Chocolate

Someone once said ... 'Chocolate in the morning is what makes moms get through their day' ... I suspect that this could be universally applied to every woman on the planet! 

Our 3 year old daughter is a big fan already. In fact she didn't ever have any sweets (candy) or chocolate until her first birthday, when she had a chocolate birthday cake. Now there is no stopping her and she tells everyone 'I don't like sweets, just chocolate'!

One thing that we noticed soon after we moved to the States is that the chocolate here just doesn't cut it. We even did an unofficial test taste ourselves over the summer when my sister-in-law came to visit. As a result of that, I found several of my American friends asking for the opportunity to try out some of the Brit chocolate too. 

So, while we were in the UK I stocked up and this weekend with Abigail's help, sorted it all out and let some of my American friends see what 'real' chocolate tastes like!! We find the US chocolate a lot more bitter and less creamy ... but we were yet to know how our friends would rate it!

Interestingly (and no offence to my American friends), it seems that the British taste palate is a lot more discerning when it comes to the delicacies of chocolate. For example where the Brits can taste the difference between similar bars, like KitKats which are just made with different chocolate (Hershey's in the US and Nestle in the UK) and a totally different taste experience, the Americans don't seem to notice.

One of the favourites of the afternoon was a Cadbury's Crunchie, honeycomb centre covered in chocolate. But Cadbury's Flake didn't rate very highly at all, with comments like 'they sucked out all the moisture to make the chocolate crumbly and now it's sucked all the moisture out of my tongue'!! 

I believe that in so many areas of life, what you grow up with and are most familiar with is what you favour ... and that goes for chocolate too. I was under no illusions that I would convert my American friends to British chocolate ... just give them a chance to try something new and different. If you live in a different culture, try having a chocolate tasting afternoon of your own ... it was so much fun!

Someone else once said 'If they don't have chocolate in heaven, I ain't going' ... I'm guessing then that there will be a whole variety of chocolate to suit all the international preferences!!