After Eight



After Eight Mint Chocolate Thins, often referred to as simply After Eights, are a confectionery product that are intended to be used as after-dinner mints. They were created by Rowntree and 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. They are now manufactured in Halifax, following Nestlé's closure of the Castleford factory in 2012. After Eights are sold across Europe and North America, and one billion After Eights are made annually.

After Eights were originally made from dairy-free dark chocolate. However, in 2007, Nestlé started adding butterfat to After Eights, making them a dairy product. Nestlé has also made special editions of After Eights, including orange After Eights and milk chocolate After Eights.

Manufacturing
The fondant in the centre of After Eights is made from a stiff paste of saccharose, 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 saccharose into the much more soluble glucose and fructose, resulting in a more liquid consistency. Maturing of the mint is said to take over three days.

Religious certification

 * Certified kosher by the Orthodox Union

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.
 * Marzipan - Sold in Germany by Nestlé Deutschland AG
 * Mint & Blood Orange - This variation on the thin mints was a special edition for Summer 2011.
 * Delights - Round sweets of dark chocolate with a mint fondant filling.
 * Straws - Long, thin sticks of soft dark chocolate with a mint fondant filling.
 * Biscuits - The newest addition to the After Eight family, these combine dark chocolate with mint in a biscuit.
 * Chocolate Santa Claus - During the Christmas season, Nestlé Germany features a 125g Santa Claus made out of white or dark mint chocolate.
 * 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

Discontinued products

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

Other related products

 * 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 by 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.