It's been nearly ten years since I discovered Snape Maltings in Suffolk – it was the venue for a poetry festival back then. Sometimes you go to a place and, without really knowing why, you just instantly know it's the best. I love the togetherness of the place – there's accommodation, a concert venue, a shop, a pub and, at the time, a bakery (Pump Street, sadly no longer there) all on site. The poetry is fantastic too, and it was here that I first met the poet Holly McNish.
Snape's food stores are great too, full of independent brands and old-fashioned sweets, and a huge range of chocolates, although it's getting increasingly hard to find something I haven't tried (it's a tough life being a chocolate correspondent).
On this trip, I bought 65% Ghanian Dark Milk (£6.50 for 60g) from Suffolk-based Tosier (I wrote about this three years ago, but the cocoa was from a different harvest). All Tosier chocolate is vegan and dairy-free (I've heard the two aren't necessarily the same), so the slight creaminess (not much) of this chocolate comes from the toasted (gluten-free) buckwheat. But it's great chocolate. Those looking for a milky flavour may be disappointed, but those looking for good chocolate will be delighted.
The cocoa is strong, confident, powerful and multi-layered, and the taste lingers for a long time.
If you visit Tosier's site, remember that their 70% Tumaco Colombia with Colombian coffee (£7 for 60g) is the best I've ever tasted, and when they have it in stock, try and pick up some Freddy Rocks (£9.15).
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