Yes! Yes! Yes! Thorntons Coconut & Lime White Chocolate Block

When I visited the Thorntons factory up in Derbyshire in March, I was very taken with some of what I tasted in Keith Hurdman's development kitchen. Keith is Thortons' master chocolatier and has been working hard to bring some more innovative and higher end chocolate to the Thorntons range.

I didn't love the four bars from their relatively new Blocks range which I reviewed back in January.

But whilst in Keith's product development kitchen, there was one product in development that had all of us grinning with delight. I crossed my fingers that this one would make it into production (and without any downgrading of it's rich, zingy flavours).

That product was Keith's white chocolate with coconut and lime.

I am very excited, therefore, that a limited edition of this bar will be on sale on July 5th. And, presumably, if it proves to be as popular with the wider public as it was with those of us who visited the factory, it will join the ranks of the permanent flavours.

You'd be forgiven for asking why I love it so much, given that I'm not a fan of white chocolate – in fact I'd go as far as to say, I usually do my best to avoid it. This bar is turning me around!

But in this bar, Keith has teamed a rich, creamy cocoa butter from Dominican Republic with crunchy toasted coconut and a lovely burst of lime. The cheesy marketing blurb on the back describes it as "a ray of sunshine for the taste buds" which is cringe-worthy beyond belief, but I can actually see where they are coming from. It's a very uplifting bar - I can't help but smile each time I eat another square (of which there are, only a few minutes after opening it, very few remaining). The smoothness (and fruitiness) of the chocolate, the crunch and flavour of the toasted coconut and the citrus burst of the lime really do win on flavour and texture.

I'd strongly recommend that you try and get your hands on a bar or two. Or three. Or four…