Chocolate bars

Original Beans
Esmeraldas Milk 42% with Fleur de Sel
70g, £4.95, Wholefoods stores

Nice snap and crunch. Creamy, rich taste without being too sweet. Melts in the mouth. Could easily eat a whole bar in one sitting.
★★★★★

Sainsbury's
Taste the Difference Belgian Fairtrade Milk Chocolate
100g, £1.39, sainsburys.co.uk
Lovely creamy taste and melts in your mouth. It's also not overly sweet for a milk chocolate, which I really like.
★★★★

Willie's Cacao
The Milk of the Gods
50g, £1.99, selfridges.com
If you prefer dark chocolate to milk chocolate then this one is for you. It has a slightly bitter note and is less rich than the other bars here.
★★★

Waitrose
Lady Linden Chocolate Bar
90g, £2.25, waitrose.com
Tastes of cheap milk chocolate to me. The fact that they put loads of squiggles and smarties on it makes me suspicious too!
No stars

Boxes under £20

Melt
The Hix Winter Collection
Box of 8 chocolates, £18, meltchocolates.com
Looks beautiful and the chocolates are great quality. They snap when you bite in, are not overly sweet and have delicious fillings.
★★★★

Marks & Spencer
The Collection of Exceptional Characters
360g, £15, marksandspencer.com
I don't like the uniform flatness of these in the box – looks a bit bland. I'm not a huge fan of fruit fillings but the chocolate does melt in your mouth.
★★★

Sainsbury's
Taste the Difference Belgian Assortment
80g, £2.99, sainsburys.co.uk
Big chunky chocolates that look pretty in their box, with cocoa nibs sprinkled on them. They have a strange aftertaste though.
★★

Tesco
Finest Christmas Chocolate Collection
155g, £6, tesco.com
The white coating makes them look old. The chocolate is solid with a very boozy taste.
No stars

Boxes over £20

Chococo
Seasonal Selection Box
Box of 25 chocolates, £24.95, chococo.co.uk
The decorations are very original and the ingredients taste fresh – fantastic quality. ★★★★★

Maison du Chocolat
Christmas Coffret Box
285g (32 pieces), £45, lamaisonduchocolat.co.uk
A classic box of chocolates. Intense flavours and delicious. ★★★★

Harvey Nichols
Michel Cluizel Coffret Box
240g (24 mendiants), £27.95, available at Harvey Nichols stores nationwide
Lovely chocolate with candied nuts on top of each disc. They're all the same though. ★★

Harrods
Curious Sweet Selection Box
215g, £29.95, harrods.com
If I buy expensive chocolates I don't want kids' sweets on them! Overwhelmingly sugary.
No stars

Novelty

Chococo
Chocolate Studded Snowballs
2 for £9, chococo.co.uk
Fun to hang on your tree and good quality chocolate. The chilli and dark chocolate work especially well together. ★★★★

Fortnum & Mason
Large Milk Chocolate Teddy
380g, £18.50, available at Fortnum & Mason store
I'm not entirely sure about the Christmas bear but the milk chocolate has a snap and isn't overly sweet.
★★★

Tesco
Finest Handcrafted Milk Chocolate Christmas Tree
225g, £6, tesco.com
It's a shame that they didn't do this one in dark chocolate. It doesn't taste that great. However, it's as pretty as a Christmas table decoration.
★★★

Chok-a-Blok
Chocolate Extremist Christmas Tree
150g, £4, tesco.com
This is far too sweet, and there's no chocolate flavour coming through. It also looks like it's got some old brownies and Maltesers thrown on.
★

Salted caramels

Waitrose
Belgian Chocolate Salted Caramels
180g, £5, waitrose.com
The caramel pulls into ribbons and has a nice gooey consistency. The saltiness is good and pronounced. ★★★

Marks & Spencer
The Collection: Salted Caramel Truffles
120g, £5, marksandspencer.com
They look like bullets! The shell is too thick and the caramel too runny but I like the bitterness. ★★★

Prestat
Sea Salt Caramel Truffles
175g, £10.50, prestat.co.uk
Too sweet and not enough contrast between bitter chocolate and salty caramel. ★★

Sainsbury's
Taste the Difference Belgian Salted Caramels
140g, £3.99, sainsburys.co.uk
The caramel oozes nicely but overall they are just too saccharine.
★★

Truffles

William Curley
Laurent Perrier Truffles
220g, £27.50,williamcurley.co.uk
These look beautiful and have a pointed tip. Robust on the outside, soft within and very creamy. Rich, bitter chocolate – just as they should be. ★★★★

Selfridges
Booja Booja Champagne Truffles
237g, £13.29, selfridges stores
Really dense with a strong chocolate taste. If you like pronounced bitterness in your chocolate then these are great. ★★★★

Sainsbury's
Taste the Difference Belgian Flaked Chocolate Truffles
150g, £2.99, sainsburys.co.uk
These are milk chocolate – I personally prefer dark chocolate truffles. They are very sweet with no bitterness to cut through at the end. ★★★

The Cooperative
Truly Irresistible Fairtrade Belgian Marc de Champagne Truffles
115g, £3.95, cooperative.coop
The hard exterior and white coating is offputting and they have an old, slightly stale taste. ★