Plain Chocolate - over 70% cocoa solids
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference, Belgian Chocolate 72% 100g, 99p.
The right colour. Smooth and strong. Not too bitter and would be nice with an espresso.
4 stars
Lindt, 85% Excellence 100g, £1.39, lindt.com
This is very, very strong. It must be at least 80% cocoa. Very bitter too - almost too bitter for me.
3 stars
Pralus 100g, £3.75, Fortnum & Mason.
It resembles cooking chocolate. After tasting, it's nice and not too bitter, I'm guessing it's over 70% but it's not amazing.
3 stars
Green & Black's, 70% 100g, £1.69, available nationwide.
Bitter, bitter, bitter. Gluey on the tongue and short in the mouth. I don't like this much, I really don't.
1 stars
Milk chocolate
Harrods, Costa Rican 100g, £5.95, 020 7730 1234.
In colour and taste, it's almost closer to a plain chocolate - which is nice as I don't like too much milkiness. A pretty nice bar.
3 stars
Co-op, Fairtrade Milk Chocolate 150g, 99p.
This is milk chocolate, old-style. And if you like it sweet and sugary and milky, you'll love this. I don't but that's just my taste.
3 stars
Selfridges 85g, £1.99, 0800 123 400.
This reminds me of the chocolate you buy in big packs in the supermarket. Which is fine - nice and mild, but not really for me.
2 stars
Prestat 320g, £3.75, available at Sainsbury's.
This is the sweetest of them all. Not that chocolatey and full of sugar. Creamy though, and sits well on the tongue.
1 stars
White chocolate
Amedei, Toscano White 55g, £5, Harvey Nichols.
OK. I don't like white chocolate. Because it's too sweet, but this isn't bad. It's clearly very good quality chocolate but it's been overly sweetened.
3 stars
Divine 100g, £ 1.19, Oxfam, oxfam.org.uk
Less sugary, less milky, less creamy. Which means I could eat this. OK for a white chocolate bar.
3 stars
Co-Op, Crispy 100g, 99p
I like this one because of the crispy bits. It isn't too overwhelming and it's an unusually textured bar. But the chocolate isn't amazing.
2 stars
Waitrose, Belgian 200g, £1, A good, solid-looking tablet but much too sugary. Too milky, the milkiest of the lot. It's sticking to my mouth.
1 stars
Mint chocolate
Casemir, After Dinner Selection £14.99 for 16 + p&p, casemirchocolates.co.uk
This is good ganache. There's a nice balance of chocolate and mint and it's not too sugary. It's actually quite delicate.
4 stars
Prestat, Organic Dark Chocolate Mint Wafers 200g, £9.50, 0800 0213 023.
Very nice. Good biteable size. A simple idea that would go well with a coffee. Easy on the palate and not too minty.
3 stars
Summerdown, Peppermint Creams £6.50 per 200g box, Harvey Nichols.
Very strong mint with not a lot of chocolate. It tastes fresh - and if you like mint you will love this. I can only taste mint.
2 stars
Bendicks Bittermints £1.29 per 200g pack, 01962 844800.
This is ruined by its texture. Too hard and too strong. The mint has gone right up my nose. It's almost like eating a large chunk of sugar - and they're too big.
1 stars
Ginger chocolate
Chococo, Gorgeous Ginger £17.50 for 16, chococo.co.uk
This is well balanced. You can taste the bitterness of the chocolate despite the strength of the ginger and both taste nice.
4 stars
Marks & Spencer, Ginger Globes 175g, £4.99.
These work because they contain real stem ginger with a little bit of chocolate - so not chocolate ginger, more ginger chocolate.
4 stars
Green & Black's 100g, £1.69, available nationwide.
Very sweet and very gingery - a little goes a long way. The chocolate is a bit too bitter but the ginger isn't bad at all.
3 stars
Whittard of Chelsea, Chocolate-Covered Ginger 150g, £5, whittard.co.uk
This tastes more like candy than chocolate - oddly crunchy and I imagine that's due to a high sugar content.
2 stars
Chocolate caramels
Cocoa Columbo, Mini Selection 120g, £4.99, Sainsbury.
Subtle and sweet. Agreeable in the mouth. They almost melt. A touch too sweet for me actually, but small enough not to be too overpowering.
4 stars
Paul A Young, Sea Salted Caramels £6 for 4, paulayoung.co.uk
Now I don't understand this trend for salty chocolate. The chocolate is very, very good though.
3 stars
Godiva, Moelleux Caramel Chocolat 100g, £5.60, 020 734 8113.
Dense and heavy but rich and a good fix. I wish it was more delicate. Quite comforting but a little too sugary.
3 stars
Marks & Spencer, Cocoa Dusted Liquid Salted Caramels 150g, £7.99.
