The photos
The photos show the product at three stages: the wrapped product, the unwrapped product and a piece of broken chocolate or a photo of a cut-through. The photos are taken with a 10 cm diameter saucer for size reference.
Name & Manufacturer
The product name and manufacturer should give you precise information about the product at hand. Also, I add some information on the main ingredients and on the amount of cocoa (solids) in the product. I also try to label whether the chocolate is suitable for vegans (assuming that a vegan diet includes plants only, i.e. no meat, no fish, no egg, no milk).
I write the cocoa contents as provided by the manufacturer. In theory, this should help you with comparing this product to others. But there are huge differences in what manufacturers report. Cocoa solids refers to parts of the cacao bean after the butter has been extracted. Cocoa includes both, the cocoa solids and the cocoa butter. Thus, "70% cocoa solids" refers to a situation where 70% of the product are made of cocoa solids. In addition to this, some part of the product may be cocoa butter. In contrast, "70% cocoa" refers to a situation where the summed amounts of cocoa solids and butter make up 70% of the product. Both can be perfectly true statements. However, they talk about different things: a product with 70% cocoa solids always contains (at least) 70% cocoa, but not vice versa.Cocoa content?
No vanilla?
I specifically mark products that do not contain vanilla because this is a general indicator that the cocoa is of very high quality.
Every manufacturer claims that they use the best cocoa in the world. However, there is only so much cocoa of the highest quality available. Lower quality cocoa often comes with bitter or sour notes. Vanilla is one way of improving the cocoa's flavour by covering the undesired bitterness or sourness. Some manufacturers use vanilla beans, others might refrain to vanilla extract or natural or artificial aromas.
If you had really good cocoa, there was no need for covering parts of its flavour. Because hiding the taste of an excellent product is a waste of the things that make it excellent in the first place. Thus, using vanilla could indicate that the cocoa was not as good as the manufacturer claimed. You may compare this to putting milk and sugar in your tea or coffee - you do this for improving its flavour and taking away some of its bitterness. There is nothing wrong with this. But if you really had the best tea in the world, adding milk and sugar would spoil it. For example, a nice Darjeeling tea works perfectly fine without adding anything but water. Thus, I will specifically mark products that come without vanilla.
There is a dedicated tag such that you can specifically look for these chocolates. However, if I have not used the no vanilla label, you can assume that there is vanilla in the chocolate. Finally, the manufacturers are legally obliged to list the ingredients truthfully. Thus, you can check their website or look at the ingredients list on the packaging.
Every manufacturer claims that they use the best cocoa in the world. However, there is only so much cocoa of the highest quality available. Lower quality cocoa often comes with bitter or sour notes. Vanilla is one way of improving the cocoa's flavour by covering the undesired bitterness or sourness. Some manufacturers use vanilla beans, others might refrain to vanilla extract or natural or artificial aromas.
If you had really good cocoa, there was no need for covering parts of its flavour. Because hiding the taste of an excellent product is a waste of the things that make it excellent in the first place. Thus, using vanilla could indicate that the cocoa was not as good as the manufacturer claimed. You may compare this to putting milk and sugar in your tea or coffee - you do this for improving its flavour and taking away some of its bitterness. There is nothing wrong with this. But if you really had the best tea in the world, adding milk and sugar would spoil it. For example, a nice Darjeeling tea works perfectly fine without adding anything but water. Thus, I will specifically mark products that come without vanilla.
There is a dedicated tag such that you can specifically look for these chocolates. However, if I have not used the no vanilla label, you can assume that there is vanilla in the chocolate. Finally, the manufacturers are legally obliged to list the ingredients truthfully. Thus, you can check their website or look at the ingredients list on the packaging.
Packaging
The packaging of a chocolate is part of the experience and I report on it briefly. Some manufacturers spend a lot of time and effort on creating a spectacular packaging for a lot wrapped air. This looks nice but you may wonder whether just as much care went into the chocolate.
