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You wont find any serious graphs or scores here. Just my quick candid views and some nice looking photographs of some of the better products I have tried amongst the mountain of different Easter products I have accumilated over the past few weeks. Be sure to leave your own top tips ....
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What better place to start than with Hotel Chocolat? This Hotel Chocolate Easter Eggpose Milk is a 225.0g package consisting of half a 40% milk chocolate shell, with a load of mini praline milk chocolate eggs. In my opinion it doesn't get much better than Hotel Chocolat's house milk chocolate recipe. It's soft and thick melting, and just packed full of sweet cocoa and cream flavours. The mini praline eggs are also about as good as they come. This is one of the cheaper Hotel Chocolat Easter offerings - I needn't tell you whether I recommend it or not :D Buy your Hotel Chocolat Easter Eggs HERE
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Nestle sure haven't held back with their Easter range this year. Not only do we have the standard egg products for some of the well know brands like Kit Kat, but we also have some new products on their Aero and Smarties brands. Neither the Aero Bubbly Lamb or Nestle Smarties Hen are that note worthy for their chocolate, but you would have to be a pretty 'hard-as-nails' serious type not to love them for their nice looks. Kids are sure to love them. ----
After featuring so many Thorntons products in the first quarter of this year I do regret somewhat not having taken a closer look at what Thorntons have been offering this Easter. One of their products I can recommend however are these Thorntons Melt Praline Eggs. These are quite simply milk chocolate shells filled with a softer, gooey hazelnut praline centres, and are a line extension from the Thorntons Praline Melts I reviewed back in February. They might not be the finest of finest praline chocolates around, but I thought they provided a decent alternative to the more common place market offerings. Well worth a try. ----
It wouldn't be fair of me just to be looking at the British based brand offerings in my Buyers Guide so I have included these Ferrero Kinder Schoko-Bons Milky Bites as one of our European representatives :D Anyone who has had any form of Kinder chocolate before will be well aware of what to expect from these. The combination of the milk chocolate and sugary milky centres make for a devilishly sweet combination, which trust me are incredibly moreish and 'dangerous' to have sat on your work desk. Without thinking you will be able to see bags of these away without so much of a thought. One for the sweeter toothed consumer. ----
Lindt bunnies are fast becoming one of the most iconic chocolates for Easter and are increaslingly becoming available in wider and wider distribution here in the UK. Whilst I am a big fan of the creamy tasting milk chocolate that Lindt have to offer, I can't help but feel bad with each passing bite taken out of these little fellas :D My only advice to you guys is to start with the head - at least then you can rest assured that our little chocolate rabbit friends can't see you munching away at their rest of their delicious chocolate bodies haha!
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56 comments:
I thought you had forgotton to do one of these lol. I saw you mention you had written one weeks ago but I thought it might have got lost in everything. Better late than never ;)
Great guide Jim - there are some very recogniseable products amongst this lot.
I don't want to look like im sucking up to you but I do really think you should be commended on your reviewing basis. I love the fact you are just as open to saying something like the Nestle chocolate hen is as worthy as a hotel chocolate mega egg. I think we all know what the better chocolate is going to be, but its all about putting things in context cause the hotel chocolate is going to cost ten times more. I can't stand chocolate snobs who look down on things like milkybars and dairy milks etc. It winds me up.
I bought one of those Nestle hens but haven't eaten it. I think its because I know the chocolate isn't going to be as cool as how it looks =)
Saying that I don't want to launch an attack on nestle milk chocolate but more just focus on how cooler job they made the hen look. Theres nothing like it at all.
Has anyone seen Mars bar eggs this year? Im talking about the ones that are the same kind as the creme eggs and the galaxy eggs. Its so annoying I can't find them anywhere :( Year before last I bought a whole big box full of them I got so addicted. Grrrr if you tell me they aren't out this year I will lose faith in Mars forever.
Nothing from Milka or Ritter Sport? Did they not send you anything to review or something?
