This week was supposed to be about chocolate for children. I get incensed at Christmas with the homeopathic amounts of cocoa solids in chocolate coins and struggle to find quality alternatives. Only Divine and Hotel Chocolat pass muster. A chocolate insider told me that all chocolate coins are made by only two factories, and the reason you don’t get better coins is that manufacturers would need special equipment for the moulding and wrapping.
But as I was thinking about this, someone wrote in asking what I could recommend as a Christmas present for a chocolate-loving older teen with taste. Be warned that what I’m about to suggest isn’t remotely aimed at children, but I think a sophisticated teen would love them; and if not, well, you’re about to get lucky – it is some of the most mind-blowing chocolate I’ve tasted all year.
The Careless Collection (a play on George Michael’s Careless Whisper/Wispa bars) is made by David Crichton, who is also a pilot. You get four small bars in a box (£12.50) and the chocolate is either dark, milk, white or ruby. The bars have a familiarity to them – they reminded me of thinner versions of a Mars bar, with that ripply top.
But there the similarity ends. My box had milk and dark bars with fillings of salted caramel with balsamic vinegar, toasted coconut and lime, spiced orange and thyme and, my absolute favourite, pistachio cremino, saffron and cardamom. I had to steady myself on the back of the chair when I took my first bite. If you don’t buy them all up, I will.
