Hotel Chocolat 100% Cocoa Easter Egg

Okay we are really past Easter now but I've always been one to hoard my Easter eggs and eke them out over a longer period rather than demolish them over the Easter weekend. I was really lucky to receive one of the new 100% cocoa Easter eggs from Hotel Chocolat. This is a pretty unique offering being the only Easter egg I've ever seen that is sugar and sweetener free plus it's pure 100% cocoa status. Those who don't like dark chocolate look away now.

I don't eat milk chocolate these days and 70% dark chocolate is my minimum with 85% being my preferred. I've enjoyed Lindt's 90% bar before but never ventured beyond that. Is a completely unsweetened dark chocolate going to be too much.

Like all Hotel Chocolat products, it looks premium, beautifully packaged and very sleek. Inside you get the 100% cocoa egg which is studded on the inside with raisins and roasted almonds and you also get a little tray of hazelnuts panned in 100% St Lucian cocoa as well. This egg picked up a lot of press attention as its dairy free, sugar free and suitable for vegans but does it taste any good.

Like I said those who don't like dark chocolate will in all honesty not like this at all and even 70% aficiandos might find it difficult to stomach. It's really quite earthy and the lack of sweetness is really noticeable. It's a raw intense deep and slightly dry taste from the St Lucian chocolate. It's very pure but also quite a complex flavour. I could get hints of slight earthy fruitiness within it and I can understand how chocolate experts can really compare and notice the subtleties like a fine wine. It's got a hint of maltiness and taste utterly different to any chocolate I've had before.

However, as said the lack of sweetness is very noticeable. When you eat it with the studded raisins in that natural sweetness for me is enough to elevate it but the bites without although very tasty don't feel as much of pleasure as 70-90% chocolate. I still enjoyed it however and I think it is all about how you train your palate and reliance on sugar. As I've eaten this more over a few days I've liked it more. The roasted almonds add crunch and the raisins sweet chewiness. I remember when I found 70% chocolate just right and 90% too earthy but now I find 70% a little sweet so it's all taste perception.

No, I don't quite like this as much as 85% and 90% chocolate but I did like it and would like to have one of these again next year. However I'll stick to dark chocolate with a little sugar.

Price: £15
Bought at: Hotel Chocolat

Hotel Chocolat Vegan Gianduja Egglets

I have to say the sheer amount of vegan Easter options this year has been phenomenal. It’s not in any way niche, obscure, difficult to find or more expensive with every supermarket having a good choice of diary free eggs. Hotel Chocolat always excel in dark chocolate so these gianduja dairy free vegan egglets had high expectations.

Priced at a fairly hefty £8.50 for 8 egglets they are presented very nice well in a high quality and attractive tube. These are described as super smooth pralines sealed in dark chocolate and dusted in cocoa powder. They’re fairly substantial feeling, bigger than a mini egg with a bit weight behind them. You probably could eat it in one but this is more of a two/three bite hob.

As soon as you bite in you just taste pure high end chocolate. The praline is properly hazelnut flavoured, really nutty, rich and roasted and creamy. The dark chocolate casing is your usual high end Hotel Chocolat affair,  rich, dense and very dark. I just think dark chocolate is so much nicer nowadays, it’s just so more interesting.

These are super rich and creamy and sinfully indulgent. I ate two and that was pushing it, there was no way I could have a third but the two I had were just pure bliss. Rich, nutty and super chocolatey, these are real high end chocolate treats. You would never guess they were dairy free or vegan and they are also much lower in sugar than other chocolates. Utterly divine, it just shows how delicious vegan options can be.

Price: £8.50

Bought at: Hotel Chocolat

Score: 9/10

Pret Dairy Free Chocolatey Coconut Bite

Whenever I see a Pret I always tend to go for my lunch there as there's not one in my town and I love their on trend, healthy and fresh choices. Pret is also great for vegetarian and vegan food with ever more veggie choices. Along with one of the new coconut lattes (which I fully recommend) and a vegan salad, I bought this dairy free bar on impulse at the till.

Costing a slightly expensive but not ridiculous £1.20, this bar is vegan made only with creamed coconut, dessiccated coconut, dairy free dark chocolate, natural vanilla flavouring, carob syrup, coconut oil and salt so all very clean.

