Hotel Chocolat- Trick or Treat

Fourteen days until Halloween guys. Have you got your costumes and carving pumpkin yet? I hope you have you don’t want to be rushing in the last week and end up with a rotten pumpkin and child’s pirate suit. That’s pretty much been my last five Halloweens but this year it will be different. This is mainly because this blog is making me think of Halloween each day when I do my review. Sometimes I don’t even have to go out looking for these reminders as they are thrust upon me.

Take today’s reviews for example which came to me through the post courtesy of Hotel chocolat. This is where I lay the cards on the table and state that today’s review was sent to me by them. I was yet again honoured to receive their email asking me to try one of their new autumn ranges.  With my current challenge in mind I opted for their Trick or Treat! Pouch which fits my Halloween themed posts of late. I will state here that just because I received these for free I am going to stay as impartial as I can be.

I think the presentation itself is the treat

Upon opening the rather large parcel I found the item inside to be equally as big. These chocolates are presented in an amazing and beautiful velvet bag. Embossed with a glittery purple spider that made my girlfriend squeal, take a photo and stake claims for it in the event of my death. I am impressed already, although not entirely surprised after all Hotel Chocolat is meant to be connoisseurs of luxury chocolate and considering the retail price of this product (£21.00). I just hope that this extends to the chocolate (sorry chocolat?) and isn’t just decoration.

Inside is 32 pieces of milk chocolate and white chocolate in five freakishly festive shapes. As is natural I felt the packets and opened a bunch to assess the shapes and you know eat them. I do this not for fun you realise but for the pursuit of science. The different shapes I found were: a cat, a bat, a ghost, a skull and my favourite a gravestone. They are all nicely moulded and the reason the gravestones my favourite is that the owners demise apparently occurred by chocolate. Considering this bag contains a hell of a lot of choccy I think it may be my own.

The skull is pretty chilling for chocolate!

Although I do realise that really these are meant to be handed out to the wee trick or treaters who may turn up on my doorstep in a few weeks’ time. Cleverly they are individually wrapped for this very purpose. It seems the good folks have thought of everything but remember at that price you would expect them too. I’ve seen Haribo treater packs in my local Poundland for well a pound. I think given the choice of the two and the fact that I’m handing them out for free I know which I’d choose. It is however a good idea for a party or get together with friends or kids Halloween party, may sound harsh but at least then the expense goes on people I care about.

None of the presentation matters anyway if the chocolate tastes foul so let’s move on to the important factor and chow down. I think I’ll break from my natural instinct and try the white chocolate first. After all if we don’t spice things up once in a while we can get stuck in a rut can’t we? So picking out my champion in the form of the gravestone I try a piece. It’s good smooth, creamy and milky whilst avoiding the usual pitfall of white chocolate by being sickly. However I’ve tried their usual white chocolate and have to say this isn’t up to their luxury tastes. It seems that they are using a cheaper variety here. Although again it’s still a very good standard of white chocolate, however between this and 25 pence milky bar I know what I’d buy for a small snack.

I hope that death by chocolate doesn't exist and is just a trick.

Next I picked the milk chocolate ghost. This was impressively thick and rather big slab considering their treat like purpose. This piece again tasted rather luxurious surprisingly rich and creamy with a nice sweet taste. Definite quality milk chocolate however yet again tasting slightly cheaper than their slab chocolate. It melts really nicely with a good chocolaty milky taste. Both of these varieties will impress when compared to the usual standard of Halloween candy. One point I find odd is the fact that there is no dark chocolate pieces you think they would want to include the entire trilogy.

Overall this product looks and tastes great but at the price they are asking for it, it needs to be. It seems a lot of that expense goes on look too which goes against its purpose a bit of giving this away to strangers. It depends how much of an impact you want to leave on your guests who at the end are getting free candy out of you in either situation.

Score

9 out of 11 for taste, 

5 out of 11 for price and purpose! 

Overall 7.5 out of 11

Found

In a box, in a beautiful bag, in the post

Final Thoughts

Why do they leave the e off of chocolate