Introduction to Dark Chocolate
Known for its rich flavor and high cocoa content, dark chocolate offers a unique taste experience. With its bittersweet notes and velvety texture, it is a delight for the senses. One of the defining characteristics of dark chocolate is its high cocoa content, which ranges from 65% to 99% cocoa mass. There are three main types of chocolate: white, milk, and dark.
Chocolate Tasting Experience
Tasting is different from eating. When tasting chocolate, the general rule is that we need to use all five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. Like wine, different chocolates have different smells depending on how they were made. Semisweet Chocolate has a strong chocolate flavor with a good balance of sugar: it is not too sweet and the aftertaste is balanced. It can have nutty, spicy, floral, earthy notes with hints of fruit and caramel.
Common Misconceptions about Chocolate
There are two common misconceptions surrounding chocolate. First is the assumption that chocolate is the same as cacao when actually chocolate is a product created through extensive preparation of cacao seeds. Second is the belief chocolate originated in Europe.
Describing Quality Chocolate
Derived from the cacao bean, words like rich, creamy, velvety, indulgent, and divine describe chocolate’s irresistible allure. With smooth texture, luscious flavor, and enticing aroma, chocolate has the power to transport us to pure bliss. Quality chocolate feels smooth and velvety due to real cocoa butter content. Since cocoa butter melts at or below body temperature, quality chocolate melts quickly in the mouth or palm. A gritty or waxy texture often signals lower quality.
What Makes Good Chocolate
Good chocolate has cocoa butter. Don’t buy chocolate with cottonseed or palm oil. Manufacturers add cheap raw materials, substituting for cocoa butter. Chocolate comes from roasted, ground cocoa beans mixed into cocoa butter paste then combined with sugar, milk solids, or other ingredients like nuts or fruit depending on the recipe. Dark chocolates have more cocoa and less sugar and dairy than milk chocolates. Decadent chocolate feels silky and tastes luxuriously flavorful, not like cheap chocolate bars. A chocoholic craves and compulsively consumes chocolate.
Chocolate Tasting Tips
When tasting use all five senses. Like wine, chocolates have different smells depending on how they were made. Look for glossy chocolate free from blemishes. If the surface is scarred or cloudy the chocolate may be old or mishandled. Let it melt on the tongue. The best chocolate comes from cocoa beans harvested from trees over five years old. Adding chocolate enhances coffee’s or hot chocolate’s flavor.