Initially what I expected was a more raw, earthy kind of bar but with my first bar, my expectations were severely overthrown - this tastes literally like a bounty bar!!! I thought it would be dry but it's so rich and creamy, really chocolatey and totally indulgent. No one would be able to tell it was vegan or dairy free, it's that tasty.

The inside is more crumbly than maybe a bounty and you do get in a slight mess with it but that's because this contains so may real coconut that is fudgy and creamy rather than fake syrups with coconut flavour. If you like coconut in any way, you'll love this. The dark chocolate is also very high quality. It's only a thin coating with the focus on the coconut inside but it adds a nice counter point and melts beautifully in the mouth with the coconut.

However, one small word of caution, this little 34g contains a whopping 15g sat fat and 200 calories so don't go thinking they're guilt free. However, it does have less sugar in that a standard chocolate bar with just 5.8g vs around 25g or more.

When vegan food this is tasty, I just wish such choices were more widely available. Nice one Pret.

Price: £1.20
Bought at: Pret
Nutrition per bar: 205 calories, 17.9g fat, 15.4 sat fat, 5.8g sugars, 0g salt

Quality Street New Honeycomb Crunch Review

So Nestle have caused quite the social media meltdown by ditching the toffee deluxe from Quality Street and replacing it with the new honeycomb crunch. Views have been divisive with some outraged their favourite sweet has gone whilst others seem glad to see the toffee deluxe binned. Whether I liked the new honeycomb crunch or not, surely it had to be better than toffee deluxe. There are way too many toffees in Quality Street already and in our house are left lingering well into January with their hard, chewy texture that threatens to pull your teeth out.

I'll admit I haven't bought Quality Street for a while now - like Cadbury quality (ironically) keeps getting stripped out with more sugar and more vegetable fats and less proper chocolate. It's hard to tell whether this is about costcutting or not (it probably is) although surely toffees are pretty cheap seeing as they're pure sugar.

Whilst I wouldn't buy a tub of Quality Street just to try a new flavour, Nestle have also launched it as a chocolate bar form. It's essentially four of the honeycomb crunches welded together. The first thing that annoyed me is their recommended serving size of 2 pieces or half a bar for 100 calories. Really?! Who's going to eat half of this and then save the other half - plus eating the whole thing for 200 calories is still a slightly less than normal amount of calories for a chocolate bar.

It smelt quite sweet and when I cut in and saw how few honeycomb pieces there were in it, I thought it would be a let down. However, I have to say I actually really enjoyed this.

Don't get me wrong, it's not proper chocolate and I'd far rather have some Hotel Chocolat or something a bit more premium but for what it is, it's really rather tasty. Silky smooth and creamily thick with a light creamy inside filling there's just enough honeycomb for a flavour burst and texture without getting into that overly sweet territory of Cadbury Crunchie.

Definitely a far better choice than a toffee deluxe and actually probably one of the best Quality Street out of the whole mix I think. I may even get a tub this Christmas

Bought at: Asda
Nutrition per half bar: 100 calories
Score: 8/10

Marks and Spencer Spirit of Summer Milk Chocolate Smothered Crunchy Jumbo Salted Corn

Although Spirit of Summer at M&S is on its way out now, I managed to grab a couple bits from the range before they disappear including these chocolate coated pieces of salted corn. Sweet and savoury is something that really works for me with chocolate coated pretzels being one of my favourite treats. I’ve seen pretty favourable reviews of these including at Kev’s Snack Reviews so felt they were a pretty safe bet.

I was surprised by how big the actual pieces are. It says jumbo on the pack but from the image they show on pack, I was expecting chocolate raisin sized pieces – they are a lot bigger than that, almost the size of malteasers. They smelt really chocolatey as soon as I opened the bag and I imagined the chocolate would be pretty good as M&S do a decent milk chocolate that is not overly sweet and nice and creamy. It uses their exclusive British milk chocolate recipe and considering only 19% of the product is the salted corn, they are very generously coated in thick chocolate.

Initially when I bit I was a little disappointed as the salted corn is quite small and actually fairly hard and crunchy rather than a more softer popcorn texture I was expecting. However, they become curiously moreish and addictive and once you’ve had a couple, it’s very hard to stop eating them.

It’s not really that salty but it does work against the creamy, sweet chocolate very well and because the corn is so crispy and crunchy against the melt in the mouth chocolate you also get a good mix of texture as well flavour. The chocolate is really gorgeous and pairs nicely against a salted snack but the salted corn isn’t the best vehicle for a savoury/sweet mish mash as I still prefer chocolate pretzels or even chocolate crisps. Like I said these are seriously addictive and very enjoyable and I’m glad I got a chance to try them but I’ve tasted nicer chocolate coated savoury items.

