I met with the delightful Yugna of The Painted Peacock at the Speciality Food Fair in London's Olympia back in 2019. Her collection of pretty hand-painted chocolates looked beautiful, and the flavours were just impressive.
Yugna's artistic chocolates are hand-made using fruity Colombian chocolate and hide soft and velvety ganaches inside, flavoured with quality ingredients.
She kindly sent me a sleek white box of her latest Classic creations, featuring a pretty collection of 16 delicacies in nine different flavours.
In this article:
Packaging
I'm particularly fond of The Painted Peacock branding, and it lends itself remarkably well to a range of sleek and sophisticated packaging materials.
This particular white sturdy board box looks like something you'd find in a certain fruit-based technology store. Crisp, clean, and elegant, don't you think?
Set against the matt white background is the splash of blues and greens that form the logo. Better still, the square and text are foiled in a bronzed rose gold, and it looks fabulous when it catches the light.
The Painted Peacock 16-Piece Chocolate Selection Box Review
Lift the lid on the box and you'll find tissue paper wrapped around the chocolates, sealed with a Painted Peacock sticker.
Peel this off and pull the tissue paper aside to reveal 16 tempting colourful treats, along with a fragrant chocolate aroma. Each domed chocolate sits inside a paper case, with card dividers, meaning the packaging is fully recyclable. It proves that recyclable chocolate boxes don't have to be dull.
The box handily contains a double-sided menu card, with original flavours on one side and vegan chocolate flavours on the other. In my selection there were 16 chocolates spanning nine different flavours.
The Painted Peacock website mentions that these chocolates are suitable for vegetarians and are free from gluten, egg, and alcohol. It also reckons these are suitable for Halal and Kosher diets although they're not officially certified to attest this.
The recipes make use of E-number colours for decoration, but Yugna tells me she's in the process of reformulating her recipes to use all-natural colours instead.
Let's take a tour through these beautiful treats.
Milk & Mint
The Painted Peacock Milk & Mint Bonbon ingredients:
Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, milk powder, cocoa mass, emulsifier (soy lecithin), vanilla extract), cream, fresh mint, glucose syrup, colours (E102, E132, E133, E555, E171, E172). Cocoa solids: 45% minimum.
- What is it? A soft fresh mint-infused milk chocolate ganache coated with 45% milk chocolate.
- My thoughts: I normally use the type of mint used in mint chocolates as a good barometer for the quality and level of chocolates you can expect to taste later on. After this bite, I was not disappointed. A dense ganache hides a burst of fresh mint that tastes like it's just been picked from the garden. Green in taste, this is a refreshingly light bite that has a lovely rounded finish. I could work my way through an entire box of these in a heartbeat, and reckon these would be great after dinner.
Dark & White Passion Fruit
The Painted Peacock Dark & White Passion Fruit Bonbon ingredients:
Dark chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (soy lecithin), vanilla extract), white chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, milk powder, emulsifier (soy lecithin), natural vanilla flavour), passion fruit puree, cream, glucose syrup, colours (E102, E129, E132, E171). Cocoa solids: 60% minimum (dark chocolate).
- What is it? An award-winning 60% dark chocolate shell surrounding a smooth passion fruit white chocolate ganache.
- My thoughts: My favourite design in the box, this beautiful white and orange speckled bonbon features a delicately light yet creamy ganache that is fragrant and has a mild zing to it. The thin dark chocolate shell balances the tartness of the ganache and helps to leave the mildest of bitter finishes. It really is a fresh summery delight.
Dark Rose & Pistachio (Vegan)
- What is it? A 70% dark chocolate shell with a soft ganache of rose petals and roasted pistachios.
- My thoughts: Rose and pistachio is a light and delicate flavour combination, but here it's boldly paired with a rich and dense dark chocolate. Indeed, the rose is so delicate it is barely detectable to begin with. The flavour develops towards the end and into the aftertaste, but it's still comparatively weak compared to the characterful dark chocolate. Similarly, pistachio adds crunch but its flavour doesn't come through as much as I hoped.
Dark & Toasted Coconut
The Painted Peacock Dark & Toasted Coconut Bonbon ingredients:
Dark chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (soy lecithin), vanilla extract), vegetable fat, sugar, milk powder, coconut, colours (E555, E171, E172). Cocoa solids: 70% & 60% minimum.
