McVitie's Iced Gems Chocolate Flavour: Cocoa in a Sugar Swirl

Sugar comes first on the ingredient list, ahead of the flour, which tells you where the weight of these tiny biscuits really sits. The chocolate note rides on that sugar, and that is the key to understanding them.

Chocolate flavour, not chocolate

The published ingredients run sugar, wheat flour, palm oil, fat reduced cocoa powder, a raising agent, salt, milk protein, natural cocoa flavouring and caramelised sugar syrup. There is no chocolate or cocoa butter in that list. The result is sweetness with a cocoa note behind it, which is exactly what the pack name promises and not the rich melt of a coated biscuit.

That distinction matters when choosing between the brand's lines. If a grown-up wants real chocolate with a mug of tea, a milk chocolate digestive is the better call. Chocolate Iced Gems are built for someone younger, who wants a crunch, a crack of icing and a friendly cocoa taste in a size that fits a small hand.

Made for handfuls and lunchboxes

The pack is five separate packets of 23g, 115g in all, which points at the lunchbox far more than at the tea table. One packet makes one portion, so a week of school days or a handful of party guests is covered without anyone sharing a bag. Nobody eats a single Iced Gem; they go by the handful, briefly, and then they are gone.

Watch how children eat them and the design becomes clear. The swirl tends to lift away whole, and a full bowl ends up as a heap of naked bases. That base is meant to taste of very little, supplying crunch and nothing to compete with the top. Against the original plain swirl, which is the straightforward default, this is the one for a child who wants the chocolate flavour in particular.

Keeping the crack in the icing

Like every Iced Gem, the swirl is hard sugar that soaks up humidity and turns sticky, so the seal on each 23g packet is what keeps the crack in it. Treat an opened packet as a single sitting rather than something to fold over and return to later; the unopened ones stay in condition until they are wanted.

The cocoa does not change the no-dunk rule. With no chocolate coating to soften gradually, there is only sugar icing, and that dissolves in hot tea at once and leaves bare biscuit behind. For the adult sitting alongside, a milky cup of strong tea or a smooth instant coffee sits happily next to the sweetness without competing with it.

The packs we stock

• McVitie's Iced Gems Chocolate Flavour Multipack Biscuits, 5 x 23g (barcode 5000168014371)

What the label says

The published ingredient list for McVitie's Iced Gems Chocolate Flavour Multipack Biscuits, 5 x 23g says it contains wheat (gluten) and milk, and it may contain soya. Check the current UK pack before purchase; formulations and allergen advice can change.

Ingredients, as published: Sugar, Flour (Wheat Flour, Calcium, Niacin, Iron, Folic Acid, Thiamin), Palm Oil (Certified Sustainable), Fat Reduced Cocoa Powder, Raising Agent (Sodium Bicarbonate), Salt, Milk Protein, Natural Cocoa Flavouring, Caramelised Sugar Syrup.

Ingredient and nutrition information for this product, as published on the manufacturer's label. The pack in your hands is the final word.

What to drink with it

• Yorkshire Tea Caramelised Biscuit Brew, 40 Tea Bags 112g: Its toasted, biscuity character picks up the caramelised sugar syrup on the ingredient list.
• Yorkshire Tea Original Loose Leaf Tea, 250g: A proper pot of a strong everyday blend for the grown-ups while the packets go round.
• Kenco Smooth Instant Coffee Paper Refill, 150g: A smooth instant coffee, made milky, that sits comfortably beside a sweet handful.
• Tetley Redbush Pure, 40 Tea Bags 100g: A soft, rounded redbush for an afternoon cup that does not fight the cocoa note.

Elsewhere in the McVitie's range

• McVitie's Club Layers Orange, 39g
• McVitie's Club Mint Biscuit Bars Multipack, 7 Bars 154g
• McVitie's Club Orange Biscuit Bars Multipack, 7 Bars 154g
• McVitie's Club Salted Caramel Flavour Biscuit Bars Multipack, 7 x 22g
• McVitie's Dark Chocolate Digestive Biscuits, 266g
• McVitie's Digestive Pink Raspberry & Cream Flavour, Limited Edition, 232g

The full range is on the McVitie's brand page.

FAQ

Is there real chocolate in chocolate Iced Gems? The ingredient list names fat reduced cocoa powder and natural cocoa flavouring; it does not list chocolate itself. Expect sweet icing with a cocoa note.

Why does the pack say 5 x 23g? It holds five sealed packets of 23g each, 115g in total. How many gems sit in each packet is not stated, so we give no figure.

Do chocolate Iced Gems contain soya? Soya is not listed as an ingredient, but the published allergen statement says they may contain it. They do contain wheat (gluten) and milk.

Chocolate or original Iced Gems? The original plain swirl is the one most people picture when they hear the name. Pick chocolate when a cocoa note is specifically what is wanted.

How long does an opened packet last? Not long enough to save. The icing draws moisture from the air and goes tacky, so finish a packet once it is opened.

Curator's note: One packet per child, a pot of strong tea for everyone else, and no arguments. Do not expect the chocolate hit of a coated biscuit; enjoy them for what they are. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: McVitie's Iced Gems Chocolate Flavour: Cocoa in a Sugar Swirl

More from the tea wiki

• Tea and Biscuits
• Biscuit Dunking Physics: The Real Science
• Tea Pairing Principles: Reason, Don't Memorise
• Tea With Cake: The Pairing That Never Fails (If You Get It Right)
• Tea and Food Pairing: The Five Principles
• Tea with Chocolate: Pair by Cocoa Percentage
• Tea and Chocolate Pairing

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