I picked up this interesting sounding Maple Bacon chocolate bar on my recent trip to the USA. Chuao which is apparently pronounced "chew-wow" is based in Southern California and is not a brand that I had heard of before. The description on the bar is "crisp bacon, delicate maple sweetness and bonfire smoked sea salt, bathed in milk chocolate".
What is it about bacon that people love so much? I remember going to school with a girl who was supposed to be vegetarian but couldn't resist a bacon sandwich! The picture on the packet of this bar looks positively mouth watering and this is not the first bacon chocolate bar that I have tried, remember the Zotter Bacon Bit Bar that I reviewed a while a go?
The bar was not divided into sections which I found unusual for a bar this size (80g) but instead it had a lovely leafy pattern embossed on it, along with the Chuao logo. Half of the bar contains 210 calories.
The chocolate actually does smell of smokey bacon and I was surprised at how strong the smell was. The texture was crunchy from the little bits of bacon which tasted delicious mixed with the chocolate. There was also a sweetness from the maple and the bonfire smoked sea salt was a welcome addition. The chocolate was quite rich and not as sweet as the milk chocolate that I generally prefer but with the other flavours it worked well.
Verdict
This bar is very different from the Zotter Bacon Bit Bar but still works. I loved how there is sweet, salty and smokey flavours all in one but it's not a bar I could sit and eat lots of in one go as the saltiness gets a bit much after a few bites.
