Forget Willy Wonka this is the REAL Chocolate Factory! (Cybercandy.co.uk)

Member Name: Sallys

Product:	Cybercandy.co.uk
Date:	04/11/02 (1652 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent Range, Fast Service

Disadvantages: Expensive (but goods have been imported)

If like me you are a chocoholic but crave something other than the usual Mars Bar once in a while then the Cybercandy website is for you.

Cybercandy is a company based in a large warehouse in North London whom import in different items (mainly choccies & sweets) from all over the world to sell on their website.

The website itself is, to be honest rather uninspiring to look at (no fancy animated graphics). However it is very easy to navigate. At the top of the homepage you are presented with flags of all the 'nations' they import candy from - USA, Japan, Australia, China, New Zealand, Canada & South Africa.

Below there are buttons for everything else that they stock:

Gumballs - a variety of different flavoured Gumballs.

Jelly Belly - the jelly bean section of the site which not only allows you to buy 1KG bags of one flavour but also does unusual flavours & gift sets.

Organic-which, unfortunately has recently closed down, which is a shame as they used to stock some gorgeous herbal chocolate.

Extreme - This is one of my favourite areas of the site. Here you can buy chocolate that is darn right weird! It includes chocolate with ants in it, which after trying it is very tasty if slightly nutty in texture. Chocolate-covered-crickets. Tequila flavoured lollies with real worms inside & if you still need your worm fix worm crisps, which, yes are real oven baked worms. Apparently they taste like popcorn but I haven?t got the guts to try them yet!

Caffeinated cc - Here you will find all there products that include high dosages of Caffeine in them. Products not only include Chocolate such as the Viking Bar from New Zealand bit also mints, gum, and drinks like the famous Mountain Dew. If you in real need of that wake up jolt they also do a Caffeinated pack which includes a section of different drinks & sweets available in this section

Shirty - Cybercandy are diversifying with other prod
ucts, here is selection of T-shirts with various logo's, good but not great.

Stuffology - The easiest way of describing this section is to say it's full of wacky gadgets. These include the 'Orgasmatron', which massages various pressure points around your head to give you a relaxed experience!

There is also a USA Shop which not only stocks a multitude of different chocolate & sweets but also stocks - Jerky, Kool Aid Drinks mixes, Jell-o, Sodas such as vanilla coke, a huge range of chocolate cookies which will make any Oreo fan weep with delight, Non-Choc Cookies such as Graham Crackers (for the uninitiated these are a popular digestive type ryvita looking cracker), Sweets Spreads - try the Marshmallow Fluff a sickly large tub of white goo which looks like polyfilla but tastes of gooey inside of marshmallows. Other sections in the USA Shop are, Popcorn, Fruit based Snacks, Cereals (name a pop tart flavour and it'll be here!) and all other Groceries products such as Grits - think Polenta.


But the main reason for visiting this site is the vast array of chocolate available.

When you 'visit' each country you are presented with a list of all items, it will tell you whether the item is out of stock at the moment. If you click on the item you will be able to see all items with a description & pretty picture of the chocolate bar. If your connection is slow you are given the option to browse all items by descriptions only. The descriptions I have to say have been pretty accurate, for all the products I've tasted (& I've tasted lots!!). The pictures however although look pretty really do not give you much indication as to what the item is really like, after all one chocolate bar looks much like the next i.e. colourful wrapping & name of product emblazoned across it. Also it would be good to be given some indication of the size of the product as for example I have bought a Mars Bar (Mars Almondite) f
or the Australian section which was half the size of the UK version and a PS Bar from South African which looked really small on the website but was infact about twice the size of a Kit Kat Chunky.

All products also give you the opportunity to add a review. Cybercandy are very good about keeping the bad reviews in as much as the good ones. I've found reading the reviews very insightful and a good way of judging whether you would like a product. People are very descriptive and very loyal to certain products. Particularly the USA Hershey's bar, just like Marmite you either love it or hate it (I love it by the way).

Below I've list a few items available in each countries section so you get an idea of what is available:

USA
****
5th Avenue - My sister's favourite. It's a wafer & peanut butter chocolate coated bar. Which has a texture you couldn't describe without tasting it!

