“Oh I absolutely love Black Bomber, and I don’t even like cheese!” the stranger in the queue at the gate for my flight out of Düsseldorf said last week when I told him what I did for a living.

It wasn’t completely out of the blue. I had explained to my new-found Dutch friend that with St David’s Day approaching on Thursday I was planning to write about a Welsh cheese to mark the occasion.

But I couldn’t decide whether to play it straight and write about the more traditional Caerphilly, or the MDMA of the cheese world: the Snowdonia Cheese Company’s Black Bomber. (So-called by a cheese-lover friend of mine - I assume due to its highly addictive nature, but I’m sure if you eat it late enough at night it probably will give you spinny dreams too!)

I have always been curious as to the provenance of the Black Bomber’s name. I assumed the reason was that its understated appearance allowed it to sneak on to a cheeseboard very stealthily as an unassuming cheddar encased in black wax, before absolutely blitzing the competition with its rich taste.

As the company's flagship cheese, this extra mature cheddar is a great ambassador for Wales with its deep flavour and a surprisingly creamy texture. Snowdonia describe it as being moreish, although I'm sure my Bomber-addicted friend - last seen making her way towards the Welsh border trying to score her next hit - would probably attest this to being the understatement of the year.

And the Bomber has scored highly on the judging circuit too, rivalling the notches on a Spitfire bomber cockpit after taking home silverware from The Great British Cheese Awards, Nantwich International Cheese Awards, the World Cheese Awards and a Super Gold at Mondial Fromage.

The company set up shop in 2001 with the intention of creating a range of premium cheeses drawing on the delights of the Snowdonian countryside. They started out small at farmers' markets but soon realised they had created something quite special when their range was picked up by a number of luxury retailers. They have stayed true to their roots though, and remain a mainstay of farmers' markets across the country.

Unfortunately St David wasn’t known for dietary variety, with his Monastic Rule declaring you should only eat bread with herbs and salt. But thankfully, times have changed and Snowdonia have created a range of 10 different flavours to tantalise us with.

Leading the squadron on full throttle is the Red Devil - a Red Leicester infused with chillies; Green Thunder marries garlic and herbs with mature cheddar; while Ginger Spice (my favourite Spice Girl, it has to be said...) is a medium cheddar embedded with nuggets of sweet crystallised stem ginger.

In a similar orange wax is their whisky cheddar, Amber Mist; while Ruby Mist brings together port and brandy under one rich red wax for a delightfully warming cheddar. Pickle Power sees their mature cheddar infused with chunks of pickled onion; Beechwood is the dairy's smoked cheese, while those with a sweet tooth are likely to be drawn to the Bouncing Berry which combines a mature white cheddar with deliciously sweet cranberries.

Completing the line-up in the hangar is Red Storm, a vintage red cheese with a crystalline nutty texture, making this one regiment not to be underestimated.

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus!