I'm an American, how can I get my hands on British chocolate?

[Evonisia]

Cadbury's is generally a safe enough bet for good chocolate.

That is until they ruined Creme Eggs </3 ;-(

What did they do?

Dammit, I only left the place in December and already the place is falling apart without me

AFAIK some company bought out Cadbury's and almost immediately changed the formula. It was probably done to cut costs, but the results of it is just that the chocolate tastes of nothing. The reason I brought up Creme Eggs is because the insides of them were already bland (well, the yellow part was nice, not enough of it), so now we basically have an already awkward-to-eat food becoming a complete waste of time and money.

It's tragic.

Snip-iddy-Snip

Galaxy is the perfect chocolate for me. It's the only chocolate where if I eat too much of it I actually take notice of it. I enjoy it while it lasts, 'cos I'm gonna feel bad about it real soon.

 

[LaoJim]

My advice, if you're looking for actual "quality" chocolate, buy continental European brands.

Seconded. For me, and I guess most British people, Cadburys is kind of what we think of when we think of chocolate. A bar of Dairy Milk is nice, but not special in anyway. Swiss and Belgian chocolate is exotic, luxurious and a bit indulgent. American chocolate is just bizarre.

I remember at university we had a programme by which American students would study in England for one year. Without fail every girl on the programme would go home with a massive 1kg bar of Cadburys. The Swiss students not so much...

 

[Ryotknife]

There's American chocolate and then there's American chocolate. Nestle chocolate is hard to believe there's chocolate in it, Hersheys is better but not likely to win any awards. But... Ghirardelli? American as apple pie and makes some very good chocolates. (And if you can find one of their ice cream parlors, their chocolate malt shake is the best shake I've ever had.) More on the candies end, Godiva seems to have America's only decent dipping chocolate (if you're going to have a chocolate covered strawberry, get a Godiva one, nevermind the price), and makes some fantastic caramels and truffles as well.

Lindt is also widely available here and very good (Swiss, if you care). If it's chocolate you crave then you'll probably prefer their bars to their more-commonly-seen truffles.

Well, Is ghirardelli and Godiva american?

Domenico Ghirardelli was an Italian who got his chocolate experience in Italy and Uraguay, went to Peru to open his own confectionery business, then moved to US and started his business. Now, it is owned by Lindt, a Swiss company.

Godiva was started in Belgium and was bought out (and are now headquartered) by an american company in the 70's

As a Brit I have no idea how you people can eat the stuff you call "chocolate" over in the US. I had some Hershey milk chocolate once brought back for me from there and it was one of the singularly worst food experiences of my life. Biting into it was like biting into a bottle of cooking oil or something. Nasty oily greasy thing.


Anyway I second the suggest of Galaxy chocolate.

Note: for this next bit, i will be playing the role of the angry indignified american, for the sake of comedy. Just to re-iterate, this tone is not genuine. The views contain herein does not reflect the views of americans, Obama, or the escapist. All rights reserved, see rules for details, void in NY and Hawaii.

(start scene)
makes fun of American chocolate as not real chocolate, then suggests AN AMERICAN CHOCOLATE.

WHAT IS THIS?

you know, im starting to see a pattern here. Im thinking half the reason for the whole "crappy American products" is because you guys appropriate all of our good stuff, much like when i learned that many UK escapists thought that Ford was a British car company.

end the cultural imperialism!

(end scene)

 

[Pyrian]

Well, Is ghirardelli and Godiva american?

Surely. They're made here, HQ'd here, and have been for more than a few decades.

Domenico Ghirardelli was an Italian who got his chocolate experience in Italy and Uraguay, went to Peru to open his own confectionery business, then moved to US and started his business. Now, it is owned by Lindt, a Swiss company.

Godiva was started in Belgium and was bought out (and are now headquartered) by an american company in the 70's

If we're going to pick nits about origins, then I would like to point out that the Cocoa bean itself is originally American (South/Central American, not U.S.).

 

[L. Declis]

Cadbury's is generally a safe enough bet for good chocolate.

That is until they ruined Creme Eggs </3 ;-(

What did they do?

Dammit, I only left the place in December and already the place is falling apart without me

AFAIK some company bought out Cadbury's and almost immediately changed the formula. It was probably done to cut costs, but the results of it is just that the chocolate tastes of nothing. The reason I brought up Creme Eggs is because the insides of them were already bland (well, the yellow part was nice, not enough of it), so now we basically have an already awkward-to-eat food becoming a complete waste of time and money.

It's tragic.

Not some company. Hershey. You know, the worst chocolate company ever. After promising they wouldn't change Cadbury's recipe which we've had for over a century.

They then reduced the number of Cadbury's eggs from 6 to 5 in a box, increased the price of all the chocolates, reduced the quality, and then said it was for the customer's benefit.

Seriously, American companies.

That said, Five Guys was the best damn burger and chips I've had in my life and I'll defend that ************ until I die. And Tim Hortons in New York State has the best donuts and Cafe Mocha ever, and I've had mocha in four continents.

