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I warned you all last week that the Valentines Day reviews were coming :D Indeed, all you loved up chocoholics will want to pay close attention to the review this weekend as I'm giving you all a run down of Hotel Chocolat's Melting Hearts H-Box Selection. Before the question is asked 'Jim didn't you review this last year?' is posed, I can confirm that I did review a very similar product - See HERE for Hotel Chocolat Melting Hearts Box review. That selection of filled hearts managed to register a 9.1 out of 10 on the ChocolateMission rating system, and it was by all means truly outstanding. Well for 2010 Hotel Chocolat have committed the cardinal sin of 'fixing something that aint broke' i.e. they have changed up the flavours in the Melting Hearts selection.The Melting Hearts Selection is available in a number of various sizes this year - as you can see I chose to go for the fifteen piece H-Box. This format included six different flavoured hearts (some portioned three times), each of where easily identifiable through the menu which for once was highly accurate for identifying each beautifully crafted flavour. Below are my brief thoughts on each ...
Strawberry Love - Unfortunately I didn't manage to get at one of these myself but I was 'thankfully' informed that it was delicious by mother. This piece combined a white chocolate shell with a strawberry ganache centre and looked marvellous when cross-sectioned. I was informed the taste was balanced to perfection with cream and tangy real red fruit flavours creating an indulgent strawberries and cream bite size experience. Superb.Chocolate Brownie - This was the weakest of all the flavours that I tried but the rating tells you alot of how bad that really was. The centre of this piece wasn't particularly differentiated in terms of taste from the outer chocolate shell, but it was noticeably denser in texture, so to an extent the 'brownie' proposition was delivered. Normally the lack of progressiveness in terms of flavours would get an instant downgrade for a filled chocolate like this, but we are talking Hotel Chocolat 40% milk chocolate here. Good.
Peanut Passion - What do you think the chances were of me letting this one slip into other peoples hands :D I ate all three. The Peanut Passion combined a gorgeously soft praline centre with Hotel Chocolat's creamy 40% milk chocolate. The peanut praline tasted incredible with its delicious smooth roasted nut flavours that had a wonderful hint of salt as an end note. Superb.Pistachio Praline - Last year the pistachio praline was coated in a layer of milk chocolate and managed to get a 'Superb' rating. Why change it this year to a dark chocolate shell then!? .... because it just made it even better of course :D This was another absolutely gorgeous chocolate. The synergy created by the rich cocoa of the less sweet chocolate and the savoury, earthy pistachio filling was incredibly unique and by all means indulgent. Superb.
Liquid Caramel - Whilst the other centres soft in texture, this was the only one of the hearts that had a liquid based filling with it's flowing, oozing caramel. Had I the choice I would have gone with Hotel Chocolat's dark chocolate to encase the buttery sweet caramel, but the milk chocolate still made for a flavour experience that was sensually luxurious. Very Good.Raspberry my Heart - Aesthetically this heart looked beautiful with it's pink coloured raspberry creme centre really standing out from the white chocolate exterior. Once again the textural play from crisp outer chocolate to melt-in-the-mouth filling was a complete joy, and was only surpassed by the competency of the flavour progression with the cream based outer chocolate taking a turn for a tangier red fruit emphasis. Very Good.
Overall I believe Hotel Chocolat have managed to defy the saying 'Why fix something that isnt broken' with their efforts with this Melting Hearts Selection this year. Seemingly they have achieved this by keeping what was great about the product last year, and then applying some basic flavour rotation to keep things interesting. Ask me to pick a winner from one year to the other and I simply wouldn't be able to do it - there were both marginal improvements/disprovements from piece-to-piece. Essentially the crux of the matter is, that this is a high quality set of chocolates that will no doubt please anyone that appreciates the finer chocolates of this world. Hotel Chocolat are offering a vast amount of products this year for Valentines day - if you ask me you cant do better than these.
