It's nice to see the range of dairy free/vegan chocolate options expanding in the UK, with the likes of Waitrose, Ombar and others making some respectable options, and so it seems fitting that health food store Holland and Barrett have created their own range. They are now selling Organic Pumpkin Spice and Gingerbread dark chocolates, which come in 100g blocks and cost £3. A bit too pricey if you ask me, but nevertheless I was curious enough to give this a try when I spotted it - it's made with 58% cocoa solids and contains gluten free ginger cookie pieces.
Opening the wrapper it certainly had a pleasant ginger aroma that reminded me of dark chocolate gingers.
The cookie pieces are clearly visible within the chocolate and pretty evenly dispersed. Taking a bite they're very evident and nice and crunchy. The chocolate is pretty smooth and sweet, which surprised me as usually chocolate with this percent of cocoa can be a little bitter. It's clearly of good quality and probably benefits from being organic. I enjoyed this bar, it gives you a pleasant ginger biscuit flavour, and isn't too overpowering. I felt like it could have done with a little more ginger flavour but that's probably me being picky.
All in all, a pretty tasty bar and a nice option if you're dairy free or vegan and have limited options. I think the price is too much for what you get though - £2 would be a lot more reasonable. Hopefully these will stick around after Christmas, or maybe we'll get some other flavours next year?
