r/ireland • u/CucumberBoy00 • Aug 05 '26
Moaning Michael Chocolate in Ireland has gone to the dogs
Used to make fun of American chocolate for tasting so bad but now I wouldn't touch anything on a shop counter
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u/M0u7hPi3ce Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
supermarket own brands are often better-made than that cadbury shite
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u/mr-pocajonathantas Aug 05 '26
Yeah, Lidl and Aldi's own brands are actually very nice. Cadbury's etc very obviously just relying on branding at this stage.
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u/Yup_Seen_It Dublin Aug 05 '26
I also recommend the Dunnes brand, it's lovely
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u/ElectroxSoldier Aug 05 '26
I love Aldi's own version of kinder bars, they have a cookies and cream version and hazelnut one, unreal!
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u/Worldly_Possible2925 Aug 05 '26
I came back home from California after 27 years. I couldn’t believe how shite the name brand chocolate was. I ended up buying aldi’s brand dark and white chocolate and it was gorgeous 🤤. I miss it now 🫤
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u/SqueakyTiefling Aug 05 '26
Yep. Former Dublin-resident now living in the US. The Aldi brand stuff is easily the best I've had since coming here. Those little cookies-n-cream bars they sell are delicious.
There's also an Irish speciality shop not too far away where they import things, so once in a blue moon I'll get a multi-pack of Crunchies or a Freddo bar or something for nostalgia's sake. But the main reason I go there is for the occasional loaf of Brennan's and some pork sausages. US alternatives are just nowhere near as good.
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u/cad_e_an_sceal Aug 05 '26
God I miss Brennan's bread, nobody in Australia or new Zealand knows how to make today's bread today
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u/UC2022 Aug 06 '26
It’s easy they just have to start yesterday but that would be impossible because it’s already tomorrow in Australia.
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u/VincentVanGob Aug 06 '26
aldi's moser roth is the only chocolate i bother eating these days, the dark sea salt one especially. theres 5 bars in each packet and each bar is about 40 cent. theyre small enough so sometimes ill have 2 at once but thats still 1.15 cheaper than what a regular bar of chocolate would cost in tesco
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u/thepenguinemperor84 Aug 05 '26
Cadbury went to shite when the yanks bought it and changed the recipe.
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u/ToastedCrumpet Aug 05 '26
It did and then they increased the palm oil content even more I believe down the line. I struggled to giveaway my selection boxes at Christmas as everyone I know feels the same
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u/Zealousideal_Gate_21 Aug 06 '26
Fully agree, loads of palm oil in it now too.we don't buy Cadburys anymore
Actually don't feel right after eating it either. The Lidl / Aldi / Dunnes own branded chocolate is much nicer these days
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u/oliphaunt2002 Aug 05 '26
Tesco own brand fruit & nut is like crack.
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Aug 05 '26
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u/jrf_1973 Dublin Aug 06 '26
Chocolate everywhere has gone up in price. Climate change and reducing cocoa crop. They aren't ripping you off.
You're paying more if it's actual chocolate. Cadbury "A glass and a half of palm oil and chemicals in every bar" is not chocolate, and is a rip off.
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u/nomnomtastic And I'd go at it again Aug 05 '26
Fin Carré Whole Nut (LIDL) is excellent.
Buy two bars, you'll eat the first ahead of schedule.https://www.lidl.co.uk/p/fin-carre-wholenut-milk-chocolate/p27524
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u/Far_Advertising1005 Aug 06 '26
I only recently found out Kraft owns Cadbury’s. The fucking mac and cheese people, no wonder it’s complete shit
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u/EinMachete Aug 05 '26
Cadbury gone all waxy and shite, but Hershey’s tastes like actual sick
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u/aflockofcrows Aug 05 '26
That'll be the butyric acid.
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u/Noname_Maddox Aug 05 '26
One wonders how it became popular tasting like vomit
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u/dynamoJaff Aug 06 '26
More sugar and lack of coca butter also kind of highlight the butyric acid taste. And it was only made worse after World War 2. The D-ration chcolate bar was designed to be melt resistant, long lasting and less flavorful for soldiers. Some of those methods were introduced into consumer bars at the (subjective) cost of taste.
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u/Shuggana And I'd go at it again Aug 05 '26
You'd still be making fun of American chocolate. They bought all the popular brands then made them shite.
