Various different types of chocolate.
Here in Blighty it’s blisteringly hot. Well for the UK in early June it’s a great deal warmer than it has been at any time in the past twelve months. So no seems to be as good a time as any to try some chilli hot chocolate from the South Devon Chilli Farm.
This 250g pack of 50% chocolate flakes...
Although Fiona Sciolti and I have been friends on Facebook for a while, it wasn’t until a recent summery Sunday at Tatton Park for a Foodies Festival that we actually met for the first time. One of her first words to me then are still my favourite: “here’s some chocolate for you”. Of...
La Maison du Chocolat are chocolatiers that I have a sense of guilt about. When I first started reviewing chocolate a few years ago I caught up in the swell created by their funkier alternatives. The Banksies of the chocolate world pushed from the underground closer to the mainstream and naively this seemed...
Normally when I review Paul’s wonderful selections it’d be after they’d turn up on my doormat with the purpose of a review. These, however, were purchased by myself because I’ve been working so darn hard lately. The only problem is that I’m just too keen to try them that I...
To me chocolate with a story tastes better than chocolate made with the sole purpose of making people in rich companies more money. Forever Cacao, a new and very small stone ground chocolate maker from the similarly small village of Guilsfield, Powys, Wales who have sourced what they and their cacao...
One of the big problems chocolatiers face during the summer is keeping people buying chocolate throughout the warm months when there are few excuses to by chocolate other than birthdays and Father’s Day. Somehow, though, Hotel Chocolat manages to bring out new collections that really do grab the...
You don't have to spend great amounts on marketing to get your name out. Sometimes you just have to focus on producing lovely chocolates and the rest will follow. That's exactly what The Chocolate Society are doing.
As usual Marc DeMarquette has created a truly inspirational box of caramels. You just can't miss these when they come out at the same time as Chelsea Flower Show.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to for unique chocolatiers to make a splash in the chocolate world so dominated by the big names. Lazy chocolate buyers will reach for the tried and tested offerings found in the supermarkets or whichever company manages to get top rankings in Google. But looking...
They say that youth is wasted on the young. My youth flashed passed at such a high speed I can barely believe I’m the same person that set up in business on his own some fifteen years ago. That experience engendered in me a huge respect for those who strike out on their own at a young age. It’s...
When it comes to Easter it’s often very difficult to get a true comparison between the large guys such as Thorntons and the smaller guys such as Chococo as everyone seems to go their separate ways and produce a huge variety of Easter eggs. Apart from the standard, milk, dark and white, you rarely get...
As long as I can remember I’ve thought ill of people that choose to remove certain types of food from their diet. This was typified whilst I tucked into a huge scrambled egg and Cumberland sausage on toast at Granny Dowbekin’s Tearoom and a couple walked in and proudly exclaimed...
This diet is killing me. Bad carbs are out, along with unnecessary sugary stuff. Thank my lucky stars I’m a chocolate reviewer and can consume biscuits, cakes and chocolate – all in the name of “work”. Truth be told, I was looking for an excuse to break free of...
Although there was no information about provenance. It was still a very pleasant 100% cocoa powder.
The single most awe-inspiring moment of my chocolate reviewing life was two years ago yesterday. Then I received a delivery from someone I had never heard from. That clear plastic case contained the most amazing chocolates I have ever tasted. To this day those Patisserie Vercruysse ganaches have only ever...
16:25 was an important time for me as I child. It was the time at which I’d arrive home after school. Those few minutes after stepping through the door had a ritual about them. I’d cast aside by bag full of books and illegible notes and trudge through the kitchen to the room that contained...
No Christmas Day morning would be complete without unwrapping a box of chocolates, and that goes for men, women, old and young alike. The issue for Father Christmas is whether he visits many different chocolate shops and buy something to please the individual recipient, or does he just pop online and find...
You can make the finest tasting chocolates in the world, but if they’re unimaginative, presented shoddily and have an unsavoury corporate attitude then frankly the quality of your chocolates is a moot point. Thankfully Claire, Andy, the rest of the team and Chococo are jolly nice people, they make...
