And now for something completely different. I am a bit obsessed with biscuits, usually accompanied by tea š. So when I began my travels in 2022, I knew I would need to find a good substitute for my staple biscuit, which is the humble, yet timeless classic rich tea. Before you start, Iām immune to criticism on this, it's a great biscuit and everyone elseās opinion is wrong š
So I thought it would be fun to review the biscuits that I have discovered whilst travelling the world. To do this I made-up some random criteria based on my preferences and this is distilled into 3 categories for assessment
Sweetness - The biscuit should not be too sweet, there should be a good balance between sweetness and flavour
Dunkability - The biscuit should support dunking without disintegration
Taste - The biscuit should taste good, this is very subjective but a good biscuit will have simple flavours without unneccasary additions such as oats, wheat, nuts, etc. It should also not taste too dry or bland
Scoring: Each category is out of 10 - total of 30 points.
Ratings: 25-30 - Excellent, 21-25 - Good, 16-21 - Fair, < 16 - Poor
Greece š¬š·
I arrived in Athens, Greece at the start of 2022 and it was my first experience of biscuit trial and error. I discovered these biscuits on my trip to a local supermarket and they seemed worth a go. As I was in the country for 3 weeks I ended up trying a few different varieties but these rectangular biscuits were the ones I came back to (surprisingly).
The Verdict = FAIR
Sweetness - 9/10
Dunkability - 6/10
Taste - 5/10
Overall it was an adequate biscuit, nothing special. The shape made it a bit awkward for dunking and the taste was lacking unfortunately, but the sweetness level was good. It did its job though and was the best biscuit I could find under the circumstances!
Austria š¦š¹
I was only briefly in Vienna, but I did end up buying some biscuits which are well known (or at least the choloate version is). As they were butter biscuits I can assume they were unhealthy. On reflection I should have probably added a 4th category to my criteria relating to nutritonal value but it would required more work. Anyway these biscuits got me through my weekend in Austria.
The Verdict = GOOD
Sweetness - 8/10
Dunkability - 5/10
Taste - 8/10
A decent biscuit that tasted good, was not too sweet but it was let down by its poor dunkability. Absolutely no structural integrity. It was a useful substitute however given the lack of options.Ā
Italy š®š¹
When I was in Italy I struggled to find any ānormalā biscuits - like most European countries pastries & coffee is the most popular combination - so options were thin on the ground. However when I arrived in Palermo, Sicily I discovered these tasty treats and they ended up being a good compromise.
The Verdict = GOOD
Sweetness - 6/10
Dunkability - 6/10
Taste - 9/10
A biscuit which tastes good, but the shape and size causes problems. Being treat size means it can be frustrating having to constantly fetch more. Also it is inconvienent for dunking as your fingers will get wet and the biscuits are also quite sweet.
Portugal šµš¹
I found that Portugal did not have that much variety for biscuits, a lot less variety than their famous for Pastel De Natas pastries (Custard Tarts). However it was there that I stumbled upon the common Marie/Maria biscuit, which I would see time and again on my travels.
The Verdict = EXCELLENT
Sweetness - 8/10
Dunkability - 9/10
Taste - 7/10
A well balanced biscuit, not too sweet, great for dunking and taste good. A very good substitute!
Indonesia š®š©
I discovered these biscuits when I travelled to Lombok (an island to the east of Bali), I was in desperate need of some biscuits. My hiking tour for Mount Rinjani was delayed and needed a treat. I went to a local store nearby (one of the few in this very rural island) and discovered the Roma brand and this interesting biscuit.
The Verdict = GOOD
Sweetness - 7/10
Dunkability - 8/10
Taste - 8/10
A pretty solid biscuit all round which surprised me, good sweetness level and dunking was easy. They were unhealthy I'm sure, but tasted good and the coconut was not too overbearing. This packet got me through the evening at the guest house and the 3 day hike!
Australia š¦šŗ
I spent 4 months here so I had plenty of time to try all the varieties and brands. I do need to start with the iconic Tim Tams first though. These bourbon-like biscuits are a well known export and I was keen to taste them. I was in Sydney when I first learnt about the specific ritual which Aussies use to eat them. First you need a hot drink, then you must prepare the biscuit. You bite the opposite corner ends of the biscuits and put the biscuit into the drink, but instead of a regular dunk you must attempt to suck your hot drink through the biscuit before then eating it whole. To me it was pretty weird, but in Oz there are lots rituals which make no sense, like Shoeys for instance!
Tim Tams done, lets move onto the biscuits which were best suited for the purpose as substitute and in Australia I ended up preferring a brand called Arnotts. The three varieties which fitted the bill were Milk Arrowroot, Marie and Teddy Bear.Ā Iāve already reviewed variants of the Marie biscuit so I will focus on the Milk Arrowroot and Teddy Bears.
Milk Arrowroot
So finally a biscuit that actually looks like a Rich Tea!
However donāt get fooled by this. They are not a like-for-like, and I noticed some key differences which I will explain in my review
The Verdict = GOOD
Sweetness - 7/10
Dunkability - 8/10
Taste - 6/10
The biscuits are not sweet enough and are quite tasteless, the only thing going for this biscuit is the dunkability. It was a bit disappointing for a biscuit that so closely resembles Rich Tea!
Teddy Bears
I discovered the Teddy Bear biscuits by accident when I bought a variety pack to try out the different types of biscuits. It proved to be a wise move as I grew to really appreciate these biscuits!
The Verdict = EXCELLENT
Sweetness - 7/10
Dunkability - 9/10
Taste - 9/10
One of the best tasting biscuits Iāve tried, the only negative is that they are just a hint too sweet for it to be a perfect substitute. Easy to dunk too (I think teddy bear shape really helps with the dunking action).Ā
New Zealand š³šæ
My biscuit of choice for New Zealand was Griffinās SuperWine biscuits. This was another surprise package, I bought in a supermarket without any knowledge of whether they would taste like an actual biscuit or a wholegrain wheatbar. Fortunately they were biscuit-like!
The Verdict = EXCELLENT
Sweetness - 8/10
Dunkability - 9/10
Taste - 10/10
The best biscuit so far - perfect for dunking and tasted excellent. I really raced through the packets! There were only two minor drawbacks. The biscuits were a little on the sweet side and as I found out later they were also probably the least healthy of them all. But YOLO...š!
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