Look
The look of a chocolate is the first thing you see and it can be telling. Mistakes in storing the product such storing in too high temperature are visible immediately (the surface is covered in white-ish fat). The colour tells you immediately whether it is a dark, milk or white chocolate. The shading between dark black-brown or red-brown tells you about the amount of sugar and the quality of the cocoa. Generally, a black-ish colour indicates more sugar which is needed to balance sour or bitter cocoa. If the surface is smooth and shiny, the product was well conched and tempered.
I would look for a shiny, dark brown chocolate bar with a light hint of red. However, the stronger/earthier the cocoa, the darker it will be. The kind of milk, cocoa and other ingredients ultimately determine the colour and I try to describe my impression in rare Northern European daylight.
I try to identify the flavours and qualify them with rich, strong, mild, a hint of something such that you can get an idea of what to expect from the product. However, this is actually quite a challenge. There are some products that are easier than others but it is always a bit tricky. A tasting wheel can be helpful, particularly if I am lost for words. But it might also influence what I think - and taste. I'll keep on trying and I might update the notes on a second encounter.
I would look for a shiny, dark brown chocolate bar with a light hint of red. However, the stronger/earthier the cocoa, the darker it will be. The kind of milk, cocoa and other ingredients ultimately determine the colour and I try to describe my impression in rare Northern European daylight.
Sound
Chocolate makes a particular sound when broken. This sound can be a clear, crisp "snap!" or a more dull, muffled "thud". You might think of breaking a piece of sugar candy and compare this to breaking cheese or the blob sound of a water filled bubble. The sounds already tell a lot about the product at hand. For example, the amount of fat, sugar and liquid. In chocolate, a clear snap sound and a clear edge are desirable because they indicate a well a conched and tempered product. In contrast, large sugar crystals or unbroken cocoa can lead to less clear sound and rough surface on the edges. However, there are some excellent products without a snap sound. I aim to break chocolates at moderate 20-21°C temperature weather permitting.
Smell
Our sensation of taste is not only fueled by our taste buds on the tongue. The nose plays an important role in that. In fact, taste refers to the sensation in the mouth, the aroma is the sensation of the nose and both combine to the flavour. You can test the contribution of aroma to the flavour by holding your nose and eating something. If you re-open your nose, you'll suddenly experience flavour instead of only taste. Thus, I try to report on the smell of a product before eating it as it shapes our expectations about the flavour.Mouthfeel
The mechanics of anything we eat strongly influences our perception of it. The mouth is full of cells to detect mechanical forces. Just think about a little raspberry thing stuck between the teeth. It influences the way you chew, where tongue goes, the amount of saliva being produced and, most importantly, it drives you crazy. In terms of chocolate, how it melts tells a lot about the quality of the product. It should not feel floury or like sand as this would indicate something went wrong with conching the chocolate. Rather, the chocolate should melt quickly, evenly and finely in order to disperse its flavours everywhere.Taste
You might wonder why the taste is one of the last things to talk about. It is the last step in eating a product before it disappears forever. To be more precise, this section is about flavour. The taste buds in the tongue can detect sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. But a good chocolate will trigger way more than that. I basically report the experience of the five senses in the order of a typical chocolate experience: sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste which is the most complex as Wikipedia explains:The basic tastes contribute only partially to the sensation and flavor of food in the mouth—other factors include smell,[2] detected by the olfactory epithelium of the nose;[8]texture,[9] detected through a variety of mechanoreceptors, muscle nerves, etc.;[10] temperature, detected by thermoreceptors; and "coolness" (such as of menthol) and "hotness" (pungency), through chemesthesis.
I try to identify the flavours and qualify them with rich, strong, mild, a hint of something such that you can get an idea of what to expect from the product. However, this is actually quite a challenge. There are some products that are easier than others but it is always a bit tricky. A tasting wheel can be helpful, particularly if I am lost for words. But it might also influence what I think - and taste. I'll keep on trying and I might update the notes on a second encounter.
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