Ice cream-loving shoppers have spotted that Aldi has added two new tasty flavours to its popular mochi range.
In case you didn’t know, the leading budget supermarket chain started selling the Japanese-inspired sweet treats last May after they skyrocketed in popularity and had captured the attention of more than 500 million viewers from across the globe on the video sharing platform TikTok since the beginning of 2021.
Mochi is a traditional Japanese rice cake made with “mochigome”, which is a short-grain glutinous rice, and they’re made by pounding the rice into a paste and then moulding it into the desired shape.
Traditionally, mochi balls are made during a Japanese ceremony called Mochitsuki.
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When they first launched in stores and online, Aldi originally started out by selling three fruity flavours – tropical, mango and coconut.
But fans of delicacy will know that the mochi brand Aldi stocks, Wao Mochi, has a website filled with a wide range of other flavours too, including vanilla, mango, chocolate, matcha tea, lemon yuzu, and pistachio – but two of the fan-favourites flavours have to be caramel and cheesecake, which is why Aldi has decided to start selling them too.
The two new flavours have already been spotted in Aldi stores by eagle-eyed shoppers.
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Popular food blogger New Foods UK was one of the first to spot the two new flavours in store and take to Facebook and Instagram to share the news that they now being stocked, with thousands of others sharing their excitement and seeming keen to head to their nearest Aldi in the hopes of grabbing a few boxes.
It was not revealed which particular Aldi branch the new flavours were spotted in.
Thanks to the elevated social media popularity and demand for the moon-shaped desserts since the turn of the new year in 2021, mochi is known for being notoriously difficult for people in the UK to get their hands on and boxes always sell out quick.
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Some mochi brands have even reported that sales increased by a whopping 2,000% since January 2021 alone.
Aldi has added caramel and cheesecake flavours to its Wao Mochi range / Credit: Wao Mochi
Although unconfirmed at this point, if the previous flavours Aldi stocks are anything to go by, the Wao Mochi Caramel and Wao Mochi Cheesecake flavours should come in boxes of six, and will set you back just £3.49.
If you’re planning on heading to ALDI to grab a fresh box of these sweet, summery treats, then you can check opening times for your local branch here.
Question Time audience stunned as first-time buyer says mortgage quote DOUBLED
Danny Jones
Thursday night’s Question Time audience could be heard audibly gasping after a fellow crowd member revealed that her mortgage quote had doubled followed the recent mini-budget.
Taping in Manchester on 29 September, the current events and politics programme was discussing property when would-be first-time buyer Rabia revealed that her mortgage offer had jumped from an initial amount of 4.5% interest to a shocking 10.5% in just a matter of days.
As you can see in the incredible clip, both the audience and the panel are taken aback at the revelation.
The gasps from the audience as this woman reveals she’s received a revised mortgage offer of 10.5%. pic.twitter.com/a5Nb1co8al
The Greater Manchester resident said she is desperate to know what the government’s plan for mortgages is as following the latest revision, she says she simply cannot afford to put the money down on her first home.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer weighed in on the social media reaction, quote tweeting the clip from his party’s own account and stating that “the Tories must get back to Parliament and reverse their kamikaze budget” as the current economic mess is being “paid for by working people”.
The government’s economic chaos is already clobbering those like Rabia who're trying to get a mortgage or to re-mortgage.
This crisis was made in Downing Street but it’s being paid for by working people.
The Tories must get back to Parliament and reverse their kamikaze budget. https://t.co/bw8B2TOUgl
To make matters worse, Rabia was given no clarification from her lenders, only that they were pulling her offers. Conservative MP and Minister for Local Government, Faith and Communities, Paul Scully had little information to offer her either, simply stating it is a short-term effect and that the market will stabilise.
Scully was subject to an entirely different reaction from the audience as well after his blind attempts to defend Prime Minister Liz Truss and Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng were met with laughter. Conversely, Richard Bacon was met with applause after he labelled the mini-budget “absurd”.
As if the anti-Tory sentiment wasn’t already at a high, the chancellor’s mini-budget – which saw the corporations, bankers and the generally wealthy benefit ahead of the working class – has seen fresh calls for a general election to be held as soon as possible.
Beyond declaring a so-called £2,500 limit on energy bills (which many have warned isn’t a guaranteed cap), there was seemingly very little in the way of policy that
For those still unclear as to what was announced in the divisive mini-budget, here is a quick summary:
Speaking in a speech at the Labour conference in Liverpool on Tuesday, Starmer said that the government “haven’t just failed to fix the roof, they’ve ripped out the foundations, smashed the windows and now they’ve blown the doors off for good measure.
First images of King Charles III on new coins revealed
Danny Jones
The first images of King Charles III‘s likeness on the next 50p coin have been unveiled by the Royal Mint as the nation prepares to transition into a new form of currency.
Revealed on Friday, 30 September, the UK’s official coin maker unveiled the first piece of legal tender. The incoming 50p features Charles’ face in the classic profile position and a new design on the reverse that harks back to the design featured on Queen Elizabeth II‘s 1953 coronation coin.
As you can see, the new coin includes the four quarters of the Royal Arms depicted within a shield and in between each shield is an emblem of the home nations; a rose, a thistle, a shamrock and a leek.
Credit: Royal Mint
Martin Jennings, Designer of His Majesty King Charles III’s effigy, said in a press release: “It is a privilege to sculpt the first official effigy of His Majesty and to receive his personal approval for the design.
“The portrait was sculpted from a photograph of The King, and was inspired by the iconic effigies that have graced Britain’s coins over the centuries. It is the smallest work I have created, but it is humbling to know it will be seen and held by people around the world for centuries to come.”
Jennings is also responsible for designing the new commemorative £5 coin, customary for marked occasions such as the change over of monarchs.
Credit: Royal Mint
The limited edition £5 coin will form part of a wider memorial coin collection following the passing of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.
There is an estimated £4.5 billion worth of existing currency – approximately 27 billion coins of various denominations alone – thought to be in circulation, not to mention things like stamps, meaning that we will likely have to get used to carrying both old and new coins.
This isn’t the only significant change Britons can expect either, as earlier this week the Royal Family revealed the new King’s new cypher which will replace the Queen’s ‘EIIR’ seal across the UK, such as on the gates of Buckingham Palace and on postboxes.
Emily Sergeant -
15th March 2022 