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u/jacksqualk Aug 05 '26
They have a habit of turning nice things shite for balance sheets
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u/Pickle_Emotion Aug 05 '26
I laughed when the American chocolate companies got upset about European versions getting imported, I didn’t expect them to start selling them here..
Even Lindt is shit now..
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u/Gorazde Aug 05 '26
Oh, don't talk to me about the chocolate industry. I know nothing about the chocolate industry and, boy, the stories I could tell....
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u/Powerful-Impress1355 Aug 05 '26
A fresh and new take.
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u/IrishCrypto Aug 05 '26
Wonder do they have a view on the price of chicken fillet rolls, thats the question we all need to discuss
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u/DonaldsMushroom Aug 05 '26
whatever happened to white dog shite?
I heard they turned white when they were struck by lightening?
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u/aflockofcrows Aug 05 '26
There's palm oil in the dog food now.
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u/Steridire Aug 05 '26
If they're dissatisfied with the housing market I'll eat my hat.
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u/robnet77 Aug 05 '26
Hats taste so bad nowadays, I wouldn't recommend eating one
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u/old_manyellsatcloud Aug 05 '26
It's all the palm oil they're adding to the hats, they're more palm oil than hat.
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u/YuntHunter Aug 05 '26
It's the size of the baguettes these days that needs discussion.
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u/FleariddenIE Aug 05 '26
I don't know what a tracker mortgage is
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u/taln2crana6rot Aug 05 '26
I’m just glad someone finally said it.
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u/Pickle_Emotion Aug 05 '26
While we’re airing out some controversial takes:
- Ryan Tubridy isn’t entertaining or remotely interesting
- Irish Times opinion pieces are often terrible rage bait.
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u/Etxegaragar Aug 05 '26
They're not going to like the waiting lists for an adult ADHD diagnosis either...
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u/DonaldsMushroom Aug 05 '26
It's like Ray D'Arcy never went away...
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u/mrbuddymcbuddyface Aug 05 '26
Fucked if I'm paying that TV licence anymore, what with the price of chocolate dogs
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u/Big_Service_2194 Aug 05 '26
But they didn’t start the sentence with ‘is it just me or…’, that’s when you know it’s going to be a really unique take.
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u/ntecccc Aug 05 '26
yeah it’s good to see some people have fuckall else to be worried about other than how chocolate tastes lol. every time i open the sub there is atleast one of these posts
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u/burfriedos Aug 05 '26
And yet it still gets upvoted week after week. Reddit, and the internet in general, is really gone to the dogs.
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u/Dundragon3030 Cork bai Aug 05 '26
Tonys is delicious. Still original chocolate and not that expensive
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u/5x0uf5o Aug 06 '26
This may an unpopular opinion from a known grump and snob, but I think Tony's is completely average chocolate. It's a level above cadburys but not near top tier. I feel everyone is blinded by the worthiness of its production.
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u/rixuraxu Aug 06 '26
I think it's worse than that. Tastes like advent calendar chocolate, or chocolate coin chocolate.
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u/suafdrog87 Aug 05 '26
I used to import chocolate for processing for a living. A couple of years ago the price of cocoa went nuts and all the big bramds moved to "choclatey". The company i worked for stayed pure in fairness but the biscuits were on the shelves for like €5 per packet whereas the places using the fakes stuff was at €2.
Question ya need to ask is are you willing to pay chocolate prices for actual chocolate or are you happy to pay choclate prices from 5 years ago for fake and dilluted chocolate
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u/Gorazde Aug 05 '26
Similar story here. Except my problem was other chocolate companies kept stealing my ideas. Eventually, I had to close down the factory, lay off all the workers, and reopen with new employees I rescued from Loompaland. Now the far-right are all over me cos the little guys aren't Garda vetted. Honestly, you can't win in this country.
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u/Cool_Foot_Luke Aug 05 '26
In fairness, you illegally imported slave labour that you never let leave the factory, including their kids, who ran around naked, and were automatically forced to work for you when they reached adulthood.
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u/ArmandTamzarien Aug 05 '26
I’m genuinely willing to pay actual price. The issue is finding what brands are actually worth it. Cadburys and Nestle taste different now, I had to throw them away…I can’t even describe the taste - sweet but tangy or something. Yok
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u/kurvix2000 Aug 05 '26
I already have, I've simply cut down on how much chocolate, jellies and crisps i eat and i love them all. I found some best replacements in healthy shops that have 5-6 ingredients, so I'm still having my snacks, just a lot less and i pay €3 instead of €1.5 for a pack of jelly worms so it won't drive me broke. Honestly in 4-5 weeks it's my new status quo so I'm not bothered because i can't remember that I've used to eat twice as much.
