Friis Holm Chuno 70%
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I’ve had this Friis Holm Chuno 70% bar sat on my desk for about a week now and it’s slowly disappearing. During the past few busy days it’s been my ‘go to’ chocolate bar when I need a bit of a ‘pick me up’. I’ve got 160 other bars and boxes of chocolate in the other room, but I’ve been strangely drawn to this – I’ve not even contemplated walking the few metres to explore what else I’ve got. That’s just shows the quality of this bar.
Of course it came from Richard at Chocolate And Love and follows a fantastic experience with their Nicaliso bar where the design continues with a simplistic, but still delightful appearance. In actual fact it reminds me of those old, dusty economics books I tried to avoid whilst at university. What was that ‘library’ thing anyway?
Again, this bar had the small ‘squares’ which allow for an easier ‘snap’ – and it needs it. This Chuno bar is just as difficult to break a piece off as the Nicoliso – but the effort is rewarded with a gorgeous aroma that exhibits a dryness which is combined with a great tobacco and plum characteristic. If you’re not drawn into the bar at this point you obviously don’t like fine chocolate.
The mouth-feel is divine, it’s smooth beyond belief at exhibits a texture that is as satisfying as it is perfect. What I loved about it was that if you place enough in your mouth and let it melt for a while, and then move it around it releases a fantastic burst of flavorous juices just is the case when you bite in to a grape. That punch of flavour is exceptional.
It’s this randomness of the flavour I love. There are little pockets of it that appear from a very mild initial melt. You’re led into a false sense of security. As it melts fairly quickly you won’t notice any great levels of flavour, and then you’ll move it around a touch and then ‘bang’, you’re floored.
In terms of trying to characterise the flavour I’d have to say that it reminds me of a sauna. There’s a woody, dryness with a slight acidity at the edge that you get from whatever wood they use in those torture chambers people subject themselves to. I implore you, if you’re lucky enough to get a bar, to partially melt it in your mouth (but be careful, it does melt quickly), push it to the front, up against your teeth. At this point you’ll get a pleasant acidity appear.
Lee McCoy