8.9 out of 10
----NB. The lower score for 'Selection' is a consequence of the smaller format I reviewed vs last year ;)
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56 comments:
Omg the brownie, peanut and pistachio hearts look and sound outstanding. You are so lucky getting all these.
Why did you ever doubt HC to do the right thing Jim? Come on now, they would never change something without making 100% sure that it was better than what they had before.
Will somone please answer me why HC refuse to make a slab with soft caramel running through the centre? Jim I'm sure you must feel pretty passionately about this considering you seem to love any sort of product matching the description.
I just think its a big opportunity they are missing out on. Imagine a Carramellow slab with extra liquid caramel in the middle. Excuse me whilst I wipe the drool from my mouth.
Note to any guys reading this:
Guys dont bother with the flowers this year. Just buy your girlfriends/wives the biggest box of these you can find and I assure you that she will love you forever :-) Flowers are better than nothing, but chocolate is what a girl really wants.
Rxxx
Im so sick and tired of reading about all these amazing hotel chocolat thingy bobs and never getting round to eating any of them. I have the most horrendous luck with the things I fancy being outstocked. :( I will be looking in the store for these later. If they dont have them I swear I will cry all the way home lol.
It was all looking so good until I read peanut passion. HC are going to have to create me a 'no nut' range. My kids cant be the only two people in this world with nut allergies. We all know how far removed from the truth that is.
*Wub* if only I had someone to send me these this year ="(
Am I the only person here slightly scared by the colour of that pistachio choc?
I know pistachios are green, but that it is like illuminous. Like kryptonite or something lol.
Jim would you rate that brownie filled one standard if it was another make? I would be willing to be you would give it a superb if someone the likes of Nestle or Cadburys made it.
I think you have just been spoilt with three years of constant samples. You have to be too used to hotel chocolat chocolate now.
Oh how very depressing this all is. Unless something drastic happens in the next week or so I dont think I will be getting any chocolates or cards this year. I hate being on my own on valentines.
Where is the news post?
I had something to submit :-(
I'm not one of those people that is obsessed with hotel chocolat on here but even I have to comment on how amazing these look.
One thing I will say is that Hotel Choc always make their chocolates look amazin. I dont recall seeing one and being disappointed with the way they have presented it before.
You could give me a bunch of stinging nettles for flowers if these were the chocolates I were getting lol.
Its all about the quality of the chocolates. I remember last year I just got a cheap pack of maltesers from the guy I was seeing at the time. Lol he didn't last long ;)
Dx
Speaking as a total non-believer in Valentines day I would absolutely 100%, totally love to recieve these LOL!!! The flavours are so cleverly put together, they always make sure that they are sensible but still exciting.
I had to laugh when I read about you not getting one of the strawberry hearts. That would of been the first I would have gone for.
Thanks for another amazing review love.
I will be dropping the most unsubtle hints to my b/f now to make sure he knows that this is what I want. Anything other than this box (or the bigger version lmao) will just be a disappointment now.
They should have made a version for us singletons. I would feel a right saddo buying these for myself. Its a shame aswell because some of those flavours sound out of this world.
Hey Jim,
Nice post here fella. Bit irrelevant for me being single and all, but hey its always nice to look at pictures of yum truffles.
You looking forward to the footie this weekend? I fully expect you guys to beat wolves. I would say 3-0 to Manure. Probably over before half time.
Im less confident about our chances at Chelsea. It will be a tight game but I think we might be able to nick a draw. With the all the hype torres will probably limp off injured after a minute and the game will end 0-0 lol. Its always the way isn't it.
Cheers,
N
Well done for giving us all another amazing write up and pictures J. I dont want to come across as a suck up but your reviews are easily the best for hotel chocolat. You just need to start doing the same for thorntons now and I will classify you as the best chocolate reviewer ever :-p
When is the grand reveal coming that you work for these people lol.
Only joking with you kid. These hearts do look rather special. The one I would make sure I try first would be the peanut passion. I'm still of the opinion that hotel chocolat have experimented with peanuts enough yet.