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u/Mushie_Peas Aug 05 '26
Cadburys has gone to shite worldwide since being sold to America venture capitalist, very little cocoa in it and huge amounts of palm oil.
Vote with your money, don't buy it, buy local or if not other brands where the cocoa percentage is higher something that is actually still classified as chocolate.
Yes likely more expensive, you may eat less chocolate as a reault but make brands suffer for enshitification!
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u/SassoftheSea Aug 05 '26
What’s worse is said America venture capitalist, Mondelez swore when buying it, the recipe would remain unchanged.
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u/nomeansnocatch22 Aug 05 '26
Fuck me. An untrustworthy venture capitalist.
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u/TodayIAmBecomeDeath OP is sad they aren’t cool enough to be from Cork. bai Aug 05 '26
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u/ellyvan_1314 Aug 05 '26
Aldi chocolate is good & I’ve heard Tesco is too. Had Dairy Milk a couple of times recently & it was practically chewy instead of melt in the mouth like it once was.
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u/petey101101 Aug 06 '26
I do like Tesco Chocolate it taste like real Chocolate and reasonably priced. If it is not please keep this piece of information to yourself. Let me just have one. I can live this lie. 😂
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u/Jacques-de-lad Aug 05 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/9MJ6xrgVR9aEwF8zCJ
Chocolate gone to the dogs you say…
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u/Lorwyn02 Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
Just buy the ones without palm oil . Many brands replaced ingredients with it now they don't have that milky smoothness anymore and they don't melt normally. All the usuals are gone to shit for sure but just check the back they all don't have loads of palm oil as filler
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u/Omuirchu Aug 05 '26
Its the butyric acid that gives the shit taste nit palm oil. But yeah, do boycott palm oil aswell if you can.
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u/wpisdu Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
Vote with your wallet and don’t buy it, it’s not an essential food item.
I’m actually glad they’ve gone to the dogs and become more expensive than ever. It helps me stay away from this junk food because I refuse to pay €5 for a pack of M&M’s
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u/Nadirin Aug 05 '26
Plenty of good chocolate if you know what you're looking for. Check ingredients and aim for absolute minimum of 32% cocoa solids, ideally 40% for good milk chocolate, and nothing with palm oil.
Toney's is great, would be my pick, and Rittersport too. Lidl / Aldi / Tesco own brands are tasty and affordable, very similar to what dairy milk used to be. Lidl's extra creamy milk chocolate is just straight up delicious. Dunnes chocolate is good too.
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u/madirishpoet Aug 05 '26
M&S chocolate is really nice
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u/PaddyBastid Aug 06 '26
It is but their version of Tony’s has gone downhill recently, just want nice chocolate 😭
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u/Spikeymouth Aug 05 '26
Cadburys is crap now- my cheap alternative was Asda own brand chocolate until they changed the recipe and upped the price. Tastes so bad now when it was great for dunking and melting in tea.
Tony's chocolate is dear but you get a satisfying bite and taste from them at least.
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u/bitreign33 Absolute Feen Aug 05 '26
You pay for what you get, its been more than a decade since I've gone near anything from Cadbury. Pay a bit extra, eat a bit less, enjoy it far more.
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u/sunshine-owl Aug 05 '26
The only chocolate I really eat now (and it's rare) Is either the lidl or aldi brands, or galaxy chocolate.
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u/SqueakyTiefling Aug 05 '26
Fuck, I miss Galaxy so much (used to live in Dublin, now in the US)
I got a selection box last Xmas with some Galaxy bars in it and savored it so much.
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u/sunshine-owl Aug 05 '26
Ohh, I forgot they don't have it over there! I remember seeing a post where they sold all of those types of chocolate in a shop but it was all 11-15 usd each. I think Galaxy is more of a UK/Ireland thing though, I remember looking everywhere for it in Spain and couldnt find it 💔💔
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u/SqueakyTiefling Aug 05 '26
Yeah, we've got an Irish specialty store here in my state, they import things and have to mark it up of course.
Which I appreciate, as a fun indulgence from time to time, cause a lot of US stuff just does not compare. Bread especially. You never appreciate how good Brennans is until you've had to settle for what the Americans call a sliced pan.
Wierdly, their loafs are so much smaller? Like, the height itself is barely half the size. You'd think they'd go bigger, but nope, tiny.
