Chocolate Bars

A milk chocolate slab with fizzy popping candy, a swirl of white chocolate flavoured with lemon sherbet and topped off with lemon chocolate drops, part of the Children’s Chocolate range from Hotel Chocolat.

I love white chocolate with citrus fruits there is something special about the combination of smooth white chocolate and the tang from the fruit, it just works. So I was rather intrigued when I saw the Hotel Chocolat’s Fizzy Lemonade Chocolate Slab which is mainly milk chocolate flavoured with three types of lemon.

The bar is rather eye-catching with swirl if white chocolate in the centre, which goes right into the milk chocolate rather than just a swirl on top, and three bright yellow lemon drops dotted round the sides. The back is speckled with pieces of yellow popping candy giving the reverse a texture and making it rather sticky, like old fashioned lemonade.

With the three different types of lemon; sherbet, poppy candy and lemon oil, all natural ingredients, you would expect the chocolate slab to very lemony – but what you actually get is a very smooth lemon flavour, similar to a well-made lemon mousse, with a pleasant flavour that changes in strength depending on the amount of white chocolate, popping candy or lemon drop in each bite.

The lemon sherbet gives the whole bar a lemony flavour with bursts of citrus from the popping candy and a refreshing sharpness from the three white chocolate shaped lemons on top.

At 200g the Fizzy Lemonade Chocolate slab is less than half the size of the Giant Chocolate Slabs, also from Hotel Chocolat, but it is still a very impressive chocolate bar, just like the larger Giant Chocolate Slabs these smaller slabs are presented in a bag with a window, so you can see the chocolate inside, and a handle, so it can be carried. Great for sharing, a chocolate gift or a special treat for one.

£7.00, 200g.

Labelled: Vegetarian, Gluten Free and Alcohol Free.

A limited edition white chocolate bar favoured with coconut and lime from the Thorntons Chocolate Blocks range.

I have to admit, after reading the label, that I wasn’t particularly looking forward to trying this limited edition chocolate block, I have had other chocolate with coconut and was rather underwhelmed and some chocolate with lime tend to be too sweet and have a syrup like aftertaste.

But I must say I was quite surprised and impressed with Thorntons Coconut & Lime White chocolate block.

The chocolate bar comes in a lime green and brown box, a design matching the rest of the collection, with a limited edition “badge” in the top right hand corner. Inside the box the bar is wrapped in a silver coloured plastic foil.

Un-wrapping the bar releases a buttery aroma, with an underlying fresh citrus note from the natural lime. A rather surprising element are the brownish pink flecks of colour in the bar, at first I wasn’t too sure what these were, but it turns out they are coconut pieces that have been toasted and the colour has blended with the white chocolate.

The toasted coconut gives the chocolate bar a wonderful crunch, which I was not expecting. The lime is noticeable now and then, but gives more aroma than flavour.

The combination of the crunch with the smooth white chocolate and the odd hint of lime make this chocolate block pleasantly different, interesting and really worth trying, even for white chocolate haters.

£1.79, 80g.

Labelled: Vegetarian and Gluten Free.

cocoapod’s “I ♥ DAD” personalised chocolate bar, a chucky chocolate bar decorated with a transfer and I love Dad spelt out with chocolate letters and a foil wrapped chocolate heart.

This is the predesigned “long word” version of the bar, meaning that the letters are already chosen for you, making it perfect as a Father’s Day gift, but you can still choose the flavour of chocolate, the background design and the colour of the foil on the heart.

I really like the look of this bar, fun and playful chocolate. The letters used remind me of fridge magnet letters and the fact you can choose from five types of chocolate and over twelve foil designs means you can personalise it properly.

The chocolate heart is the same flavour as the lettering, in this case white chocolate, sweet but buttery and light. The milk chocolate bar is quite thick, about half a centimetre; the cocoa taste is quite mild but very smooth and beautifully creamy with the classic taste of Belgian chocolate that is very moreish!

There are two other sizes of personalised chocolate bars available from the cocoapod build-a-bar range; the “mini word” and “giant word”. All three of the different sizes can be customised, you can have letters and foil wrapped chocolate hearts or just letters, making them perfect for all occasions and events.

