Coffee Crisp – it is the thing that sets Canadians apart from Americans. Its that chocolate bar where as Canadians we said “You know what this chocolate bar needs? A hit of caffeine!” and made it so. It is what sets us apart and is as much a part of our nation’s proud heritage as Tim Hortons and the Second Cup.

So as a Canuck, you can imagine my delight and surprise when upon visiting my local corner store I saw a display of these beauties in a box on the floor. You know, one of those stand-up cardboard display boxes. Interestingly the Turtle ones were sold out but they have plenty of Coffee Crisps left. That should have been a warning really…

So there I was… Coffee Crisp Easter egg in my hand. I had high hopes. As a Canadian, I had pinned my nation’s pride on this egg. How would they handle wafers, whipped filling *and* coffee? All I had to do was try some…

Well, as you can see that filling looks more like sick than filling. And what’s worse, it doesn’t taste anything like a Coffee Crisp. It is a poor substitute for my beloved Coffee Crisp (original). Shame on you Nestle – I know you are capable of much better. Next year I want to see a new one that’s even better!

Lovers of Paul A Young’s sea salted caramels must think Christmas has come early with the release of the rather large sea salt caramel egg. Larger than a Cadbury’s crème egg, it is also slightly larger than a traditional breakfast egg but not by much.

The egg comes in an egg cup with a lovely egg spoon to scoop out all that lovely sea salt caramel. The chocolate used is a delight. Delicious and lots of it, the chocolate encases the rather extremely generous filling. Hungry as I was, and celebrating a few milestones in my life as I was, I still could not finish the whole egg. No bad thing, a bit of cling film and I can report it was as nummy later as when fresh.

This is any chocolate lover’s dream and must have. Forget that cheap chocolate, forget boxes of Easter crème eggs, forget fancy silly overpriced bunnies, get the chocolate lover in your life this egg. They’ll love you for it. I love the person who sent me mine lots and lots now – YUM!

Under a threatening sky the London Chocolate Festival launched the weekend before Easter with what seemed to be more stalls than the previous event. With chocolate makers (a chocolatier is a very special thing and I do not feel qualified to bestow such a qualification) from all around the UK gathering together in one place, it was every chocolate lovers dream.

I was lucky enough to be invited to the launch event where we learned about Valhrona and how all their chocolate is made in a single factory in a small village in France in the Rhone valley and has been there since 1922 despite selling into 65 countries and using 3,000 tonnes of chocolate.  While that sounds like a lot it is apparently around only 10% of the annual production of chocolate.  They walked us through three chocolates in a sampler pack they provided which was lovely and taught everyone how to taste chocolate. I’m sure my fellow foodies were very familiar with trying it in this way.

We then learned about the brain and chocolate and how the brain reacts to the scent and taste of chocolate and got to taste the predecessor of Nutella. We were then treated to Damian Allsop chocolates which were divine.  A delicious jasmine tea infusion and a delightful coffee and passion fruit chocolate, all dairy-free.  He apparently has a new shape for his chocolates as well.

The chocolate show itself was delightful and thank goodness everyone was there!  I couldn’t find Paul A Young but I did find Paul Wayne Gregory who let me retry the sea salt caramel among others, William Curley whose chocolates I love love love, Rococco who do innovative things with chocolate but I have fallen a little out of love with lately and Outsider Tart who have the most lush baked goods ever,

The festival is easy to get to – Just pop to Waterloo station and exit through the Southbank exit.  Now, under the railway bridge and across the square and you’ll see some marquees set up and you’ll be there!  This festival is HUGELY popular rain or shine despite being outdoors and it is well worth the trip.

So stop reading and get out there fast!  The Chocollate festival continues on Saturday March 27th and Sunday March 28th.

The pink champagne truffle from Hotel Chocolat has to be one of the most alcoholic champagne truffles I have ever had.  It almost rivals the Prestat champagne truffles in alcoholness.  When I opened it, it didn’t quite have that scent of alcohol that can leap up and greet you.  I was, I must admit, a tiny bit disappointed by the cardboard box but that was only the casing for the delights within.

The shell is lighter and softer than the Prestat truffle and the filling certainly packs a kick.  I was a little sad that my box had three crushed ones but that meant that I simply had to eat them all up

They are nice and for someone looking for a special gift, it is a fair fight between Prestat and Hotel Chocolat. I have to admit that the box for the Prestat truffles is my favourite with its lovely purple box.

Ever had one of those moments when you find chocolate you didn’t realise you had? Well, I found this lovely little box of chocs from Hotel Chocolat and although they were past their best before date I thought I’d try them anyway.  I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?

I tried the cinnamon praline first.  I’m not a huge fan of praline as it is often gritty and the strong nutty flavour overwhelms the flavour of anything else.  WOW… I’m a cinnamon fan as readers will know and this was like a warm Christmas choccy in my mouth.  Brilliant.  A bit of a nutmeg topping and I think we’ve got Christmas in a choc.

Caramel crunch wasn’t quite as dramatic but was still OK.  Both chocolates were sweet but I found the caramel crunch a bit over my sweet tolerance level regrettably.

The sea salted caramel was OK but again the sweetness of the chocolate detracted from the overall experience for me.  Perhaps it was just my mood but it was just too much sweet for me.

Saving the best for last I had the Marc de Champagne star. It was lovely and age had not dimmed it though it too was quite sweet.  It was probably just me but I did feel the white chocolate was quite over sweet.

