I was delighted when Hotel Chocolat offered to send me a product from their Halloween range to review recently. I had trouble choosing as there were so many fanatastic chocolates to pick from, but I eventually decided on this "Trick or Treat" box with its cool-looking Halloween shapes in milk, white and dark chocolate. The box contains 64 individually-wrapped chocolates (690g) in total.
The dark chocolates contain 70% cocoa solids, whilst the milk contains 40%. The white contains 36% cocoa solids and 27% milk solids. All the chocolates are alcohol-free, gluten-free and suitable for vegetarians.
Firstly I have to say I loved the presentation - the chocolates come in a massive box filled with shreds of spooky black paper, with the "trick or treats" hidden underneath. It took me quite a while to find them all!
There were many different shapes including ghosts, skulls, monster claws, cats, bats...
...and these "death by chocolate" gravestones. I was a bit scared to eat one....would I still be alive afterwards?!
Of course, they all tasted as delicious as you would expect from Hotel Chocolat. The milk chocolates were smooth and creamy, with the higher percentage of cocoa solids really shining through - they tasted a lot richer and more intense than most mainstream milk chocolates.
The white chocolate was also very lovely; the high amount of cocoa butter and lower sugar content was obvious, and as a result it tasted less sickly sweet compared to most white chocolates. It was very creamy and had a nice comforting flavour. Kids will love this one especially with its many spooky shapes!
The 70% dark chocolates were the star of the show; Hotel Chocolat really excel at dark chocolate and it was very evident here! The chocolates tasted rich and flavoursome, with a surprisingly smooth melt. I say surprisingly because some dark chocolates can taste a bit chalky, but there was none of that here.
Overall, I have to say this is a fantastic quality box of chocolates from Hotel Chocolat. The shapes are cool-looking and perfect for Halloween, and will surely be loved by trick-or-treaters. However there lies the problem; who would buy an expensive box of chocolates like this to give to trick or treaters?! Unless you're very altruistic or have spare cash, I can't imagine anyone buying these other than to share with friends and family. That's what I did, and I'm very thankful to Hotel Chocolat for giving me the opportunity to do so!
If I could suggest one improvement I think it'd be nice if the box included some extra flavours for variety - perhaps Hotel Chocolat's signature caramel milk chocolate, or some minty dark chocolates...or even perhaps some chilli chocolates (just to make them that extra bit fiendish!)
Hotel Chocolat's Trick-or-Treat box is available in store or from their website for £37 HERE.
*I was kindly sent these chocolates for an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.