Friis Holm – Johe, Nicaragua Dark 70%

About the bar

Crafted with care in small batches, this is one of Friis Holm’s original three Nicaraguan bars.

The first thing to note with this generous-sized bar is the texture. Perfectly smooth with a clean snap, the mouthfeel is more silky than buttery. The bars has a slow melt that gradually releases its flavour. We detected a green, almost grassy note to begin with. These bright herbal flavours darken and take on a smokier aspect. Tobacco and leather begin to dominate, replacing the delicate freshness. The smoked notes deepen towards into the long finish. A hint of wooded molasses at the end.

Re-tasting this bar more recently, we were stuck by a far more citrus tang. The bar still had a fresh taste, but the overall flavour was of orange and bergamot rather than grass.

One of the joys of small batch chocolate is that every batch tastes slightly different. Small variations in climate have a huge impact on the flavours of any given cocoa harvest. While one year the bar might be dominated by citrus and botanicals, another year the bars profile might shift towards a tobacco earthiness.

About the maker

Mikkel Friis-Holm’s craft chocolate journey started with an ever-growing passion for fine chocolate. This eventually led him to Central America, where he immersed himself in a project that aimed to identify and evaluate DNA strands of Nicaraguan cocoa beans. He then pivoted from sourcing to making, and Friis Holm, the Danish craft chocolate maker, was born. Mikkel is still fascinated with genetics, and ensures he chooses the best varieties with the highest flavour potential.

This bar was featured in our February 2021 subscription box. You can see what Spencer and Mika had to say about it in the video below:

Allergens*

May contain milk

Ingredients

Cacao beans, sugar, cocoa butter

*Allergen advice: We directly import, and purchase, all products from independent makers and have these shipped by our partner warehouse (which is not certified allergen-free), and so we cannot guarantee that any product will be allergen-free. Even where an allergen is not listed, products may have been produced, shipped, or stored in facilities which handle allergens.

If you would like further information about a specific product, please contact us on [email protected] or contact the maker directly.