When you’re not well, chocolate is not easy to navigate. And despite my daily ice-cold showers and general robust constitution, I have crumpled, like a two-Christmas-old amaretti biscuit, in the face of an unnamed bug (not Covid). Luckily, just before I checked myself into the sick bay I had stockpiled my tasting. Matron has let me out to write this.
Last week, I mentioned a Marks & Spencer bar that was very good, but this week I go one better with their Single Origin Dark Milk at 54% (beans from the Dominican Republic, £2/100g), which is so darn good it’s gone straight into my top 10 dark milks. At this price you need to buy quite a few bars. It’s got a wonderful strong but creamy taste. I just loved it.
Another stunning supermarket bar is Asda’s just-launched Mint and Cocoa Nib Dark Chocolate (£2/150g). Everyone who tasted this remarked on how delicious it was, while raising an eyebrow when I told them where it was from. The addition of cocoa nibs is an inspired touch. At 52% cocoa, this is a gentle dark bar. Even if you don’t like mint chocolate I think you should try this, and if you do like mint, well… Thank me later.
For something different, and definitely more artisanal, look to London Chocolate’s India, a 70% bar (£7.90/62g) made with Criollo and Forestero beans grown in southern India’s jungle-adjacent Anamalai Hills. In gorgeous packaging, this deep, earthy chocolate that makes you slow down and savour it, while doing some deep-thinking.
Follow Annalisa on Twitter @AnnalisaB
