Vermont Nut Free Grand Assortment

My boyf got this for us to split on Valentine's Day (at my, uh, gentle hinting?) which was very fun and good. I love truffles, but this is the canonical 6 truffles (mostly good) plus a few other things: caramels (milk and dark, both salty and delicious, and fairly firm caramel), raisin clusters (tastes like raisinettes glued together, with lots of nice choco - very nice), and crunchy clusters (choco with like crisped rice - fine). There are also buttercreams (cherry and ....orange?) which I'm not crazy about, but which are decent choco type things nevertheless. There are no labels here, which is kind of frustrating, but nothing is terrible and many things are great. Just a lot of fun. You get 2 of each type of thing, I think (6x2)?

Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 8/10

Dean's Sweets - Truffles, Buttercreams, and Bars (Assorted)

So, I heard about this nut-free choco operation (running out of Portland, ME) after my disappointing experience with those tofu-filled chocos. I picked a variety of flavors, and got a variety of tastes! Overall it seems like a good quality place (though pricey, of course).

Milk Chocolate Truffle: Great. Basically what you'd want, what you'd expect. Milky, firm outside, and smooth creamy inside. 8/10.

Blueberry Truffle: Sounded interesting, but this wasn't for me. Dark choco exterior, with a very ... tangy? bitter? blueberry inside. Reminds me of the blueberry Seth Ellis truffle, which is good quality but also wasn't for me. I think these bitter fruit flavor truffles are just not my bag, but it seemed to be along the lines of a standard blueberry truffle, so if you like them then you'd like this. For me, 4/10.

Salted Caramel: I think it's my favorite, possibly just because I really like caramel. It's quite good. A lot of salt flavor, and a thick caramel which is very sweet. Dense stuff! 8/10

Brandy Truffle: This one was just average. It wasn't too bitter like the blueberry, but it wasn't amazingly smooth either. If you really like brandy, maybe it is a good choice. I enjoyed it, but wouldn't get it again since there are much better flavors. Actually, the more I eat them, the more I like it, so I might need to rethink this. It's pretty good. 7/10

Champagne Truffle: I think I like this flavor extra much because the inside ganache is based on white choco, not dark choco. The outside is a nice dark choco, the inside is a sweet, mild white choco. It's not really fizzy or particularly champagney - maybe more like an Irish Creme? - but I'm a fan! 8/10

Coffee Truffle: Though I adore coffee and truffle, this wasn't my favorite. The inside is very strong, but not necessarily in a coffee tasting way. A lot of dark chocolate kind of flavor. 5/10

Dark & Stormy Truffle: Wow! Unlike Champagne/Coffee, this really did taste like its namesake drink.   A strong gingery flavor and I guess a bit of rum too. A fun experience, mid tier for me. 7/10

Maple Truffle: This is dark chocolate with....what looks like peanut butter inside?! Egads! I know it isn't, but it has that color, which is creepy. Unlike the other buttercreams, it doesn't really have a white chocolate taste; just what I'd call "creamy maple". I really love the texture of it, but I don't know if maple is a flavor I like very much in general. 6/10

Vanilla Buttercream – Milk : Dude, this was so good! Milk chocolate with little white sprinkles on top, with an eggy/marshmallowy textured "buttercream" inside which was just generic fluffy sweet mash. I only figured it was a vanilla one by process of elimination! But I love it! 8/10

Nog Truffle – Dark : "Nog" because there's no egg, apparently! This is a limited edition, but I'm OK with that. The inside was white...choco? Don't know, but it basically just tasted like alcohol -- too strong alcohol! It seems good but alcohol actually doesn't taste that good, you know? Like pure tequila. Interesting, but not for me I think. 6/10

Nog Truffle – White : Similar to the dark choco version, I love white choco but the inside is just too strong alc for me! I got a mild cinnamon flavor on this one, too, but still not my favorite. 7/10

Raspberry Truffle – Dark: As promised, this is "simple, smooth, and delicious"! Great raspberry and dark chocolate flavors. I think I even got some raspberry seeds in there (?!). Tastes very good. 7/10

Espresso Buttercream – Dark : OK, buttercreams are lit. This is super duper coffee-y, I shouldn't have eaten the little espresso bean topper on its own because it was a lot of coffee, lol. Great flavor though, the inside is fluffy but the flavor notes are really just coffee and dark choco. 7/10

Double Dark Truffle: I don't know if I really WANT unadulterated dark choco. Just very dark flavor. Definitely smooth inside for sure, but a bit much for this girl. 6/10.

