Food manufacturers are responding to high cocoa prices, and a change to the UK's Penguin biscuit may have all but cemented Australia's Tim Tam as the better of the two.

In short:

The UK’s rival version of a Tim Tam, the Penguin, is now labelled as “chocolate flavour” because it no longer meets the UK’s definition of chocolate.

Rising cocoa prices have led to some manufacturers changing the recipes of chocolate products to the point they can no longer be legally defined as chocolate.

What’s next?

Tim Tam maker Arnott’s says it has no plans to change its recipe. Cocoa commodity prices are starting to fall but retail chocolate prices are expected to remain high for some time.

    • danAEnglish
      1·
      19 hours ago

      I’ll have to try them the next time I’m in Australia.

    • tau@aussie.zoneEnglish
      2·
      1 day ago

      They’re most of the way there but fall a bit short of a real Tim Tam. I find the chocolate has a slight sourness to it compared to the original (as if they let an American pick the recipe) - not enough to stop me eating them but enough to reduce the normal Tim Tam desire to rip through a whole packet.

      The Choceur chocolate blocks however tend to be a quite acceptable replacement for Cadbury and even Whittaker so not all hope is lost for more affordable chocolates.