Few things in life are truly worth waiting for. The birth of a child, the return of a lover, Christmas morning with bucks fizz and wrapping paper covering every inch of the carpet. Considering that list, it would remiss of me not to include Katie’s wonderful, mouth-watering chocolates. As the seasons...
It's a rarity for fudge to be made in a way that isn't too sweet. The dark chocolate variety of the these raspberry fudge slices certainly aren't, the white chocolate is. They're very nice, but you certainly have to like fudge.
You don't really need me to tell you how lovely these are. Of course, you'll be able to find more indulgent, soft, squishy and rich chocolate brownies around, but as a gift option that you can buy on the internet, I can't remember any better options.
A luscious hot chocolate experience, but sadly it doesn't compare to drinking chocolate made with the dark stuff. Still, it had a very interesting character.
Here we have a lovely bitter dark drinking chocolate that can be bought at the 100% cocoa solids level and then sweetened to taste.
If you wanted chocolate truffles that are organic and use natural, unsweetened ingredients then I'm sure you'll love these ones. Make sure you also like dark chocolate though!
If you wanted some chocolate that not only a novelty but also high quality and moreish then these white and dark chocolate marbles from Sir Hans Sloane are some of the most interesting and delicious treats you can get.
I had hoped for some more flavoursome chocolate buttons and some to compete with the Hotel Chocolat ones, but alas, these fell short on the flavour stakes. But they're still much better than those scarily expensive ones from the Royston-based chocolate company.
This is a strange affair. Not only do not recall buying this bar of white chocolate with coconut pralinés feuilletés by Comptoir du Cacao but I’m not entirely sure if I like it or not. Logic says I shouldn’t. Hazelnut praline, white chocolate and coconut are three of my least favourite ways...
This is one of my favourite, mass-market style of chocolate bar as it has a fantastic texture and a very good combination of flavours. Of course its four times the price of a similar bar you could get in a local shop, but its worth it.
Sir Hans Sloane has produced these white chocolate marbles for people to munch on whilst watching the Jubilee and the London Olympics on TV. There're not chocolaty in the conventional sense, but still enjoyable.
The company behind this saffron and curry spice white chocolate bar look great. They're small, third generation and look to be offering something unique. I just wish I purchased one of their other bars of chocolate than this white one.
For raw chocolate this bar is actually very good. I could consume it the same quantities as real chocolate. The superfood angle is best left for people qualified in the subject, but I can certainly expect it to be healthier than milk or white chocolate.
It's a shame that you can't buy these online any more as they're nice, but not as enjoyable as most of their other truffles that I've enjoyed.
This certainly isn't the best milk chocolate they've produced, but I still enjoyed the sharp flavours. The lemon and sea salt did work well together and make the inherent chocolate flavour stand out more. I'd love to try a 50% version of this bar to see what the salt could do with the darker tones.
For me to like raw chocolate it mustn't taste like raw chocolate. Although there was the very slightest ammonia edge to it, I still very much enjoyed it. The goji berries were a touch extreme, but it'd be nice to try it with other inclusions.
Who doesn't want to give their children something different this year? If you did and it hast to be top quality then you've got to look at these from Rococo Chocolates. They're made with top quality ingredients and combine an intense sweetness with a delightful crunchy texture.
If you're looking to lose weight but still can't give up your chocolate digestives then you do now have the option to half your saturated fat with these Weight Watchers biscuits that do taste lighter, but still pretty good.
It's a shame that you can't buy these online any more, but they were lovely, soft, creamy and full of flavour. Hopefully they'll change their website soon. But I fear they're just wholesaling now.
This has to be one of the most adventurous and interesting chocolate selection boxes I've tried. There's only the one classic truffle whilst there are numerous ones with unusual flavours such as cigar leaf and red onion.
I really didn't know what to expect from these Haggis Chocolate, but I really didn't anticipate licking them as much as I did! There weren't massively flavoursome, but cunning with what flavour they had.
If Mothers' Day was one to truly endulge her in magnificence then you have to get her a box of these wonderful ganaches and feuillantine, they are really fantastic! I adored the fruit flavours against the dark chocolate bitterness.
These Baruzzo hand created Italian spring chocolates were incredibly good, the flavours were undramatic but fantastic all the same. They contained theatre of the highest order and kept you wanting to know what the next was like. they certainly were a hit.
