Saturday, April 17, 2010
First Chocolate Tasting Event!
The Chocolate Tasting was really lovely - thanks to all my lovely (patient:D) friends who helped me pull it off! I don't see how I cuold have done it myself with my unrefined palate and lack of ability to articulate taste into like- words and stuff! Here are the results of the tasting, followed by some overall comments :)
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Assignment 3: Chocolate Tasting Report
ReplyDeleteChocolate (% cocoa) Appearance Feel Aroma Taste Mouthfeel Comments
1. Hershey’s Special Dark: Mildly Sweet glossy No snap, melts readily on fingers, yields easily to pressure Chocolatey aroma Creamy, milky, long finish with definite aftertaste Creamy, smooth Melts to quickly to hold while writing down first comments
2. Valrhona Les Grands Crus Jivara Creamy & Chocolatey milk chocolate 40% Whitish, heavy bloom Soft snap, hardly any melt on fingers Mild aroma, dairy. Mild, milky, almost no aftertaste – taste dissipates quickly Smooth mouthfeel
3. Green & Black’s Organic Maya Gold Dark Chocolate infused with spices and a twist of orange 55% Matte but not dull Crisp, clean snap, no melting on fingers, smooth to the touch Spicy, rich aroma Flavours were experienced in distinct, separate phases. Bitter cocoa citrusy, orange peel, mild spice. Chalky, took long to melt in mouth, drying after effect
4. Felchin Gastro 58% Rondo, Dark couverture classic Dull, some oxidation which disappeared readily upon contact with warm fingers. Barely audible snap Milder aroma than previous samples, reminiscent of “ol’- time”drinking cocoa. Upfront/immediate bitter taste alternating with sharp sweet-ish notes. No aftertaste Flat. Drying aftertaste.
5. Valrhona Les Grands Crus Alpaco Floral & Oaky, Dark Chocolate 66% Whitish. Bloom. Satiny feel. Variable snap – soft in some areas, crisp in others. Sweet*, mild aroma First spicy followed by strong cocoa flavor. Long finish. Waxy
6. Valrhona Les Grands Crus Abinao Powerful & Tannic, Dark Chocolate 85% Satiny in non-bloom areas. Soft snap, crumbly. Bitter aroma yet slightly sweet? Slightly smoky* for lack of a better word – strong taste of something Waxy, hard to get down
7. Hershey’s Baking Bar Unsweetened 100% Dull sheen Clean break, soft snap Earthy aroma Difficult to keep in mouth, overpoweringly bitter. Burnt taste. Extremely long finish. Really dry
*- indicates uncertainty/ inability to articulate flavour
Comments:
1. All Valrhonas were bought from the same shop and seem to have been improperly stored leading to bloom. Total let down. Tasters were keen to find out about bloom and why it happens though so it turned out to be educational
2. In an effort to stop myself from cheating I bought my 3 dark Valrhonas without reading them in detail. I must have seen dark chocolate on the first 2 and assumed the third was too, but it was actually milk. Oops!
3. My efforts towards a blind tasting were somewhat wasted as my tasters recognized the logos stamped on the blocks. Turning them round didn’t help as my tasters are very naughty. Serves me right having given them Green & Black’s for Christmas.