It looks like Americans might be stuck eating Hershey’s from now on

GlobalPost

There are many things that the British do better than Americans: Soccer, comedy, all-girl pop groups, tea, chocolate.

There’s a noticeable difference, devotees of UK chocolate will tell you, between the British variety and the standard American candy bars lining most grocery aisles. For a start, it actually tastes like chocolate, and doesn't have that overly sugared, stale aftertaste that becomes more difficult to ignore as you get older. Cadbury is one of the most beloved and widely known British brands.

But it looks like British chocolate lovers in the United States might not be able to get it on this side of the pond any longer.

Cadbury’s products made overseas will no longer be available in the US, after Hershey’s Company struck a deal recently with Let’s Buy British Imports. The deal also means the end of British-made KitKat bars and Rolos, as well as a long list of wonderful British chocolate bars — like Toffee Crisps, Yorkie, and Maltesers — for being competitors to American products.

Over 17,000 people have signed a petition protesting the decision, which has outraged both British expats and American converts.

Cadbury still makes candy bars in the United States, mind you. But they're not the same as the ones coming from Britain.

British chocolate bars tend to have higher fat content, and creamier texture. That’s because the UK requires that their chocolate have a minimum of 25 percent fat, and 20 percent cocoa and milk solids.

It is why some believe that the British are even better at making American classics like the KitKat bar (produced by Hershey's in America, but Nestle everywhere else in the world.)

Nicky Perry, who runs Tea and Sympathy, a New York-based shop that sells British goods, shared her theory with The New York Times. Perry believes that the superior taste of British chocolate comes from a recipe that uses fewer stabilizers. In other words, US chocolatiers are ruining their product with preservatives. It’s also the reason British chocolate melts faster than its American counterpart.

Social media users are now calling for a boycott of Hershey products, and the owners of Tea and Sympathy are even urging outraged chocolate lovers to appeal directly to the company’s CEO.

It might be time to stock up on your favorite British chocolates — or you can always try your hand making it at home.

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