Dark Mandarin Edition 01

This year our garden has produced a number of bird nests including blue tits and blackbirds. Between them they've produced an abundance of young birds which are all at different stages of growth. However, whilst this is lovely the blackbirds can definitely move on to pastures new next year. They are a complete nightmare, squawking begins at 4am and goes on for most of the day or until their voices give out. The neighbours cats that dare to venture into our garden are dive bombed and defecated upon from a great height. This is very amusing if not a little stressful and alarming for everybody. The birds try their best to frighten the cat to death whilst staying out of reach of those deadly claws. I never have my video camera with me when this happens which is a bit annoying as I'm sure Spring Watch would love it. Last night I saw my first Red Kite flying over Chelmsford. Much to my surprise this is not a first for Chelmsford apparently. Ok, that's enough twitching for one day!

In case you didn't know Amelia Rope appeared on Masterchef and went on to attend the Valrhona Les Bonbons de Chocolat course following a conversation with a friend. Chocolate bars are Amelia's latest creation adding to her range of crystallised flora dipped in chocolate and decorated with gold or silver leaf and bespoke truffles. Amelia does not compromise on quality, taste, indulgence and purity. This focus and attention to detail is heaped upon this bar from beginning to end. The packaging is superb!

Dark Mandarin Edition 01

The Chocolate: Visually this bar of chocolate has a stunning lustre about it that I've rarely seen before in other bars. There is not a mark on this bar as my picture below demonstrates. I'm lying actually as the bar took a direct hit whilst in the post so, I've cropped the picture just a little. This particular chocolate is from Madagascar and has a 67% cocoa content made from a single origin bean.

Amongst the fruity aroma of the dark chocolate there is just a tiny hint that orange (organic mandarin oil) has been used in the making of this bar. As soon as you put a chunk of chocolate in your mouth the subtle mandarin oils are released. I expected the mandarin to be a little stronger in flavour but it is a delicious bar of chocolate. There is no bitterness from the chocolate or from the mandarin oil. 

This is a lovely bar of chocolate that has been beautifully presented and perfectly made. However, I think the mandarin flavour was a little thin for my taste but I'm really nit picking. Again Amelia's bar scores a high 9/10. £5.60 for a 100g bar is not for the faint hearted in these austere times but if it's quality you're looking for it is money well spent. To buy online click here.