“Ho boy” is pretty much the best I could say when I opened my package from Hotel Chocolat yesterday and saw this abosolute monster of a selection box. I was offered two choices by the good people there, this, or the Just Truffles (which don’t cost as much), and I know I made the right choice. The first picture is one of the box, the second picture might interest you, it’s actually the selection list. Those of you familiar with Quality Street and what have you, will know that inside the tin comes this little fold out piece of paper with everything on, here we have a very high quality piece of card with some sort of lining, and then everything inside as you can see is spaced out wonderfully. There are some fantastic looking flavours too - Strawberries & Cream, Baltic Triffle, Pineapple & Coconut, Kir Royal Mini Truffles, and I assure you I could go on and on.

The plastic sleeve comes off easily due to some tape at the bottom, and the top of the box opens up like a pair of shutters, where the box should then be turned to the side, revealing the paper with a Hotel Chocolat sticker keeping you between you and your chocolates. And there underneath is the protection layer, and then below that as if to tease you, is a see-through film layer emblazended with the Hotel Chocolat Logo, and right beneath that are the truffles.

There’s two layers to this, a reviewer’s dream. It means I get a second opinion on everything, except for the Pave de Montelimar (creamy white chocolate with ground almonds, chopped pistachio and sour cherry) and the Kir Royal Mini Truffles (bite-sized truffles with a silky champagne and tangy blackcurrant punch), of which there are two of each in each layer. I hope my pictures did it justice because this is a beautiful selection, Hotel Chocolat are true chocolate artisans, with their chocolate being both beautiful to look at as well as taste. With there being 15 seperate editions I can’t very well review all of them, but I shall give you a teaser.

There’s something for everyone really, the vast majority of these contain some sort of fruit, and so depending on your preference you’re like to find a favourite. Some contain alcohol for the more seasoned chocaholic, with a few being more plain in their taste (such as the ordinary milk chocolate bar) or nutty. As usual I tried some things I had never had before, the Rhubarb Ganache was very surprising, extremely tangy and fruity and despite never really having rhubarb in my life before, this was an instant hit for me. The Pineapple & Coconut was as exotic and tropical as it sounds, a risky and yet delicious combination. The Pave de Montelimars looked, and tasted, extremely busy, there was a heck of a lot going on there. Too many times did I go to bite a truffle in half, only for the thing to nearly burst open on me, with cream and ganache and various fruity fillings dripping all over my fingers, it’s definitely best to just pop these in your mouth, chew down, and be overwhelmed by the flavour. And to those of you who like your alcohol filled truffles, the White Night with its “generous splash of West Indian Rum” damn near got me drunk right there and then, an extremely powerful and pleasant truffle.

Overall, a fantastic, if expensive selection. I’ll make no bones about it, £26 is a lot of money, especially when you can get a huge tin of Roses or whatever for just a fraction of the price, but these are, simply put, fantastic. Personally I wouldn’t buy them, as I can’t really afford anything from Hotel Chocolat on a regular basis, but if you have the money to spend, and with Mother’s Day of course coming up on this Sunday for us Brits, this is something that could make your mother a very happy person.