Hot on the heels of Wednesday’s chili chocolate post (har har) is today’s review of more chili chocolate: Frey’s Hot Chilli Pepper bar. When I reviewed Frey’s Tiramisu bar, I mentioned that I’d also picked up their chili chocolate. Deb was kind enough to warn me that it packs a lot of heat, and boy was she right.
The bar is billed as “extra fine dark chocolate with chilli.” Why two l’s in chili I don’t know. Maybe the extra L for extra spiciness? I like my chili chocolate subtle – the chocolate should be all you can taste at first, and then the heat slowly emerges as a warm tingle. Lindt and Vosges do it particularly well. Frey’s take, on the other hand, is like a kick in the mouth. The chocolate is barely noticeable against the painful heat of the chili.
The bits of chili pepper are noticeable in the bar and add a bit of crunchiness to it. If you have the misfortune of squarely chomping on one, ouch. It kind of reminded me of Dagoba’s take on chili chocolate with their Xocolatl bar, which I also didn’t like. My parents love spicy food, and while I don’t particularly enjoy it (extreme sweatiness and a runny nose do little for meal ambiance, I think), I can handle some heat thanks to their training, so I managed this bar okay.
My poor friend Brede, on the other hand, took the following notes when she tried it at a chocolate tasting party I hosted: “Smells like dust; ew – tastes like dust and pepper, why is it crunchy?! Where is the humanity??” I love her notes because they’re hilarious, but also because they make it easy to follow her tasting experience. Like a good taster, she smelled the bar first. Then she tasted it. Then she had the misfortune of crunching down on a pepper. And then she was in pain.
A — from me. If you love spicy foods, by all means, give it a try, but I see no need to ever eat this again.
Varsha