Notes on chocolate: bars with their origins in darkest Peru

A bar that I’ve developed a deep, deep love for has been Heist’s 59% Milk with Peruvian cocoa, £6.95/80g (it’s worth every penny). I first mentioned this exact bar nearly two years ago when Tom, a reader, wrote in to tell me about the make. I liked it then, but cocoa beans change, palettes change and it’s been a standout bar for me this year. The pieces are letterbox-shaped, thick and about 15g each; enough to feel indulgent, but not so much they send you into a post-prandial coma. I treasure this moment of eating a piece, just for me, like something out of a 1970s ad when women were only allowed to stop vacuuming if it was for a flakey chocolate bar and a traipse through a cornfield.