tasting basics

Getting Started 

Hosting a tasting is easy, but the more you know about chocolate and its temperament the better your experience will be. Here are some quick tips about what you'll need on hand and how to run the session.

Setting up the Chocolate

A tasting should have a sampling of no more than six different chocolates. Any more, and your palate's ability to discern the subtle flavor variations will be weakened. If you want to sample more than six, take a break of at least 15 minutes to give sensitive taste buds time to recover.

Keep chocolate at room temperature, approximately 65-72 degrees F. You want your samples to be at their best. Too warm, and they'll go soft. Too chilly, and it will affect their ability to melt properly and release flavor in your mouth.

Each sample should be small. Break your chocolate bars in sections about 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch. Really good chocolate is flavorful enough to experience in little bits.

Create a plate for each sampling. Include a place card with the name of the chocolate or the original chocolate label for reference. Or, even better, use our custom Tasting Mat Maker and have all the information you need at your fingertips.

Go from light to dark. Start with milk chocolate, or the chocolate with the lowest percentage of cacao, and end with the darkest one. This sets up your taste buds correctly to experience the more intense, more complex chocolates.

Be Prepared to Cleanse Your Palate

Cleanse your palate between chocolate selections. Water helps clean away the previous flavors and quenches your thirst, since some chocolates can leave you thirsty.

Water should be room temperature -- not ice cold. Very cold water prevents chocolate from melting properly in your mouth and can also dull your taste buds.

Dry unsalted crackers and/or plain white bread also can help cleanse your palate. Nibble a bit between samplings, especially after a very strong set of flavors.

Write it down

A notebook or notepad is useful to jot down your thoughts and findings. If you aim to be a serious chocolate aficionado, consider buying a notebook dedicated to your tastings. Include the dates of the tastings, the brand names and the kinds of chocolates (milk, dark, bittersweet) as well as any other identifying information, if available (region, % cacao, additional ingredients like vanilla). You may want to create your own rating system, either numerical (1-10) or a ranking like fair, good, very good, excellent, and superior.

Take notes on the chocolate's aroma (sweet, sour, floral); on its texture (velvety, grainy, creamy, waxy); its flavor notes and the order of the flavors, since each chocolate will have its very own beginning, middle and finish. You should also note how long the flavor lingers and what qualities it leaves behind.

Best Times for Tasting

Your taste buds are freshest in the morning. Earlier in the day, because you have not eaten much, there are less flavors lingering on your tongue that could get in the way of your natural ability to taste nuance and subtlety.

But chocolate may not be the first thing you want to eat when you wake up, so follow this simple guide - don't conduct a tasting on a completely empty stomach and don't be stuffed, either. Eat a light meal beforehand, leaving enough time for the food to clear your palate.

Do Your Homework

The more you know about chocolate, the more you'll get out of your session. Read up on the history. Learn about how chocolate is made, and the growing regions of the world, as well as the different kinds of cacao beans. All this information will only deepen your appreciation of chocolate.