VIELE Angel Hair Strawberry Flavour Chocolate (Morrisons) By @Cinabar

The Morrisons website now features a label on some items that reads ‘As Seen On Social’, and that’s exactly what caught my eye with this: VIELE Angel Hair Strawberry Flavour Chocolate. Pistachio is having a moment right now and has become a major trend, largely thanks to the popularity of Dubai chocolate on social media. We’ve tried the odd product, but honestly, much of it is so expensive that it can be off-putting. Even this small bar of VIELE Angel Hair cost £5, which is more than some high-end bars.

When it arrived, I took a proper look at the packaging and ingredients. Inside is a pistachio cream, candy floss (aka cotton candy), and a Milky Cocolin coating. I had to look that last one up, it’s a type of chocolate made with other fats instead of or with cocoa butter. Odd, and not something I’ve come across before.

The bar was packaged in a cardboard pull-out tray and wrapped, though not sealed, in gold foil. It smelled strongly of strawberry and was thick and chunky, with a hint of green showing through. Although the pieces were marked out, it looked tricky to break, so I gave in and used a knife. The bar is hairy inside, with visible strands of candy floss poking out.

I gave it a try, and I genuinely don’t know how to describe what I tasted. There was strawberry, then a strange aftertaste, presumably pistachio, with salt, but also something woody, slightly sweet, and almost menthol-like. It reminded me a bit of pine. Apart from making it difficult to cut, the candy floss was too soft to affect the texture. I’m sorry, but I just didn’t get it. The only reason I went back for another bite was to try and figure out why it tasted so weird.