Sorry Jim but I have to ask people what they think of this .......
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/12346546
Have they not heard that they could absorb the costs themselves. I bet they make huge profit margins on each bar.
Why didn't you ask them for the bigger box Jim? I thought you would have been more than keen to reivew the full version.
You wouldn't of had to knock marks off if you had reviewed that one.
You have such a nack for making these sound so tempting. I just know Im now going to be on the hotel chocolat website all morning now looking at all the different chocs they have.
The strawberry dream is about as close to my real dream chocolate than I think I am ever going to get. Its just perfect.
x
Are you going to be posting about any other valentines day things or are these just the best?
@Linda you arent the only one that wants a nuts free Hotel Chocolate selection. I'm not allergic to them, I just dont like them. For some reason Hotel Chocolat seem to believe that everyone in the world does. Its annoying.
Oh what a surprise. Another "glowing recommendation" with advertisements on all four sides. This is so tansparent.
Oooh a bonus hotel chocolat review .. me likey.
I think the best hotel chocolat chocolate is their strawberry white chocolate so the strawberry and the raspberry ones would be two I would go for. I would also be interested in the brownie and caramel though im less fussed about the two nut ones.
Your photos are wonderful again.
Lol I will be 'playing the game' as per usual with my boyfriend making none to subtle hints about what I want. I think he prefers it that way anyway. At least he knows what he is buying me is worthwhile lol.
*(Rachel) lol you are so right girl. Boys believe what she says. We would rather chocolate anything than silly flowers. Both would be great though ;)
I think one of HC's greatest strengths is that they dont ever over complicate things.
I can't think of a single truffle or slab of theirs where I thought they went over the top with ingrdients or additive things to the chocolate. They just must believe that their chocolate is good enough that it doesn't need any fancy bits added on to eat. Lol I wouldn't argue with them thats for sure.
I knew I shouldn't have looked at this site today. Not only am I now starving for some chocolate but I now also uber depressed I have no one to buy me these. Double boo.
I wish I had seen this review a few days ago :( My boyfriend was asking me what I wanted last weekend and I just said save his money for our holiday. Lol now I see these I really want some :( I hope he doesn't take the 'buy nothing' to literally.
I love everything about the look of these apart from that horrible box. What were they thinking with that. It looks like its shrouded in a cheap pair of 70s curtains. The colours are so old fashioned.
this is a high quality set of chocolates that will no doubt please anyone that appreciates the finer chocolates of this world. Hotel Chocolat are offering a vast amount of products this year for Valentines day - if you ask me you cant do better than these.
.....There isnt a single chocolate in this lot that I dont fancy. Its almost as if they asked me what my dream combination of flavours would be and they made it.
If there was just one extra orange flavoured one then it would be completely perfect. Dark chocolate with a orange liqueur middle but would be the ultimate.
I don't suppose I'll be buying/getting any of these being single lol but they do look nice, and abit different from some of the more normal types.
@Fiona - I agree the box is horrible and cheap. They couldve dopne something either really fun or more classy, instead it just looks abit - well horrible lol
@Alex - who forgot to lock the door?! Not to worry, try again and we'll make sure we lock the door fully behind you :D And dont go after the keys!
These look gorgeous - I want some :(
Gosh I could eat those photos :) ...methinks HC should sweeten the deal with another CM Valentine's Day coupon this year :D Out of curiosity, why did you choose a different size to review this year?
@Alex you should try them!
These aren't overaggerated, I had some of these last year and they were a high point of my 2010 chocolate consumption, they're superb. Plus they're so pretty. Although I think last year's outer box looked so much better.
@Katie last year there was an orange one, it was amazing.
Amazing photography again. Im starting to suspect you dont do these now. They look to professional for a blogger.
PS Item for the news roundup, a chocolate wrapper 'museum' ...lol I was going to suggest you could start one Jim and charge entry, then I Googled it and found one exists!
www.chocolatewrappers.info/museum.htm
Not surprised in the least that the pistachio one got a “superb”. HC makes fantastic pistachio praline. In the Christmas Members Selection they had one which also had honey in it, it was one of my favourites!
