Chocolate is like a good wine – every bar has its special flavor, texture, and exceptional taste. Besides, many consumers are certain that fine chocolate differs only by high price, but it’s a delusion. Here is a great guide for tasting chocolate, which will help you to test and taste chocolate like a pro!
Before we begin, make sure you devote enough time to testing. Full research of chocolate includes analysis of smell, taste, aftertaste, shape, color, and consistency.
1) Taste a few bars at a time
Firstly, you need to have a few bars to compare – perfectly 4-6, but 2 is also OK. This way, it will be easier for you to understand the notes of flavor and taste of chocolate, which come out in a comparison with another bar.
2) Keep it cool
The temperature of chocolate plays a weighty role – even a few degrees can make a difference. Let the chocolate bar stay in a room to reach the right temperature before the tasting. You need to keep it cool and dry in a dark place (refrigerator or near the cook stove aren’t perfect places).
3) Look – note the color
The first sight of chocolate is very important. The color depends on the sort of cocoa used. Dark chocolate should be deep, dark, or have a color of redwood, milk – auburn, milky and soft, white has a light yellow color with notes of creamy butter. Once you notice a white furring on the surface, it reveals the fact that a bar of chocolate has been exposed to extremely high temperatures. Such chocolate is safe to eat, but some taste properties may be lost. Fine chocolate also should be shiny and smooth.
4) Touch chocolate
A bar of good chocolate should be smooth and dry once you touch it with a finger. Touch the back of the bar – it shouldn’t be clammy, greasy, or gritty. The corners of a chocolate bar should melt gently from the warmth of your fingers tips as well.
5) Smell chocolate
A flavor is another important thing while testing a chocolate bar – the smell is the first sign we feel before eating, and it affects the general mark. However, not all chocolate has its smell. We need to isolate our olfactory system to get the full deep chocolate flavor. You need to catch some of the delicate nuances that are kept inside the flavor of chocolate.
6) Taste chocolate
Finally, after all the steps we reach the main goal of all testing. The taste experience often includes several factors: bitterness, sweetness, savory element, and acerbity. Fine chocolate should contain all of these properties and must be smooth and buttery while melting in your mouth. Concentrate on your feelings while testing to fully describe the taste qualities and unique flavors of your sample. Feel all the notes – from sweetly fruity to savory and spicy.
Final thoughts
The process of testing chocolate is fully subjective, there is no right or wrong.
So, why does chocolate taste so good? The cocoa beans contain caffeine, dopamine, and anandamide. The last one is called the bliss molecule that affects a certain part of our brain and helps us to feel more happy and blessed. Follow the guidance mentioned before to enjoy the original chocolate taste.