Lindt Lindor: Strawberries & cream

Product name: Lindt Lindor: Strawberries & cream
Purchase details: £3.50 for a 200g box (Wilkinson)
Calories: 76 per truffle
Country of origin: Italy

A few months ago now, Lindt announced that their next new and limited edition of Lindor would be Strawberries & cream. I was extremely excited about these ‘white chocolate truffles with a smooth melting filling’ so couldn’t believe my luck when I found them the very next day. However, I’ve been very restrained and only just opened them – I’d love to pretend I was waiting for Summer but, really, I had other products that needed eating first!

The presentation of these chocolates was lovely. They came in a girly pink and Summery-feeling box and were individually wrapped in metallic pink foil. The truffles were the usual shape (albeit with shallower ‘plugs’ where the centres had been piped in – see my Caramel review for comparison!) and the white chocolate was liberally flecked with varying shades and sizes of pink. I’d loved the box’s imagery of the baby pink liquid being poured into the chocolate shells but, of course, the centres were more solidified in their finished form. However, the filling remained pale and smooth, although I noticed that its hue had been achieved with beetroot red colouring.

The creamy berry aroma that these Lindor emitted was just like strawberry milkshake. The chunky chocolate was infused with strawberry and tasted creamy, too, with a vanilla flavour and beautiful hints of berry.

The truffles’ centres provided the usual melting texture but with a slight graininess thrown in. I was delighted to find that even this tasted of white chocolate, although the 0.4% strawberry powder and 1.1% cream powder also made their mark. To my delight, they tasted just like milkshake in a more indulgent food form! However, it wasn’t sickly, and the grainy texture somehow reduced the richness which meant it didn’t feel quite as in your face as some of the other Lindor varieties.

Despite buying these immediately in fear or the limited edition not being around for long, I know that Lindor: Strawberries & cream are still available in shops. Here’s hoping that Lindt recognise just how fantastic they are and allow them to be a permanent fixture in the range – I loved them!

Appearance: 9.5/10
Aroma: 8/10
Taste: 9/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 8.63/10

Lindt Lindor: Peanut butter

Product name: Lindt Lindor: Peanut butter
Purchase details: £0.40 for a 12g truffle (Bold Street Sweets)
Calories: 73 per truffle

It’s only relatively recently that I discovered that Lindt Lindor: Peanut butter existed. As with most interesting peanut butter products, the variety isn’t generally available in the UK. However, my colleague recently took a trip to Bold Street Sweets and informed me that they were selling them. It didn’t take me long to get down there myself and buy a few to sample and I wasn’t surprised to be told by the lady who served me that they had been ‘flying out’.

The copper wrapper wasn’t dissimilar from the UK’s hazelnut variety that’s found in the Assorted box and there wasn’t really anything to go on in terms of information. However, I was able to find the Peanut butter truffles on Lindt's USA website. This claimed that the favourite ‘flavour combination’ of milk chocolate and peanut butter was being delivered ‘in a single, deliciously gourmet experience’ with the ‘delicate milk chocolate shell’ holding an ‘irresistibly smooth peanut butter and milk chocolate’ centre.

From the outside, you wouldn’t have guessed that this particular Lindor variety held an inner secret. However, on cutting a chocolate ball open, the difference was immediately clear. Instead of being solidified, the centre was thick and molten and, despite being a darker shade of brown than peanut butter, it was clear from the texture that this was incorporated in the mix.

I can’t say the truffles had a specific peanut butter scent but there was a nutty element within the chocolate aroma. The thick outer shell was milky but also provided a cocoa hit that mellowed the stronger inner flavour. This filling was properly liquidy and had a prominent roasted nut aspect along with a salty aftertaste. Whilst I’d love to rave about it, I did find the peanut butter flavour wasn’t as pure as I’d have liked, and it also had an almost alcoholic tint to it too. Nevertheless, it was still enjoyable.

The texture may well have been out-of-the-ordinary for Lindor but I think I actually preferred it!  Instead of melting in the mouth and bordering on sickliness, the filling was already molten and literally popped out of the shell when a little pressure was applied, leaving behind the tasty chocolate to savour as a nice change.

These Peanut butter truffles weren’t exactly how I expected but I was quite impressed that they weren’t totally predictable. I think the flavour could do with a little work but the chocolates were still great and I maintain that they should be more widely available!

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

Lindt Lindor: Stracciatella

Product name: Lindt Lindor: Stracciatella
Calories: 77 per truffle
Country of origin: Switzerland 

I was really pleased to receive this box of Lindt Lindor: Stracciatella as an alternative Easter gift this year. I had tried this limited edition variety when they were first released, ages ago, but I’d not had them since.

