When you have an opportunity to taste multiple chocolate bars, consider the following questions as a way to gauge your own personal tastes on each chocolate.

Chocolate Bar Tasting Questions

1. What is the appearance of the chocolate? Chocolate should be shiny on the surface and not dull.
2. Smell the chocolate. The aroma can be weak, delicate or penetrating.
3. Take a small bite of the chocolate and allow it to melt at the back of the throat.
4. What are the secondary aromas: Floral? Spicy? (pepper, cinnamon notes) Coffee? Fruit? Dried Figs? Butter? Raisins? Caramel? Roasted? (bread, caramelized, smoky, burnt)
5. A good chocolate has richness, which means that it has a number of the above “secondary aromas.” Does this chocolate have richness?
6. Is there a balance between acidity, bitterness, and sweetness? Does the chocolate have a velvety smoothness or is it waxy or greasy? If vanilla is used, is it subtle or overwhelmingly artificial?
7. Is there a good, long finish as with a fine wine?