The third assignment in my Professional Chocolatier program is a tasting assignment. It required that we assemble a variety of chocolates according to guidelines provided by the instructor, recruit a group of friends, and then conduct a formal tasting. I'll blog about that process next week and reveal some of the results, including a complete list of what we tried, but for now I just have to share with you how shocked I am by some of the flavours today.
We were tasting dark chocolate that did not (I repeat did
NOT) have any inclusions (nuts, fruit, etc) or added flavours (essential oils, extracts other than vanilla, etc). Any flavours we perceived were from the cacao beans themselves (which were different varieties grown in different countries) as developed in the fermentation and roasting processes. As I planned this event, I was very worried that I might not actually be able to detect any notes. In fact, I purchased a bar several weeks ago and was eating a piece of it every night trying to "find" flavour notes in it. All I could taste was cocoa. I thought I was doomed to failure.
Today as I was preparing the chocolate for the tasting, breaking bars into smaller pieces, I happened to taste a few pieces as I was going. Most just tasted like cocoa and were delicious but unremarkable. Then I tasted one that was overwhelmingly winey. I couldn't believe how strong it was. This bean-to-bar sample was made from criollo cacao beans in Peru. And I could not get the taste out of my mouth. I wish I could say that I appreciated it, but I really didn't. When I mentioned it to a friend, he commented, "But I thought you liked wine?" Clearly I like my chocolate and wine to be separate. Another sample that I tried tasted like geraniums. I suppose this is an example of what's meant by "floral notes," but I can't say that I am a fan.
What has emerged from today is an appreciation for the diversity of flavours present in chocolate, as well as how we each perceive those flavours differently. I'm also now committed to eating more chocolate! (Totally justified as research, right?) And as you'll all learn in my next blog post, price and percentage aren't predictors of flavour.
Whether it's chocolate, wine, coffee, herbs and spices, or a sauce, it is often difficult to discern the flavor profile without checking it against a reference sample. I always check a new dark chocolate against Lindt Madagascar. Doesn't mean it's the best, it's just the one I know the best.
ReplyDeleteI think if I were to do this again, I'd keep the number of samples much smaller. Believe it or not, they suggested we add additional milk and white chocolate as budget allowed. I can't imagine attempting that. This was overwhelming enough. LOL
Delete