I have yet to try a peanut praline from HC and the one in this box seems to be rather nice as well. ;-) Mhhh, maybe in the end of Season Sale?
I wish they would not make the fruity flavours like the strawberry or raspberry with white chocolate! I really can’t bring myself to like those. There is a berry mouse in milk chocolate in the Sleekster Christmas Collection and that, IMHO works much better than their berry stuff with white chocolate. Much nicer contrast between the sweet fruity filling and the outer shell.
Btw if you want to sacrificing yourself into eating biscuits which have the name Bournville attached to them, as someone mentioned the other day. I’d rather suggest these for a seriously delicious chocolate biscuit treat:
http://www.borderbiscuits.co.uk/product/279/chocolate-covered-brownies
Bought them the other they, they are seriously chocolaty, addictive and utterly divine! And Morrisons sells them for 99p at the moment. Wanted to buy more today and they were sold out. :(
My my what a stunning set of chocolates these are. The only one I wouldn't take you up on would be the peanut one.
The rest look great. I especially fancy the raspberry my heart. I love the name.
It must be an utter joy reviewing chocolate boxes like these all the time. Thorntons, Hotel Chocolat in the same week. Im lucky if I get to eat a box of chocolates in a year.
The green truffle would put me off. I think it looks incredibly artifical, do you think they have added a colourant to it to make it look more authentic? If they have I would be desperately disappointed because I associate hotel choc as being known for their natraulness. Epic pics again Jim. You keep outdoing yourself with them.
I thought today was supposed to be about Hotel Chocolate hot chocolate. Are we ever going to get to hear what you think about them or not?
Good review Jim, the photos are top notch.
These all sound lovely, the only one that doesn't appeal to me is the pistachio - I find it quite hit and miss as a flavour, although it sounds good here.
I must try some of HC's liquid caramels, I keep seeing them when I go there but usually pass in favour of something else.
Jim all of these chocolates look amaaaaaazing! I'd be more than happy to receive a box...or two haha ;) Love the fantastic pics dude x
They day will come when HC make the pistachio slab I have been craving. Just think how tremendous a white pistachio praline slab would be. I hope the HC research people read this and think about it.
... dark chocolate and pistachio--sounds like THE way to go. sign me up.
There are a few too many nut ones in there for my liking but I wouldn't be turning this down.
My partner always says he cant afford hotel chocolat but these are more than affordable. I dont think you can argue about what you get for eleven pounds. That sounds like a small price to pay to put a smile on somones face.
What have Thorntons made for Valentines this year? Have you got any of their things to review? I don't think I can be bothered to order on the net.
Im just going to pop in to thorntons sometime in the week. If you know of anything that is best please let us know.
Top, top photos mate. You make these chocolates look way too nice. I always need to find something with chocolate in to eat after coming on here.
Re the colour of the pistachio praline: I have made my own pistachio praline/marzipan before and while it is fairly green, it isn't quite a luminescent as the HC stuff. ;-)
So I checked, and yes, they do use colouring. At least for the pistachio honey one in the Christmas Collection they list emerald green (natural colouring) in the list of ingredients.
I think it is a total unnecessary use of food colouring (well, to be honest a lot of food colouring is...) and definitely a point worth criticising.
@Anne.. I can understand if it was artificial colouring (although I dont have a real problem with it personally. i'd rather the food looked colourful than just all one colour etc) but I cant see a problem with a natural colour, even if it is very green lol. afterall theres nothing harmful in it and it makes the chocolate look good. :) While some colourings are unnecesary some really improve the look and sometimes texture of the food making it much more appealling.
