Thorntons Classic Flavours Chocolate Hamper Review

Just before Christmas, a courier knocked at the door bearing a big box of chocolates. A whopping 1.3 kilograms of Thorntons chocolate no less.

A friend, who knows my love of all things chocolate, sent me a Thorntons Classic Flavours Chocolate Hamper. I could not pass on an opportunity to show you what a chocolate hamper looks like from the point of view of a recipient, so here I am.

How it arrives

The hamper arrived in a nondescript brown cardboard shipping carton. Snugly packaged within this outer box was a sturdy burgundy red board lidded box, decorated only with a large Thorntons logo in gold foiled print on the lid. Inside, I discovered a collection of Thorntons boxed chocolates, a small selection of bagged chocolates, and a lonely looking bar of marzipan. There was also a handful of shredded cream paper both for decoration and to minimise the boxes knocking around in transit (although not enough to prevent it entirely).

There was a printed slip with a personalised message from the sender, but reassuringly from the sender's perspective, there was no other paperwork such as an invoice indicating the price paid.

What's inside?

The Thorntons Classic Flavours Chocolate Hamper contained a massive 1.3kg of assorted Thorntons chocolates from the Classic range:

• Milk Classic Collection (262g)
• Dark Classic Collection (248g)
• Milk, Dark and White Classic Collection (123g)
• Toffee, Fudge and Caramel Collection (248g)
• Bag of Strawberry Dream Chocolates (110g)
• Bag of Honeycomb Crisp Chocolates (97g)
• Bag of Chocolate Puddings (97g)
• Bag of Milk Chunky Caramels (103g)
• Almond Marzipan Chocolate Bar (38g)

So, that was four selection boxes of chocolates, four bags of chocolates, and a bar of chocolate covered marzipan. Clearly this equates to a lot of packaging, but a good chunk of it can be reused or easily recycled. The shipping box and hamper box can both be reused or recycled, with the latter being sturdy enough to use as a storage box. The chocolate boxes and inner paper layers can be recycled although there is great difficulty in recycling the black plastic trays at the moment. The plastic bags can be a headache to recycle too.

What do they taste like?

Overall, most of these chocolates were very, very sweet, and it was incredibly easy to demolish a handful of chocolates at a time. The fruity flavours were mostly quite punchy, such as in the Strawberry Dream, as were my favourites, the Coffee Truffles and the Turkish Delights. Some flavours, like the Honeycomb Batons, were harder to detect.

The aromas from each of the boxes were nondescript, and there was a lack of chocolatey notes. Strawberry dominated three out of four boxes.

All chocolates make use of Thorntons blend of milk, dark, or white chocolate. The chocolate itself had a pleasant flavour but often lacked depth, particularly the dark chocolate.

Weighing in at 1.3kg, it's safe to say this hamper is like one giant selection box, so there's bound to be something everyone can enjoy inside.

Below, you will find an overview of the contents of each box and bag.

Milk Chocolate Classic Collection Box

The Milk Chocolate Classic Collection was a double-depth box of flavoured centres predominantly enrobed in milk chocolate. Milk and dark chocolate is used sparingly mostly for decoration. Besides the milk chocolate plaque, there was a selection of caramels, toffee, and fudge balanced with a handful of strawberry, orange, coffee, and Turkish Delight. There were a couple of pralines for good measure too.

• Thorntons Signature - a solid milk chocolate plaque.
• Gooey Caramel - a milk chocolate shell with a runny caramel inside.
• Coffee Truffle - a coffee truffle with a milk chocolate shell and a sprinkling of chocolate powder on top.
• Nutty Caramel - A gooey nutty caramel in a milk chocolate shell.
• Praline Duet - Hazelnut and almond praline wrapped in milk chocolate and criss-crossed with dark chocolate.
• Turkish Delight - A gooey rose flavoured Turkish Delight centre covered in milk chocolate and criss-crossed with dark chocolate.
• Creamy Fudge - Smooth fudge covered in milk chocolate.
• Honeycomb Baton - Honeycomb and hazelnut praline in milk chocolate with dark chocolate decorations.
• Orange Crisp - Orange flavoured truffle with crunchy pieces of wafer in milk chocolate and wrapped in foil.
• Crunchy Praline Baton - Hazelnut and wafer praline in milk chocolate, dipped in white chocolate, and topped with roasted almonds.
• Tempting Toffee - A soft toffee flavoured centre covered in milk chocolate.
• Strawberry Dream - A strawberry and double cream truffle inside milk chocolate.