Hey hun, this is such a good post. I well appreciate top tips and getting the choccie mission ruling on things before I splash my monies, I think we have a very similar taste in chocolates - that being good ones ;-) Is this your last Easter post or have you got another of these for us? I think I'm 100% decided on what I'm going to be buying for whom now.
Rxxx
Easter is only two days away woop woop.
Am I the only one that sick of seeing chocolates that are shaped like eggs or bunny rabbits? I haven't bought anything like that this year. Im just so sick of these manufactures thinking they can create cheap chocolate moulds and then flogging them off for way more money. Its getting v tiresome I have to say.
Since the eggspose is in the buyers guide does that make it better than the purist egg you reviewed last week? That would mean it might be on the leaderboard :O give it a rating Jim mate.
If I was to write a buyers guide it would be a mixture of things from thorntons and cadburys.
I would choose thorntons for the big egg and then the caramel bunnies as the best smaller present to give someone.
ooh how could I forget MaltEaster bunnies!!!! You got to have some of them. If you haven't tried them before I can't recommend them enough.
The HC egg looks so much better than anything else you have put up. I love their milk choc so much, I don't rate anything higher.
No Cadburys products in the buyers guide Jim? How come? Not like you to overlook those guys.
Jimbo please don't tell me there is going to be a 'Royal Wedding Buyers Guide' one part of me thinks it would be really funny but the other part of me doesn't think it would be the best idea. All the products I have seen so far have been so so tacky. The poor British flag is being cast across anything they can put it on. They will be selling British themed can openers if things carry on the way they are.
Im surprised you didn't choose the mini lindor eggs over the rabbits. I think you get best of both worlds with the lindor mini eggs. I think I must have eaten about five bags of them already this year. Lol they are just way too moreish for their own good.
So cadburys get a whole day to themselves whilst everyone else just gets the briefest of mentions all clumped together in one post. I smell something fishy going on here.
Its a pity hotel chocolat haven't done an egg that has liquid caramels to go alongside it. That would have been ten times more popular than the pralines. Such a limited amount of people like nuts.
I bought one of those nestle chicken things for my lil sis. I thought it was well cute when I saw it. I didn't even realise it had stuff inside. What a crackin' idea ... no pun intended.
This will make me sound a cheapskate but im waiting for all the deals that Hotel Chocolat well inevitably have up on Monday. It seems so silly paying double the amount you need to just to have the chocolate a few days earlier. Im not seeing my family until the week after anyway so I don't even have that to worry about :)
I wish I had seen this earlier. I really want some of those Thorntons praline eggs but I cant see myself getting a chance to pop in to town before they shops shut for Easter. I am right in thinking they do that right? I think its only the supermarkets that stay open don't they.
This would have been so much better if you bothered to give them scores.
This has finally tipped me over the edge into UBER Easter excitement :) I have been getting chocolate eggs left, right and centre - so many so I don't know what to do with them (exaggeration lol).
I think tonight could be the grand opening of my Thorntons vienesse egg. I've managed to hold off opening for over a week now but I don't think I can resist any longer.
I've bought my kids handmade chocolate eggs from my local chocolatier. They have piped on icing with each of their names they look so cute.
Its so hard to buy any mass made chocolate ones that can garuntee no nuts in them.
Great work on easter again this year Jim. You got the right mix of smaller quikier things + then also managed to cover off all the standard chocs from the bigger people.
Lindt bunnies FTW man! Lindt extra cream is now my fave milk chocolate :) I've just been reading all your reviews of their Excellence bars and they sound amazing. I always thought they were mega expensive but I saw them as cheap as 2 for 1.50 the other day. I will be investing in that soon for sure.
My only advice to you guys is to start with the head - at least then you can rest assured that our little chocolate rabbit friends can't see you munching away at their rest of their delicious chocolate bodies haha!
