Guylian Artisanal Belgian Chocolates: La perlina (milk truffles)

Product name: Guylian Artisanal Belgian Chocolates: La perlina (milk truffles)
Purchase details: £1.00 for a 66g box of eight truffles (Poundland)
Calories: 53 per truffle (424 per box)
Country of origin: Belgium

I’d never had these ‘Belgian milk chocolate truffles’ before but, since they were made by Guylian, I wanted to give them a go.

The white and gold box tied in nicely with the branding of the seashells products and there was also a brief history of the company on the inside cover which taught me something new – it was named after the founders, Guy and Liliane...clever!

Despite being ‘premium chocolates’, their cylindrical appearance made them look quite standard. Decorated with simple lines, the chocolate shells contained a ‘smooth truffle filling’ that looked a bit like a mousse and made up 55% of the product. Free Translation told me that ‘perlina’ means ‘bead’ but I couldn’t quite see the connection!

The milk chocolate contained a minimum of 31% cocoa solids and 23% milk solids and was quite slippery to the touch. Up close, it did smell simply of chocolate, but this wasn’t detectable from a distance.

The product description of ‘a delectably smooth milk chocolate filling’ that had been ‘enrobed within the finest Belgian milk chocolate for an exquisite taste sensation’ suggested that it was the truffle itself that was the star of the show. These centres were really smooth and moist and melted in a way that was not dissimilar to Lindor, although they were more solidified, despite appearances.

The main flavour was cocoa and there was a slight bitterness mixed in with creamier elements of the product. If I’m honest, whilst very rich, I didn’t think the truffles had the best taste in the world. The centres were very nice, if a bit plain, but there was something about the chocolate shells that, initially, didn’t quite seem to match up to their contents. However, the taste did quickly become addictive, and the chocolatey buckets were by no means unpleasant.

The downside of the shape was that the chocolates weren’t great for melting as they were a bit too tall to comfortably suck on. However, doing so did seem to improve the cocoa’s flavour before reaching the filling.

There was certainly nothing wrong with these Guylian Artisanal Belgian Chocolates: La perlina (milk chocolate) but there wasn’t really anything about them that stood out as special either. They may not have matched up to my enjoyment of the Original praliné bar but they were still a substantial treat. I hadn’t thought eight in a box sounded like many but they turned out to be more than enough!

Appearance: 7/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 7/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.13/10

Guylian Belgian Chocolate: Original praliné

Product name: Guylian Belgian Chocolate: Original praliné
Purchase details: £1.00 for a pack of three bars (Poundworld)
Calories: 211 per 40g bar
Country of origin: Belgium

When I was kid, we were quite often given boxes of Guylian seashell-shaped chocolates and I absolutely loved them. In fact, for many years, I thought praline was called ‘Belgian chocolate’ as that was my only experience of it! It’s been a long time since I last received Guylian as a gift so I was delighted when I found the product in a bar format recently.

The ‘Belgian chocolate with praliné filling (42%)’ bars were each divided into four pieces that were topped with milk and white marbled chocolate seashell shapes taken from the usual designs (found here). I had no issue with the shells or the seahorse but I tried not to focus on the shrimp as I can’t stand real seafood! The bars came in good quality, fresh white wrappers that featured a metallic brand name and tips, as well as an image of the product. The reality of the bars was very much the same although I did find that the chocolate was slightly discoloured.

The bars had a milky chocolate scent up-close but they didn’t really smell nutty. Thankfully, though, the taste didn’t disappoint. On placing a piece on my tongue, the smooth chocolate coating had a creamy taste with a slight bitterness (it contained a minimum of 32% cocoa solids and 19% milk solids). After a couple of seconds, the hazelnut flavour began to emerge and this lovely nuttiness mixed well with the chocolate’s sweetness. The outer part of the bar had a nice melt to it and this then met with the slighter rougher praline which matched up to its soft and crumbly appearance. This, too, melted nicely, although its graininess made it feel pretty sugary.

The seashell shapes also made the bar nice and chunky to chew. I’ve always loved the inclusion of the white chocolate in Guylian products (containing a minimum of 27% cocoa solids and 23% milk solids) but, in this case, I would have liked it to be more of a feature – imagine if it had been swirled in with the outer chocolate coating too!

I’m so glad I found these Guylian Belgian Chocolate: Original praliné bars – they tasted just how I remembered and I found them to be delicious.

Appearance: 7.5/10
Aroma: 7/10
Taste: 8.5/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.63/10