Battle of the Chocolate Orange: which is the better Terry?

I compared the Terry’s Chocolate Orange that’s available in England vs. America.

I never thought I’d see the day where I’d be assessing the breakability factor of a chocolate orange. But I’ve entered the food blogger realm and committed and curious I am!

When I asked you guys on Instagram if you wanted me to compare the Terry’s Chocolate Orange I brought with me to New York from England, with the one I got here in America, I thought I’d have a more exciting, more noteworthy experience to share with you. Then again, I suppose the excitement here actually arises from this chocolate I got in America not letting me down this time. Let’s be honest, the creamy decadence of British chocolate is unparalleled anywhere else and typically wears the crown in most of these types of situations.

I’ll admit this was a tough one though.

In order to compare the two chocolates sufficiently, I wrote down a list of things I needed to examine: packaging, breakability, appearance, ingredients, smell, and flavour. Why do I all of a sudden feel like I’m writing up my answers to a chemistry GCSE practical exam? HA!

My results were as follows:

• 

• 

• 

Packaging: This is probably the most subjective of the six categories. Ultimately, what kind of packaging I like might be very different to what you like. But as it’s my blog – I’ll tell you which I prefer. That is the point of this whole thing, isn’t it?

First, I’ll analyse the American Terry’s. There is a simplicity to this packaging that makes it feel almost vintage: the “retro” Terry’s compared to its British counterpart. Although the British one has more going on in terms of detailing, colour and even box design, the writing on the American one is a lot to handle and extremely fine font for those of us lacking 20/20 vision. It actually takes away from what could have been an eye-catching box. It just doesn’t scream “special” to me, ya know?

The British Terry’s. This is the one I am going to have a form of favouritism for because it’s the most familiar and most memory-rich box to me. When I look at this box I think: Christmas! Christmas! Christmas! I like that the word orange is written in an orange peel style font, and I like that it is more colourful than the American one.

Overall, despite both having a hollow cut out allowing you to see the ball of chocolate inside, the two boxes are very different. I think the American one’s vintage appeal would stand out more if the layout weren’t so wonky and obnoxiously asymmetrical. The British box therefore wins this round for me.

• 

• 

• 

Breakability: Each orange received equal treatment, with both being dropped two times and then another half drop each to ensure the segments had definitely broken apart.

As you can see, the segments of the American one did not fall away as much as the British Terry’s. I must admit I was rather disappointed. In fact, I actually pulled away that large piece of connected segments you see in the left photo, just to make sure they would in fact break off.

The British orange was untampered with. All of the segments came away from the centre core on their own.

The photo of the two oranges shows both looking pretty much identical, after I had separated out the pieces of the American Terry’s.

Overall, the unique selling point of this chocolate orange is that the segments are meant to magically separate after dropping it on the floor a few times. I don’t know about you, but that’s definitely my favourite part of the whole Terry’s experience. The American one did not deliver on that. Therefore, the British Terry’s wins this round too.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Appearance: Both oranges scored equally. The oranges, both whole and in segments, were pretty much identical in size and shape. Each orange also contained exactly twenty segments.

• 

• 

Ingredients: I figured that the ingredients would be different, as is usually the case for things sold in America and England. This was indeed the case.

American Terry’s ingredients are: sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, nonfat milk, whey, vegetable oil (palm, shea nut oil), milkfat, soy lecithin, orange oil, polyglycerol polyricinoleate, vanillin (articifical flavor).

British Terry’s ingredients are: sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, skimmed milk powder, whey powder (from milk), vegetable fats (palm, shea), milk fat, emulsifiers (soya lecithins, E476), orange oil, flavouring.

Unless anyone sees fit to object, I would rule that both oranges tie again. Yes, the ingredients are different. Maybe one or two extra preservatives here and there. But the replacements are very similar and nothing seems too unaccounted for.

In case you’re wondering about their nutritional values, they’re more or less the same again. A serving size of four segments is 31g for the American Terry’s, and 31.4g for the British Terry’s. The former’s serving has 160 calories, while the latter has 164 calories. I’m not too sure what makes the British one higher, except that perhaps it’s due to the 0.4g more in a serving, or the slightly extra creaminess of the chocolate.

Smell: Another very close call. As you’d hope, both Terry’s smell like orange chocolate. Although I expected some difference in potency of the orange scent, I did not get that. Both smell more or less exactly the same. If you really concentrate on it, you can notice that the British Terry’s has a more creamy, rich chocolate scent than the American one. But it’s a very tiny discrepancy between the two.

Flavour: Now for the ultimate test: TASTE! I hate to sound like a broken record, but both oranges tasted more or less the same too. I really did think that the British one would be so much nicer, given the common waxiness and flavourlessness of American chocolate. Both tasted creamy and orange flavoured and utterly delicious! Once again, if you really focused in on it though, you could taste a bit more richness in the British chocolate, but it was certainly not as noticeable as if I were to taste test this against a Hershey’s chocolate bar.

• 

• 

Overall Verdict: I was very impressed with the Terry’s Chocolate Orange you get in America. It really was not what I expected at all. So, given that, I think it wins in some respect. But it definitely did let me down on breakability, which is a very important factor for me. The Terry’s Chocolate Orange you get in England will forever be nostalgic for me, and given that it’s my preferred packaging, on top of that little bit of extra creaminess the chocolate has, and the way it perfectly broke apart, I hereby declare that one the overall winner!

What’s your favourite Christmas chocolate?

Like what you SEE? Subscribe to get notified whenever I post!