Want to become a chocolate connoisseur? It is simple; all you need to use is the look, touch, taste, sound, and smell to find good chocolate. However, to be able to do so, you should be present in a calm atmosphere to concentrate on every small detail. Here’s how you can use your 5 senses to discover good chocolate.
Look:
Most of the time, the look affects your desire to consume food. So your chocolate should look perfectly fine, shiny and free of flaws such as lines or air bubbles. Air bubbles should disappear in the production process of high quality chocolate. As for the brown color, it’s not a clear indication as it can vary with the type of bean and chocolate.
Smell:
The smell of the chocolate is what makes your mouth-watering. Before tasting, check the scent of the chocolate while holding it close to your nose. If you are finding it hard to detect the aroma, slightly rub your thumb against the chocolate to warm it up and try again. How does it smell? If it’s good quality, you should be able to smell the genuine aroma of chocolate and not vanilla which is often artificial.
Touch:
After looking and smelling the chocolate, it’s time to feel its touch. Just hold a piece between 2 fingers (generally thumb and index); it should melt with your body temperature. Also, you should feel the texture and think: Is it soft or rough? In fact, smooth and fine texture is a mark of high quality chocolate.
Sound:
The sound of breaking a piece of chocolate is another sign of its quality. This phase needs a bit more concentration and a calm atmosphere. Hold a square of chocolate close to your ears and break it. Do you hear a sharp snap sound? If yes, this is a good sign that the chocolate is from premium quality.
Taste:
Finally, you will get to the most intense phase: the tasting. Put a piece of chocolate in your mouth and let it melt to cover a big part of your tongue. First, it should melt quite easily especially if you are tasting dark chocolate. While waiting for it to melt, breathe from your nose to strengthen the feeling. Second, discover the taste by chewing what’s left. Can you determine if it’s sweet or salty? Nutty or fruity? Can you really distinguish the taste?
Now that you discovered by the look, smell, touch, sound, and taste how to distinguish good quality chocolate, go ahead and try it, it shouldn’t be hard for you anymore. You are becoming a chocolate connoisseur.