Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Joanne Harris

Quote by Joanne Harris

“From the trolley, he picked up a chocolate, rolled in cacao powder. 'These are ganache truffles,' he said. 'The easiest chocolates to make. Even a child can make them. Even Mahmed could, probably.' I took one. It smelt of darkness infused with gold; a scent that both drew and repelled me. 'I don't really like dark chocolate,' I said. 'Just try one. I made them myself, from bean to bar. Nothing artificial.' I bit a piece from the chocolate. It was bitter and powdery, but there were other flavors there, struggling to be released. 'Rest it on your tongue for a while. Eyes closed. Mouth half open.' I did as he said. The bitter scent started to intensify. It's odd; I didn't quite like it, and yet it was evocative. I can taste charcoal, and nutmeg, and salt, and olive, and strong wild honey. It makes me think of incense, and woodsmoke on a frosty night, and the scent of fallen leaves in the rain, and the memory of that night in the church, the warmth of the confessional. I thought I didn't like chocolate. In fact, I never knew it. Those little squares of chocolate I'd had as a child were nothing like this. 'I know. It's different,' he said. 'It's eighty per cent cacao. It might taste a little bitter to you, but that's the nature of cacao: the stuff you get in the shops here is really mostly sugar and palm oil and fat. But this is the soul of the cacao bean. This strength. This bitter potency. And in this form, it has a kick. It sharpens the mind. Gives energy.' I put the rest of the chocolate aside. My mouth was furred with darkness.”

Quote by Joanne Harris

Book:Vianne

Work

Vianne

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

Joanne Harris
Joanne Harris

Joanne Harris is a British author known for her fantasy and literary novels. Born on July 3, 1964, she graduated from the University of Cambridge. Harris's works often blend romance, mystery, and supernatural elements, enjoying great popularity among readers. more

You May Also Like

“I'm standing so close I can smell him, something familiar in the warmth of his skin--- the faintest whiff of his cologne with traces of warm amber and woody, resinous cedar and an underlying herbaceous, peppery note of olive oil that seems to be a part of his essence. I lean closer, my nose brushing his skin, and he pulls back enough to look at me incredulously. "Are you sniffing me?" I giggle, half-embarrassed at being caught out. "Sorry, you smell delicious," I tell him a little flirtatiously. "Oh, do I?" He watches me, intrigued. "What do I smell like?" "Like warm honey and the sticky sap of a cedar tree.”