....you could just eat them in one you know ;-)
This is one of the cheaper Hotel Chocolat Easter offerings - I needn't tell you whether I recommend it or not :D
.... this is one of their better looking eggs if you ask me. Just a simple milk choc egg with a few chocolates is all you need really.
Fab guide hun.
Does anyone know where someone might be to buy a white chocolate lindt bunny. My g/f insists they exist but I have never seen one before. Tell me she isn't making it up!?
Im going to hold off buying anything from HC until after Easter is over. Their sales are normally immense. You can get half price easter eggs if you are quick off the marks.
I love the buyers guides Jim great stuff. One thing I am mega disappointed about this year is the lack of a Galaxy big egg. The only thing I have seen this year from Galaxy are the middlin size caramel eggs. Its disappointin cause galaxy is my fave cheapy choc.
Dx
I wish you had put scores on these so we could determine which you think are the best. Its all well and good saying they are all nice, but having some sort of rank order would have helped. Lol I can't afford them all. Good guide anyway love.
Maggs
One thing I can recommend to people in this baking weather are the cadburys creme egg ice creams.
Is it a good thing or a bad thing that I have tried all of the stuff from Nestle, lindt and ferrero here lol.
One part of me says I should be proud but the other half says im a greedy bugger :) Hey, what the hell, I better just get the thorntons and HC egg to complete yours buyers guide set lol. All of the things you have recommended are worthy.
Great guide Jim though I think you could have posted it earlier. The milk choc egg from HC is probably the most appealing thing of theirs you have featured this year if you ask me. I can never get enough of their milk chocolate and their pralines are just to die for.
Keep up the good work mate.
Why didn't you feature anything from Marks & Spencers Jim?
I saw some of the stuff you picked up from there last year wasn't much good, but I really think they have stepped up their game for 2011. If anyones reading I would suggest their caramel filled eggs. They are pretty lush man, defo a contender for best caramel egg vs the cadbury one.
Why is there no milkybar cow in your Nestle recommended bit? Come on dude its like ten times cooler than the smarties eggy hen.
Hey jim thanks for this guide man. I think you have given some good recommendations.
One thing I do think you missed off though were the eggs that green and blacks had this year. For the first time this year they actually put quite a bit of effort into their larger eggs. I understand you can't review everything but it would have been cool to see what you made of them.
I'm all over the Lindt bunnies this year. They have become so afforable I see little sense in buying things like mars bar or cadburys eggs. For just as much money now you can get one of Lindt's large bunnies where the chocolate is like ten times better quality.
I've bought milkybar, smarties and a curly wurly eggs for all my little brothers. They had a really handy 3 for 2 deal on in town when I was in there at the weekend :) Lol I know that sounds of cheap of me but I really don't have that much spare cash around at the moment.
Thank you for this round up J. I think you managed to cover everything that was worth doing this Easter. It would have been nice to see if Heavenly Cakes were doing anything though. Are you not getting samples from them at the moment?
Do half of you people even understand that Easter has a deeper meaning than just chocolate? It frustrates me so much that people just treat it like one big chocolate feast and completely miss the point of it.
That nestle smarties hen is just so cute. I would feel guilty eating it lol, it looks so innocent and lovely.
Jim! This makes me so hungry! that hotel chocolate egg looks divine! As do many of the other eggs you've posted.
Wish I was still young enough to get Easter eggs :(
Aero bubbly lamb is still on my 'to eat' list from when you first posted a review AGES ago, can't believe i've left it so long!
Anonymous - Thanks for reminding us...
What is the point of it again?
Nom, Nom, Nom.
Good review Jim. I tried one of the smarties hens yesterday and like you say, the chocolate isn't anything special, but it's not too bad either. I was disappointed though that it only had FIVE mini smarties inside! Seems a bit cheeky to advertise it as a smarties hen when it contains so few. Still it looks cute.
I might wait until easter stuff is reduced before buying one of those Lindt reindeers, they sound great.
Some of the pics today just look absolutely stunning. Your a talented man Jim.
