Ever done a chocolate tasting? Any ideas? I'm thinking that or wine tasting along with cooking event

M

mariadnoca

Moderator
I'm going to do a teambuilding cooking event for work (yay) and will bring in chef etc for that but to keep it interactive I was thinking of organizing a chocolate tasting and/or wine tasting to go with. There will be 15-20 people.

Any thoughts, how to, or advise on the wine/chocolate part? Any favorite chocolate brands to include? Given I'm now allergic (sob!)I cannot do any pre-tasting of chocolate so...well, somebody's gotta do it. Anyone up for tasting some chocolate to you know, help me out?

I know, I know - it's a sacrifice cuz you'll *need* to go eat chocolate, doncha know.

 
If you'd like to send me some chocolates,I'd be happy to taste them for you with ratings & reviews!

 
Meanwhile, here are my favorites:

DARK CHOCOLATE:
Fiori Sera 65%
Chocovic Guaranda 71% (Ecuador)
Trader Joe's Swiss 71%
Trader Joe's Belgian 72%, which is actually Callebaut
Dagoba Xocolatl 74%
Dagoba Dark 59%
Santander Columbian 70%

MILK CHOCOLATE:
Valrhona Guanaja Lactee 41% or Valrhona Le Lacte 40%

Let me know if you need sources.

 
At the local community college culinary arts dept 20 some years ago

We were served Mexican hot chocolate and pieces of flourless chocolate cake (with whip cream). Water and cups were available for palate cleansing between the different chocolate tastes.

We were given an Excel-like spread sheet to record our comments with the name of the chocolate and manufacturer/distributor info. Some "tastes" were large slivers from big blocks of chocolate and some were broken squares from smaller chocolate bars. There were about 15 of us, if I remember correctly, for a 2-1/2 to 3 hour class.

Our teacher spoke about how chocolate is produced and we saw a small film on harvesting and making chocolate. We tasted more than 10 different types of chocolate including milk, dark, unsweetened and flavored varieties. Our teacher spoke about how to evaluate chocolate and decide which components are your favorite. Leftover chocolate pieces were divided up and we each had a plastic bag to take our share home.

My favorite... orange dark chocolate. Colleen

 
this might be too simple, but I have wanted to try just one brand that has many unusual flavors,

like bacon and chili and so on. I would like to try some of these unusual chocolates, but wouldn't want to buy a whole bar, if I didn't end up liking it. You must have a regional chocolate maker with these unusual flavors to offer----maybe even come to the event and discuss the process etc. It might come across as promoting their product though. but I would be interested in something like that.

 
Maria, check this out. Near you, today and tomorrow, wine and chocolate tasting at

Testarossa Winery. A bargain at $10 and could provide some good inspiration for your upcoming event.

11/7 & 11/8, SATURDAY & SUNDAY: 12PM TO 4PM
GOURMET SERIES: WINE & CHOCOLATE WEEKEND, TESTAROSSA WINERY
Visit Testarossa this weekend for an expanded tasting experience. Sample five delectable chocolates paired with our award-winning wines. Reservations are not required. Cost is $10 refundable tasting fee per person. For more information, please contact the Tasting Room at tastingroom@testarossa.com or 408-354-6150 ext. 21.

http://www.testarossa.com/calendar/upcoming_events.php

 
Thank you - all this is great! And this winery is real close by

I may pop in just to take a look see even if I can't find a chocolate taster to go with. (I love living in wine country.)

The links have great information, thank you. However, now I have a question because I've now read both way: serve light to dark (light to heavier flavors; serve dark to light (bitter to sweeter flavors)

For those that have done tastings, or those who just love chocolate -- which do you think would be the better order to serve the chocolate for tasting?

 
I think light to dark would be better. I don't think you'd notice the change in percentage...

as much if you went from dark to light. But that's just my thoughts. Never did a real tasting before - sounds like fun!

 
I was a judge for the Luxury Chocolate Salon & talked with Alice Medrich about this...

You want to take care to avoid blowing your palate out. Going Dark to Light is best because: 1. An unadulterated palate can take in the subtlety & flavor profiles in the dark chocolate. 2. The fat in light chocolate coats your tongue and again, makes it difficult to taste nuances when you go darker.

As Alice said, whether you go light to dark or dark to light, whatever you taste last will be exacerbated (either really sweet or really bitter).

It's best if you try multiple chocolates within the same percentages first. So try 5 different 70% cacao's and you can mix it up not only with different vendors but also, single-origin chocolates are very intriguing. If you can get your hands on it, try Claudio Corallo Chocolates (they have a very interesting approach, I can get some tasting notes for you), Askinosie has some intriguing chocolates as well. I'd also seek out Amano Artisan Chocolate bars. They won several awards at the Luxury Chocolate Salon 2 years in a row.

(I went to a guided tasting once and after trying several of the good chocolates, they threw in a Hershey for comparison. It was incredible how vastly different it tasted next to the others. Also, I can imagine it would be even more drastic now that they've taken most of the milk out of Hersheys and added in other fillers.)

My friend Eagranie from the Well-Tempered Chocolatier has Product Reviews on her site: http://thewelltemperedchocolatier.com/category/product-reviews/

(Eagranie is a trained chemist and provides an intriguing insight).

Also, if you're looking for flavored bars, do try Eclipse Chocolate's Lavender Sea Salt. I had a rough time sharing this one with people!

In general, I'm not a big fan of Theo Chocolates but I understand their products are gaining nationwide traction. Their Bread & Chocolate bar is a favorite (not of mine but others I know really like it) and I really like their Jane Goodall bars -- both the dark and milk chocolate.

For confections, some of my favorite come from Posh Chocolates out of Montana and Fiori Chocolates from here in Seattle. Fran's sea salt caramels are out of this world.

It's been a while since I've had Vosages chocolates so I don't think I could comment on them other than to say the Bacon bar is gross. Avoid it at all cost.

** Recommend wine crackers to cleanse your palate.
** Also, Alice recommends warm water to cleanse the cocoa fat off your palate.

http://seattletallpoppy.blogspot.com/2009/01/interview-with-first-lady-of-chocolate.html

 
I agree about Fiori - love their Sera 65% as I mentioned above. Hate Fran's chocolates - tried her

chocolate caramels and found the chocolate to be inferior.

 
Ah - my post won't open because of the percent sign -to continue -I tried Fran's chocolate caramels

and found the chocolate to be inferior. The rich caramel simply cannot compensate for the lousy quality of the chocolate.

 
I agree. I like the chocolate/salt combo & Eclipse chocolate trips my fancy for that one.

In general, I'd say the appeal of Frans has to do with the marketing more than the actual product, but I haven't tried enough of her stuff to say that definitively. I did have a lemon/dark chocolate combo a while back that was wonderful.

When it comes to confections, it's hard to make a blanket statement. Even my favorite chocolatiers, I like SOME of their offerings, but not all of them. By and large, with both Fiori and Posh, whether I like a particular confection is more about personal preference than whether they got the technique right.

I'm heading down to SF next week & looking forward to revisiting Michael Rechuitti's chocolates. smileys/smile.gif

 
Great list! Meryl, I'd love to do a chocolate tasting with you & Marilyn. smileys/smile.gif

 
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