The Treat Collective (Online)

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a lovely lady called Jo, who told me about her company: The Treat Collective. As you might've gathered, I have a passion for discovering independent and small-batch manufacturers in the U.K, and so when I found out that The Treat Collective is a subscription service who collates sweet treats from independent British manufacturers and sends them directly to your door once a month, I gladly accepted her kind offer of a sample box. 

A few days later I received a parcel, which I assumed might be the Treat Collective box, but when I opened it I discovered a present inside. You see the box inside was wrapped in lollipop gift paper. It wasn't my Birthday. Surely this couldn't be The Treat Collective...?

But it was! This box really did embody the company's name. I felt utterly spoilt when unwrapping the parcel, and again when I lifted the lid on the box inside. 

Wow! What a joyful collection of goodies! I spotted the cute little gummy bears, the artisan fruit & nut chocolate, the cute citrus sweets... then spied The Grown Up Chocolate Company's wonderful 'Perfectly Buttery Peanut Cups', before my eyes rested on Nellienoo's CARAMAC FUDGE. Ahem. I might've been a tad excited. Normally in subscription boxes theres one or more item that I wouldn't have chosen myself, but I was looking forward to each and every item in this parcel. 

Also included in the box was a handy guide to the companies included within The Treat Collective box, which was a really nice touch. I absolutely love the idea behind this company. If you also like to discover the Best of British confectionary then I highly suggest you head over to their website where you can sign up to receive a monthly treat box for the reasonable sum of £24.00 per month. 

10/10

Thank you to Jo for the sample Treat Collective box. Reviews of the individual items will follow on my Instagram feed, so keep your eyes out! 

NEW! The Grown Up Chocolate Company Chocolate Cups (Online)

For some people tea solves everything. For me it's chocolate. I can't go without my daily fix and have had the pleasure of discovering some utterly fabulous British chocolatiers since starting this blog. One such organisation is The Grown Up Chocolate company - the people behind the wickedly good White Chocolate Praline Wonder Bar and Fruit & Nut Hunky Dory. If you haven't had the pleasure of trying their chocolate, you're missing out. Their mission is to reinvent nostalgic chocolate bars, exaggerating their deliciousness by using luxury ingredients and adding extra indulgences. Unfortunately nowhere locally stocks their bars anymore, so you can just imagine my excitement when The Grown Up Chocolate  Company contacted me and asked  if I'd like to try some of their new products. Hell yes. Ahem. I mean yes please! The new range deviates from the chocolatier's usual bar format with a selection of different filled cups, and they all sounded delicious... 

Gorgeousely Gooey Caramel Truffle Cups

"Six chocolate cups filled with a mini caramel truffle and soft runny caramel in praline."

Two types of caramel in one chocolate? The Grown Up Chocolate Company know how to spoil us. Oof. It was an ingenious combination too- I mean just check out that inside shot...

The caramel was deliciously rich and silky, oozing out of its cup in an enticing fashion. The salt crystals on top heightened the taste sensation too, ramping up the flavours  by juxtaposition. I was tempted to eat all six in one go, but I also desperately want to eek out the pleasure of enjoying the cups. I'll be savouring these. My only complaint is that it wasn't easy to distinguish a flavour difference between the caramel truffle and runny caramel.

9/10

Heavenly Whole Hazelnut Praline Cups

Praline is difficult to beat. The combination of hazelnuts and chocolate is one of my absolute favourites and so I was looking forward to these cups. The only problem was that they each contained a whole hazelnut; and as I've mentioned before, I'm not a huge chunky nuts in chocolate fan. 

"Six deliciously smooth praline cups with whole hazelnut and crispy rice crunch."

Slicing the cup in half revealed the hazelnut as promised, surrounded by the praline layer, followed by the crispies, all  surrounded by chocolate. 

The quality was undeniable; the chocolate silky and praline rich. I wasn't particularly keen on the extra crunchiness from the rice crisps though, the praline was delicious by itself, and I thought the crips overcomplicated things slightly. I also thought that a white chocolate coating would have provided something a little different in this milk chocolate range. My complaints make it sound like I didn't like these cups, but that couldn't be further from the truth. I adored the flavours, it's just the texture that wasn't quite spot on for me. 

7/10

Spectacular Speculicious Praline Cups

How many times have I banged on about my love for the spiced biscuits recently? I must be boring you by now, but I hope that some of you share my love for all things Speculoos. Spiced chocolate is something of a rarity though and I was beside myself with excitement about the creation of something so utterly scrumptious sounding. 

"Six spectacular cups filled with sumptuous warm spice praline encased in creamy milk chocolate."

I had imagined that the praline would taste predominantly of cinnamon (like Biscoff spread or biscuits) when in actual fact it contained a combination of mixed spices including cinnamon, ginger and cloves - making the flavour more similar to what you might expect in mince pies or hot cross buns. At first this confused my tastebuds, but I soon started to appreciate the harmony of spices with the milk chocolate and the depth of flavour this provided. Again, I think white chocolate would've provided a more interesting palate but perhaps it would've made the cups too sickly. Either way, the speculicious cups are unusual, moreish, and a must try for spice lovers. 

8/10.

Perfectly Buttery Peanut Cups 

Jeez Louise. Just the idea of souped-up Reese's is enough to get me drooling. You guys know how much I love the American brand but I think we can all agree that their products are not exactly the best quality. Could the Grown Up Chocolate Company reinvent one of my all time favourite wheels?

