Fiona Sciolti Botanical Chocolate Selection (Event in Warwick)

Many thanks to my dad for finding these for me at an event in Warwick. Hidden within the cute little container are six chocolates, all with rather interesting fillings:

Strawberry and Balsamic Vinegar (Dark Chocolate)
This chocolate had a soft strawberry flavour which was a little sour in it is aftertaste from the vinegar. It is by no means offensive, but it is does give the impression of tasting like mild strawberry yoghurt.

Green Tea and Cherry (Dark Chocolate)
The green tea in this chocolate added an almost herby taste, but I thought there was only the mildest hint of cherry. There was a certain pepper y edge and a slightly bitter flavour. I have had green tea in many sweet forms from ice cream thought to cake and I thought that there was more potential to enhance this one with a stronger kick of cherry.

Apricot and Almond (Milk Chocolate)
I thought this was the most disappointing of the chocolate I tried, it had very vague flavours, and I could pick up on a mild unidentifiable sweet fruit taste with a tiny hint of nut.

Scorched Caramel (Milk Chocolate)
Despite being a milk chocolate, the ‘scorched’ flavour from the centre enhances the chocolate and almost made it taste darker than it was. The filling also tastes of cream, and toffee and fudge and was actually my favourite of the selection.

Blackberry and English Apple Brandy (White chocolate)
There is a definite hint of alcohol in the flavour for this one, and it also draws in a sweet but slightly salty taste. I thought that the blackcurrant was only vague in its nature.

Lemon Verbena and Hand Candied Lime (White Chocolate)
I didn’t think that the citrus flavour was as zesty as it at could have been, although the flavour was pleasant and it felt like there was almost a hint of pepper or mint mixed in. A nice chocolate, but not what I was expecting from the name.

All in all I thought that each one of these chocolate had a good quality chocolate casing, and the texture of the fillings was wonderfully light and fluffy. The ideas for the centres were interesting and well thought through, but I did think though that the flavours themselves need to be a little more defined, at the moment they are overly mild and delicate.