Just how does one do a chocolate tasting?
Most of us have been to wine tastings or visited a winery cellar door to taste the wine. But isn't it strange that perhaps we don't have organised tastings on chocolate.
I mean, we consume kg's or pounds of it each year. There are thousands of varieties made by thousands of companies. Our friends at Amano Chocolate have put together some educated ideas on how we perhaps may go about tasting chocolate
Enjoying high-quality chocolate is an experience like no other. The flavours are rich and complex, and there is a large variation in flavours among various chocolates. In fact, the flavour compounds found in dark chocolate exceed those in red wine. For this reason, we have put together this tasting guide to assist people new to the world of chocolate tasting.
Chocolate tasting is not unlike wine tasting. Each type of chocolate bar contains its own set of unique flavour profiles. Since the cacao bean is the source of all chocolate (as grapes are the primary source of wine), its flavours can be imparted by a multitude of variables, such as topography, weather (e.g. rainfall, amount of sun, etc.), soil conditions (e.g. type, nutrient content, drainage properties, etc.), post-harvesting processing (e.g. fermenting, roasting, etc.), and of course genotypic properties. With so many variables affecting the flavour of just one chocolate bar, it's important to taste carefully so that you can extract the fullest flavour potential.
Article continues @ The World Recipe Book
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