All of the chocolate bars, not matter the size, are packaged in a clear box keeping them safe and making them very easy to wrap.

Chocolate to have fun with!

£5.00, 85g.

Hotel Chocolat’s “Summer Sizzler” Peepster Box – four individually flavoured mini chocolate slabs, bursting with summer flavours.

Beautifully displayed in a presentation box, decorated with Union Jack flags and completed with a caring handle, each of the four chocolate bars peep out tempting you to try them.

Each of the chocolate bars are 100g and individually wrapped. The four Summery flavours are:

• Eton Mess: Vanilla infused white chocolate swirled with strawberry flavoured chocolate, poured over chocolate cookies and finished with meringue and strawberry pieces, creamy with a crunch and a fruity tang.
• Tutti Frutti: Half white chocolate and half milk chocolate, fused together and decorated with splashes of bold colours, studded with golden raisins, cherries and pistachios luxury fruit and nut with a Summer twist.
• Cookie Crème: Cocoa rich 40% milk chocolate, on a bed of cookie pieces and dotted with crispies, smooth chocolate with crunch.
• Banoffee: Real slices of banana top of dreamy caramel chocolate and 40% milk banana chocolate, mixed with crushed cookie pieces and decorated with white chocolate.

Three of the chocolate mini slabs are also available as giant chocolate slabs, so you could think of the Sleekster as a tasting box!

All the of the chocolate are part of the Summer chocolate range at Hotel Chocolat, classic dessert recipes which have been transformed into chocolate treats to brighten someone’s day.

£13.50, 400g.

Labelled: Vegetarian and Alcohol Free.

Conscious Chocolate, raw chocolate bar The Nutty One. 50% cocoa with a selection of chopped nuts, naturally sweetened.

I love the look and packaging of this bar, presented in a pillow box with the chocolate bar wrapped in a piece of tissue paper. It’s more likely to be grease proof paper, bit that doesn’t sound quite as good.

The bar is almost the shame shape as the box, rounded and tapering to a tip on both sides and squared off at the ends. It has a rather rustic and homely appearance, jagged edges and little bits falling off that really add to its charm.

The smell is amazing, an aroma of good quality cocoa power mixed with the natural sweetener, agave nectar. It actually smells sticky!

The chocolate is soft and as it melts the slightly sweeten bitterness of the cocoa is released, leaving behind the nutty pieces to crunch and chew on. The bar is packed with nuts, coarsely chopped brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts and cashews. The flavour hints more towards cocoa nibs than dark chocolate, but you do get the cocoa hit.

Made with 50% cocoa from Ecuador and naturally sweetened a high-quality chocolate bar and something different for the dark chocolate and nut lover.

£2.88, 40g.

Labelled: Dairy Free, Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten Free and Soya Free.

Thorntons salted pistachio and milk chocolate bar, made with 32% cocoa from Madagascar, a one star gold winner at the Great Taste Awards 2009.

The chocolate block is presented in a pistachio coloured box, in the same bold and colourful design as the rest of the Thorntons Chocolate Block range, proudly displaying the bar’s award in the right top right corner.

Inside the box the milk chocolate bar is wrapped in a special “award winning” gold wrapper – both the award logo on the box and the wrapper set this bar up to be something special.

Divided into small breaking squares and two rectangle sections at the top and bottom, the block has a floral motif impressed into it and the Thorntons logo in the lower rectangle.

Thorntons Lightly Salted Pistachio Milk Chocolate Block is milk chocolate made with 32% cocoa from Madagascar, with pistachio halves running throughout the bar. The chocolate is sweet, smooth and creamy with the soft crunch of nuts, the sweetness of the chocolate is neutralised with the savoury of the pistachios and you can’t really taste any salt – but I wasn’t expecting to, as salt is added to chocolate to enhance the flavour not to make it taste salty.

The flavours are not too strong and I think without the nuts, this would be an average milk chocolate bar. I was expecting more flavours or a wow factor based on the awards, but overall it is just “nice”. Enjoyable, but nothing special.

£1.79, 80g.

Labelled: Vegetarian and Gluten Free.

The Orange Mantra, a 65% cocoa organic dark chocolate bar with natural orange oil.

This dark chocolate and orange bar from Chocolate & Love has two wrappers; the outer is paper, a very dark black design with white writing and the name of the bar “Orange Mantra” highlighted in brown.