I can't say these truffles are my most favourite I've ever tried purely because they're very sweet. I prefer them to be more creamy and have less sugar.
£1.50 isn't too much to pay for some gluten and dairy free brownies so why not give them ago instead of the very gooey brownies the shops normally sell?
Unusually, these white foil-wrapped hearts chocolate were actually pretty nice. Perhaps I wouldn't reach for them as I do dark chocolate when I'm working and need a distraction. But still, they were a lot nicer than I thought they'd be.
If size matters for you and you've got to find the biggest box of chocolates on the high street then you should take a look at these. I found them too sweet to consume in any great quantity, but I'm sure most people will love them.
Hotel Chocolat create Valentine's gifts that have more thought put into them than many chocolatiers - especially when it comes to the functionality and process of how they're given. If you want to show you love someone and want to lay the romance on thick, then this is what you need to buy.
Katie always comes up with supper awesome selection boxes that take you on a journey and over the two years or so I've been reviewing her chocolates I don't think I've had a more pleasurable journey than I've had reviewing this Valentine's Selection Box.
This 70% dark chocolate bar made with wild Bolivian cacao, but not from Felchlin, is very soft, mild and fragrant. But that shouldn't deter those who love aggressive chocolate from trying it.
I had expected a great deal from these Black River Chocolates Selection Box given the price, but I just don't think they matched up to the price label. Don't get me wrong, they were nice, but not unique enough to stand out from the crowd.
South Devon Chilli Farm Hot Chocolate
Sciolti Botanical Chocolate Bars
Coffret Duo de Ganaches Andalousie/Yuzu
Paul A. Young Spring 2013 Collection
Forever Cacao 80% Raw Dark Chocolate
Hotel Chocolat Summer Fusions
Chocolate Society Selections – Banoffee Pie Truffles and Salted Caramels
Demarquette Britannia’s Kitchen Garden Chocolate Selection Box
Toot Sweets Chocolate Selection Box
Chocally Chocolate Gifts
Chococo White Chocolate Lemon Meringue Easter Egg
Mandy’s Gluten Free Double Chocolate Chip Muffin
Chilli Chocolate Crunchy Cake
Food Thoughts 100% Cocoa
Patisserie Vercruysse Winter Collection
Choco Leibniz Chocolate Biscuits
Hotel Chocolat The Sleekster Christmas Desserts Selection
Chococo Seasonal Selection Box
Matcha Chocolat Christmas Selection
Berry Scrumptious Chocolate Fudge
Chunky Chocolate Orange Brownies
Zotter Mango Lassi Drinking Chocolate
Hasslachers Hot Drinking Chocolate
Nutritious Delicious Truffles
Chocolate Marbles In A Mug
Montezumas Organic Milk Chocolate Buttons
Comptoir du Cacao Coconut White Chocolate
Salted Peanut Caramel Bar
Sir Hans Sloane Marbles
Schell Blanche Saffron Curry
IQ Bean To Bar Superfood Chocolate
My Chocolate Bar Lemon Truffles
Thorntons Lemon & Sea Salt
Co Coa Raw Chocolate With Goji Berries
Milk Chocolate Dirty Bunnies
WeightWatchers Milk Chocolate Digestive Biscuits
Ginger Truffles
Paul A Young Selection Box
Haggis Chocolates
Matcha Chocolat Mothers’ Day Selection Box
Baruzzo Spring Chocolate Collection
Tabasco Chocolate
You would have thought that Tobasco chilli chocolate would be hotter than a weekend in Death Valley, alas it wasn't that hot. In fact it tasted more of ginger beer than anything else. The quality of the chocolate isn't all that great either. At a penny less than five Pounds too I just has to be a gimmick than any form of serious chocolate.Thorntons Truffles Heart Little Gifts
Mrs Crimbles Double Choc Brownies
Divine White Chocolate And Strawberry Hearts
Thornton’s Continental Chocolatier’s Tasting Collection Heart
Hotel Chocolat Love Notes
Matcha Selection Box for Valentine’s Day
Oialla Organic Wild Chocolate from Beni, Bolivia
Black River Chocolates Selection Box