After Eight Mint Chocolate Thins, often referred to as simply "After Eights", are a brand of mint chocolate covered

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

confectionery Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...

. They were created by Rowntree Company Limited in the UK in 1962 and have been manufactured by Nestlé since its acquisition of Rowntree in 1988. The mints were originally manufactured at Rowntree's York factory, before production transferred to Castleford, West Yorkshire, in 1970. For the UK market they are now manufactured in Halifax following Nestlé's closure of the Castleford factory in 2012. However on the limited edition 2020 casing it states "made in Germany, with sugar not solely of German origin". "More than 1bn After Eights, thin fondant mints, are made every year in the Castleford factory scheduled for closure in 2012 by the Switzerland-based confectionery giant." After Eights were originally made from dairy-free dark chocolate. In 2002, however, Nestlé started adding butterfat to After Eights made at certain production facilities so as to increase resistance to chocolate bloom. This practice expanded to all production facilities in 2009. Nestlé has also made special editions of After Eights, including orange After Eights and

milk chocolate Milk chocolate is a solid chocolate confectionery containing cocoa, sugar and milk. Chocolate was originally sold and consumed as a beverage in pre-Columbian times, and upon its introduction to Western Europe. Major milk chocolate producers incl ...

After Eights.

Manufacturing

The fondant in the centre of After Eights is made from a stiff paste of common

, water, and a small amount of the enzyme invertase. This fondant can readily be coated with dark chocolate. After manufacture, the enzyme gradually splits the common sugar into the much more soluble sugars glucose and

fructose Fructose, or fruit sugar, is a Ketose, ketonic monosaccharide, simple sugar found in many plants, where it is often bonded to glucose to form the disaccharide sucrose. It is one of the three dietary monosaccharides, along with glucose and galacto ...

, resulting in a more liquid consistency. Maturing of the mint is said to take over three days. Once manufactured, each completed chocolate is packaged in a sheath and then loaded into a box.

Religious certification

* Certified

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

dairy by the

Orthodox Union The Orthodox Union (abbreviated OU) is one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. Founded in 1898, the OU supports a network of synagogues, youth programs, Jewish and Religious Zionist advocacy programs, programs for ...

Related products

Current products

The After Eight family of products includes: * Thin Mints - The original After Eight product, these comprise square dark or (less commonly) milk chocolate, enclosing the mint fondant. There are also Limited Edition Thin Mints with added flavours such as orange, lemon, strawberry, blackcurrant, gin & tonic and others. * Marzipan - Sold in Germany by Nestlé Deutschland AG * Mint & Blood Orange - This variation on the thin mints was a special edition for Summer 2011. The flavour was reintroduced as Orange Mint in Autumn 2022. * Delights - Round sweets of dark chocolate with a mint fondant filling. * Straws - Long, thin sticks of soft dark chocolate with a mint fondant filling. * Bars - Dark chocolate bar with a creamy mint centre. * Biscuits - The newest addition to the After Eight family, these combine dark chocolate with mint in a

biscuit A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be ...

. * Chocolate Santa Claus - During the Christmas season, Nestlé Germany features a 125g

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

made out of white or dark mint chocolate. * Easter bunny - During Easter time Nestlé releases an After Eight Dark Chocolate Easter Bunny. It does not have a mint filling but is made from peppermint flavoured chocolate and comes in the well known After Eight green wrapping * Bitesize - Plain chocolate with mint fondant filling, similar in appearance to original Munchies. Originally known as Mintola, then renamed Mint Munchies in 1995, before being brought under the After Eight brand in 2006. * Mousse - A chilled dessert consisting of mint mousse with layers of dark chocolate * Dessert - A chilled smooth mint and chocolate flavoured dessert * Strawberry and Mint - This variation on the thin mints was a special edition for Spring/Summer 2020.

Discontinued products

* Chocolate Truffles * Dark Chocolate Irish Creams * Ice Cream Dessert * Lemon Sorbet

Other related products

* A silver plated 'After 8 Mint' Royal Coach (Mints not supplied) novelty table holder was available from Argos in the UK in the 1980s * Pfefferminz - A variety of Ritter Sport which has similar taste to the original After Eight, in the shape of a Ritter Sport. * After Eight (cocktail) - A layered shooter consisting of Crème de cacao, Crème de menthe and Baileys Irish Cream. * Royal Mints - A product manufactured by Halloren very similar to After Eight. * Mint Nights - A product manufactured for Poundland very similar to After Eight. * After Dinner Mints - an Australian product which was similar to After Eights. The manufacturer, Red Tulip, was bought out in the 1980s by

Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company fully owned by Mondelez International (originally Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second largest confectionery brand in the world after Mar ...

Notes

External links

* * {{Rowntree's Rowntree's brands Brand name confectionery Chocolate confectionery Nestlé brands 1962 establishments in England Products introduced in 1962 British confectionery Kosher food