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Chocolate first arrived in Britain in the 17th century in the form of a drink. London was the first place to have a chocolate house in 1657. It was the place where men went to drink chocolate, gamble and chat amongst each other .
The first ever solid chocolate bar produced in Britain was by J.S. Fry & Son’s from the city of Bristol in 1847, followed by Cadbury’s in 1849 then Rowntree’s in 1935.
York’s Chocolate Story
On one of our tour stops we stopped outside York’s Chocolate Story a museum and popular visitor attraction. We didn’t go inside, but had a briefing on the story about the Rowntree’s brand from our tour guide. However, I would most definitely love to pay a visit next time to do the interactive tour and chocolate tasting😋.
Rowntree’s was founded in 1862 in York by Henry Isaac Rowntree. After financial difficulties, he was joined by his brother Joseph Rowntree who turned the company around and the brand become Rowntree & Co.
The Rowntree brand went on to develop some of the UK’s first solid chocolate and most favourable chocolate bars such as Kit Kat, Aero, Smarties, rolo and Quality Street etc.
Rowntree’s was purchased by the global company Nestle in 1988, who have since re-branded many of the products under their own brand name.
I suddenly have a sweet tooth and feel the need to go and raid the kitchen cupboard, so until next time 😉
Natalie x
NattyTravels 
A subject close to my own heart. As someone who’s nearly always living abroad I really miss British chocolate bars. Particularly Yorkie, Ripple, Flake, Double Decker and Crunchie.
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Understandable. Probably a little bit of a bias thing to say, but there’s no other chocolate like British chocolate 🤣
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Understandable. Probably a little bit of a bias thing to say, but there’s no other chocolate like British chocolate 😂
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it’s hard for me to say no to chocolate! I tried Smarties for the first time in Australia, and I was baffled… Smarties in the US are a sugary/powdery/chalky type of candy. Funny how two incredibly different products wound up with the same name and no legal battle!
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Same here! 😂 It’s my worst weakness saying no to chocolate. Oh yes that is strange how there is no legal battle! Usually that’s that’s a big deal. Maybe the producer’s don’t know about each other 😂
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Hahaha maybe! You never know 😉
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Yum!!!
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I recently discovered that Kit Kats originated from the UK, which blew my mind. Kit Kats are one of my favorite commercial chocolates, and it merits a trip to York just to have them!
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Ahh Rebecca Kit Kats are one of my favourites too. And I didn’t know they were made in the uk either till recently 😂
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This is so cool!
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I have been here, it’s brilliant. Do have a tour if you get the chance , lots of free samples of lovely chocolate. I have such a sweet tooth, chocolate is my weakness.
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Ahh thank you for this information. I will definitely be doing this next time, I have a sweet tooth too 😋. Thank you for your comment
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