Coconut Truffle: This was a fun one! It has real coconut in it, covered in dark choco, so it's kind of like a Mounds Bar (which I sadly can't eat due to allergy labels). Yum. 8/10

Orange Truffle: I was a little scared I mixed this one up with the chai (which I avoid due to anise), because it tasted a lot like chai. I guess I was expecting "orange" to be a little sweeter somehow, especially with dark choco outsides. Maybe too liquour-y for my preference, if that makes sense. OK but not my #1. 6/10

Stout Truffle: I love beeer! But, I didn't really taste any beer here, sadly. Just tasted like Dark Choco to me. 6/10

London Fog Truffle – Dark: Was not sure how I'd feel about a tea flavored truffle, but you know, I think I like it! I definitely get the Earl Grey (which is black tea, my top tea) flavor, but the strong dark choco helps to balance that out. The inside has a layer of white (butter)cream on top, which is super stylin' and I guess is like the milk for your tea -- just adds a little sweetness but overall I basically get strong tea+choco flavors. Very unique and definitely better than I thought, so if you love tea you'd probably love it. 7/10

London Fog Truffle – White: This one had the white part on the bottom, not the top! Wild. The tea part was still very Tea, a little grittier (is there real leaf in it?). I love white choco, and it's great here too, but it allows the tea to shine through more, which I think I disprefer. Still good. 6/10 

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Truffle: aka Cinnamon Brown Sugar (on the website) -- I'm assuming the order doesn't matter, especially since I mainly got cinnamon flavor myself. These are dark-choco coated, and the inside ganache is also fairly dark. And it smells (and, kinda tastes) like a cinnamon raisin bagel, which is wild. I guess the cinnamon is more prominent than the brown sugar, but it also has this bready flavor, for real. I like it, it's fun, but I don't love it. (Would rather have a Bagel and then a plain choco, separately!) 6/10

Peppermint Truffle: This tasted basically like a York Peppermint Patty - strong mint and dark choco, refreshing. It took me a while to get into it (I think the tea flavors infused it a little bit nearby lol) but it was tasty once I did! 7/10

Vanilla Buttercream – Dark: Just like the milk choco, this was really good! Creamy, sweet, nice, like a special choco treat. 8/10 

Maine Moonshine Truffle: This is dark choco coated, and the inside, while creamy, basically tasted like generic alcohol filling. Not a super standout for me, 6/10.

Tequila Lime Truffle: Now this is a boozy truffle I can get behind. Also dark choco coated, and the inside was a nice really bright lime flavor, and also super creamy filling especially for a dark choco. I enjoyed it more than the Dark and Stormy even, really nice. 8/10.

Single-Malt Scotch Truffle: Oh no, this is literally the worst tasting truffle I've ever had. At least I am not allergic to it, but that's really all I have to say in its favor. The outside is normal dark choco, but the inside tastes like Very Strong Burnt Rubber. What on earth? To be fair, I don't love scotch, but this seemed much worse than even a shot of scotch would be. I literally could not finish it and had to spit it out. If you don't love scotch, stay far far away! 2/10

Chai Truffle: Holy heck, I ate this fully by accident because it had a coconut piece on top so I thought it was the coconut one, all the while thinking "this sure tastes like chai". But I didn't die, and was like "wow! why not?" until I googled and found that star anise (which is in this truffle) is NOT the same, or even close to, anise (which I am allergic to). So it was a lot of excitement for nothing. Anyway, this was OK, and it didn't kill me, so I like that. Spicy and tasted like the Aztec hocho. 6/10?