What a fantastic post Jim - you've done us proud! I've bought my nieces Lindt bunnies as their Easter treat this year cos they're so yum & were on spec! ;) The HC Eggspose Egg looks sooo yummy! x
I would love to get a hold of those schoko-bons, I'll be checking the import stores. Great post Jim.
These buyers guides are great. I look forward to seeing whats going to be in the hotel chocolat sale and what isn't. I don't think there is any chance at all of them not selling out of those quail eggs. Those are what I'm desperate to buy but I just don't have the money. It's such a shame, fingers crossed some will be half price by the end of the weekend.
I agree with some of the guys Jim It would have been a bit better if you had posted this a bit earlier. Had I know you recommended those Thorntons praline eggs. I did see them when I was in thorntons at the weekend but for some reason I had it in my head that you had said they weren't very good so I bought the champagne ones instead. Hmmm I hope they are as nice.
Jim have you thought about doing posts where you point out the best deals that are out there? I think it would have been an awesome idea to have a page where not only you, but we could tell each other about where all the hot bargains are. I saw one today in Co-op where they had half price kit kat and aero eggs that came with mugs. They were only like £2 which for 2 chocolate bars, a big egg and a mug is amazing value.
I agree with the person about marks and spencers easter chocolates. Have you not seen the adverts man ;)
They are doing some very nice looking big eggs and they aren't that expensive compared to some of the branded ones. I think they are worth a look at if you are looking for something different but dont want the hassle or out lay you have to make for something from hotel chocolat etc.
Some of the smaller bits and pieces they are doing are just cheap rubbish mind you. They have a version of the Aero bubbly lamb which just sucks (I think its rabbit shaped).
See I told you! Everything HC make comes with praline chocolates all the time its so stupid. Do they not understand that everyone in the world doesn't like nuts. People with nut allerigies musn't be able to buy like 90% of the chocolate they make. I swear they just put nuts in everything for a giggle at the expense of us non-nut lovers.
The hotel chocolat egg today is far more my thing than the one you posted about the other day. This one I think will have more general appeal with people, where as that dark chocolate one was quite specialist for people that like dark choc.
It would have been nice to have seen a little more of what Thorntons had to offer this year. They got a pretty sweet offer on all their easter gifts at the mo. Lol Im going to buy one for my mum + Sister and then one for me :) lol we should all treat ourselves every now and then.
I went against your advice and bought some of those cadburys orange creme easter cakes.
I wish I had listened to you! They sucked major big ones. We haven't chucked them out yet but I envisage us having to as no one is going to eat them. I hate wasting food but they are so nasty.
Dx
Is this the end of the Easter reviews or are you going to carry on until the weekend? I'm pretty set on what I need to buy, lol im taking it all awfully seriously this year thanks to my new love of this site.
I have been going on about what I want\what im going to buy for weeks now.I think my f+f think I have gone choco mad. I think there are worse things to get obsessed with :P
What what what? We can't be having you write about chocolates without you giving us our CM score. I know we can put two and two together and assume they would score well cause they have made your guide, but its just not the same. Please ensure we are never placed in this situation again young man :) what is a guy to do without his graphs? WE WANT GRAPHS!!!
Great easter post Jim! :) I can see where people are coming from when they enquire youve not reviewd lindt mini eggs or thos and that - but the chances are theyve been reviewed before :) If you put all your easter reviews from the beginning together you mustve reviewed a large amount!
@ Daisy - theyve got large galaxy eggs in Sainsburys and also Morrisons
@Mel - I know what you mean.. my sister wanted a Snickers egg but I havnt found one although I thought they had done one this year. Some shops are stocking some things and others different ones, its a nightmare lol. Ive bought Thornton's, M&S and some of the usual stuff this year inc a 'retro' Quality Street egg celebrating the 75th anniversary for me. It's cool, and to be honest i miss when easter eggs looked bigger. They have so little packaging now they get crushed and look tidly!
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