Thorntons Chocolate Mint Collection - 233g

Thorntons sits in a particular spot in British chocolate: a step up from the corner-shop bar, the box you buy on the way round to someone's house. The mint collection is its after-dinner side, built for sharing, or at least for pretending to.

People in Canada go looking for it because it is the box they remember from home. Birthdays, visits to the in-laws, a thank you to the neighbour who fed the cat. Describing it to friends never quite does the job.

It is a 233g box, enough for a table to work through over coffee without anyone counting (somebody is always counting). Keep it somewhere cool and dry, away from the sun and the radiator, and it will sit happily in the cupboard until the right evening turns up. Or until Tuesday.

Thorntons is just as well known in Britain for its toffee and fudge, so it is worth keeping an eye out for those too. And mint chocolates with a pot of proper British tea were always going to get on.