The inner wrapper is a white cellophane, heat sealed, with a very handy rip line that takes the end off the wrapper off exposing one end of the bar.

The chocolate itself is a rich dark brown, with a good sheen and crisp snap, and is sectioned into breaking squares with a grid design on each square.

The warming smell of the oranges and dark chocolate is rather fantastic, not too strong but just aromatic enough. The orange essence isn’t immediately released as you eat it, you first get a hint of bitterness followed by the cocoa notes and as the chocolate starts to melt the sweet orange is released, combining with the dark chocolate and filling your mouth with the rich flavours.

I love the combination of fruit and chocolate, especially when oils are used, as it changes the taste completely blending with the chocolate and running though out the bar, rather than having chunks of fruit or layer of flavour.

Because of the orange and dark chocolate combination it reminds me of Green & Black’s Maya Gold, but without the spices. Chocolate & Love‘s bar is more fruity with a crisper flavour, and is lighter due to the slightly lower cocoa content, I am a big fan of both bars but would have to say I prefer “Orange Mantra”.

Made from 100% organic ingredients including; orange oil pressed in Italy, whole cane sugar and ground vanilla.

£2.90 for 100g of dark chocolate with natural orange.

Labelled: Organic, Gluten Free, Preservative Free, Vegetarian, Dairy Free and Vegan.

Bursting with colour and flavours the Hotel Chocolat Tutti Fruitti giant chocolate slab is the taste of classic Italian summer ice cream, tutti fruitti, in a huge chocolate bar.

This vibrantly decorated slab of chocolate is two types of chocolate fused together, half 40% milk chocolate and half fruity flavoured white chocolate, splashed with bright, naturally coloured, white chocolate and packed with sour cherries, pistachio pieces and moist golden raisins for the full tutti fruitti effect.

The giant slabs are the largest of the Hotel Chocolat Slabs, a whopping half kilo, so big they come in bags with handles!

£13.50, 500g of summer chocolate.

Labelled: Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Alcohol Free and Egg Free.

The Amedei Porcelana chocolate bar, a bitter dark chocolate bar, made from the rarest cocoa bean in the world and one of the most expensive chocolates available.

Porcelana comes from small plantations in Venezuela, South America and is a variety of Criollo (T. cacao var. Criollo); the name, Porcelana, comes from the colour of the cocoa bean which is translucent Porcelain white. Criollo is one of the rarest type cocoa because it is difficult to grow, susceptible to disease and has a lower crop yield thank other varieties.

The bitter dark chocolate bar is 70% cocoa, single origin and single variety, allowing all the complex favours of the Porcelana bean to flourish.

Amedei only produce a limited number of the Amedei Porcelana bar, 20,000 per season and each bar is individually numbered.

Due to the amount of awards and accreditations chocolate made from the Criollo cocoa bean receives, is is considered to be the finest chocolate available and is highly prized. Amedei’s Porcelana bar has been awarded numerous awards including “Best Dark Chocolate Bar” and Academy of Chocolate Gold.

£7.50, 50g.

A selection of milk chocolate bars from Thorntons, the Milk Chocolate Block Bundle. Seven bars, all milk chocolate, each with a different flavour, tied together in a bundle with a ribbon.

The perfect way to explore the variety of chocolate available from Thorntons, each chocolate block has a different flavour, varying percentages of cocoa content and cocoa from different countries.

The chocolate bars in the Thorntons Milk Chocolate Block Bundle are:

• Belgian Milk – 29% cocoa, full-flavoured Belgian chocolate.
• Ecuador Milk – 40% cocoa milk chocolate.
• Fairtrade Organic Milk – 36% cocoa.
• Fudge in Milk – 35% cocoa from Papua New Guinea
• Orange & Cardamom – 40%, Ecuadorian cocoa beans.
• Tonka Milk – 38% cocoa, Venezuelan cocoa beans.
• Special Toffee in Milk – Mexican cocoa beans, 40% cocoa.

Each chocolate blocks are also available separately, from the Thorntons site or in Thorntons stores, or in other bundles which make great gifts.

£12.00, 620g approximatly.

Labelled: Vegetarian and Gluten Free.