When life gives you lemons, reach for chocolates

"The only thing I can't resist is temptation" Oscar Wilde

"Life is like a box of chocolates ... You never know what you're gonna get."  Forrest Gump

“As with most fine things, chocolate has its season....Any month whose name contains the letter a,e, or u is the proper time for chocolate.” Sandra Boynton

Chocolate is my only vice. I've never smoked, drink very rarely and a little, have never taken drugs (well, if you don't count the 24 hours of the morphine drip after the first c-section) or had one-night stands, and with me often being left to manage my guys on my own, I am almost on the road to sainthood. What lets my halo slip a little is my love of chocolate.

I've been admiring boxes of chocolate on Martin's Chocolatier's page for a while and decided to treat myself to the Classic Champagne truffle box.

I have read a couple of mixed blog reviews on Martin's Chocolatier's chocs and am glad I decided to follow my instincts and try it myself to have my own opinion.

You might know already that Martin's Chocolatier is the UK’s first Premium Online Chocolate shop and Chocolate Tasting Club.

I have chosen a box of champagne truffles for my delectation. They look very pretty and dainty. The delicate truffles in pastel colours are almost the Jane Austens of the chocolate world, in their sprig muslins.

The first truffle that I tried was Columbus (Orange and champagne, coated in sherbet). Not sure I would call it Columbus, as it is a truly feminine truffle. I would associate the name Columbus with more robust and stronger flavours, maybe dark choclate, laced with rum, or coffee (don't know if he drank coffee). The ganache in Columbus is delicate and flavoursome, and together with the Wimbledon (champagne and strawberries) would be my top choice from the box. The addition of sherbet is inspired. Wimbledon is amazingly pretty in pink, and tastes exquisite as well.

Mont Blanc (marc de champagne) is a more traditional truffle, rich and melting in the mouth.
Romeo (pink heart foiled champagne) was so smooth it disappeared by magic.
Philippe (dusted dark chocolate truffle) is more for boys and has a distinctive quality.
Pierre (milk chocolate truffle) is another scrummy chocolate, maybe a bit less adventurous but perfect for those who love traditional flavours.

All in all, a beautiful selection, presented in a stylish box (if the Union Jack is not to your taste, they have the same selection in a different package). The box is priced at £12.95, so it is roughly over a pound for one truffle. But this is not your bog standard box of Cadbury's, these are artisan truffles, and should be treated accordingly. I would never say No to a gift like this (Are you reading this, dear husband?).

My only mild criticism is that I would like to read a bit more about the truffles that arrived, and what stands behind each name, some of them like Wimbledon and Romeo are self-explanatory, but who on Earth are Philippe and Pierre? Is Philippe named after the founder Philip Ahn? Is Pierre a reference to Pierre Bezukhov?
 And also you can hardly read the text in white on the very pale mustard background on the little menu note attached to the chocs.

P.S. This is not a sponsored post, I bought the box of truffles. All opinions are mine.