"Building on our most popular bar the Superb Salted Peanut Caramel this pack has six perfect peanut praline and caramel cups decorated with sea salt, enrobed in rich milk chocolate."

I'm trying very hard not to swear here. Shall we say "sit the bed" instead? Honest to god, these were mouthfuls of heaven. Remember how much I enjoyed the Kingdom peanut butter bar and the Montezuma's Eggs? Well the praline was just as delicious in these Grown Up Chocolate's cups... but the inclusion of a separate layer of liquid treasure elevated them to the next level. Somehow the caramel didn't overtake the peanut butter (as is so often the case) but rather complimented it. The salt crystals on top were a wonderful addition, breaking through the sweetness in the most welcome of ways. Does chocolate get any better than this? 

10/10.

Thank you to The Grown Up Chocolate Company for the scrumdiddlyumptious samples. You can order their new cups directly from their website for £1.99 each, otherwise many of their products are available to buy from Ocado, Booths and selected BP garages. You can find your nearest stockist here. Review to follow of the salted peanut caramel bar.

The Grown Up Chocolate Company Hunky Dory (WHSmith)

My luck was in for the second time when I spied another one of The Grown Up Chocolate Company's bars in WHSmith's reduced section the other day. It was therefore a given, following the delicious success of the White Chocolate Wonder Bar, that I eagerly snapped up their Fruit and Nut Hunky Dory. I realise that I only moaned about my general disdain towards chopped nuts in chocolate less than a week ago, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to try another one of The Grown Up Chocolate Company's bars.

 "A decadent muddle of nuts and fruit on a bed of milk chocolate Gianduja enrobed in luxury milk chocolate."

Embarrassingly, I must admit that I didn't have the foggiest what 'Gianduja' was, so I summoned the help of Google and discovered that it's an Italian delicacy, originating from Turin, comprising of a sweet paste made from hazelnuts and cocoa -and that was me sold.

As per the White Chocolate Wonder Bar, the Fruit and Nut Hunky Dory came in two individual bars. I'd love to be able to say that I ate one and saved the other for later, but I'm afraid that my chocolate resistance skills simply aren't that advanced.

I sliced one bar in two and quickly discovered just how jam packed the filling was. This wasn't a Cadbury job of whacking a few almonds and raisins in (or sultanas now, ooh the controversy). Oh no, that just wouldn't do now! The Grown Up Chocolate Company instead opted to fill their bar with roasted hazelnuts, almonds, citrus peel and cranberries.

All of these components made for a super crunchy, crispy bar with the occasional moistness coming from the cranberries. Unfortunately I found that all of this texture actually detracted from the most incredible flavour from both the Gianduja and Milk chocolate. I remember thinking how superb The Grown Up Chocolate Company's white chocolate was but the milk chocolate was equally (if not even more) sublime. The melt and creaminess of the coating was unquestionably delicious and I'd have more than happily munched an entire bar of it on its own.

Whilst The Grown Up Chocolate Company might not have turned me into an avid chopped-nuts-in-my-chocolate-lover, they certainly have earned an even bigger fan. I'm desperate to try their incredible sounding Christmas bars now, and will be on a desperate hunt for them when I visit my sister in Cardiff at the weekend. Flavours include: Mince pie, spiced ginger biscuit and festive fig & port. Just look at them, oof, YES please!

9/10

White Chocolate Praline Wonder Bar (WHSmith)

The Grown Up Chocolate Company: a British chocolatier whose products I've been wanting to try for ages. The trouble is, living in rural Hereford presents a few issues when acquiring quality chocolate. There's not even a Hotel Chocolat. The closest we have is Thorntons, and I'm so unimpressed with their chocolate that I even gave away my Thorntons advent calendar last December. So, needless to say that when I spotted the White Chocolate Praline Wonder bar (reduced too might I add) in WHSmith, I quickly nabbed a couple of bars.

"Caramelised wafer enticingly slathered in sumptuous praline with a sprinkle of biscuit pearls encased in white chocolate. A true wonder bar."

For those of you who aren't au fait with The Grown Up Chocolate Company, they specialise in "the bars we ate as children, but reimagined for Grown Ups only." I'm not sure how grown up I am (seeing as yesterday saw the boobie bun review) neither do I remember consuming chocolate as a child that sounded even remotely as decadent as the White Chocolate Praline Bar. What I do know however, is that white chocolate, praline, and biscuits are a trio who live right up there amongst my favourite treats.

The White Chocolate Praline Wonderful actually comprised of two separate complete bars (total weight 65g). They looked rather sweet too with their biscuity topping, and the chocolate appeared adequately thick too (much needed after the appalling coating on the banana Jaffa cakes).

Slicing one bar in two revealed just how generous The Grown Up Chocolate Company had been with the white chocolate. The praline interior was the colour of milk chocolate, and I could spot a couple of biscuit 'pearls' poking out too... I couldn't wait to tuck in.

Crikey. I'd forgotten just how fantastic white chocolate could be. It was creamy, sweet, and melted in the mouth with an incredibly comforting flavour. Seriously yummy. The praline interior was also delicious, providing a juxtaposition against the velvety coating thanks to the crunchiness that came from the wafers embedded within. The biscuit pearls added an extra textural element, although they were less obvious due to the abundance of components within the bar. Although there was a lot going on, every element complimented each other perfectly, to provide a bar that really is quite wonderful.

I totally agree: the White Chocolate Praline Wonderful is definitely for Grown Ups only, and it's not for sharing either. Seriously scrumptious. I only wish I could buy more -the WHSmith is unsurprisingly out of stock again now! 

10/10