349
‘I took two bites and had to spit it out’: candy makers are phasing out real cocoa in chocolate
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 12 Mar 2026
349 points (99.4% liked)
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That's how I've felt about soft drinks in the UK since they pulled the sugar tax, now every drink just tastes of sweeteners. I'm guessing most people can't taste them or something but I can't stand them.
Yeah, I think sucralose is the only one that doesn't taste awful to me. Like I've always been skeptical of the defense of aspartame because it tastes like something I shouldn't be eating. I was looking forward to stevia back when it got popular, but it also has that taste (I'm guessing from leftover solvent, since it's not water soluable like sugar).
There's plenty of ways to make things taste great without relying so heavily on sweetness. I hate the western food industry's obsession with it along with the capitalist obsession with selling as much as possible, because it's resulted in the less sugar I've wanted to see instead meaning the sugar is replaced with other chemicals that taste sweet (and "chemically").
And I doubt safety studies looked at anything beyond "does it so obviously cause issues that we'll be sued the moment we try to sell this?"
Most sweeteners don't bother me but stevia has a very distinct flavor that I dislike.
As for safety, aspartame is extremely well-studied and understood. It's been used for over 50 years now. Sucralose for 30 years. We also know a lot about the dangers of high sugar intake. The no-calorie stuff is probably healthier overall in the amounts people actually consume.
Seems like the tax is working then
Nope, checked, the brits are still obese
~/s~
i mean i taste it. i started trying to give up soda in general, and the sweetened waters decently have something about them. like the preservatives in MRE’s. it’s hard to describe the taste, and there is nothing ‘wrong’ with it, but there is also something wrong with it
You aren't alone. Artificial sweeteners are disgusting with a capital D.