Your ViewsKeep your e-mails pouring in, it's good to know that there are lots of you out there with views and opinions. To help you work out what is what, are now little icons to help you see biscuit related themes. And now you can see at a glance which are the most contested subjects via this graph (requires Flash 6.0 plugin). Please keep your mails coming in to nicey@nicecupofteaandasitdown.com | If you like, you can use this search thingy to find stuff that matches with any of the icons you pick, or use the fantastic free text search, Yay! | Your e-Mails |
Helen Ly
Tim Tam vs Penguin Review |
HiT here
Just wondering when the Tim Tams will officially hit the shelves at Tesco? Also, will they be bring out the whole tim tam range or just the original flavour?
Cheers
Helen |
Nicey replies: They have been in Tescos for over a month now, hence the sightings in the news section. Original, Double Coat and Caramel will provide the core range.
The man from Tesco's tells me that they will probably drop in a limited edition flavour from time to time, and the man from Arnotts told us that Limited edition flavours tend to rotate over time. |
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Rob Farrow
Jacob's Orange Club Review |
I wondered what had happened to the Club biscuit. I had one in my lunch-box every day when I was at secondary school from 1971 to 1978 - I make that about 1500 clubs give or take. They were wonderful - how sad that they have been reduced to a shadow of their former glory. My favourite was the fruit one, which came in a purple packet with (I seem to remember) a bunch of grapes on the front. The mint was in a green wrapper with mint leaves. The orange, not surprisingly, an orange wrapper with - guess what - an orange. But the unflavoured milk-chocolate one had I think a golf ball on it - or was that the plain chocolate one ? Also there was one in a light blue wrapper. Sic transit gloria mundi.
I can believe the solid chocolate club story as I once had the same experience with a KitKat. I wonder if an accident at the production line with the clubs led to smeone inventing the Yorkie bar !
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Nicey replies: Solid chocolate KitKats are actually very common occurrence. The Yorkie bar was actually made by the same folks that made the KitKat at the time, Rowntree Mackintosh. The Yorkie was an attempt to make snacking on chocolate appeal to the largely untapped male segment of the market. Interesting that they are now using that same message to actually advertise back to the female consumer, by baiting them. Anyhow they liked the bloke driving the truck as well as the chocolate from the outset. |
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Simon Vannerley |
Dear Nicey,
I have just come across a very important experiment that you really should be aware of.
The following article is taken from the West Somerset Free Press on Friday may 16.
Tea first or milk? WI is called in to find the definitive answer.
MINEHEAD tea and coffee merchants DJ Miles are trying to solve a riddle that has plagued tea-drinkers for generations: whether to put the milk in before or after the tea.
Centuries after the beverage was first introduced in Britain, tea lovers are still divided into two distinct camps, each side claiming its preferred method achieves the best results.
Now, in a bid to provide a definitive answer, DJ Miles, in Stephenson Road, is embarking on an experiment - with the help of the WI.
Over 10,000 WI members in the South West have been given samples of Miles tea to serve to friends, complete with instructions on how to prepare it in one of the two ways.
The results of the survey will be analysed in the hope of settling the question once and for all.
"We think a trial carried out on this scale should provide some very solid evidence," said DJ Miles director John Halls.
He said that putting the milk in first - as he does may have more to do with history than taste: "Pouring tea that way probably dates back to when thin porcelain cups were used.
"Having milk already in the cup would have lowered the temperature of the nearboiling tea and reduced the chances of the cup cracking." But he added that the tea and milk sequence can affect the taste of a cuppa.
"If you have a large volume of tea in a cup and you suddenly introduce a small volume of milk. the temperature of the milk will shoot up and you can actually scald it, which leaves a burned taste.
"But now more people are using semi-skimmed milk, which has less of a tendency to scald, and perhaps that isn't as important a consideration any more."
Somerset WI Federation secretary Ann Emond said: "I know a lot of people make a bit of a joke of it, but we really do drink a lot of tea - in fact, we are some of of Britain's most dedicated tea drinkers. You'd hardly find a better qualified judging panel."
Interesting, no?
Incidentally, DJ Miles make some very fine tea, they have a website, where you can find out more about them. I do think they are perhaps notmaking their survey as inclusive as they could because their researchers (the WI) are a bit of a limited sector of the population.
I hope in the near future they extend their research to other important tea-drinkers like builders, journalists, cleaners, 1940s soldiers and your good selves.
I remain, etc,
Simon |
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Tom Aldred |
First things first; well done on your magnificent site. This is surely what the world wide interweb is all about.
Secondly, I was wondering whether you could tell me whether the Chocolate-coated jaffa cake was still in existence. I remember coming across these indulgent treats a few years back and being incredibly impressed. The chocolate covered the whole cake/biscuit, not just one side as in a standard jaffa cake. I haven't seen one of these for a while and have begun to fear that they may have been discontinued.
On the subject of cakes, have you sampled the marks and spencer extremely chocolatey mini bites? They are the boaster to the cadbury's mini-rolls rich tea finger.
Keep up the good work. I think I'll sit down and have a nice cup of tea now.
Tomaldo
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Nicey replies: Tom,
McVities did total chocolate covered Jaffa Cakes back in the nineties for a brief time to keep out the 'Orangy Tangs' who apparently were after the smashing orangy bit in the middle.
Not been to M&S for some time, but biscuit enthusiast Mandy keeps me appraised of their work, I will pass on your information. |
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Lobelia Overhill |
Hello, would it be alright if I had coffee with my biccies? I like a McVities Taxi, "two thick layers of smooth caramel, with rich chocolate cream and crisp wafer, covered in milk chocolate". Oh you can almost taste it!
Lobelia Overhill of Nobottle |
Nicey replies: Thats perfectly OK, if thats what you really want to do. Do remember the sit down through. |
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