 

[theSovietConnection]

Not some company. Hershey. You know, the worst chocolate company ever. After promising they wouldn't change Cadbury's recipe which we've had for over a century.

They then reduced the number of Cadbury's eggs from 6 to 5 in a box, increased the price of all the chocolates, reduced the quality, and then said it was for the customer's benefit.

Seriously, American companies.

That said, Five Guys was the best damn burger and chips I've had in my life and I'll defend that ************ until I die. And Tim Hortons in New York State has the best donuts and Cafe Mocha ever, and I've had mocha in four continents.

Oh, but you forgot the absolute best part of why Hershey's are terrible, that they have essentially banned the commercial import of true Cadbury chocolate into the US.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/24/nyregion/after-a-deal-british-chocolates-wont-cross-the-pond.html

To quote the article:

As a result of a settlement with the Hershey?s Company, Let?s Buy British Imports, or L.B.B., agreed this week to stop importing all Cadbury?s chocolate made overseas. The company also agreed to halt imports on KitKat bars made in Britain; Toffee Crisps, which, because of their orange packaging, and yellow-lined brown script, too closely resemble Reese?s Peanut Butter Cups; Yorkie chocolate bars, which infringe on the York peppermint patty; and Ms. Perry?s beloved Maltesers.

 

[Ryotknife]

Cadbury's is generally a safe enough bet for good chocolate.

That is until they ruined Creme Eggs </3 ;-(

What did they do?

Dammit, I only left the place in December and already the place is falling apart without me

AFAIK some company bought out Cadbury's and almost immediately changed the formula. It was probably done to cut costs, but the results of it is just that the chocolate tastes of nothing. The reason I brought up Creme Eggs is because the insides of them were already bland (well, the yellow part was nice, not enough of it), so now we basically have an already awkward-to-eat food becoming a complete waste of time and money.

It's tragic.

Not some company. Hershey. You know, the worst chocolate company ever. After promising they wouldn't change Cadbury's recipe which we've had for over a century.

They then reduced the number of Cadbury's eggs from 6 to 5 in a box, increased the price of all the chocolates, reduced the quality, and then said it was for the customer's benefit.

Seriously, American companies.

That said, Five Guys was the best damn burger and chips I've had in my life and I'll defend that ************ until I die. And Tim Hortons in New York State has the best donuts and Cafe Mocha ever, and I've had mocha in four continents.

Hershey is the bottom of the barrel, i will admit.

Also, Tim Horton's (they are Canadian btw) had great donut's? really? I will admit that its been....10 years since i had a donut there but i never liked them. Granted they have really good breakfast sandwichs. Maybe i will give them a second chance.

 

[L. Declis]

Hershey is the bottom of the barrel, i will admit.

Also, Tim Horton's (they are Canadian btw) had great donut's? really? I will admit that its been....10 years since i had a donut there but i never liked them. Granted they have really good breakfast sandwichs. Maybe i will give them a second chance.

Vanilla. Cream. <-------------------------------------------------This one

As a result of a settlement with the Hershey?s Company, Let?s Buy British Imports, or L.B.B., agreed this week to stop importing all Cadbury?s chocolate made overseas. The company also agreed to halt imports on KitKat bars made in Britain; Toffee Crisps, which, because of their orange packaging, and yellow-lined brown script, too closely resemble Reese?s Peanut Butter Cups; Yorkie chocolate bars, which infringe on the York peppermint patty; and Ms. Perry?s beloved Maltesers.

Instead of getting rid of their sub-par crap, they chose to simply stop letting people buy good shit despite the fact that Hershey now owns the good shit?

What kind of MC Escherian thinking is that?

 

[theSovietConnection]

Instead of getting rid of their sub-par crap, they chose to simply stop letting people buy good shit despite the fact that Hershey now owns the good shit?

What kind of MC Escherian thinking is that?

Why bother changing your shit for the better when you can simply have lawyers get it so you're the only game in town?

What really gets me about that is the Yorkie bars. If someone sincerely couldn't tell the difference between

Spoiler: This

and

Spoiler: This

I think there are bigger problems then Hershey losing out on the sale of a patty.

Captcha: numa numa

Thank you captcha, that will be stuck in my head the remainder of the night.

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Tim Tams.... 'nuff said o.o

 

[Albino Boo]

Why bother changing your shit for the better when you can simply have lawyers get it so you're the only game in town?

What really gets me about that is the Yorkie bars. If someone sincerely couldn't tell the difference between

Spoiler: This

Hersey paid Cadbury for the exclusive use of the of Cadburys names in the US. Its not because of similarity of names but Hersey are protecting the money they spent.

 

[Someone Depressing]

It is. It's delicious, and actually has real coco and this thing called chocolate in it instead of just being cream and sugar encased in a paper-thin glazing of brown shit.

Want to get it? Come to Britain You can usually order it over the Internet, either from an auction site or some companies that specifically import/make it.

We have £75 Easter eggs. Easter eggs the size of ostritch eggs. Had one once, it was amazing.

 

[Lightspeaker]

makes fun of American chocolate as not real chocolate, then suggests AN AMERICAN CHOCOLATE.

