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Kcal 57 Fat 4.2g Fat(sats) 2.2g Carbs 4.3g (per chocolate)A little over two weeks ago Thorntons came in for some pretty stiff criticism for their attempts at a seasonal Valentines Day range (See HERE). Despite these non to positive reviews they were still kind enough to send me along a sample of one of their latest new lines last week. Indeed, these Praline Melts were released around mid January and can be found in Thorntons stores across the UK for the price of £2.99, or alternatively £3.99 in their online store HERE. On pack they came described as 'melty praline in a milk chocolate shell' which to me sounded like a damn tasty proposition. Was this going to be the good side of Thorntons? Or the other not so good!? Read on to find out:D
Value for money isn't something I have associated with Thorntons recently but I was impressed with the 200.0g amount that you got for £2.99. Whilst impressed at the quantity of the truffles I also liked the style of the presentation - especially the outer cardboard box which had attractive curves, bright/clear fonts and lastly some realistic looking pictures. If you haven't realised already these Praline Melts are Thorntons' take on Lindt's Lindor truffles and if you look above you will see they looked exactly like them. When I wasn't being mesmerised at how similar they looked to Lindor truffles the other thing to catch my attention was the sweet nutty aromas that emerged when the outer foil wrappers were removed - they smelt like they had real potential.
Some say that imitation is the greatest form of flattery, whilst others say if you can't beat them join them. If you believe in either of these two statements you won begrudge Thorntons' 'lets make these exactly like Lindt Lindor truffles' approach here - as they frankly did a fantastic job of taking what works from the Lindor truffles and putting it into in to these Praline Melts. In stark comparison to the cheap tasting sugary milk chocolate I experienced from some of their products a few weeks ago, the 35% recipe was a great deal better and established a fine set of milky chocolate flavours as soon as it entered the mouth. Sitting below the crisp outer shell a delightfully smooth truffle filling soon became apparent and it melted with a familiar luxurious silkiness whilst it added notes of hazelnut, almond and cream to the taste. Being my hyper critical self I would have loved to have had the nut influence have greater cut through but I can't deny that the moreish nature of these truffles didn't have me reaching back in to the box on many an occasion.
Overall I do much prefer writing positive reviews so todays post has been a heck of a lot nicer to write than some of the latest Thorntons offerings. As I said above these Praline Melts are a shameless copycat product of Lindor truffles and frankly I had no problem with that whatsoever. To throw another cliché out there - 'if its not broke - don't fix it' ... Thorntons did exactly that and just incorporated everything that was good about the Lindors and gave them a Thorntons make over. In terms of chocolate quality these Praline Melts were vastly better than the cheap Valentines Day rubbish I reviewed and I was even more impressed at how they replicated the fantastically smooth, soft centres. A stronger hazelnut flavour burst from the filling would have really have kicked these up there with the best truffles on ChocolateMission but these were still nothing less than delicious. For the price you really can't argue with what Thorntons have delivered hear - definitely a ChocolateMission thumbsup!
8.5 out of 10
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23 comments:
STOP THE PRESS.
"Throntons in good chocolate shocker"
LOL
They couldn't have ripped off Lindor any more if they tried could they?
Oh well like you say if they did it well then I guess we can't have much of an issue with it. If I see them around I might give them a try.
Rxxx
I like the packaging it is very modern with all the curves. The price isn't anything to sniff at either but I bet they bump it up soon.
Jim you say Thorntons have coped Lindt but there aren't actually any praline Lindors (shockingly).
You should give them a little credit for that at least.
are you sure you didn't just slip in a picture of lindor truffle there jim :D
I bought a box of these for 1.99 the other day and I was very pleased with the quality. They are very similar to Lindts truffles but like Jim said that isn't so much of a bad thing.
When you compare something like these to those lovebird chocolates you reviewed the other day the variance in quality seems to unbelievable.
How can one product be as superior as you say it is to another when they are made by the same company. It is a little hard to believe.
These are indeed very nice, my sisters fiance got some for xmas! So they were around in December (along with the candied fruit slices)rather than just being released. I was surprised at how nice they were, and theyd be equally great for anyone who wasn't so keen on the Lindor taste but liked the texture. It's a shame all thorntons stuff can't be like this :)
I also got some for Christmas and thought there were really nice. It was great that they actually gave a decent amount of them in the pack aswell.
This is the first positive review you have written about Thorntons for a while isn't it?
The photo you have taken today makes them looks absolutely fantastic it is food porn taken to the max.