I wished chocolates like Creamy Fudge packed more of a flavour punch. Strawberry Dream was the most vibrant flavour in this selection, but my favourites were the creamy Coffee Truffle and the delicately flavoured, if very soft, Turkish Delight.

Dark Chocolate Classic Collection Box

Take one box of the Milk Chocolate Classic Collection, and replace all the milk chocolate with dark chocolate and vice versa. Hey presto, you've got the Dark Collection. The flavours are identical to those in the Milk Chocolate box so it was only the chocolate coating that changed.

• Thorntons Signature - a solid dark chocolate plaque.
• Gooey Caramel - a dark chocolate shell with a runny caramel inside.
• Coffee Truffle - a coffee truffle with a dark chocolate shell and a sprinkling of chocolate powder on top.
• Nutty Caramel - A gooey nutty caramel in a dark chocolate shell.
• Praline Duet - Hazelnut and almond praline wrapped in dark chocolate and criss-crossed with milk chocolate.
• Turkish Delight - A soft rose flavoured Turkish Delight covered in dark chocolate and criss-crossed with milk chocolate.
• Creamy Fudge - Smooth fudge covered in dark chocolate.
• Honeycomb Baton - Honeycomb and hazelnut praline in dark chocolate with milk chocolate decorations.
• Orange Crisp - Orange flavoured truffle with crunchy pieces of wafer in dark chocolate and wrapped in foil.
• Crunchy Praline Baton - Hazelnut and wafer praline in dark chocolate, dipped in milk chocolate, and topped with roasted almonds.
• Tempting Toffee - A soft toffee flavoured centre covered in dark chocolate.
• Strawberry Dream - A strawberry and double cream truffle inside dark chocolate.

Understandably, the dark chocolate had more of a cocoa flavour, but lacked any depth. Even so, it paired nicely with in the Coffee Truffle, Orange Crisp, and Turkish Delight. I preferred Strawberry Dream in milk chocolate as the strawberry and dark chocolate flavours both battled for supremacy.

Classic Collection Box

This is the original Classic Collection, using a mix of milk, white, and dark chocolate in each of the chocolates where they work best. Unlike the milk and dark variants above, this is just a single layer box.

• Thorntons Signature - a solid milk chocolate plaque.
• Gooey Caramel - a milk chocolate shell with a runny caramel inside.
• Coffee Truffle - a coffee truffle with a milk chocolate shell and a sprinkling of chocolate powder on top.
• Nutty Caramel - A gooey nutty caramel in a milk chocolate shell.
• Praline Duet - Hazelnut and almond praline wrapped in milk chocolate and criss-crossed with dark chocolate.
• Turkish Delight - A gooey rose flavoured Turkish Delight covered in dark chocolate and criss-crossed with milk chocolate.
• Creamy Fudge - Smooth fudge covered in milk chocolate.
• Honeycomb Baton - Honeycomb and hazelnut praline in milk chocolate with dark chocolate decorations.
• Orange Crisp - Orange flavoured truffle with crunchy pieces of wafer in both milk and dark chocolate, then wrapped in foil.
• Crunchy Praline Baton - Hazelnut and wafer praline in white chocolate, dipped in milk chocolate, and topped with roasted almonds.
• Tempting Toffee - A soft toffee flavoured centre covered in milk chocolate.
• Strawberry Dream - A strawberry and double cream truffle inside milk chocolate.

The Classic Selection is, in effect, how the range was meant to be enjoyed. The collection bore most similarity to the Milk Chocolate selection, with exceptions such as Turkish Delight, which works best in dark chocolate, and Crunchy Praline Baton which is best in white. Orange Crisp, it appears, works best when rocking a coating of both milk and dark chocolate.

This has to be my favourite box in this hamper, as it uses the right type of chocolate for the right application based on each flavour.

Toffee, Fudge & Caramel Collection Box

I'm not a great lover of toffee, nor runny caramels or fudge (unless it comes in great big chunks laden with lashings of clotted cream). So this single-layer box was always going to be my least favourite.

