To just want old chocolate back

[SideEyeSally]

I really rarely eat chocolate these days but thought I'd treat myself over xmas. All the ones I used to love and remember fondly Roses, Dairy Milk, Heroes, Quality Street just tasted greasy and dissapointing. My sister has suggested splashing out on high end Hotel Chocolate next year but I don't want posh chocolate I want cheap chocolate from 20 years ago. I would pay good money to a company that could sell me a perfect dupe of the Dairy Milk I grew up with.

Us too, those M&S ones are lovely.

I rarely buy Cadburys chocolate now, shrinkflation and the recipe change mean it doesn't feel worth the bother now. I occasionally buy Lindt if I fancy something chocolaty.

I would definitely buy it if they brought back the original recipe and size though.

I don't eat much chocolate but I just want to say I want soft drinks without aspartame or stevia back - thanks for nothing Jamie Oliver.

I wonder if that sugar tax has had any effect whatsoever on the nation's obesity?

I'd like to wind the clock back around 15 years to when Hotel Chocolat was actually good, with Tasting Club subscriptions and experimental flavours and a wide range of 500g bars.

I agree I think they’ve fucked up choc oranges now too, this year they were awful. Quality street vile as were pretty much all of a box of milk tray! The only stuff I crave now is dairy milk which is still good, to me.

I agree that most common brands of chocolate aren't great quality, but don't forget that your tastes do change over time - things I used to love as a child are generally way too sweet .
I do eat some milk chocolate, but prefer stuff that's around 70% cocoa.

I cannot stand anything with sweetener in it!! Even if I could stomach the taste I wouldn't touch it.

Aspartame gives me awful 3 day headaches - struggle to find any softc drinks without it even Pepsi has gone to the dark side.

The twirl minis still taste good too 😁

Even the Lindt balls are not as nice now as they used to be. I think they are really runny inside? I guess that's palm oil? I was given a bar of Tony's Chocolonely and I thought it was lovely. Really solid and tasty chocolate.

Agree 100% about Hotel Chocolat. Taken over by Mars and the quality has already snowdived.

Agree re: Tony's Chocolony if you want a Yorker type taste.

Hotel Chocolat used to be good, but not now.

I had a splurge on an advent calendar from Chococo - and they were lovely.

Aside from the palm oil, I really struggle with any chocolate these days as the majority of it contains soya lecithin and my poor stomach is wildly sensitive to soya.

Pretty much all branded and supermarket chocolate seems to contain it so its Montezumas or nothing.

Totally agree. Aldi is one of the few places to find non palm oil not expensive chocolate.

Black Magic were ok but forget the rest. I got some coffee and cream fudge from Chuckling Cheese and that was MUCH nicer than any of the chocolate

Cadbury is grim, I prefer galaxy chocolate for a cheap chocolate fix! Waitrose own brand chocolate is pretty good. They do a milk chocolate bar with feuilletine and sea salt that is divine!

Thornton's fills the Cadbury gap, Hotel Chocolat and Lindt fill the Thorntons gap. Tony's Chocolatoeronybollocks tastes like cack and goes in the bin with Cadbury and Nestle.

Quality street are the absolute worst. We had a (tiny) tub this year and as soon as you open the tub, the sickly stink hits you and every single chocolate you eat tastes of it 🤮 ..I was actually glad the tub was so small because they're just horrible.

But Cadbury is shot now that it's been bought and the recipe changed with palm oil. It's truly vile

I've noticed a pattern. As soon as an American company buys a brand it deteriorates dramatically.

You need to buy the Irish bars of Cadburys. Different shape but still made the original way. Golden crisp, mint crisp, Turkish delight etc. It's amazing and always stock up.
Let me know if you want some sent, it is about 1.50 for a small bar but well worth it.

Lidl do an organic choc, I think it's called Way to Go, which is really good.

Lidlington and Aldi still have some decent crap- free choc bars, not all of them are but check the labels.

Yep. 😔