Bought at: Marks and Spencer
Nutrition per 1/3 bag: 259 calories

Score: 7/10

Waitrose 1 Milk Chocolate 49% Cocoa

I've been pretty impressed with some of the newly launched Waitrose 1 range. It is pricey but what you are getting here is well sourced ingredients with authentic provenance, high quality ingredients with ingredients decks that are short and clean. In short, they are just exceptionally delicious food in a more natural state.

I don't usually go for milk chocolate but decided to give this one ago as it's 49% cocoa solids which is extremely high. It also mean it's less sugary at just under 35% , which isn't that far off 70% dark chocolates. It's also fair trade and the ingredients list is just:

Cocoa butter, cane sugar, milk powder, cocoa mass, milk fat, vanilla extract

They do a bigger 85g bar but I bought a treat sized one at 30g which gives you six nice little squares. It smells chocolatey and of real cocoa rather than sugar and I couldn't wait to dig in. It is unbelievably good and maybe because I don't eat much milk chocolate, I might be wrong here but I certainly thought it's some of the best milk chocolate I've ever had.

It's just so milky and creamy and smooth with a faint richness and deep cocoa notes. It is sweet but not sugary and just exceptionally smooth and meltingly good in the mouth. Just divine, I would definitely buy this again.

Price: 75p for 30g
Bought at: Waitrose
Nutrition per square: 31 calories, 2.4g fat, 1.4g sat fat, 1.7g sugars, trace salt

Score: 8.5/10

Cadbury Dairy Milk with Oreo Single Bar

I'm very much late to the party with this one. The Cadbury Dairy Milk with Oreo tablet sized bar has been out for years. I've always thought it looked interesting every time I've passed it in the shops but never got round to buying it as I didn't really want to buy such a big bar.

Luckily, Cadbury have launched it as a single bar now and with a modest intro price of 50p it gave me the perfect excuse to finally get round to trying it.

Opening the pack, it has the lovely, distinct sweet familiar smell of Dairy Milk. The bar looks very attractive with a lovely smooth rounded shape and lots of visible bits of Oreo cocoa goodness studded throughout. There's a faint aroma of Oreo too, making it even more enticing. I like the fact it's six individual pieces that you can snap apart rather than one solid bar like a Wispa or Crunchie. I actually ate only 3 pieces in one sitting then resealed the bar with its recloseable packaging and had the other 3 pieces another day, making this good for portion control too.

Snapping a piece off, the bar is jam packed with filling. Surprisingly, it's a lovely, slightly gooey Oreo cream filled bar with additional pieces of crunchy Oreo biscuit flecked throughout. I was just expecting the bits of biscuit but its the gooey, sweet vanilla cream that really elevates this bar. It's generously packed and has a lovely taste.

I actually prefer good, high quality dark chocolate and am the first to criticise things for being too sweet but I adored the sweetness of this. It isn't sickly, just silky, smooth and indulgent. The strong cocoa flavour and contrasting gritty texture of the biscuit also tempers it. The whole thing was lovely and moreish. The cookie and cream flavour works so well and I would definitely buy this again.

Score: 9/10

Hotel Chocolat Salted Caramel Puddles

As I've said before, I came upon Hotel Chocolat pretty late and am now playing catch up on discovering just how delectable their range is. When I tried their Easter Selection box, it was the salted caramel egglet that I was particularly taken by. When I saw these salted caramel puddles, I bought them hoping to get the same taste intensity and experience.

Salted caramel is a pretty old trend now but it's still one I love as I like the depth and savouriness it brings to the sweet caramel. Like all Hotel Chocolat products, these look very nice. Effectively, they're chocolate buttons but still look very attractive. They're smooth and glossy and very uniform in appearance with a nice bit of engraving on the pack.

And taste wise, they're far superior to any chocolate buttons I've ever eaten. Hotel Chocolat chocolate is less sugary with more good quality cocoa mass. This gives the chocolate a nice natural sweetness that has more depth. The buttons melt in the mouth and are creamy with no bitterness.

There's no actual caramel in these as they're flat buttons so there's no room for filling but the salted caramel flavour is very authentic and utterly delicious. It's buttery with lovely amber notes, with the merest hint of saltiness that brings it to life.

