How to taste chocolate?
How to taste chocolate?
The Chocolate Taste Experience
'We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are’, including our backgrounds, preferences, characters etc.
Tasting is not the same as eating. It’s all about focusing and paying attention. So, tune your senses!
Human responses to properties of foods and materials are perceived through the five senses (Sight, Hearing, Smell, Taste, Touch). Sensory evaluation is perception.
There is no right and no wrong.
Enhancing the common ground will help to have a meaningful discussion. Subjective differences will make this discussion interesting!
Use your five senses, become a passionate chocolate taster, discover how to describe chocolate and share your experiences.
Step 1 - LOOK
By LOOKING at the appearance of the chocolate we pay attention to color, the intensity (strong or weak) and the hue (shade of red/mahogany, yellow, grey, violet…)
- Put the chocolate on a well lit white paper or tablecloth to look at its appearance.
Step 2 - TOUCH
By TOUCHING the chocolate you pay attention to how it feels in your hand. Feel for the finger-sensitivity (soft or hard), melt-in-hand (slow or fast) and the hardness. This is just before breaking the chocolate you feel for his resistance (bends or breaks).
- Close your eyes to concentrate!
- Rub the chocolate between both fingers to assess its finger-sensitivity.
- Press between your fingers for the melting rate.
- Bend the chocolate to feel the resistance, and thus hardness.
Step 3 - LISTEN
When it breaks you LISTEN to the sound or snap (clear or dull).
- With your eyes still closed, bring the chocolate close to your ear and snap it.
Step 4 - SMELL
By SMELLING the chocolate you can discover the bouquet of aromatic notes and the complexity (low, medium or high) & also the intensity (strong or weak) of it.
- Take the chocolate in one hand and rub the chocolate.
- Bring it to your nose and cup.
- Then sniff three times.
- In-between chocolates, smell your own body perfume to neutralize the nose.
Step 5 - TASTE
When TASTING you will discover the basic notes, aromatic notes & mouthfeel of the chocolate.
- Pinch your nose: bite and let melt, discover the basic tastes.
- Release your nose and take a deep breath: focus on the aromatic notes.
- Move the chocolate against your palate, chew: explore the mouthfeel.
- In-between chocolates, drink water to neutralize your palate.
Knowing how to taste and discribe chocolate and not just eat it will help bringing chocolate experiences to the next level by exploring undiscovered chocolate taste experiences.