Raspberry Buttercream: As is typical of buttercreams, I liked this. I think it was actually dark choco although the description said milk choco, but that's OK because the inside is sweet and creamy enough to make up for it. Plus the cream was a bright pink, which is fun! 7/10
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Chocolate Bars and Squares (not truffles):

Brandied Orange Bar: The choco bars were all good (though small!!). This one tastes just like a chocolate orange.

Mocha Latte Bar: Very coffee-y! Pretty, too.

Maine Chip Bar: Could have used more chips, actually, but this was sweet and smooth and salty; probably my favorite bar so far.

Lemon Ginger in White Chocolate: I thought this was really amazing! It had bits of lemon fruit mixed in to lovely white choco, with ginger powder on top. Good strong flavors and I love white choco. 8/10

Blueberries and Cranberries in White Chocolate: This was also good, but mostly just tasted like white chocolate to me; no strong berry flavor came through. Still good though. 8/10

English Breakfast with Puffed Rice in Milk Chocolate: OK, this was also really good. It made me nervous 'cause it looks like there could be allergens inside, but it mostly tasted like creamy milk chocolate with rice crisps in it. No strong tea flavor. But really good! 8/10

Overall
Cost: 3/10 (the shipping is the kicker)
Taste: 7/10

Premium Chocolatiers Signature Truffle Collection

So, my mom got me this truffle collection for Christmas, which was very sweet. It is nut free, egg free, gluten free, vegan, and milk free. Unfortunately, I only care about one of those restrictions, and I think the taste really suffers because of the lack of milk and egg. Another issue is that they made me feel quite itchy and sick after just one, which I soon realized is because they DO contain a lot of soy protein and sunflower oil. D'oh. So, if you are like me and just have a nut allergy, I do not recommend these truffles. However, if you have a milk allergy or multiple ones, then at least you have an option for a truffle variety which is still classy!

Individual Opines:

 "Milk" Fudge: Tastes very generic!
 Coffee: Not very coffee-y! Probably my least favorite, which is strange since I like coffee a lot.
 Grand Marnier: The prettiest one, although I could use more orange flavor. It's decent, though.
 Raspberry: Maybe my second favorite, the raspberry flavor is nice and refreshing.
Salted Caramel: Probably my favorite one, though still not as caramelly as I would want! The salt on top is a nice touch.

Overall
Cost: 5/10 (for truffles, they aren't that expensive)
Taste: 5/10

Seth Ellis Truffle Assortment

My greatest weakness, chocolate-wise, is definitely truffles. Yum. I was thrilled to get the chance to try these, especially since they're so hard to find. But they're delicious, and I love that this assortment has so many different flavored truffles/chocolate pieces in it. It comes in a nice, thick box too! Opening it was like opening a nice old book. The different chocos are:

Blueberry truffles: these look like little witches' hats, and they taste like little witches' truffles! Very liquidy cream filling (ok that sounds gross, but it's not. It's choco, but it's not thick or too dense inside. It's good!) and creamy chocolate exterior. Yum.

Dark chocolate truffles: These are dark chocolate squares with a white horizontal line across the top. Tastes like dark chocolate! (It was fun because I didn't know what flavor it would be, and I wasn't totally sure it WAS dark choco until I was done. I could imagine that it was milk choco, coffee, or even caramel. Shows what I know about taste, heh.) Anyway, yum again!

Raspberry Truffles: These are dark chocolate rectangles with a pretty dark red 'x' swirl. They have a very strong raspberry taste; you can tell it's real fruit because there are even little hard raspberry seed part things in the filling! It's sweet and delicious. Yum x3.

Coffee Truffles: So, I don't drink coffee, I don't like coffee ice cream (though I love the smell), but I'm a huge fan of these truffles (surprise surprise!). They're rectangles with one coffee bean on top, and they're very good. They taste like vacation in a hotel or staying up late to do homework (my only coffee experiences). Anyway: yum!

Ginger Truffles: Verrrry interesting. These look like pretty gumdrop shapes with yellow-orange splotches on top. They have a very strong ginger flavor with only a hit of dark chocolate, kind of like a ginger snap but without the snap and with more ginger. I think it's my one of my least favorites just because it's so very intense!

