The Droste Effect.

Yes, I've been given more chocolate, this time a selection from Droste's range.  Droste are a Dutch company of long standing, they've been around since 1863 to be precise.  They make quite a range of chocolate products but the thing they are possibly best know for in this country are Newberry Fruits, a large, soft, jelly fruit sweet beloved of grandads the world over (well, mine!)

Droste are quite big in Holland and even have a weird visual effect named after them; "The Droste effect" refers to the recursive picture on their cocoa powder tins, which show a picture of a nurse holding a box of Droste cocoa powder illustrated with a picture of a nurse holding a box of Droste cocoa powder illustrated with a... you get it....mind bending.

Droste pastilles made up the bulk of my selection, a pastille being marginally larger, glossier and more satisfyingly "snappier" than a giant Cadbury's button.  The pastilles come in milk and dark chocolate, and also in a range of 'half and half' mixtures.  The dark chocolate pastilles are very smooth and being high in cocoa and low in dairy are good for those who are lactose intolerant.  The dark and milk mixed pastilles went down well, with the addition of milk chocolate softening the edge of the dark chocolate but retaining the richness.
I really liked the milk chocolate but I think it may be too sweet for some, I think my chocolate palate is used to the extra sugar having lived in Germany for many years where they also like a slightly sweeter milk chocolate.  It isn't anything like as sweet as, say, Galaxy though.

My favourite Droste product by far has to be the XXL pastille with milk chocolate and hazelnut.  This is a chocolate and hazelnut button the size of a digestive biscuit, with snappable grooves to divide it into quarters, a joy to absorb with a cup of tea.

Droste's tagline is "Where tradition meets quality" and I'd certainly agree with that, but alongside the tradition and quality there as a pleasing dose of European quirkiness.  You can buy Droste chocolate online, or I'm reliably informed you can pick it up at T J Morris (Home  Bargains) and B & M stores.  I've still got a fair few pastilles to scoff, but I'll certainly be seeking out some more of the XXL pastilles.  With all this free chocolate and the transition from walking to driving everywhere I fear that I'll be an XXL pastille myself soon, see you down at Slimming World in January...