Chocolate By Genevie

A lovely lady called Genevie emailed me to ask if I'd be interested in trying & reviewing her luxury handmade chocolates. Um....YES. Not only was I interested I wanted them in my belly asap!
I have to apologise to Genevie, I had taken photos on my own camera, but my camera sd card has been dumped onto my husband's computer. I can't get access and he keeps forgetting to send them to me! With a tiny lady in the house I don't get much time to blog...or much else....so I thought I'd better get while the getting was good.
Imagine my excitement when a brown box arrived at my door with my name handwritten on it! Not a bill, not something I ordered on ebay!!!

Inside of the brown box was the Silver Chocolate Box.

I was sooooo excited!!!!

Here's what Genevie says about her Silver Chocolate Box:

8 delicious mixed chocolates presented in an elegant metallic sliver box hand decorated with silk trim makes this box an ideal gift.
An option to include a personal gift card is available during the checkout process.
Exclusive to Chocolate by Genevie online.

• Postage: Free Delivery to UK

• Chocolates: Mixed (no alcohol)

• Gift Card Option: Yes

Inside I found some treasures! Yummy, delicious, chocolatey treasures...

White chocolate hazelnut praline.
This one ticked all of my happy boxes!!!! White chocolate, tick! Hazelnut! Yum!!! My eyes rolled back in my head with pleasure!!!

Pistachio milk chocolate pralineAgain. Ticking my boxes. The pistachio praline reminded me of the Mozart Balls Austria. Yum-yum!

white chocolate cream pistachio
Delicious! Extremely creamy and satisfying.

Milk chocolate almond pralineHoly! Moly! If the nut can make praline, gimme! Genevie's chocolate is very nice, rich and creamy. Not at all grainy like cheaper chocolates can be.

Dark chocolate orange praline.
I don't like orange & chocolate so I asked Mr Woo to try this one. He said "It wasn't like those airy truffles from Thorntons, it was a solid truffle, the orange flavour was natural, over all it was on the right side of richness." :)
He's cute.

Dark chocolate vanilla creamAlthough I'm not a big fan of dark chocolate this vanilla cream was delightful! The vanilla cream was smooth and rich. I hate to repeat some of the words I used before but I don't know how else to explain what I mean. A quality chocolate where good ingredients have been used don't have the "grainy" texture of chocolates or chocolate bars that you might buy from a corner shop. The filling was delightful. I am a vanilla connoisseur I'll tell you! I'll chose vanilla ice cream over chocolate any day of the week!

Dark chocolate coffee pralineIt was like a Starbucks mocha late in mini :) I love my Starbucks!

Milk chocolate with pineapple and coconut ganache.This was the only chocolate that didn't thrill me. I didn't realise that it contained a pineapple flavor. I know that coconut chocs are a bit like marmite. I normally like it. But I found this one quite dry :(
That could have been down to the fact that it was the last chocolate left in the box I admit. It did take me a few days to get through the box. I wanted to savor each and every chocolate.

"...We use only the finest ingredients in our chocolates which are packaged exquisitely and delivered free post to the UK. Everything from making the chocolates to finishing the boxes is done by hand making sure you receive a product which is both unique and special; we are a small family business dedicated to making chocolate that is second to none. Everyone of our chocolate products is exclusive to the website ChocolatesByGenevie.co.uk – you will never see any of our products in shops or sold on other sites."

The lovely little silver box with pretty ribbons did make me feel as though I'd received a very special gift. I have tried to make my own chocolates and cake balls (covered with chocolate) in the past and I always make a huge mess and ruin my chocolate by overheating it - I find out later when the milk chocolate develops white patches all over it. I have lots of respect for anyone who "does" chocolate well. Genevie does chocolate well. Her fillings are just as wonderful as her chocolate.
I'd say their statement is true of their product.

Thank you for asking Genevie! I really enjoyed testing your product!
Mrs Woo tested and approved!!! :D

If you'd like to try any of Genevie's delightful handmade chocolates head on over to her website and place an order to treat yourself or someone you like A LOT!

Chocolatey Christmas

Chocolate. Christmas.

Don't those two words just make you happy?! In my world Christmas is the most exciting time of year {along with any other gift giving occasion really}. Even just THINKING about the word "Christmas" makes me giddy! And chocolate...well, the joy of chocolate needs to explanation does it really? 

SO when I was given the opportunity to try out a special Christmas Chocolate something from UK cocoa growers & chocolatiers Hotel Chocolat, yup, you guessed it, I had to be peeled off the ceiling. 

We've got a Hotel Chocolat in Chester now! 

I then had the task of choosing what I wanted to try. It became a classic kid in a candy store scenario. What in the heck was I going to try?! It had to be Christmasy. No problem there. I wanted it all!!! I finally settled on the Christmas Chocolate Goodie Bag because it had a bit of everything. This shortly arrived at my front door!

 I sat down and carefully untied the ribbon and pulled out the precious contents of my very own Christmas Chocolate Goodie Bag: a mini Festive Wreath, a Christmas Gift Slab, Milk Chocolate Pocket Reindeer and saving the best for last, a packet of Billionaire Shortbread Truffles. 

This was some serious chocolate. No namby pamby selection box sweets here. I had to enlist the hus for tasting. He said he'd take one for the team, even though it would be a sacrifice. This from a man who eats chocolate biscuits for breakfast. 

The wreath was hard core. Cranberries, honey roasted hazelnuts, chocolate biscuit pieces, milk and dark chocolate. I should have brought out a hammer to get into it! It took us a few days to eat it all. It wasn't my fave as I'm not a big fan of dark chocolate sadly. Now the Christmas Gift. That was more my speed. "mellow milk chocolate" and chocolate cookie pieces and a caramel gift. YUM! No fruity bits in, just straight up chocolate with the added delight of the crisp chocolate cookie bits. I'd buy this one again. 

Couldn't fault the milk chocolate reindeer, you know I love my mellow milk chocolate and Hotel Chocolat's milk chocolate is exquisite. 

Now brace yourself. I'm about to tell you about one of the best things I've ever put in my mouth. No kidding. Will you go to the happy place with me? 

Milk chocolatey caramely shortbready heaven. 

I was transported right back to the very first time I'd ever tasted Millionaire Shortbread. It was when I first came to Scotland to study back in 2004. My course took elevenses and we had special elevenses on Fridays. One week we had home baked Millionaire Shortbread. I knew then that I had arrived in the most incredible country on the planet. It's been a favorite sweet ever since. When I bit into one of these truffles and the chocolate melted in my mouth followed by the decadent caramel with hint of praline I may have had some sort of religious experience. I stopped after one bite to bathe in the glow. 

For a Christmas treat this was sinful. No wonder they're "Billionaire" Shortbread Chocolates and not Millionaire. 

You must beg Santa to bring you some of these beauties. If he refuses take matters into your own hands & click the link. You won't regret it, unless you only order one packet. 

And so it was, my Chocolatey Christmas Hotel Chocolat adventure. Baby Woo is kicking away, no doubt giving thanks for the beautiful chocolates we did eat. 

I am also available to sample chocolates for Easter, Mother's Day, birthdays, anniversaries, exam results, weddings....

Thanks Hotel Chocolat!