Thorntons Chocolate Pearls

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Chocolate isn’t just for Easter, or Christmas but all year round the family can enjoy these Thorntons Chocolate Pearls – or would you give them to Dad for Father’s Day?

These new offerings from Thorntons are boxes of delicious individually wrapped chocolates (in the shape of a pearl) in two distinct flavours –Brownie Deluxe and Salted Caramel Sensation. Each box contains 167 grams of chocolates, which is about 18 chocolates per box. The chocolate is the same world-famous Thorntons chocolate you’re used to, with a rich smoothness to the milk chocolate but with new fillings to keep you happy! 

Starting with the Salted Caramel Sensation Pearls, this flavour is relatively new given the history of chocolate but it’s everywhere now. More of a flavour for grown-ups, children will actually appreciate this variety because it’s not overpowering nor too different. The shell is made of milk chocolate with the salted caramel soft centre easy to enjoy.  There’s only a hint of the salt in there, but mostly the pleasure comes from the caramel which is very rich, but not so rich that you couldn’t eat just one pearl at a time. Thorntons have really got the balance right between the size of the bite and the richness of the chocolate and filling. 

The second flavour we were sent was Thorntons Brownie Deluxe. These are the same pearls with a milk chocolate shell then the filling is rich chocolate with tiny biscuit bits to make it a Brownie. The filling is not the same chocolate as the shell; it’s softer and more like a chocolate cake piece, as the name suggests. There’s not too much biscuit in it, which is something I hate in chocolates, it is more of a rich chocolate fondant and a tiny amount of small bits of biscuit. It add texture but without taking away from the chocolate indulgence!

These Thorntons Pearls could be shared by the whole family, but if Dad is a chocolate fiend, he’ll love these sophisticated chocolate flavours and will be able to drown in as much or as little of the lovely chocolatey tastes Thorntons is famous for.

Available in supermarkets or online for £5.28:

Brownie Pearls: https://www.thorntons.com/uk/en/p/pearls-brownie-deluxe/77233281

Salted Caramel Pearls: https://www.thorntons.com/uk/en/p/thorntons-pearls-salted-caramel-sensation/77226875

Father’s Day Letter Box Hamper 

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Father’s Day is Sunday 18 June, and everyone, without fail, struggles to find something that’s perfect for Dad! Every year he says there’s nothing he wants, knowing that he’ll get another supply of socks or beer like every year, but secretly, I’m sure all Dads would like something that’s more of a thoughtful treat for them. 

The Letter Box Hamper company cater for all sorts of hamper treats throughout the year, and this year have sent us a lovely Father’s Day hamper. Keen followers will see that we also have one of these Father’s Day hampers as a competition prize too, so I’ll do my best to give you the low down!  

At £32.95 this is a great price for a gift on Father’s Day. It’s not too expensive, but it shows that some thought has gone into this present and isn’t just picked off the shelves. In fact, you can only buy it online on the www.letterboxhamper.com website and have it delivered, so not everyone is going to have one.  If you don’t fancy the Father’s Day Hamper then there are loads of other lovely ones for other occasions on their website too.

As the name suggests, the letter box hamper fits through the door. You don’t need to be home to be able to receive it and there’s nothing breakable inside to worry about as it hurtles through the air and onto your doormat.  The box itself is lovely and resembles a hamper/suitcase of old and when you open it, there’s a personalised message in there for Dad too so he knows who it’s from! When the hamper arrives through the post, it is parcelled up with lovely wrapping paper and string and looks so special, so there’s no way Dad can miss it.

As for the box, it has loads in it;

  • 5 Classic tea bags from Tregothnan (the tea grown in England)
  • A pack of 2 Scottish shortbread fingers from Shortbread House of Edinburgh
  • 3 chocolate truffles from Charbonel et Walker 
  • A traditional oat flapjack from Lottie Shaw’s
  • A bar of 61% dark chocolate from Coco
  • A bar of hazelnut and raisin dark chocolate from Willie’s Cacao

If you do the simple maths, there’s five tea bags and 5 snacks in total so that’s tea and a snack for every day of the work week!

Starting with the tea if you’ve never had English grown tea before (thanks to global warming there are plants all over the UK now) then this medium/strong tea is a great delicacy and probably something you wouldn’t expect as a gift given how local it is.  The chunky oat flapjack from Lottie Shaw’s is Yorkshire baked and delicious, particularly good for when you need a heart pick-me-up in the afternoon or if Dad has been working in the garden. I’m a big fan of shortbread anyway so the House of Edinburgh shortbread fingers are particularly nice and not too grainy!

The other snacks are all chocolates. If you’re familiar with ‘posh’ chocolates then you’ll recognise Charbonnel et Walker as being one of the premium brands sold in their custom shops and when you eat their truffles, you’ll understand why. Made with the finest chocolates and ingredients, they are to die for!  Willie’s Cacao also feature with their Peruvian dark chocolate flavoured with hazelnut and raisin. The taste is so subtle and actually very grown up so I wouldn’t imagine children would enjoy this, leaving it for Dad. The final chocolate bar is the Coco Colombian dark 61% chocolate. Again, this is great for adults as it has the distinct dark chocolate taste that goes so well with strong tea or coffee.

The Letter Box hampers all have a variety of items in them so you feel like there’s more there than just a quick bite to eat or a cheap snack, and plenty of choice if there’s something in them that you don’t happen to like.  This Father’s Day hamper is a hit with the whole house too with a lovely selection of different snacks and the personalised note makes it a special holiday treat.

Excuse me whilst I make another brew and tuck into some more chocolate… or another shortbread finger…

Guylian Chocolates

Disclaimer – We received this item for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

guylianchocolates Have these beautiful new Masters Selection chocolates for Mothers Day.

Each box has 30 mini praline chocolates in exotic praline flavours including Signature hazelnut praliné, raspberry, caramel pineapple, orange, coffee cardamom, almond praliné, crunchy hazelnut praliné and mocha.

The 200g box of pralines is perfect for Mother’s Day with the new flavours, smaller size chocolates and pretty gold and pink presentation box. 

My favourites were the exotic Orange flavour and Caramel Pineapple – the mixture of milk chocolate and soft caramel filling with pieces of pineapple and a smart infusion of lemon. The Orange flavour dark chocolate ganache is filled with orange coulis and finished with orange pieces.

The whole box is a step up from your normal box of chocolates, combining Belgian Chocolate quality with praline and flavours Mum will love.

Guylian are famous for their Project Seahorse support. For each box of Guylian chocolates bought, you are supporting an international Marine Conservation Organisation, so you’re doing good too! 

These Belgian chocolates are also vegetarian and kosher.

Available at Ocado, they are currently on sale at £5 instead of £6: https://www.ocado.com/products/guylian-master-s-selection-487858011