I’m very sure that a lot of people would love a selection like this.  It may be sweet to me but I’m sure other people more familiar with popular brands of chocolate will love these.

Wow this is some incredible chocolate.  Made without milk or dairy at all, I cannot recommend it highly enough.  Sometimes I was a bit surprised at the flavour but really, this is some fantastic chocolate.  The high quality of the chocolate is evident in each bite.

The fresh basil chocolate was a bit of a shock but I got used to it. It was a small chocolate and the filling was quite green but still pleasant.

The coffee and passion fruit chocolate was an extreme delight.  The perfect marriage between tart and strong and chocolate.  A lovely delight and the perfect flavour balance.

The salted muscavado truffle was strongly flavoured and I wasn’t expecting it but it was a delight as well.  The flavour was strong but balanced.

The absence of dairy made the chocolate really stand out and a delight to try.  I highly recommend these chocolates

I had the good fortune of getting three of Paul Wayne Gregory’s chocolates.  One mint, one sea salted caramel and one raspberry.

The mint chocolate was a nice with a very green mint flavour mixed in to the chocolate ganache.  The flavour I prefer is that of a fresh green mint and this was slightly on the synthetic side for me for some reason.  I cannot say if there was real mint or mint oil used but regardless I did enjoy it but did not finish it.

The sea salted caramel was too salty for me.  I’m sure it is brilliant for some and probably developed to be the perfect balance but for me the salt was too much. It didn’t get finished. ***UPDATE*** Tried one at the Chocolate Festival and chatted to Paul about it and he said it was not representative and on trying both the lollipop and a truffle I can say it was not. They are LOVELY!

The raspberry was the one I love love loved. I am a huge sea salt caramel fan but this raspberry had it beat.  The chocolate was fab and the filling brilliant!  I’d eat a box of these – I wish I could!!

It is rare that I like a pre-packaged brownie.  I prefer mine cut fresh at Paul A Young and thick and dense.  This beautiful brownie was a welcome surprise.  With whole raspberries in the fluffy brownie, this was a delicious treat.  It is light but there is a flavour of butter and chocolate that mixes well and makes it delicious but not too filling.

I’m not surprised that this is an award-winning brownie.  It isn’t too dense and that is a benefit.  It is substantial and yet not too thick.  The raspberries give it a delightful tangy bite. It isn’t too thick or large which is a slight disappointment but the size is perfect with a cup of coffee.  It was lovely to gobble up the whole thing!

I had the chance to visit the Pierre Herme concession at Selfridges and tried some of their lovely macarons.  I did not realise macarons didn’t always contain coconut and these were a delight so I thought I’d trust their chocolates.  I mentioned to the gentleman helping me that I was a harsh judge of chocolate so he was prepared for my critique.

Chloe – pitched as a raspberry and chocolate ganache, raspberry macaron biscuit and raspberry macaron almond paste chocolate, it was an odd chocolate.  The dark chocolate and raspberry combination was OK but the almond paste for me didn’t add to the chocolate flavour.  I think it was a delightful chocolate though and would be a fun and delightful chocolate at a dinner party – especially with macarons. Yum.

Pietra – piedmont hazelnut fondant and crispy praline with the almond paste and the macaron biscuit.  The dark chocolate is fully overwhelmed by the hazelnut and the grainy texture makes this chocolate less appealing. I left half of it – yuck.

Mogador – milk chocolate and passion fruit ganache, almond paste, macaron piece and milk chocolate covering, I had higher hopes for this chocolate.  The passion fruit flavour overwhelmed the chocolate flavour but it wasn’t as overpowering as the macaron.  The almond paste added a bit of texture but not too much. Got finished – yum.

Intense – bitter chocolate ganache, chocolate macaron, and almond paste. I was worried about this chocolate after the previous three.  The almond paste here was very grainy and the chocolate wasn’t great being far too bitter for my taste.  Half got left behind – yuck.

The truffles from the Pierre Herme concession at Selfridges were somewhat different from ones I would usually try myself.  I didn’t enjoy all the macaron chocolates and so these ones were somewhat worrying.  I am not universally in love with pistachio and yet it seems in vogue with chocolate makers.

Truffe au praline – praline ganache enrobed in dark chocolate and cocoa powder.  The lack lustre chocolate covering the smooth, almost liquid praline ganache was not a favourite of mine.  The chocolate itself was most of the disappointment with a dark bitter flavour common in over roasted bean chocolate and not the Amedei I love.  The flavour then went slightly sweet as though the ganache or chocolate had some added sugar which has not blended.  Yuck.

Truffe au Chocolat au Lait and The Vert Matcha – milk chocolate and matcha green tea ganache, roasted pistachios, covered in milk chocolate and pistachio powder.  I like matcha green tea – I learned about it when I was visiting Japan and learned about the tea ceremony and was honoured to be able to take part in one as the tea mixer (that’s the only part I was trusted to do).  The pistachio was a mistake.  It made the outside too powdery and unpleasant.  It masked the chocolate itself which was yummy.  I would suggest scraping the exterior off and eating the chocolate like that but really – why bother when other suppliers have a more pleasant chocolate.

Truffe Intense – bitter chocolate ganache enrobed in dark chocolate and cocoa powder.  The saving grace of the lot, it was not fantastic with a slightly sour taste and an odd aftertaste, it was at least edible and I did eat the whole thing.  I think it is lovely to create something unique and different but when creating it, I believe it is necessary to create it with good chocolate and the harsh bitter flavour with strange sweet aftertaste tells me that this chocolate is not best.