The little pack was only 40g but because the quality and intensity is so high, I was satisfied with this. Hotel Chocolat stuff is so good I'm more than happy to have quality over quantity.

Available: Hotel Chocolat

Pros: Smooth, high quality chocolate with an intense, delicious flavour
Cons: Price (but worth it)

Score: 8.5/10

Montezuma's Dark Chocolate Lordy Lord with cocoa nibs

I much prefer dark chocolate to milk and love this treat but I do tend to stick only with Green and Black's 70%. Boring I know, but it's so good I can't see any reason to branch out usually. However, this Montezuma bar caught my eye, thanks to the inclusion of cocoa nibs.

The packaging certainly stands out. Unlike most dark chocolate slabs it comes in a cardboard box and is then wrapped in, what I think, is some pretty cool and premium looking foil. This is a really good pack design for me, as it means after you break a bit off it's easy to store away and keep fresh. Chocolate slabs usually end up crumbling everywhere and are difficult to wrap up again so this is a nice touch.

The bar is a lovely dark colour and has a lovely deep and rich cocoa smell. Taste wise, it has very different qualities to other dark chocolate I have eaten. It's a much firmer texture with a bit of snap and bite whilst eating so has less of a creamy mouthfeel and doesn't seem to melt in the mouth has much.

However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. It has its own smooth, distinct taste that feels richer and a bit more sophisticated. I also love the cocoa nibs. There's plenty of them and they add bite and crunch and really tickle your tongue with their pleasing, almost slightly bitter, nuggets of darkness.

This bar feels more premium than other dark chocolates I've had and I will definitely look to try out the brand again.

Pros: Lower sugar treat. Dark, rich and interesting flavour. Cocoa nibs make this very different. Cardboard box for freshness.
Cons: Doesn't melt in the mouth as much as other chocolate

Score: 7.5/10

Hotel Chocolat Easter Selection

It's certainly a long way from Easter now but I'm still working my way through this lovely box of chocolates I received. The original review can be found here where I tried the Salted Caramel Egglet, the Orange Bow Tie Bunny and the Apricot Ganache Egglet - all if which were of the highest quality with really innovative flavours with real impact.

Today, I tried the Raspberry Zinger Egglet, the Irish Coffee Egglet and the Praline Bow Tie Bunny. Just to reiterate my previous review, these are just as good to look at as they are to eat. They're visually stunning and the attention to detail is immense, especially on the egglets, which have lovely vivid colours and small ‘H‘ stamps on.

Raspberry Zinger Egglet:

Described as "Smooth raspberries with a zingy touch of lime, balanced in a creamy white chocolate ganache".

This one was slightly too sweet for my tastes. However, you can't fault for an authentic, creamy raspberry flavour that isn't synthetic. I probably would enjoy it more if it used a dark chocolate shell to counteract the rich, sweet filling. White chocolate fans would love it though and the centre is creamily indulgent.

Irish Coffee Egglet:

Described as "An after-dinner treat of coffee cream liquer and our high-cocoa white chocolate".

Previously, the salted caramel egglet was my favourite in the collection but this just edges it. I often don't like chocolates with alcohol in as they can be very harsh but Hotel Chocolat have done a wonderful job here. The cream centre has a strong alcohol flavor but it's not overpowering. Intead, it adds a really delightfully full-on kick. The coffee flavour is strong and intense but also creamy and sweet. It all works perfectly with the rich dark chocolate outer shell.

Praline Bow Tie Bunny:

Described as "Our smartest high-cocoa white bunny filled with a smooth hazelnut milk chocolate praline".

Now just as I thought the Irish coffee egglet was my new favourite, this trumps it - and this coming from someone who isn't even really keen on white chocolate! The filling in this is just gorgeous -it's like an even better version of Nutella that is jammed full of real hazelnut flavour rather than fake flavouring or oils. The praline is dark, bubbly, moussey and utterly creamy with a lovely smooth chocolatey taste and the hazelnuts just bring it alive. This was so moreish it's a shame there's only one in the pack!

Price: £12
Available: Not any more as it's long past Easter but Hotel Chocolat

Green & Black's 70% Organic Dark Chocolate Egg

I'm still very slowly working way through the chocolate I was given for Easter and have finally got round to cracking open this premium egg by Green and Black's.