Again, salty chocolate. But they look great and explode quite amazingly in your mouth.
2 stars
Ganache truffles
William Curley, Water-based 100g, £8, John Lewis, 020 7629 7711.
This deserves a high mark - rich but light which is hard to do. It doesn't stick to your palate and it's really delicate. A fine product.
5 stars
Selfridges, Vanilla White, Handmade Truffle Selection 120g, £9.99.
This has the exact taste of a truffle but not quite the delicacy. Quite creamy and rich but almost too much.
3 stars
Chococo, Pure Kakawa £17.50 for 16, chococo.co.uk
A rich, strong truffle - verging on overpowering but still quite delicate. Nicer with a milder chocolate.
3 stars
Fortnum & Mason, Milk and Dark Madagascan Truffle 270g, £27.50.
Imposing-looking chocolate. Not bad, nice flavour and pretty rich. Maybe too rich though.
3 stars
Champagne truffles
Paul A Young £6 for 4.
The only ones that actually taste of champagne! Creamy and sweet but the taste almost goes right up your nose!
3 stars
Sainsbury's Gold Leaf Marc de Champagne Truffles £3.99 for 10.
Although these taste of kirsch more than champagne, it's a good effort. The ganache itself is nice. 2 stars
Hotel Chocolat, Pink Champagne 16 for £12.50, hotelchocolat.co.uk
Everything is good except the chocolate. They're pretty potent but decent champagne truffles because they're very champagne-y.
2 stars
Harrods, Champagne Pearls 200g, £16.95.
Too strong, too sweet and too milky. Which is a shame as they're a nice edible size.
2 stars
Chocolate pralines
Chocolala 270g tin, £20+£2 p&p, chocolala.co.uk
This breaks wonderfully - the centre is rich and gooey and it's very delicate. Just the right size, too. The best by a long way.
4 stars
Sir Hans Sloane, Turner £10 for 6, 01932 356008.
These taste ever so slightly of supermarkets. Probably because they're sweet. The praline is nice.
3 stars
Green & Black's, The Assortment200g, £7.99.
The chocolate is quite good but the praline is almost insipid. And too sweet. Probably good for kids though
2 stars
Cadbury Soft Whisper from Milk Tray £6.15 for 454g.
If my mum gave me this for Christmas, I'd be furious.
0 stars
Chocolate with nuts
Alemany Chocolate Walnuts 150g, £5.25, Brindisa, 020 8772 1600.
This isn't amazing but I like the chunkiness of the walnuts. The chocolate is OK, not amazing, but it's a well balanced bar.
3 stars
Marks & Spencer, Fruit & Nut Luxury Selection 300g, £4.99.
This doesn't blow my world but the nut is good. The chocolate is too sweet but it's a nice idea and well presented.
3 stars
Paul A Young, Sea Salted Almond Rocher 6 for £6.
This is a noisette with a bit of chocolate and a bit of nut. Almost a truffle. The nut is perfect but it's quite underwhelming.
2 stars
Damian Allsop, Hazelnuts Rolled in Turron 100g, from £3, damianallsop.com
The chocolate is good, the nuts are also good but I found this a little too bitter and overpowering. Almost salty?
2 stars
Hot chocolate
Charbonnel et Walker 500g, £10, Selfridges.
This isn't bad - but it's definitely a hot chocolate for people who think they like hot chocolate but don't really know what hot chocolate is.
4 stars
Chocolate a la Taza 500g, £5.75, Brindisa.
It has a good feeling. Also, importantly, it has a decent consistency when it's made up, and it's too bitter. Hot chocolate shouldn't be too bitter or too sweet.
3 stars
Rococo, Plain Organic Drinking Chocolate 250g, £10.25.
This is absolutely a hot chocolate for children. And they would love it. It's far too sweet for an adult palate.
3 stars
Godiva, Chocolixir Kit £20.
Again, for children. I would give this to my son. Amazingly sweet.
2 stars
Chocolate spread
Rococo, Don't Tella the Kids 200g, £7.95.
Like pain au chocolat chocolate. A good, thick, paste-like texture that would sit well on breaed, or on its own. Not bad at all.
4 stars
William Curley 200g, £8.
Not too sweet with a good amount of nuttiness that helps it slip down. It's a nice consistency, too.
3 stars
Nutella 200g, 99p.
This is Nutella, no? It has such a recognisable flavour. OK for the kids, but I wouldn't give it to mine. At least it has a fairly strong, nutty flavour.
2 stars
Co-op 350g, £1.15.
Full, full, full of sugar and milk. No I'm sorry, I don't like this one little bit I'm afraid. It's cheap and runny. Yuck.
1 stars
