Description
After a career at IBM, international jet-setter Chris Brennan briefly retired before deciding to pioneer the making of sourdough and other breads in his idyllic countryside bakery in Orford, Suffolk. Chris decided to delve into crafting award-winning chocolate, along with his daughter Joanna, in their eponymous bakery situated on Pump Street.
Pump Street have spent years perfecting their traditional Panettone in their bakery. It is rich, perfumed, full of candied fruit and topped with almonds and sugar crystals as is this seasonal chocolate bar, made with Selva Tabasqueño cocoa beans from Sierra Madre de Chiapas in Mexico.
The Selva Tabasqueño cocoa beans for this bar have been sourced from Tzotzil and Zoque communities in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas (the birthplace of cacao farming and chocolate). The Zoque are descendants of the Olmec and have been growing cacao for more than 4000 years and the Tzotzil are descendants of the Maya.
This dark chocolate with Panettone inclusions is sweet, perfumed, and utterly delightful. The sugar crystals make for an authentic touch of the real deal, and create a beautiful texture contrast against the creamy 70% dark chocolate. The armagnac brandy is subtle, but ever so warming on the palate.
Tricia H. –
I hesitate to leave this review, as I suspect these bars are limited in quantity, but in the end I thought I’d be generous to my fellow chocolate lovers (and I’ve already ordered mine). This is a stunning bar, the slight brandy flavour supports the luscious dark chocolateyness, and the generous sprinkling of almond pieces and sugar crystals elevates it to another plane.