The first instance that I was in England I went duty-free shopping and picked up some English chocolate. Yes, I had had chocolate recently, but anyone who has been to Europe knows that English, and indeed all European chocolate, is just superior to American chocolate. It has a much better taste, and breeds more chocoholics. It's no wonder that my friends here in America don't understand my obsession with chocolate. They only have to choose between a Snickers and M & M's. Hardly an overwhelming or delicious choice to make.

Belgium and Switzerland are famous for their gourmet chocolate, such as Godiva, or Lindt. Godiva makes beautifully crafted little chocolates with cherry liqueur, or vanilla creme, but these are delicacies, not to be enjoyed everyday. And they are available here in the States.

My issue is with the normal, everyday, newsstand chocolate, the candy bars and the balls and the buttons of chocolate. The choice here is limited and unsatisfying. If I am craving chocolate, I have to choose from Snickers, M & M's, and Three Musketeers. They are passable as snacks, but not as a fulfillment for my chocolate craving. There is always what I like to think of as pure chocolate, that is, chocolate without decorations and frills. For that, there are Hershey's Kisses, Nestle Milk Chocolate bars (which are passable, I admit), but I usually dive for the Lindt, which is readily available. But why must I pay for imported chocolate? Because the domestic product is lacking.

Every time I go to England, there is a greater choice of chocolate products, and all of them are made from a better tasting chocolate. Cadbury's is my favorite for quality and choice, but honestly, all of the chocolate is better. I take this stand point not only from my opinion, but from the opinions of my friends and colleagues who have commented, unprompted, on the superior chocolate in Europe. England seems to be particularly chocolate mad.

Cadbury's in England makes a vast array of candy bars like Crunchie, which is chocolate surrounding a crispy golden honeycomb product. Flake, which is a popular chocolate to put into ice cream cones because it is pure chocolate which flakes when one takes a bite of it, and Time Out, which is chocolate and wafer. Cadbury's is present in the American market, but I have tried it time and time again, and it is not the same product. Upon closer inspection, I have found on the label that it is often made by Hershey or under license through Hershey. I have no idea how Hershey managed a maneuver like this, but how smart of them, because they would be shoved out of the market if chocolate that tasted like it does in England was ever sold in competition to them. As a result of American Cadbury's being made by Hershey, it doesn't measure remotely.

Other chocolate in England is tastier also, compared to what the companies may sell in the States. Nestle has a greater and tastier range of products in England, my favorite being the Milky Bar, which is pure, smooth, white chocolate. And I don't know who makes Kit Kat, but how much better it tastes all over Europe than it does here.

As a result of the better chocolate, it seems like it is more popular in England than it is here. The English love their chocolate so much, in fact, that when a story came out about a stranded sailor who survived for eight days on his supply of chocolate, my mother guessed correctly that he must be English. When I was reading the history of chocolate on the internet, I was particularly amused to find out that "English chocolate maker Joseph Storrs Fry produced what was arguably the world's first eating chocolate." I'm not surprised in the least.

Would you like to comment on this article or send it to a friend? You can do either one just below where you see:

• Submit Comments on this Article: or
• Mail this article to a friend?