SLAM DUNK
NEWS COPY
Chocolate Digestives were yesterday (mon) hailed as the nation’s favourite ‘dunking’ biscuit.
The McVitie’s tea-time treat emerged as the best biscuit to dunk into a cup of tea in a poll of 3,000 biscuit fans, beating Rich Tea into second place
Two of McVitie’s other top-sellers HobNobs and Digestives came third and fourth with Chocolate Bourbons in fifth place.
Chocolate HobNobs, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Custard Creams, Shortbreads and Ginger Nuts completed the top ten.
The humble McVitie’s Digestive was first developed in 1839 by two Scottish doctors to aid digestion, chocolate was eventually added in 1925.
A spokesman for internet market research website www.onepoll.com said: ”Dunking a biscuit into a hot cup of tea is such a time honoured tradition and the chocolate digestive wins hands down.
”The combination of the melted chocolate coating and soggy underside makes the ultimate tea companion.
”Dunking can prove tricky at times though – it’s vital to catch the biscuit before it gets too wet and drops into the tea.
”Also be sure you’re in the right company before you plunge your favourite tea-time treat into your cup as for some it’s seen as an unsavoury habit.”
The study also found dunking is still alive and kicking in the UK with three out of four people having dunked a biscuit into their brew in the last seven days.
The workplace is still the number location for dunking with 89 per cent of employees admitting they regularly dunk during office hours.
The humble digestive even came tops in a university study into the best ‘dunking’ biscuit.
Physicist Dr Len Fisher, a honorary research fellow at Bristol University, used a hi-tech Instron stress-tester to calculate the breaking-point of each biscuit.
Chocolate digestives won hands down because their coating protected them from the effects of the hot brew.
The biscuits can withstand at least eight seconds in a tea or coffee – and emerge almost as strong post-dunk as it was dry – compared to a mere three to four seconds ginger nuts and hobnobs.
Dr Fisher, 56, said: said: ”Dunking biscuits calls for a return to the wide-brimmed porcelain cup.
”The best strategy is a flat-on approach, biscuit-side down to minimise chocolate bleed into your tea or coffee and to maintain the chocolate layer as a crack-stopper.
”For other biscuits I recommend a full, wide-brimmed cup of tea with a biscuit dunked at a shallow angle with the imprinted surface down. The art lies in the journey twixt cup and lip.
”The biscuit – held as you would a penny – should be removed in a smooth fluid motion with the dunked half swivelled, so that it is supported by the dry section of the biscuit, to reach your mouth first.
”We used a materials tester called an Instron, which is capable of measuring forces from the weight of a feather to two-and-a-half tonnes.
”We devised a way of holding a biscuit horizontally in the Instron, just as you would hold it between the fingers when about to take a bite.
”Then we pushed down on the centre of gravity and measured how hard we had to push before the biscuit gave way and the effect of hot tea on the force needed.”
BRITAIN’S BEST-LOVED DUNKERS
1.    Choc digestive
2.    Rich tea
3.    Hobnob
4.    Digestive
5.    Chocolate Bourbon
6.    Chocolate hobnob
7.    Chocolate chip cookies
8.    Custard Creams
9.    Shortbread
10.    Ginger nut
ENDS
Research conducted by global market research company www.onepoll.com