Duffy's Nicaragua Amarillo 72% Dark Chocolate, 60g

Duffy's Nicaragua Amarillo 72% is a soft, malty and fruity single-origin dark chocolate, made bean to bar in Lincolnshire from Nicaraguan Nicaliso cocoa beans. Duffy Sheardown stone-grinds the beans himself, building on a career that began in motor racing before he turned to chocolate. The result is one of the gentlest, most approachable dark bars in his range, and it won a European Silver at the International Chocolate Awards in 2018.

If you're used to milk chocolate and want to try something darker, start here. It has a soft melt and a mellow, malty sweetness, with fruity notes running through it, so it feels rounded rather than intense. A square or two is lovely with an afternoon cup of tea or a milky coffee. Chopped into chunks, it makes very grown-up cookies or brownies.

Why we love it:

• Single-origin Nicaliso beans from Nicaragua, stone-ground by Duffy's in Lincolnshire
  
• Soft, malty and fruity - an easy introduction to fine dark chocolate
  
• Award-winning: European Silver, International Chocolate Awards 2018
  
• A short ingredients list with plant-based ingredients only
  

How to use:

• For tasting, make the bar is at room temperature, then let a 5g square melt slowly on your tongue
  
• For chocolate chunk cookies, roughly chop the whole 60g bar and fold it into a dough made with 125g butter, 150g sugar, 1 egg and 200g plain flour. Bake at 180°C for 10-12 minutes.
  
• Melt 30g into 200ml of warm milk for a smooth, malty hot chocolate
  

More information:

• Made by Duffy's Chocolate, an award-winning bean-to-bar maker in Humberston, Lincolnshire
  
• 60g bar
  
• Plant-based ingredients; made without nut, gluten, soya or dairy ingredients
  
• Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight and strong smells
  
• Allergens: None
  
• Ingredients: Single-origin cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin. Cocoa solids 72% minimum.