Thorntons Continental

Just recently I received a bundle of Thank You boxes from Lindt and now Thorntons have given me some chocolates. It's so lovely because I find utter ecstasy in a box of chocolates. They're something I rarely buy myself, and even though these chocolates are not handmade, nor fresh and widely available, I was still excited

Thorntons are celebrating 60 years of their sumptuous Continental collection, and what better way to celebrate than eating their European inspired chocolates and writing about it?

I'm no novice when it comes to Thorntons, but with their Continental collection there were some chocolates I had never tried. The description for each chocolate, like always with Thorntons, sounded sophisticated; I could not wait to intricately critique the plethora of chocolates before me

There was only one chocolate that truly overwhelmed my taste buds, and that was the enrobed Viennese Truffle. A lavish texture and taste. Pictured next to it is the Chocolat Riche, which was indulgent and tasted like a Lindor truffle. It wasn't as buttery but I think it was superior to Lindor. With the Chocolat Riche I could taste Thorntons distinctive milk chocolate, which isn't the nicest as it has a slight twang to it nearing the finish

Appearance wise, the 6 above stood out the most. The Alpini, Alps inspired, looked like a buchê de Noël, seeming apt for the coming of winter! It was the best tasting hazelnut praline within the collection. The Hazelnut Slice, on the far right, caught my eye first. It looked unique. It's a shame it tasted average - I am not an avid praline lover - but I did think the slice tasted better than the praline Diplomat. The white Vanille Truffle (pictured at front) had a dark truffle which tasted of Nesquik chocolate milkshake, quite poor

The Cherry Truffle reminded me of cherry cough sweets, and its chewy truffle and cherry purée caused for disturbing textures. The Sicilian Lemon Mousse was even poorer! It was my least favourite of the collection. Thank God there was at least one good Italian inspired chocolate though, the Cappuccino! It was creamy, rich and successfully balanced the sweet with the bitter

The French chocolates were nice. The Mousse au Chocolat "once only enjoyed by Parisienne ladies of leisure" had a beautifully light and fluffy texture. I loved the Ganache au Marc de Champagne's soft alcoholic flavour and caramel-like texture

The Continental collection is a nice box of chocolates. I loved the packaging, with the black on white drawings of European cities and denotations. A box of chocolates is quite the luxury, great experience