Recieving a box of these from boss pretty much was the dealbreaker with my diet the other week. They have the same moreishness that all good truffles have so much so that I couldn't stop myself reaching back in to the pack. Dieting would be so much simpler without the allure of chocolate :-(
What a surprise, I was expecting these to be rubbish! Sounds like they're good value for money but other than that I don't see why I would buy these instead of Lindor? Still, well done to Thorntons for getting it right.
I am surprised to hear these are as good as you say. I will have to add them to the ever growing list of things I want to buy. This site is hitting my wallet as hard as it is hitting my waist line :)
It is good to see there is life in our British chocolate producers yet go Throntons.
I hope they make a white chocolate version that would be amazing.
As Emma says it is good that you can say some nice things about Thorntons for change isn't it. These look far more acceptable than some of the crap you have shown us over the last few weeks.
They should take this as a learning that their products are more warmly recieved when they are created wityh a focus on quality.
If you showed someone who knew nothing about chocolate some of the different things Thorntons make I bet they wouldn't for a minute believe they are produced by the same people. If you compare something like the valentines birds with some of their finer quality milk chocolates the differences are astounding.
I have been looking forward to your review of these. Looking across some of the other chocolare review sites you are all pretty happy with them. I will give them a try myself now.
cool, I have long pondered how nice a hazelnut-style lindor would be (especially since the peanut ones are soo good). I shall indeed be persuing these after I've got over all the new-cadbury-drama.
Everyone is whoring out on lindor imitators. Sainsburys, M&S, tesco they're all at it, the swines! Don't see why thorntons shouldn't join in! And I don't think they would dare do an inferior imitation, I'm sure they[re well aware of the inevitable comparisons.
Particularly enchanting photography today btw!
David
Haha that did make me laugh but that is possibly a tad harsh.
Rachel
They aren't exactly innovative but they did a good job of a copy cat product nonetheless. Like Lottie says they are all at it!
Steven
Packaging and price get a thumbs up from me aswell. I think they will keep with the £2.99 rrp! It is very competitive.
Richard
The praline bit does make them a bit less of a straight copy but there is no denying that they aren't Lindt inspired.
George
Na I didn't ... I probably could have done though :D
Duncan
£1.99 is a fantastic price! Was that an introductory offer?
Alan
It is a shame isn't it! They should just be way more selective with the stuff they pump out because it is the cheap crap that is damaging their brand equity. Lets hope they take notice of what consumers are saying eh!? If they continue to produce stuff like this long may it continue.
Tricky
200.0 is plenty of chocolate isn't it! The wrappers make 5.0 of that though :D
Marshall
Food porn!? Haha that is new on me! I like the phrase I will use it in the future.
Golden
Oh no the diet is done for then!? Oh well there is always next January :D At least it fell to a worthwhile product aswell - these are pretty moreish just like Lindor milk chocolate ones are.
Phil
Like you I don't think I would swap these for my Lindors but hey they aren't a bad substitute are they ... a perfect gift for any praline nutter (geddit!) that loves Lindors. Pretty cheap aswell which is something you can't say about Lindors when on full price.
Emma
Indeed - the likes of Thorntons and Hotel Chocolate have plenty of life in them.
Anon
It wouldn't surprise me if this was already in the pipelines.
Serena
Yep they should definitely shift focus on to producing quality rather the seasonal things. They are leagues apart in terms of how good they are.
Steven
I totally agree ... if you compare the milk chocolate used in those valentines chocs I reviewed with the milk chocolate in say the Tonka bean bar they are amazingly different.
Lily
Drop me a line with what you think of them.
Lottie
Add Tesco to your list there! If I could be bothered I would review them but until someone tells me otherwise I won't be doing so as I think it is a fair assumption that they simply wont be as good ... if anyone wishes to contest that I am happy to give them a go!
Thanks for the nice words about the photos today! I was using a far better camera than I usually do!
Thanks everyone - if anyone does have any thoughts on the imitations that Lottie mentions please tell me what you think about them.
JIM
Nice, very nice packaging. Very tempting :D
First off, the packaging looks great. I don't know about you guys but I really love chocolate candies wrapped like that. Being a honey lover, I would like to suggest that they could make a chocolate candy with honey praline. That would certainly be great!
A double-layered chocolate with praline inside it looks very appetizing and indulging. In the same case with Brown, I am also a honey lover and wishes to see and eat a raw orange blossom honey or its variants someday.
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