One case I can think of is the Mint Aero Bubbles.. they used to be green and chocolate like the bar but then they took out the green - so while they still tasted of mint they looked identical to the chocolate version which I think is just stupid lol
Hi Everyone,
8 days until Valentines - I hope you are all prepared and ready to shower your loved ones with presents on this truly momentus day in our calendar year (yes i am being sarcastic :D )
Thanks again for the wealth of comments, especially on the photos. These were another set taken by my old man so he will be taking credit for all of that.
David - I never doubted them :D I knew they would be just as good.
Golden - It is a wonder why they don't make one like that. I would be very keen to review one if they did.
Linda - A 'no nuts' range is a good idea. Their factory limitations might stop them from doing this at the moment though.
Nick - Haha I see what you mean. It is very very green isn't it.
Mark - I review everything relative to the brand/price etc. For Hotel Chocolat it was a standard chocolate.
Daisy - Haha that did make me laugh. Do you not like Maltesers? Perhaps he couldn't afford anything more expensive than that.
Selina - A non-believer in Valentines day? We can't be having that now :D Haha only joking. I'm with you on that but its all harmless fun I guess.
Nigel - I wish you had been right about United. We had to lose eventually I guess. I would rather lose to Wolves than City next week put it that way.
Georgie - Thanks for the nice words. There will be some more Thorntons reviews very soon.
Richard - Its disappointing to hear they will be reducing the size of the bars, but at least they didn't try to be sneaky about it and do it unannounced this time.
Henry - I just review what they send chap. I do input to some degree but its up to them what they want to send across.
Colin - I haven't gone overboard with the valentines day reviews this year but there will be a few more.
Alex - Tansparent??? What does that mean :D
Rosa - Playing the game :D What an awful thing to say.
Matt - That is pretty true isn't it. They do believe in combining two or three flavours rather than going over the top and trying to do more. The only exceptions would be some of their bigger slabs.
Fiona - You think it looks that bad? Its not one of the most desireable looking products ever but I dont think its as bad as you say.
Alan - I think if we just ignore that idiot he will likely keep away. I must have really low expectations when it comes to the packaging. I thought it didn't look that bad personally.
Thea - Regarding the size see above. I remember the orange one from last year also, they have done a fair few orange chocolates like that across the latest seasonal collections. There was definitely an egg truffle like that in last years collection. A museum would have been a good thing to do with all the wrappers :D Unfortunately all of them have been binned.
Millie - Well the old man has taken professional photographs before. He is very good.
Anne - A pistachio praline with honey in sounds divine. Blossom honey would be terrific. Keep an eye out for the Peanut pralines, they are pretty special if you like that sort of thing. Thanks for the biscuit suggestion, I will add them to the list but first I need to do a whole range review of a new lot of cookies being made by a certain UK brand. Mysterious eh :D
Anon - Keep your pants on. The review is coming soon I promise.
Roxy - Well you know what you have to do :D hint drop until you can hint drop no more.
Jas - That does sound like a very good idea. Again I would happily buy one of these if one ever appeared.
JK - no specific Thorntons Valentines day chocolate reviews this year. I have a sneaky feeling they probably weren't all that happy about what I said last year.
Anne - They are a little green aren't they. Thanks for looking that up regarding the colouring thing. To be honest its not all that impressive is it. I would prefer them not to use it in the future.
Thanks for all the feedback again people. As you know the guys/girls at Hotel Chocolat do read your comments so its always well worth putting.
The majority of you will be pleased to know that the next Hotel Chocolat review will be of their hot chocolates. :D
Thanks
JIM
Following up on these, they are as superb as they were last year, although I miss the orange. My favorite is the raspberry, and then the brownie. I love their dark chocolate and I liked the pistachio flavor but it was slightly too salty for my taste, as was the peanut. And the strawberry was a little too sweet, compared to how perfectly tart the raspberry was. I've decided HC caramel isn't to my taste, since besides being so runny lol it tastes just a little funny, it reminds me of fresh (unsalted) butter. That said, I would try these all over again in a heartbeat. Except that my box was missing one heart for some reason, it came sealed like that. Cue the stolen puns lol.
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