- What is it? A 70% dark chocolate shell filled with a soft dark chocolate crunchy coconut ganache.
- My thoughts: There's certainly no mistaking that this is a coconut bonbon as the flavour of toasted coconut comes through very clearly, and is complimented by the rich and creamy characteristic of the chocolate. The soft ganache benefits from the crunch of the generous helping of coconut pieces inside this bonbon.
Dark & Pink Peppercorn Pistachio (Vegan)
- What is it? A soft pink peppercorn and roasted pistachio dark chocolate ganache inside a 70% dark chocolate shell.
- My thoughts: A floral aroma entices you in and then you discover a rich and fruity chocolate flavour, paired with the gentle warmth of the fragrant pink peppercorn. Peppercorn develops throughout the tasting and into the aftertaste, adding character and body more than heat to the overall flavour. Make no mistake, the pink peppercorn sits front and centre and adds a really interesting and enjoyable dimension to the dark chocolate. The only downside is the pistachio flavour is dwarfed by the peppercorns, so while this adds a little bite, its flavour is lost.
Dark & Ginger
The Painted Peacock Dark & Ginger Bonbon ingredients:
Dark chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (soy lecithin), Vanilla Extract), cream, ginger, glucose syrup, colours (E555, E172). Cocoa solids: 70% & 60% minimum.
- What is it? A 70% dark chocolate shell filled with a ginger-infused dark chocolate ganache.
- My thoughts: The ginger flavour in the dense ganache in this bonbon was actually quite mild, and balanced well against the fruity notes in the dark chocolate. Think fragrant rather than fiery, and you'll be on the right track. It celebrates the flavour of ginger without the fire. This one is rich and feels very indulgent indeed.
Dark & Himalayan Salt Almond (Vegan)
- What is it? A 70% dark chocolate shell containing a soft chocolate ganache of Himalayan salt and roasted almonds.
- My thoughts: A rich, smokey, and fruity dark chocolate compliments the sweeter flavour of the almond, which also adds crunch to the overall texture. There's a glimmer of salt in the taste and thankfully it serves as a flavour enhancer here rather than serving as a distraction. There's a bitter finish to this rich and indulgent bonbon.
Milk & Orange
The Painted Peacock Milk & Orange Bonbon ingredients:
Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, milk powder, cocoa mass, emulsifier (soy lecithin), vanilla extract), cream, orange juice, orange peel, glucose syrup, colours (E102, E129, E132, E555, E171, E172). Cocoa solids: 45% minimum.
- What is it? A 45% milk chocolate surrounding a soft orange milk chocolate ganache.
- My thoughts: The country is chocolate orange mad right now, but this bonbon is a far cry from the synthetic orange flavours you might associate with the commercial chocolate bar reboots. A vibrant and zesty aroma pairs nicely with the vibrant orange exterior to the shell. Inside is an elegantly rich, yet soft and silky, ganache. The orange flavour is fragrant and lively, with just a hint of bitterness. It balances really well with the creaminess of the milk chocolate.
70% Dark (Vegan)
- What is it? A 70% dark chocolate shell filled with a soft dark chocolate ganache.
- My thoughts: The 70% dark chocolate is used extensively in this collection, and now is showcased on its own to allow its true flavours to come through clearly. Besides the rich, fruity notes that are clear in the other bonbons, there's also a hint of smoke and leather in the flavour profile. This dark chocolate has a rounded finish with a mildly bitter finish.
The Painted Peacock 16-Piece Chocolate Selection Box Review
RRP: £21.00 | The Painted Peacock | Shop now
A lovely collection of chocolate bonbons with beautiful decoration and clear, well-balanced flavours, presented inside stylish, recyclable packaging. The 16-piece set offers an excellent overview of The Painted Peacock's work as it features a cross-section of flavours.
Where to Buy Online
You can buy this 16-piece Classic collection box direct from The Painted Peacock here. A vegan selection box is also available (£22.50) as well as a nut-free selection (£21).
Selection boxes of nine handmade hand-painted chocolate bonbons start from £13, while the four piece boxes start from £6.50.
Which flavour chocolate would you tuck into first? Let me know your favourites in the comments section below.
