I bought the chocolate as a gift for a family member who lives abroad, and they liked it! It was…read morebeautifully packed, and the chocolates are delicious. Thank you very much.

When people tell me they don't like chocolate, I feel suspicious about them. When people tell me…read morethey don't like Minerva Chocolate, I trust them even less. This may seem a little unfair, but trust me - anyone who doesn't enjoy a hot chocolate in their cafe, or one of their Belgium treats is NOT my sort of person. This cafe-cum-chocolatiers on Cheap Street is a chocolaholic's paradise. The friendly staff are at hand to tell you everything you want about these sweet treats, and will lure you into buying more than you wanted with free samples of the wickedly tempting stuff. They also host confectionery making parties for an alternative hen party; but brides beware. You may not fit into your dress after an evening at Minerva!

I have been coming here for 15 years or so. I have never been disappointed…read more a good selection of exquisite chocolates all beautifully presented. love it.

The staff are always welcoming at this delightful upmarket chain. A key part of their mission is to…read morelimit and reduce sugar content. Sugar is to sweeten but not to cheapen. Contrast this maxim with the greedy international conglomerates like Cadbury (no longer British controlled) and Nestlè (a chairman once said that water should never be free). Their deliberate overuse of processed, cheap, white sugar and any other cheap ingredient they can get their grubby claws on including industrial chemicals, processed cheap oils to bastardise chocolate for only one purpose, which is to increase shareholder payouts, their own bonuses and the chairman's share hand outs and fuck customers and remember they sell this stuff to kids. With Hotel Chocolat it's always a bonus for me when they have a cafe in store as their coffee and chocolate libations are tasty. A cafe also includes ice cream and ice cream sundaes with great quality sauces. I have very clear favourites when I shop - anything with booze and anything with macadamia, hazel or cashews nuts (though strictly speaking a cashew isn't a nut it's a Drupe with the nut being a seed). I'm not a fan of very dark chocolate but will use it in cooking. My always go to sweets have champagne, gin or whiskey within. Also their chocolate florentines and their hazelnut pralines are just divine.

Some of the best chocolate around. The blueberry truffles are, in a word, OMG-mazing. It's by no…read moremeans cheap - a package of six truffles runs £2.95 apiece - but this is seriously high quality cocoa. Plus, if you hang around long enough inside you're bound to score a few free samples!

I decided to get a special Easter egg for my Beloved and I headed to Minerva's. It's lovely to go…read morethere where the details matter so much. I think the interior needs working on but that's not what you go for. I chose a lovely looking egg and it was very much appreciated. Every chocolate inside was a delicious surprise. Expensive, well made - worth it for the one you love.

No surprise at all that this fudge store has high reviews. The guys working there were encouraging…read morepasserby's to come in to get a sample of fudge and most people were grabbing a slice or two to take with them. They have the traditional flavors like chocolate, raspberry, etc. When I tired the fudge in the store, it was soft but after taking it away (and storing in a container), it did dry out. Very sweet, as expected, with fudge!

Visiting Bath from the United States. We passed by this cute little shop while walking around the…read moreshops. The two workers inside were so nice and inviting. We asked if we could try three of the fudge flavors ND with no hesitation the lady proceeded to give us samples. The three were equally as delicious and we just had to buy a slice of each. We were like kids in a candy store. You must give them a try!

This is a very special shop where they make their own chocolates. As you'd expect, the chocolate is…read morevery fine and a little bit of an investment. A very worth while one. I treated my partner to an Easter Egg from here last year and that was one prized possession. If you decide to buy one, get yourself one while you're at it. My usually very generous girlfriend kept hers all to herself! Oh, I would have easily given this place *** but the inside is awkward and a bit shabby and I wasn't so keen on the owner (?) speaking in French to his associate, thinking noone could understand him. This is not really that important, but it doesn't leave the same impression as the chocolate does. :)

We needed a quick post-dinner sweet fix as we walked back to our Villa and happened upon Patisserie…read moreValerie. After perusing the window selection for a bit we walked in and ordered a large hot chocolate and almond dessert for take-away. The hot chocolate could have been a little chocolatier but was piping hot and perfect for the cold walk home.

We were walking around Bath and looking for something to it around 2pm. We got the Mille Feuille…read moreand Carbonara. I never had Mille Feuille before but it didn't taste fresh at all. Maybe it will taste better if you come here when they open. I did not finish Mille Feuille because it wasnt tasty. For the carbonara, the taste was alright, but the pasta was a bit overcooked for me. It kind of felt like one of those microwavable carbonara. Will not come back here next time in bath.

Prior to visiting UK, I had searched what souvenirs to bring back, of which proposed tea. Many…read morearticles, however, suggested brands - such as Yorkshire Tea and Tetley - that I can simply buy from local grocery stores. So I came to Whittard of Chelsea, easily found in many cities across England. The staff at this location was hospitable and gave helpful recommendations as it was difficult to narrow down from the abundant choices. You are free to request a brewing of any tea to sample the flavor before purchasing. I settled on the Goji Acai tea, a loose leaf blend inspired by the "superfood" reputation of goji berries, açaí and green tea. It smelled fruity and fragrant, and I liked that clear pieces of the berries were visible in the mixture. I chose to have 50g of the tea (£6.50) packaged in one of their reusable, shiny metal tins (£5.50) instead of a paper pouch. Out of the three available colors, I picked the blue caddy. Because it was inconvenient for me to drink in the store, the employee was kind enough to provide an additional small package for me to try back at the hotel along with a complimentary bag of Dreamtime tea. To me the tea had a nice overall light flavor without being too strong in any particular taste. Their website lists the specific ingredients along with the percentages.

While trying to find some good Earl Grey to bring home to my friends from the UK I was pointed to…read moreWhittard. According to Yelp it was closed so I was pretty bummed because I had walked all around trying to find it using my data roaming - but I walked there anyway and when I finally found it I found they actually closed 30 minutes later than Yelp said so I had about 25 minutes to shop! The gal inside was friendly and didn't try to rush me at all despite the fact that they were closing soon. She pointed me in the direction of a few of their products and told me to take my time. Which I did. It was hard to decide what I wanted to buy because they had tons of options and some cute packaging.

There are multiple locations in London, but we were in Bath and wanted to check it out. Since it's…read moreone of the oldest cheesemongers and is well established, it is more expensive, but compared to American prices, it's still not that bad. They have a good selection of interesting cheeses. Even though it was empty on a weekday afternoon, the cheesemonger didn't seem particularly interested in helping us since we weren't buying a ton. I know it's annoying to let us sample and then cut a bunch of 100 g pieces, but we just didn't have anywhere to store the cheese on our trip. They also have lots of cheese tools and cheese related gifts, as well as their own crackers and lots of various spreads. It's a pretty cute and complete shop.

I was very, very pleased to see a Paxton and Whitfield here in Bath. I used to love walking down…read moreJermyn St in London and once a year, I'd walk in the P & W there and bought a special Christmas treat to take home. Paxton and Whitfield was always a London institution. And I love old traditional shops, especially businesses as old as this one. So, I went into this shop hopeful I could find a special treat for a picnic. It was lovely, a really special experience. The young man in the shop was really helpful and knowledgeable and friendly and not in the least bit snooty. There were lots of beautiful artisan cheeses from all over, including some special local cheeses. Suffice it to say that I tasted some beautiful cheeses in there and took some lovely stuff home with me. I can only recommend that you do the same. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.