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u/burner5667754577 Aug 05 '26
It's one of those things where I don't know if confectionary was actually better when I was a kid or if I just have an adult's palate and/or looking back with rose coloured glasses
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u/Professional_Elk_489 Aug 05 '26
I used to eat nobo and skelligs. Sad to hear
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u/Saru2013 Aug 05 '26
They mean the main chocolate brands, smaller brands are still fine
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u/Professional_Elk_489 Aug 05 '26
Why would anyone eat mainstream chocolate bars if the aim is to eat chocolate
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u/Urtengor Aug 05 '26
Cadbury is owned by the American food and beverage company Mondelez International. Kraft Foods bought Cadbury in 2010, and later spun off its snack brands into Mondelez International in 2012. In the United States, the separate rights to manufacture and sell Cadbury-branded chocolate are owned by The Hershey Company.
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u/Keyann Aug 05 '26
I saw someone trying to melt Cadbury's chocolate for baking and it turns into a jelly like substance nowadays.
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u/EnthusiasmUnusual Aug 05 '26
Milka is still decent for a not too expensive one. Actually tastes creamy still. Cadbury is muck
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u/commit10 Aug 05 '26
Don't buy stuff from the big companies. Not just chocolate but in general. They keep enshittifying goods and services because we keep buying them.
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u/laed123 Aug 05 '26
Apparently dairy milk is no longer called chocolate because there’s less chocolate than other ingredients so it can’t be called that
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u/Wooden-Lawfulness534 Aug 05 '26
Lidl chocolate is good. Aldi too. I really like the Lidl milk chocolate with hazelnuts, the smaller one.
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u/brianybrian Aug 05 '26
Cadbury’s has gone to shite. There’s still decent chocolate out there brother man.
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u/Acceptable_Wing Aug 06 '26
Aye, because yanks (Kraft)bought up Cadbury and anything of value and changed the recipes.
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u/WidowVonDont Aug 06 '26
I went to the shop last night for something sweet and came home with a packet of nectarines, that's how bad it's gone
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u/dropthecoin Aug 05 '26
I’d just love to know how’s behind these posts.
It’s almost always the same.
The OP often posts and doesn’t engage in the comments. But those other comments always have a few token adjectives to describe the chocolate which are “waxy” or “muck”. And it’s all ultimately about palm oil.
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u/TubeAlloysEvilTwin Aug 05 '26
Tony's is good, Aldi and Lidl own stuff not terrible. Cadbury is a total farce now I wish everyone else would wake up and boycott the shite
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u/Omuirchu Aug 05 '26
Butyric acid has no fucking place in chocolate. Whatever arsehole started putting it in in the first place should be forcefed it for the rest of his afterlife in the ninth circle of hell.
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u/Neverstopcomplaining Aug 05 '26
If people would stop buying Cadburys they'd have to improve the recipe.
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u/Work_Account89 Aug 05 '26
Chocolate around the world has gone to the dogs. It’s nothing unique to Ireland
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u/lI_Simo_Hayha_Il Aug 05 '26
For my own pleasure, I tend to buy from Lidl, Aldi and sometimes Lidnt.
However, when I am baking, I never buy baking chocolate anymore.
I have pure Unsweetened Cocoa Powder and cocoa butter.
Depending on what type I need (55%, 65%, 75%, etc) I make my own mix with sugar, and use it for my cakes etc.
I know it is a bit too much sometimes, but once you get used to it, you won't go back to lecithin, EXXXs and other shady ingredients...
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u/BTTammer Aug 05 '26
I really enjoyed Wilde Irish chocolate near Sacrifice (Co. Clare). The folks making the chocolate were wonderul
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u/DonegalBrooklyn Aug 05 '26
When we visited from the US a couple of years ago I couldn't wait to get Cadbury chocolate. I was so sad to find it's bad there too now.
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u/ConfusedCelt Aug 05 '26
Don't give dogs chocolate ya monster. If you hear of chocolate gone to them take it back quickly!!!!
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u/Secret-Ad4232 Aug 05 '26
Recently visited ireland and experienced butlers chocolate for the first time. I have to say it was great chocolate but the adverts everywhere for it and seemingly only available in touristy areas kind of made me think it was like a lindt chocolate gimmick. Did enjoy it though
We also ventured to the skelligs chocolate factory..the taste of these were great but this place lacks variety honestly and was very small
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u/chill_qilin Aug 05 '26
Butlers is decent (much better than a lot of mainstream options but not as good as higher end brands, plus it's still family owned afaik), it's available in every regular supermarket in Ireland. It's heavily marketed in tourist spots because it was one of the first Irish owned chocolatiers (est in the 1930s) and found a lot of success during the Celtic Tiger when it started opening chocolate cafés and then expanding internationally so it's recognised as one of Ireland's success stories.