• Thorntons Signature - a solid milk chocolate plaque.
• Nutty Caramel - A gooey nutty caramel in a white chocolate shell.
• Granola Fudge - Fudge blended with granola, covered in milk chocolate, and drizzled with dark chocolate.
• Gooey Caramel - a milk chocolate shell with a runny caramel inside.
• Creamy Fudge - Smooth fudge covered in dark chocolate and decorated with milk chocolate.
• Tempting Toffee - A soft toffee flavoured centre covered in milk chocolate.
• Toffee Baton - Toffee flavoured truffle with pieces of toffee rippled through it, smothered in milk chocolate.

It was interesting to see the Nutty Caramel get the white chocolate treatment, although I think it worked best in milk chocolate. The flakes in the Granola Fudge interfered with the texture of the fudge, and I spent ages fishing them out of my teeth long after eating it.

Strawberry Dream Chocolates Bag

Strawberry Dream is a time-tested Thorntons Classic, perhaps as the combination of freeze-dried strawberries and double cream is an irresistible one. Out of all the items above, this is one of very few chocolates clearly identifiable by aroma alone. The taste is also punchy, with a clear and distinctive flavour.

Honeycomb Crisp Chocolates Bag

Perhaps inspired by the Honeycomb Baton, these chunky versions feature a honeycomb and hazelnut praline that is enrobed in milk chocolate. There was a subtle crunch to these, but the flavour of honeycomb or hazelnut was barely noticeable, as the sweetness dominated the overall flavour.

Chocolate Puddings Bag

Chocolate caramel wrapped inside a milk- and dark-chocolate ganache wrapped inside a milk chocolate shell. It sounds like a winner but unfortunately the caramel got lost amongst the flavours. The sweetness, as with many Thorntons chocolates in this particular hamper, was left unbounded. If you love your chocolate very sweet, these will tick the right box for you.

Milk Chunky Caramels Bag

It might be called caramel but this one was rock solid, more like toffee. Thorntons promises a "firm caramel" and I suppose it delivered on that! It was coated in milk chocolate which, in my opinion, is its only redeeming quality.

Had the Milk Chunky Caramels been pliable, perhaps mid-way between a gooey caramel and a toffee, I would have enjoyed these more. If you love your toffees, this bag will rate highly with you.

Almond Marzipan Chocolate Bar

You either love or hate marzipan, and I simply adore it. Thorntons' version is soft and sweet, and the dark chocolate surrounding it adds a richness. The almond flavour tasted borderline synthetic, perhaps explained by an almond content of just 10%. I notice the ingredients list includes 'flavourings' but I'm not sure whether these were added to the marzipan or the chocolate.

Who is it for?

The Thorntons Classic Flavours Chocolate Hamper contained a generous helping of Thorntons' Classic range inside a pretty red box. It contained a mix of milk, white, and dark chocolates with a variety of fillings, so it was best suited to someone who loves to pick amongst a general selection of chocolate.

This hamper has general widespread appeal, so is ideal for Christmas, birthdays, and anniversaries. It would make a nice 'good luck' or 'thank you' gift but is probably a bit too heavy going (in terms of size and sugar content) for a 'get well soon' gift. It's ideal for chocolate lovers to munch on their own or to share with friends and family. The fact that the chocolates arrive in eight boxes and bags means the chocolates can be split up and enjoyed at leisure, rather than consumed all at once. The best before dates in my hamper ranged from four to eight months from the day of delivery.

The chocolate itself lacks the depth of flavour that chocolate aficionados look for, so die-hard chocolate purists will likely not be impressed. Nevertheless, most chocolate lovers would happily chomp their way through 1.3kg of filled chocolates.

How to order it

This hamper appears to be available at key seasonal times, particularly at Christmas. At the time of writing, this hamper was priced at £35.

Order online as you would do normally, by adding the hamper to your shopping basket. During the checkout, you'll be asked for the recipient's name and address, so it can be shipped directly to them. There's also an option to nominate a delivery date which is handy for birthdays and Christmas celebrations.

You can see the current range of Thorntons hampers by clicking here.

Have you ordered or received a Thorntons chocolate hamper before? Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below.

Disclosure: This was a Christmas present from a friend. My opinions are my own.

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