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Comforting treats after a night of TV terror

I was in need of comfort this week. I’d been binge-watching The Terror on BBC iPlayer: the dramatic retelling of the Franklin expedition to discover the Northwest Passage that set sail on two ships (one called HMS Terror) in 1845 with 129 men on board. Every man perished in circumstances that have never fully been explained. It is brilliant but brutal (don’t watch with children), leaving me in a state of confusion.

Dark 70% chocolate wasn’t going to do anything for me so I reached into my testing box for some Soma dark milk. A reader told me, some time ago, about Soma Old School, which they described as like a fabulous Flake (it’s not currently made, so don’t go looking for it). Soma is a chocolatier based in Toronto (lucky you if you live there, as you also have Courage My Love, the best vintage shop in the world). I tried two of Soma’s 55% milk bars: the Creole Gardens (Haiti) and Vanua (Fiji) – both £10.95 (65g) from Cocoa Runners. Super creamy, there wasn’t much to pick between them, so if you covet a really fine dark milk treat do look at their beautiful bars.

I then moved on to a small, perfectly formed box of chocolates by Melt. Tying into the V&A museum’s Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser exhibition, this Eat Me box of 18 exquisite, unusual chocs (£33.60) is inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The smoked caramel, and the tea-and-biscuits chocolates were the favourites, but the rose and pistachio heart was surprisingly brilliant.

somachocolate.com; cocoa runners.com; meltchocolates.com