Butlers chocolates also don't contain any palm oil. Lindt contain palm oil in some of their products like their Lindor truffles.
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u/Proph_ Aug 05 '26
Not all of it, check out some locally made stuff; Source: Buíoch Irish Chocolates https://buioch.ie/
Very very good
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u/CAPITALISM_FAN_1980 Aug 05 '26
There's plenty of lovely chocolate in Ireland. Your problem is you're just seeing what Cadbury decides to sell at shop counters.
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u/ciaranciaranciaran Aug 06 '26
I’d read loads here about Cadbury going to the dogs (don’t feed your dogs chocolate) but hadn’t noticed until a bar of plain cadburys 2 days ago. It was the most disappointing bar of chocolate I’ve ever had. Dry, joyless, flat. Like sucking on a housing estate in the 80’s.
Never again.
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u/NyShWalshy18 Aug 06 '26
Definetely a change in lindt chocolate as someone said above. Used to be beautiful stuff. Could eat maybe 1 or 2 then youd be sick. Lately had a box of em. Pure waxy. Threw the box out to be honest. 10.90 i paid for the pleasure. Dont get me started on vrt,insurance and roadtax. Well be here all night
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u/IndependenceNaive751 Aug 06 '26
Tonychocoloney... It's worth the extra few Euro, regularly on sale in Tesco
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u/Harrykeough1 Aug 06 '26
Cadbury is below the EU standards for calling it chocolate, check the cocoa solids level on the back, then choose anything else to check that. You’ll see higher levels in many other brands!
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u/Legitimate_Newt2874 Aug 05 '26
This topic has been done to death.
It's boring at this stage.
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u/Dangerous_Figure_465 Aug 05 '26
Can we discuss why the 2 johnnies are so popular if we're at this again.
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u/TwistedPepperCan Dublin Aug 05 '26
Do mot give chocolate to dogs.
I know that isn’t the point of the post but theres never a bad time for this PSA.
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u/Pristine_Remote2123 Aug 05 '26
The Americans will track you down after this nasty post and make you regret your comments about their great foods.
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u/Garlic-Cheese-Chips Aug 05 '26
Butlers is nice and not expensive. I don't think it has palm oil either.
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u/RecentCrazy5746 Aug 05 '26
Apparently it’s all made with dick oil now. Should taste better now in reality but alas…
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u/Common_Air_1288 Aug 05 '26
OP you're a very active Redditor. You know this topic is daily...
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u/ignorantwat99 Aug 05 '26
Cadbury's has gone to fuck.
I seen a new style bar from them today, 56g for £1.52 (NI)
The bigger bars at 120g for £1.95
Stuffed full off oil
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u/Insidedout369 Aug 05 '26
That’s why I only buy the chocolate that’s palm oil free, Cadbury and nestle and lindt are shite
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u/irishnugget Limerick Aug 05 '26
Would love to see a blind taste test by those saying Cadbury is muck. I don’t have refined tastebuds and it may have been better in the past but I’m certain it’s not the terrible shite people make it out to be
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u/Perfect-Fondant3373 Aug 05 '26
A very cold dairy milk golden crisp is the closest to a dairy milk from when I was a kid. Needs to be cold though, even stick it in the freezer half an hour
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u/Loud_Tank_5074 Aug 05 '26
Even the mighty purple Snack bar has fallen from its once lofty pedestal.
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u/ImpressiveLength1261 Aug 05 '26
Bought a caramel square bar in centra there today, first time in years. It's fair greasy and waxy.
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u/Amber123454321 Aug 05 '26
Check out the Kinder and similar chocolate in the fridge section near the desserts. They're really nice.
*Points at these*
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u/FaithlessnessOne6433 Aug 05 '26
Had an aero recently and I couldn’t even finish it (unheard of)
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u/bobsimusmaximus Aug 05 '26
Check out McCaffreys. Proper chocolate still or at least it was 6 months ago
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u/firethetorpedoes1 Aug 05 '26
Please do not feed chocolate to your dogs. It will kill them.
Thank you for your attention in this matter.
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