Notes on chocolate: don’t just stick to Dairy Milk

When people hear my job title, the first thing they tend to say, after the swearing, is ‘I’m a Dairy Milk kinda person’ with hands held palm out, a shield between us and what they fear I am about to convert them to. It’s OK to like what you like, but experimentation can lead to new favourites.

A delivery man told me he only ate Whole Nut, but I got him to try Vanini’s excellent 34% cocoa single origin Ugandan milk with whole almonds (£3.49, 100g). He loved it and I would urge you to try it if milky nutty chocolate is your thing (it’s also organic and has good credentials).

I would have also got him to push his taste buds further still with the 56% whole hazelnuts and caramel version – but I had eaten it all.

If I stuck to just what I know I would never have tried Montezuma’s 70% Dark Chocolate with Lemon and Coconut (£2.59, 100g). Neither are flavours I would say I like in a chocolate and yet it works really well. Everyone who I’ve managed to get to try it (I am generous with my chocolate) has gone back for seconds.

Two others I’ve experimented with, which have taken me outside my comfort zone but which have beguiled me, are Divine’s 85% with Blueberry and Popped Quinoa (£2.99, 80g) – perfect when you want a high cocoa hit but with a bit of something else. And the three-ingredient, Mexican-style stone ground Taza with cinnamon (£5.95. 77g) that I ended up eating in a single, piggy, sitting.