The combination of chilli and chocolate isn’t something that is a recent gastronomic discovery. It’s a winning combination that’s been around since ~2500BC when the Mayans first mixed the two ingredients. Now whilst the Mayan’s hadn’t developed the know how to produce their own bars of chilli chocolate back then, thankfully this manufacturing process has long since been mastered. This bar of Stinger chilli chocolate comes crafted from the Upton Cheyney Chilli Company with assistance from their master Chocolatier – Gorgeous Georges in Bristol.
Ingredients: Ecuador Dark Chocolate (Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Cocoa butter, Flavouring; Natural Vanilla), Naga Chilli (0.25%) Min 71% Cocoa Solid
Kindly supplied by The Upton Cheyney Chilli Company
Packaging is kept minimalistic with large chocolate shards packaged in a cellophane bag with a simple label but the image of the scorpion on the label certainly helps to grab your attention.
The ingredients label on the underside of the packet indicates that this chocolate is made from Ecuadorian cocoa. Ecuador is one of the top-producing cacao countries in the world and its cocoa beans are renowned for their distinctive tasting notes.
Opening the packet and inhaling I get a rich cocoa smell with subtle sweet floral tones, which remind me of jasmine flowers. In Ecuador many of the varieties of cocoa trees cultivated bear flowers and this may help to explain this aroma.
Without even tasting the products it’s also very clear that there’s chilli within the product as I begin to feel a slight warmth in my nose and at the back of my throat – an after effect of inhaling too deeply from the bag!
Taking a shared out of the bag and breaking it, it has a good sounding snap and it breaks cleanly – two sign signs of a good quality chocolate. Popping a piece into my mouth I can taste the richness of the cocoa solids, and then slowly the warmth from the chillies comes through as the chocolate begins to melt.
Despite the high percentage of cocoa solids the taste isn’t at all bitter as sometimes can be encountered with chocolate using a high percentage of cocoa solids. This chocolate has a smoother chocolate taste with pleasant vanilla tones.
There’s a good balance between the sweetness of the chocolate and the flavour of the Naga chilli. Initially the heat from the chillies starts mildly in the spot where the chocolate is but soon the Naga kick becomes more apparent at the back of my mouth and throat. At only 0.25% Naga this is not going to be a killer heat, but there’s a noticeable sting in the tail and the effect builds in intensity as I take several more pieces.
At £4 for 100g this may seem a little bit more expensive compared to some other specialist chilli chocolate bars available on the market but it’s clearly evident from tasting that this is a premium quality chocolate and I wouldn’t have any hesitation in recommending you buy & and try it for yourself.
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