Just across the street from Maison Kammerzell is a Leonidas store. Their chocolates are world famous. We stopped in just long enough to buy a selection of pralines and jellies, then we put them in the car and enjoyed the rest of the day with friends. The chocolates seem a bit worse for the wear, but the jellies made the 2 hour drive just fine. These fruit juice flavored jellies were yummy, but not the focus of this blog, so all you get here is one pretty picture of these fruit-shaped jewels.
The shopkeeper created a nice selection for us, with the following classics in the bag (compare the pics on http://www.myleonidas.com/leonidas_guide.html):
- Palette d'Or, with gold stripes
- Buche Pastische, a pistachio marzipan
- Princess Enrobee'
- Europe, the light brown round one
- Ganache, orange ganache
- Merveilleux, the oval one
- Olympe, the white one
- Carre' croquant, the square ones
For me, the signature piece of chocolate for comparison is the Palet d'Or. A great Palet should have a crisp snap when you bite into it, and a good rich chocolate flavor.
Let's start with the Palet. Yes, the perfect snap! as you bite into it, and a good bitter chocolate flavor. This particular one is less sweet than normal, although you should never expect a sticky sweet Palet.
The white one intrigues me. What's in there? Hmmm?
Oh. My. Goodness.
That is a better than sex taste. Perfectly creamy, perfectly smooth. White chocolate with orange buttercream. DH says that it's only "better than bad sex."
The Buche Pastiche (one pistachio, one pink) is just ok. Quite dry. I let it get a little old, so I take the blame for that one. I wonder what flavor the pink one is? We couldn't figure it out.
One last one for today. Merveilleux. Coffee ganache covered in dark chocolate. Better than the Olympe.
Well, in spite of my best, though unintentional, effort to destroy this package of chocolates and bring the ranking down a notch, these Leonidas pralines still get and deserve the Better Than Sex rating.
Reviewed: Leonidas selection
Personality: Sophisticated, deserving their excellent reputation
How to enjoy: Drink a nice glass of wine, some soft music, and give these wonderful chocolates a little quality time.
Rating:
1: Better than sex, but have it packed in a nice gift box before traveling
2: Little bites of heaven
3: Share with your best friend
4: Will do in a pinch
5: Halloween candy
Where to buy:
Germany, US, UK: Buy them locally at one of the 1400 or so stores worldwide. Use the Storefinder to find a store within a few hundred miles.
Online: go to their online store
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