Butterfinger- Peanuts again!!! A peanut crunch bar with a thick chocolate coating. Even a non-peanut lover like myself is addicted to these. They have the nicest crumbly melt in the mouth texture

Cookies n Cream - there is nothing like this in the UK. Basically it's a white chocolate bar full of very dark chocolate flavoured cookie pieces. It's yummy and lots of people must agree, as it's the biggest seller at Cybercandy

Tootsie Roll Bar - These are very famous in America & have been around for over 100 years. It's a very sweet strip of toffee made from condensed milk. Very chewy

SOUTH AFRICA
*************
Milky Bar with Jelly Tots - Yes really Jelly tots in real Milky Bar. It's gorgeous if slightly sweet. Beware though South African Milky bar does taste different - not as condensed milky flavour as the UK version

PS Bar - Think Kit Kat wafer smothered in a cream Caramac chocolate. This is one of my absolute favourites. Massive in size & easily devoured with a cup of te
a!


CANADA
*******
Caramilk - This is similar to a Galaxy Caramel in this country but about twice the size. Very smooth taste & the chocolate is lovely.

Oh Henry! - A chocolate bar with a fudgy filling, the fudge has peanuts or even better honey roasted peanuts dependant on which version you go for.


NEW ZEALAND
************
Pinky - This is a marshmallow bar. The marshmallow is pink (hence the name) which is then covered with caramel & then chocolate. It's very sickly but if you have a sugar craving this is one to recommend

Jaffas - These are like orange flavoured smarties. Think chocolate orange coated in smarties crisp shell. According to one of my friends who lives in NZ these are a national institution!

CHINA
******
White Rabbit Creamy Candy Coffee - Everything in the Chinese section is bizarre and therefore makes a very good buy, as you'll never find anything like it over here! Believe it or not this is coffee flavoured toffee and is surprisingly pleasant.


AUSTRALIA
**********
Snack - Cadbury's is a big name in Oz as well. However the chocolate doesn't have vegetable oil in it (so it doesn't melt), which makes it very strange tasting. I like these even if it is only so I can reminisce about these being available in the UK. Snack is a chocolate bar with every section having a different filling - coconut ice, strawberry, orange e.t.c.

Freddo - Freddo the frog is available in the UK in a caramel version. However he is BIG business in Australia and is find in a multitude flavours- Choc Chip, Peppermint, White Chocolate, Honeycomb & Blueberry to name but a few! My favourite is the peppermint version as it's really minty and the chocolate isn't at all sickly

Tim Tam - Take a penguin and make it bigger and that's a Tim Tam. These are lovely and very, very chocolaty. Not quite as good as a PS Bar to dunk into your mug o
f tea but a very close second.

JAPAN
******
Chelsea - The Japanese section is full of surreal sweets and this no exception! It's a yoghurt flavoured boiled sweet, which is not nearly as tart in flavour as it sounds. To be honest I bough it for the box which says 'The Taste of Old Scotland , Chelsea'

ChocoBaby - Baby Pink coloured strawberry flavoured chocolate, which looks and is boxed like TicTacs. This is regression chocolate i.e. the stuff you loved when you were 5 so you have to try it now despite the fact that when you do it tastes disgusting!!


As you can see Cybercandy has a vast range, which would appeal to all but the most savoury loving of persons.

Despite what other people have said I have found their service to be very prompt receiving orders within 4 days of placing them. These orders have turned up in sturdy postal boxes full of protective packaging, which allayed my fears of receiving lots of crushed chocolate through the post. Currently their delivery charge is £4.00 or Free for orders over £100

Customer service wise I have always received a quick, friendly reply to e-mails, most the same day (or if not within 48 hours) & my queries have always been answered fully.

One gripe is their prices, not cheap, generally around about 80p - £1.20 per bar. However ANYTHING imported is expensive and chocolate is no exception. Generally I have found that the North American sections are better value than NZ & Australia. Again I feel this is relative to how far the goods have had to been shipped to get to the UK.

All in all an excellent website. Proof to me is when you use a service time and time again. Shopping at Cybercandy is addictive you might never eat a bar of Dairy Milk again ...

Cybercandy can be found at: http://www.cybercandy.co.uk

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