I'm not sure how much this cost as it was a gift but it would have been substantially more than a standard chocolate egg. But like all Green and Black goods, the price premium is justified through the quality. It's in a very attractive box and the wrapping is very simple. No unnecessary plastic here - it's just the egg in some foil and in a cardboard box.

Opening the egg reveals some nice little touches like the brand logo and some simple but elegant criss crosses. The ingredients list is again extremely small and natural and sugar is not the main ingredient, instead using a higher level of quality cocoa solids. And of course, it's organic.

Taste wise, this is pretty much standard Green and Black's. Smooth, very dark and intense. A little bit is enough to satisfy a sweet craving without oveindulging. It's slightly bitter in a good way and creamy without being overly sweet. It is pretty much a standard bar of Green and Black's but in an egg format, but for someone like me who prefers dark quality chocolate it's a great alternative to the standard eggs out there.

Pros: Not overly sweet or sugary, healthier than standard Easter eggs, organic, great quality ingredients, a little goes along way
Cons: Very expensive way of buying Green and Black's as it's their standard bar but in an egg shape. Doesn't do anything new.

Score: 7/10

Hotel Chocolat Easter Selection

I have a confession to make: I have never tried anything from Hotel Chocolat before. I know people rave about it but somehow it has slipped me by. However, I received this Easter Selection as an Easter present and only finally got round to opening it today. The first thing that struck me is how premium it looked. The box was beautiful to look at with a great design with the clear plastic 'H' window allowing you a tantalising glimpse of the treasures within in.

Opening up the box, a really rich cocoa smell arose. Hotel Chocolat use more cocoa solids than sugar and this was evident from the smell alone. The chocolates didn't smell sickly sweet and you could tell this was really high quality chocolate with real depth and character.

As if the high end chocolate wasn't enough, it's the flavour combos that really intrigued me. Instead of the usual toffees and strawberry creams you get in chocolate selections, this contained:

• Raspberry Zinger Egglet
• Caramel Bow Tie bunny
• Mandarin Olive Oil Egglet
• Nutty Caramel Egglet
• Apricot Ganache Egglet
• Easter Bunny Cocktail Egglet
• Praline Bow Tie Bunny
• Orange Bow Tie Bunny
• Irish Coffee Egglet
• Salted Caramel Ganche Egglet 

What an exciting and innovative range of flavours. I absolutely love trying experimental flavours so knew these would be right up my street. In the end I decided to try the orange bow tie bunny, the apricot ganache egglet and the salted caramel egglet.

Taking these three morsels out the box, I was again extremely impressed by the design and level of detail in the chocolate. These weren't crushed and covered in bits like other selection boxes but were whole and perfect. It is no exaggeration to say these are works of art.The little whiskers sketched on the bunny, the subtle changes in colour and speckles in the eggs... these look like they were handcrafted. I particularly like the little 'H' neatly stamped on top of the eggs. It's a really nice touch and makes them look so ornate.

Orange Bow Tie Bunny:
Described as "a dapper dark chocolate bunny filled with a dangerously moreish orange and milk chcolate ganache"

The orange ganache was really intense with real depth. It wasn't sugary or sweet or even sour or refreshing. Instead, it was absolutely sumptuous and smooth and worked so well with the dark chocolate. It had a really intense orange flavour that wasn't overpowering or in the least bit artificial.

Salted Caramel Egglet:
Described as "our best salted caramel in an indulgent milk chocolate ganache"

I adore salted caramel and fully appreciate it becoming so prevalent and popular at the moment. The caramel was done perfectly - it didn't taste salty per se but had a really rich, butterscotch like flavour that was strong and melting.

Apricot Ganache Egglet:
Described as "a fantastically fruity egglet filled with a smooth apricot and white choclate ganache"

Wow, this one really took me by surprise. Maybe because the others were so rich and intense but I couldn't believe how fruity this was. You could taste the apricot and I could almost taste a sort of passion fruit taste as well. The white chocolate wasn't overly sweet either and it tasted totally tropical.



I was really impressed by these chocolates and they more than justfied the cost. I only needed three to feel satisfied and those three were utterly decadent and luxurious. I can't wait to slowly work my way through the rest of the box.

Price: £12
Available: Hotel Chocolat - although you might have to wait until next year now!

Pros: Fantastic and innovative flavours that work. Premium quality chocolate and stunning to look at. Would make a perfect gift.
Cons: That I can't get any more until next Easter!

Score: 9/10