Thorntons Milk Chocolate 32% Madagascar Cocoa with Strawberries

This bar is made with a very creamy Madagascar 32% cocoa filled with dried strawberries.   What a different idea as most strawberry chocolate is made with white chocolate.

This sweet chocolate has a slightly different flavour than Thorntons other milk chocolate.  It is smooth and creamy with a stronger flavour of cream.  The chocolate has a slight preservative flavour as it first starts to melt but the reason you’re eating this chocolate isn’t for the chocolate itself but for the lovely strawberry pieces.

Nothing nummier than letting the chocolate melt in your mouth then slowly nibble the strawberry bits except maybe chewing them and gobbling them down in one delicious mouthful.  It’s not hard to see why this bar won gold.  While I still prefer higher quality bean to bar chocolate, this is a great bar and perfect for gift giving on its own or as part of a selected pack from Thorntons.

Thorntons Milk Chocolate Tonka Infused Bar

The scent of the tonka bean hit me immediately upon opening the chocolate bar with its earthy perfume.  The scent of the tonka has never been my favourite and it made the chocolate a little difficult for me to eat.  The milk chocolate is similar to the plain bar but with the extra infusion of the tonka bean.

The milk chocolate was very sweet and the flavour of the tonka bean is difficult to describe.  It is slightly floral with an overtone of vanilla mixed in with almond and a touch of buckwheat honey.  It is hard to describe the flavour of this chocolate but not hard to understand why it won silver.

Not my favourite bar try it if you have the chance!

Thorntons Milk Chocolate 38% Venezuelan Cocoa Bar

This 38% Venezuelan cocoa blended into a chocolate bar from a chocolate producer more often associated with low quality chocolate is a shock – a pleasant one!

The chocolate is brilliantly balanced with a slight creaminess coming out over the chocolate itself.  The chocolate has been made silky smooth with none of the graininess found in other bars.  While quite sweet, it is not as over sugared as other bars making it an easy to enjoy treat.

The chocolate itself tastes like a blend with the whole mouth being sparked though it claims to be from a single region  It’s just fantastic that a single region could produce a non-flat bar and using the famous Criollo bean – it doesn’t have the same mouth feel as a single region bar.  It doesn’t matter though because this milk chocolate bar is pleasant with a slight hint of vanilla and a hint of honey.

No surprise this is a bronze medal winning bar. A safe bet to buy for someone special – yourself!

Gold award winning Thirntons milk chocolate with lightly salted pistachio nuts

I must admit that pistachio in chocolate was never a flavour I considered.  In fact, I avoided baklava for years until a friend forced me to try some when I learned I loved it

A 32% Madagascar cocoa chocolate covers pistachio nuts.  The chocolate itself is silky smooth but slightly over sugared making it less pleasant to me.  The chocolate is a very milky but not overly creamy milk chocolate.  The chocolate is a lovely blend but too sugary for me.  The saltiness of the salted pistachio comes through very strongly and it makes the chocolate slightly less enjoyable to me but I feel that this will be enjoyed by many people.  The whole experience of the chocolate is a combination of distinct flavours coming together but not enough to create a new flavour.

The chocolate is very nice and pared with the crunchy pistachios and the slight tang of saltiness it makes this chocolate worthy of a gold medal award.  While it may not appeal to me, it is a wonderful bar and this combined with others makes a very special gift worthy of someone special.

The scent of the chocolate is rick and delicious and quite different from what I am used to from Thorntons.  Immediately I’m encouraged by the chocolate and I read as I take a piece about how to take off the edge of bitterness they add salt to their espresso in Italy.

Bronze Award-winning Thorntons Milk Chocolate Macadamia Bar

The chocolate itself is interesting.  Very smooth chocolate with a slightly tart edge, the chocolate is nice.  The lower cocoa content makes this closer to a dark milk chocolate than a true dark chocolate and so it is probably an excellent chocolate.  The macadamia nuts aren’t perfectly crunchy despite being caramelised but they are far from the soggy bits of nuts you may have encountered in the past.

I’m not surprised this won a bronze.  While not the quality of an expensive bar, this is really good quality chocolate and a delicious bar of lovely chocolate. Nomnomnom it got eaten all up!

Inspired by chocolatiers from cities of the world, the dark Dominican Republic and milk Ecuador single origin chocolates are combined with flavours such as salted caramel, orange blossom, quince and cloudberry to create this new selection by chocolate guru Keith Hurdman. He has had extensive training with some of Europe’s finest confectioners and chocolatiers in Belgium, Switzerland and France. He is now widely recognised as one of the UK’s most talented chocolate makers. Keith has won a number of other awards including the International Belgian Chocolate Award and the highly acclaimed ‘Truffe d’ Or’ in 2000 as Champion Confectioner of Switzerland.

Soho Caramel had to be first. Described as “deliciously buttery and oozing caramel enhanced by subtle after-hint of saltiness” it is dark chocolate of a decent quality covering a slightly overly sweet centre. I found it to be a less refined flavour of caramel and as such less pleasant than the higher quality caramels I have tried but as an entry level sea salt caramel it is very nice.

Vanilla Heights was next. An interesting ganache centre which, while far too sweet for my palette, would be perfect for someone who prefers Cadbury chocolates. I am sure that it would be enjoyed as a higher quality given the low price point.

Midnight Melt did not melt much but as a dark chocolate with a similar filling it was surprisingly delightful. The preservatives gave the chocolate an odd flavour with a reluctance to melt in the mouth but it was quite pleasant nonetheless.

Q Couture exuded so much fruitiness that the scent of the chocolate before biting smelt of the centre. The centres of this chocolate had such an extreme quince flavour which came off as quite synthetic and overpowering that I had to stop eating and drink even more tea. I’m sure this will be someone’s favourite – especially someone who enjoys fruity flavours. It is an explosion in the mouth.

Praline Piazza has delightful bits of feuilletine and while I am decidedly not a fan of praline I did enjoy it. The praline is still an overpowering nutty flavour and not my favourite but I found this easy to enjoy.

Manhattan Melt, the milk chocolate version of Midnight Melt, is a creamy, sweet chocolate. While again far too sweet for my taste, and reluctant to melt in the mouth, the chocolate was still palatable and I am sure will be a firm favourite for those venturing in to this box as a step up from Milk Tray.

Cloudberry Hill did not assault the senses with fruit but still comes through as an interesting fruity flavour. Have this one before you have a Q Couture I think so you can taste the flavour.

Orange Garden was to me, not a fan of chocolate orange, a really pleasant chocolate orange flavour. Still over sugared, the orange is synthetic but not overpowering. A change from orange creme, it is sure to be enjoyed.

At the end of the sampling, the one chocolate I was willing to eat more than one of as Soho Caramel. While the filling may not be as delicate, liquid and flavourful as I am used to, out of the box it was my favourite.