WHAT IS THIS?

you know, im starting to see a pattern here. Im thinking half the reason for the whole "crappy American products" is because you guys appropriate all of our good stuff, much like when i learned that many UK escapists thought that Ford was a British car company.

I'm not "making fun" of anything. That's something that actually really happened. Hershey's Milk Chocolate almost made me throw up. It had this weird greasy flavour to it.

And sorry to burst your bubble but the point is that recipes over here are typically different to what you get over there due to different regulations. Which is, of course, the entire point. So it'd be no good saying for the OP to buy whatever the US equivalent of Galaxy is.


As for Ford...at a guess its probably because they were in the habit of buying out good British manufacturers like Jaguar and Land Rover. As well as a stake in Aston Martin.


And whilst people are talking import bans I'm going to go on a tangent and express how strange I find it that you guys apparently can't get proper haggis over there.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Typing randomly into Google, I found this American site

http://www.ukgoods.com/british-english-irish-candy.html#.VSAl6fnF9Pw

Although I would question how could it be better? Maybe their cheap chocolate doesn't use "fake" chocolate like our chocolate here (that's why they would call it so much better) in 'Merica but how can actual chocolate candy here taste worse than actual chocolate in the UK? Are you sure you're just not buying shitty chocolates in 'Merica?

As a Brit, I tried a Hershey bar once... then I started a charity to aid those less fortunate than myself.

I'm all seriousness, it was... gritty, and pretty tasteless. I don't know how else to describe it, but it wasn't like any other chocolate I'd tasted. I don't know how differently it's made, but I'd wager the culprit is more likely sub-standard ingredients.

OP: Pretty much anything with the Cadbury or Galaxy label on it. That's specifically the Brit stuff though. You want the Class A shit? Go to the Swiss or the Belgians.

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

When I visited the US I ate in and out and it blows every other place right out of the water.

Oh yeah, In and Out, Carl's Jr., Five Guys, those places are all incredible. I'm just sorry Colour Scientist ended up going to McDonald's of all places while she was here.

I went to a Five Guys in Nottingham and it was pretty awesome!

I think my arteries are still recovering.

Some people need to come experience the Awful Awful at the Nugget here in Reno. As chain hamburgers tend to be not very good in general. Even Carl's Junior/Hardee's, In and Out, Five Guys, and Fat Burger, are still a more bog standard experience than any place's local take.

OT: For British goodies you really need to go looking for your local international markets. What's strange is finding British food stuff at Asian Markets. Makes me go: Did the British Isles migrate to hang out with Japan?

...

This is actually slightly awkward because the reason our market is so big over there is pretty much because we used to, well, own so much of it (what was it? '97 we gave Hong Kong back to the Chinese?). A lot of stuff seen as stereotypically British in the States, like tea, we actually discovered and appropriated from India and China, and on the other side of the coin a lot of British tastes were incorporated into cultures over there too.

 

[Ryotknife]

makes fun of American chocolate as not real chocolate, then suggests AN AMERICAN CHOCOLATE.

WHAT IS THIS?

you know, im starting to see a pattern here. Im thinking half the reason for the whole "crappy American products" is because you guys appropriate all of our good stuff, much like when i learned that many UK escapists thought that Ford was a British car company.

I'm not "making fun" of anything. That's something that actually really happened. Hershey's Milk Chocolate almost made me throw up. It had this weird greasy flavour to it.

And sorry to burst your bubble but the point is that recipes over here are typically different to what you get over there due to different regulations. Which is, of course, the entire point. So it'd be no good saying for the OP to buy whatever the US equivalent of Galaxy is.


As for Ford...at a guess its probably because they were in the habit of buying out good British manufacturers like Jaguar and Land Rover. As well as a stake in Aston Martin.


And whilst people are talking import bans I'm going to go on a tangent and express how strange I find it that you guys apparently can't get proper haggis over there.

Probably because there isnt much of a Scottish...what is the word im looking for...diaspora(?) over here even though they make up roughly 10% (slightly under) of the population. You will see heavy Irish, Polish, Italian, German, English, and French influence, but not Scottish.

 

[templar1138a]

If you want the authentic experience of eating British chocolate, it's actually a lot easier than you'd expect.
1. Go to your local grocery store.
2. Buy baking chocolate.
3. Eat baking chocolate.
4. Gag and wonder what the hell you were thinking.

 

[gigastar]

If youre looking for a premium chocolate experience i suggest you look for either Belgian or Swiss chocolate.

As others have said in this thread, pretty much everything got ruined by Hersheys.

 

[Evil Smurf]

If you stick with 85% cocao stuff, you'll be okay. I buy green's chocolate. Also try Amazon.

 

[Isalan]

If your looking for brand chocolate, then as many people have said Cadbury's is a safe bet.

On the other hand, if your looking for chocolate bars then see if you can find Boosts, Double Deckers, KitKat Chunkies, Wispas or Aero (especially the mint ones). Yorkie is a solid choccy bar as well, but as mentioned above you can't eat it if your a girl. Somethings womenkind was not meant to know.