Raising the Bar

 

Prestat, chocolatier to Her Majesty The Queen, is launching a NEW range of eight chocolate bars, five of which are Vegan Friendly. They are the first Prestat chocolate bars to be made with a couverture created by Domori, Prestat’s sister company, widely recognised as being one of the finest chocolate manufacturers in the world.

Prestat’s new bars are made with a bespoke Domori range of single origin Côte d’Ivoire couvertures, using a manufacturing process that roasts and mills cacao beans at low temperatures to preserve their aromatics. The lower temperatures and a more natural production technique both help to make the chocolate more environmentally friendly.


The five Vegan Friendly dark chocolate bars all have a 73% cocoa content:

• Dark Chocolate With Raspberry – based on an award-winning recipe 
• Dark Chocolate English Mint Crunch – based on a best-selling recipe 
• Dark Chocolate With Roasted Almond & Cocoa Nibs – NEW recipe 
• Dark and Stormy Chocolate – named as a tribute to Storm Athill, who designed all the bars’ new wrapping 
• Dark Chocolate With Pink Himalayan Salt – based on an award-winning recipe 

The Dark and Stormy Dark Chocolate Bar is a revelation,  representing the purity of the ultimate single origin vegan chocolate. The other four bars each play on the subtleties of its flavour, adding their own distinctive twist. The pure intensity of the dark bars represents Vegan Friendly chocolate at its very best and will be enjoyed by anyone – whether they are vegan or not. Roald Dahl, author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, “Adored” Prestat's finest chocolate and truffles, and would no doubt love these latest treats.

The three milk chocolate bars have an unusually high 38% cocoa content and deliver a real depth of flavour combined with the creaminess you would expect from the finest milk chocolate:

• Milk Chocolate Sea Salt & Roasted Almonds – based on an award-winning recipe 
• Milk Chocolate Earl Grey Tea & Lemon – based on an award-winning recipe 
• Cocoa Rich Milk Chocolate – based on a best-selling recipe 

Having joined forces with Gruppo Illy, the owner of Domori, Prestat is the only chocolatier with a Royal Warrant to have complete control of the chocolate-making process, from bean to bar and tree to truffle. The single origin cacao used to make the bars comes is traceable to specific plantations in Côte d’Ivoire and is bought directly from the farmers’ consortium at a premium to the world market price for cocoa, so enhancing the farmers’ income.

The cacao beans go through a stringent quality assessment before undergoing a low-impact method of roasting and milling – at temperatures which are typically 25-30⁰C less than those used by other chocolate manufacturers. That makes the cacao less acidic and so avoids the need to ‘wash’ it with an alkaline solution. The gentler and more natural processing method not only helps to preserve the chocolate’s aromatics but also uses less energy and is kinder to the planet.

All Prestat’s new bars feature wrapping designed by Storm Athill – a London based artist, costume designer and seamstress – taking the renowned bright and beautiful packaging into the next generation.

All delicious bars retail at £4.50

 

I was sent two of their new line of Chocolate Bars to try out.  A Milk chocolate with Sea Salt & Roasted Almonds, and a Dark Chocolate with Roasted Almond & Cocoa Nib.   I've been enjoying a little piece of each daily. I have to say these are fabulous chocolate bars. The flavours are outstanding and the packaging is exquisite!  Very pretty indeed. 

The Dark Chocolate one has a very intense chocolate flavour that is quite appealing.  A small square delivers a beautiful chocolate punch that I quite enjoy, with just enough nuts and nibs to make it a very pleasant eat indeed.  The Milk Chocolate one also has a fabulously intense chocolate flavour, albeit it a bit more mellow than the dark as one might expect. Not too salty and just enough nuts make this also a very pleasant eat.

Both bars have a lovely snap to them. If you are a connoisseur of good chocolate, you will really love these!  I highly recommend! 

A bit about Prestat:

• Prestat is committed to Trading Fairly – helping to pioneer new and direct ways to support cocoa farmers in West Africa. 
• Prestat’s founder, Louis Dufour, created the world’s first recorded chocolate truffle in Chambery, France in 1895. He opened the first Prestat shop in 1902. 
• Prestat's kitchens have won 13 Gold Great Taste Awards since 2013. 
• Prestat was also voted ‘the country’s best chocolate and confectionery brand (2014-2015)’ in a survey commissioned by the Guild of Fine Food. 
• Prestat is one of the few British artisan chocolatiers to make all its own chocolates – giving it complete control of recipes and the sourcing of ingredients, while nurturing the traditional skills needed to create handcrafted chocolates. 
• Prestat became a wholly owned subsidiary of Gruppo Illy on 13th March, 2019. Founded in 1933, Gruppo Illy Group is a family-owned business driven by a passion for taste without compromise. It owns companies which make coffee, tea, jam, chocolate and wine. 

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