Put two pieces of dark chocolate on a plate and give each one a little time. One may catch your attention at the first bite. The other may be the one you remember after you’ve swallowed. Tasting them side by side gives you a chance to notice what happened in between.
In Chocolade: Ontdekken, Proeven en Genieten, Sara Jayne Stanes looks at aroma, texture and the flavour that stays in your mouth. She describes tasting as personal. Use those cues to make a few notes in your own words.
1. Set out two comparable bites
Use two plain dark chocolates you already have. If both wrappers say 70%, you can start with the same number on the label and see what you notice in the pieces themselves. Break off similar-sized bites, set them apart on the plate and let both reach the same room temperature.
Call one A and the other B. Put the wrappers face down until you’ve written your first impressions. If someone is tasting with you, ask them to set out the pieces and keep track of which is which.
One Pantry pairing is the Mild 70% beside the 70% Cacao from Lindt’s Excellence range. Lindt Excellence Mild 70% · Lindt Excellence 70% Cacao
2. Notice what changes during the bite
Smell the first piece, then take a bite and let it soften. A brief pause gives you time to notice how the chocolate feels and how the flavour develops. French chocolate maker Valrhona describes tasting in stages as a piece melts. Valrhona’s tasting guide
- First impression. What do you notice as you smell it and take the first bite? You might write “sweet at first”, “roasted smell” or “faint aroma”.
- As it softens. Does it feel smooth, dense or slightly dry? Does a different flavour show up when you let it sit for a moment?
- After the bite. What can you still taste after swallowing? A short finish is an observation too.
Use words that will make sense to you later. “A little bitter at the end” is enough to help you recognise what you noticed.
3. Give the second piece the same attention
Take a sip of water and wait until the first bite has mostly faded. Taste B in the same way. Write a few words before rereading your notes for A. Then put the notes side by side and see where a difference stands out. It might be the pace of the melt, the first impression or the flavour that lingers.
If you’re curious about whether the order mattered, take a break and try another small bite of each in reverse order. Look for anything you notice again. If you’re sharing the tasting, compare notes after you’ve each had a chance to write them.
4. Read the wrappers
Turn over the wrappers to see which piece was which. Read the product descriptions once you’ve made your own notes. You may find a word that fits what you tasted or discover that you’d describe it differently.
Keep one line about each piece. A note like “I liked the softer one with the shorter finish” gives you something to look for next time you want a square of dark chocolate.
From the Pantry Bookshelf. Sara Jayne Stanes, Chocolade: Ontdekken, Proeven en Genieten, Veltman Uitgevers, Dutch edition, 2007, pp. 34–36.