The ‘Swiss white chocolate truffles with slivers of cocoa and a smooth melting filling’ came in an ice blue box which could easily be mistaken for the Coconut variety. The presence of snowflakes also suggested that this particular box had been manufactured in time for last Christmas! I loved the imagery of the melted chocolate being poured into the white chocolate shell and couldn’t wait to tuck into the ‘irresistibly smooth’ treats.

Wikipedia informed me that ‘stracciatella’ is a type of soup but, more fittingly here, it’s also an Italian ‘milk-based ice cream infused with fine chocolate flakes’. Due to the speckled effect on the pale white chocolate balls (provided by the cocoa kernels that contributed to 1% of the product), this made perfect sense! Rather than ice cream, though, Lindt claimed that these truffles tasted ‘like cookies and cream’, although they didn’t actually contain either ingredient.

Knowing that my 200g box contained 17 chocolates, I was able to work out the above calorie content from the website’s nutritional information. Each truffle was individually wrapped, contained a beautifully smooth-looking centre, and emitted a vanilla cookie scent.

The white chocolate itself wasn’t the best I’ve ever tasted but it did have a subtle vanilla flavour. The shell did a surprisingly good job of replicating the taste of cookies and cream and, if allowing it to melt, the pure white chocolate’s contrasting flavour came through more strongly on reaching the cooling and melting centre that I love about Lindor truffles.

The downside of letting the balls melt was the texture of the cocoa kernels. These were bitty and felt like harder and sharper pieces of desiccated coconut. What I did like about this, though, was how their dark chocolate taste made the experience reminiscent of ice cream toppings. When choosing to crunch through the shells, the cocoa slivers also provided a pleasant added crisp.

I mentioned in my first ever Lindor review of the Caramel variety that I did go through a period where I found the brand too sickly. Looking back, I think the texture, as luxurious as it is, contributed to this, since I found it a bit much with the rich flavours on offer. However, the Stracciatella truffles’ flavour seemed to be the perfect match for the inner texture as it was subtle enough to not feel sickly, but strong enough to provide a delicious, creamy and pretty juicy treat.

Although I rationed myself to one chocolate a day, I could easily have eaten more!

Appearance: 9/10
Aroma: 7.5/10
Taste: 7.5/10
Texture: 7.5/10
Overall score: 7.88/10

Lindt Lindor: Coconut

Product name: Lindt Lindor: Coconut

Purchase details: £4.50 for a 200g box (Sainsbury's)
Calories: Unsure – estimate 77 per truffle
Country of origin: Italy 

Despite my previously voiced apprehension surrounding Lindt Lindor truffles (see here), I’ve actually been searching for this limited edition Coconut variety for ages. In the end, I had to call in reinforcements, so tonight’s review is thanks to my sister who finally managed to find me a box! Due to my love of coconut, I expected these truffles to be another exception to the rule in terms of my enjoyment of the brand, although I was slightly disappointed that they consisted of milk chocolate shells rather than white chocolate.

I absolutely loved the colour used for the box and foil wrappers of these ‘milk chocolate truffles with a smooth melting coconut filling’ and, due to the icy shade and white floral decoration, I actually thought they looked quite Wintry and snow-like. I do wish Lindt would put the nutritional information on the packaging, though, since I've again had to rely on MyFitnessPal for the calorie count.

These truffles had the same outer appearance as the Caramel variety and emitted a deliciously strong, milky coconut smell. On cutting into a ball, I found that the chocolate shell was nice and thick, and the white filling contrasted well with this.

When biting into a truffle, the aforementioned thickness of the milk chocolate was immediately apparent and it tasted as good as Lindt normally does, with a minimum of 31% cocoa solids and 20% milk solids.

Whilst only 1% of the product was coconut powder, this flavour was strong and tasted lovely and sweet, although the nutty element was also present. Despite my initial concern, I found that this did actually go really well with the milk chocolate and, to be honest, white chocolate probably would have been a little bit too sweet.

Aside from the flavour being really good, I was pleased that it wasn’t actually that Lindor-like in that I didn’t find it at all sickly. Maybe the curse is broken?!

I found these truffles quite greasy to touch but, in the mouth, they did have a great texture. They weren’t as silky smooth as the Caramel ones in that the coconut centres didn’t turn into puddles in quite the same way due to a slight graininess. However, the balls did still melt well and the truffle aspect did have its anticipated cooling effect.

On the whole these truffles were so milky and smooth that eating them wasn’t that dissimilar to drinking a glass of milk – they just had a more awesome flavour. I think I’m in love. 

Appearance: 9/10
Aroma: 8/10
Taste: 9/10
Texture: 8/10
Overall score: 8.5/10