

As for chocolate, I'd an aunt and uncle who went to Switzerland to ski every year. They used to bring us back boxes of little chocolates wrapped in pictures of Swiss scenery. They were wonderful.

Marianne McA

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

Hijack away! I've bookmarked the links you posted for review later when I have more time to drool over chocolate :)

[(Anonymous)]

Hijack away!

There's a phrase that's just begging for context, LOL!

I highly recommend Pipers, JMC, especially for us Yankees. And the Vermont Country Store is chock full of stuff from childhood (and our parents' childhood, and even our grandparents' childhood!). I am addicted to their site and their catalogs, especially the sale stuff.

Robin

[(Anonymous)]

Here's the link for Pipers, by the way: http://www.piperscandy.com/

[jmc-bks.livejournal.com]

Have you ever tried Cocoa Mill Chocolates (http://www.cocoamill.com)? Their chocolate hearts were reviewed in the NYT a few years ago, which lead to a boom in their business. Their Snappers (caramel & pecans in chocolate) are excellent, if a bit expensive.

[(Anonymous)]

I haven't seen them before, but now I'm real interested in their wine filled chocolates. I wonder what their base chocolate is. I am partial to Guittard, which, luckily, is one of the most popular base chocolates.