Lemon Truffles: Man, a lot of these truffles look like game pieces! Anyway, it's a dark chocolate square with a small yellow square of yellow fondant on top. It tastes like lemon inside, all right! It's sweet and lemony and refreshing. Yum! I will say that by this point, I started to wish more of the truffles were milk chocolate covered instead of dark chocolate, but I think that's just personal preference. Anyway, I repeat: Yum.

Mint Truffles: A rectangle with a green swirl and dot on top. Note that these are SPEARmint truffles, not peppermint. It tastes a lot like eating a mint leaf. If I were a cat, I'd love this -- but I'm not a cat. Way too "spearmint gum that's mixed with creamy chocolate" weird for me. No yums. :(

Caramel Snobinettes: A stout little chocolate circle with a spiral on top of choco. These are quite gingery!! They're like a less-intense ginger truffle with a bit of caramel sensibility. Much better than the ginger truffle for me, but also not as nice as I expected from a caramel. (Sorry to be a "snobinette" about it!) Ho ho ho.

Candied Lemons: This is a dried lemon piece with chocolate coating. I don't know if it's just me, but the dried lemon was very...dry. Hard to chew through and not pleasant. I request softer lemons!

Milk Chocolate Truffles: No complaints here. Just a good old fashioned milk chocolate truffle. It's a square with a dark brown line across the top.


Overall:
Cost: 4/10 (Truffles are expensive, but there's no avoiding that. It could be worse. Plus: organic!)
Rating: 7.5/10 (Good taste, great look. I'll be back, truffles!)

Laura says: "what?" because I ate them all myself. Sorry, Laura.

Vermont Nut Free Truffles (6 flavors)

Mmm, nut-free truffles, a dream come true! These guys really don't disappoint, they're packed attractively in a little box and for the most part, they taste great. My flavor breakdown is as follows:
Dark Raspberry Truffles - These are dark chocolate with 3 lines of dark chocolate on top. I really like this flavor, although it's very rich and dark-chocolatey overall, so definitely don't eat the whole thing in one bite!
Mocha Truffles - These are milk chocolate with several lines of dark chocolate drizzled on top. I'm not a huge mocha fan, but given that, these were very good and I'd never turn one down. The inside is a dark chocolate/mocha filling, and it goes nicely with the milk choco outside. If you actually LIKE mocha, I'm sure you'd love this truffle.
Milk Chocolate Truffles - these are GREAT! Probably my favorite flavor. They're milk chocolate with a spiral of milk chocolate on top. The inside doesn't taste like regular chocolate, though - it's very very soft and creamy, and I originally thought it was supposed to be caramel flavored. It reminds me a little of a Cadbury caramel egg, only tastier. Highly recommended!
Dark Chocolate Truffles - Pretty tasty! These are dark chocolate with a dark chocolate 'X' on top. They're also quite rich, but a little less so than the raspberry ones. Pretty straightforward - smooth dark chocolate in a truffle.
Black Forest Truffles - A million 'yum's! These are dark chocolate with white chocolate stripes, and the inside is a cherry/milk chocolate/creamy delight. Not too fruity or saccharine like straight up chocolate covered cherries (which I also love) but sweet, and, again, a bit caramely. Very good, definitely one of my favorites.
Orange-Apricot Truffles - these are kind of odd. they're white chocolate with a bit of dried apricot on top and a small 'x' of milk chocolate - they look very cute, but the inside is a strange combo of white chocolate/orange flavor with bits of dried apricots throughout. I think the white chocolate has a strange aftertaste (not just a fluke, then) and the bits of apricot don't exactly class up the truffle. Maybe I just don't like apricot as much as I thought, so if you like dried apricots this might be good for you. Personally, though, it was by far my least favorite and I would not eat a whole one again!

Overall:
Cost: 4/10
Rating: 8.5/10

Laura doesn't like fruit flavors, so she couldn't fairly rate these. But she said they looked good! :)