In October I held my annual chocolate tasting party. It’s an excuse to get girlfriends together for good company and good chocolate.
I prepared 18 samples of chocolate–milk, dark, spicy, and fruity–for us to taste and rate.
We had water to and unsalted crackers to help cleanse the palate between tastings.
And, because we are nerds like this, we used scorecards with “Chocabulary” ideas to keep track of our opinions.
The clear winners:
MILK CHOCOLATE
Godiva Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel 31%DARK CHOCOLATE
Dove Silky Smooth Dark ChocolateSPICY CHOCOLATE
Lindt Dark Chocolate with ChiliFRUITY CHOCOLATE
Dove Silky Smooth Raspberry with Dark Chocolate Swirl
Ritter Sport Milk Chocolate with Strawberry Creme
And the #1 loser:
DARK CHOCOLATE
Godiva 85% Extra Dark Santo Domingo Chocolate
Ironic that one of our favorite brands (Godiva) also made our least favorite chocolate of all. The milk with salted caramel was sweet and salty and delicious. The extra dark was bitter and sour, and no one liked it. Another unfavorite chocolate was in the spicy category: Sunflower Market Dark Chocolate with Chili Chipotle. People thought it was too spicy.
After the chocolate was tasted and rated, can you believe we ate more chocolate? My table was spread with delectable chocolate desserts that people brought to share.
Oh, boy. We had a good time.
And when it was time to go home, there was more chocolate to take home and share–or not–with the family.
Only one more year until the next one!
November 8th, 2011 at 3:22 pm
Wow! I knew your party *tasted* good….but I didn’t realize it *looked* so good too! It was a wonderful experience and I hope to have the guts to have a chocolate tasting party here in Iowa. It’s too good an experience not to share. Thank you for exposing me to a great time and showing me how to do it!