With its high almond content, it’s less sweet than many marzipans, keeping the true taste and colour of the finest, aromatic Mediterranean almonds that are used, and only the best, most perfect, golden kernels pass the expert gaze of the eagle-eyed ‘checkers’ once the almonds have been blanched. Germany's most famous marzipan factory is in the north in Lübeck, and marzipan is undoubtedly the city's biggest export. And finally, the secret rosewater-like ingredient is added and the marzipan can be turned into one of over 300 marzipan specialities, from fine pralines to novelty shapes as well as the classic chocolate-coated loaves. What better way to countdown to Christmas Day (and feed that marzipan habit) than with this traditional Santa Claus Advent Calendar from Niederegger?

Filled with 24 of their classic dark chocolate marzipan loaves, just open a tab for your daily treat and unveil a fun fact about Christmas traditions from around the world. Niederegger The worlds finest marzipan from Lubeck in Germany - made with 58% aromatic Mediterranean almonds - Niederegger is the benchmark in marzipan. The secret of Niederegger Marzipan lies in a closely guarded secret recipe, handed down over the generations, for the exact mixture of almonds, sugar and a top secret ingredients similar to rose water.Niederegger make 30 tons of this incredible marzipan every day, crushing the chopped nuts with sugar between giant granite rollers, heating the paste in copper cauldrons until it’s ready to be cooled, wrapped and rested to develop the fullest potential of the almond aroma. Johann Georg Niederegger, an outstanding confectioner, established the business in 1806, and the original, time-honoured recipe has stayed exactly the same since then – a mixture of almonds, sugar and an ingredient similar to rosewater that gives the unique Niederegger taste.