
How to Host a Chocolate Tasting

Step 1: Choose Your Craft Chocolate
From this author's experience hosting chocolate tastings, when to host it, has become very important. Not just the time of day, but also the time of year matters when picking a day and time. Don't pick a date when folks commonly go out in public to celebrate. The pandemic lockdown (for example) was a great opportunity for virtual and remote chocolate tastings. The time has finally returned to allow in-person hosting so make sure to pick a popular time of year like Valentine's Day, Mother's Day or even the year-end Holidays. Different types of audiences will be available at different times of the year.
Step 3: Set Up Your Tasting Area
Step 4: Prepare Your Chocolate

When your guests arrive, it's not yet time to start the tasting. Make sure to explain which type of taste test(s) that will be conducted first. Explain how to use the chocolate measurement instruments you provide, so they can perform the taste tests properly. For more about the several types of taste tests and how to perform them, check out the Bean to Bar Chocolate Tasting Guide. This brand new guide is packed with cacao and chocolate history, field research data, chocolate-making steps and even a how-to on cocoa fermentation. It explains academic sensory analysis methods used by professional chocolate tasters for decades. You don't need to go to the expensive sommelier courses, just spend some time with the Bean to Bar Chocolate Tasting Guide and you will learn the skills taught by international culinary academies. Its like a text book but delicious. And, if you aren't into books, or know a guest into ebooks, give them this link to the free ebook version Know your instruments, or tasting tools, and provide copies for everyone. There are many awesome tools choose from. Check out these free tasting tools below.
Flavor Wheels - These are typically in color and are almost always present at chocolate tastings. Guests arrive at beginner or any level of skill, so this serves everyone with a reference point for detecting flavors in chocolate. Colored wheels can influence aroma perception. So can music, perfume, candles and so much more. There is a lot to learn about hosting chocolate tastings but they will always have flavor wheels for people to reference flavors and aromas with. This wheel below is in black and white so that there is no color to distract or influence flavor perception.

Large Tasting Sheets - Click here for a free downloadable and printable large tasting sheet for you and your guests to use. Its got room for tasting 4 pieces of chocolate at once so there is no risk of palate fatigue with this sheet. There are some color, fun and time-based measuring tools on it too. Instructions are printed on it for swift understanding and wide reach. Familiarize yourself with it first, before the tasting or you could look completely unprepared.

Mini Tasting Slips - These are great and allow for folks to taste and process a larger quantity of chocolate faster. Its also useful to aptly measure and log single pieces of chocolate by the same factors month after month avoiding palate fatigue. Its totally downloadable and printable and sharable.

More tools may not be better. Just be sure to pick the tools you, as the host, are most versatile with. After all that, let the tasting begin.

Step 8: Follow Up with Your Guests


You may unblind the chocolate at this point and reveal the makers.
Did you know that each one of your guests will taste everything differently? Thats because everyone's tastes buds are different. Its something to consider when sharing vital critiques.
Tasting Palate Calibration
There is a way to calibrate everyones palates. Calibrating your palate means training your taste buds to identify and distinguish different flavors and ingredients in the food and drink you consume. It is an important skill for chefs, sommeliers, and other food and beverage professionals to have, as it allows them to accurately create and replicate recipes, pair food and drink, and make informed recommendations to their customers. It is also useful for everyday eaters who want to better understand and appreciate the flavors of their meals.
There are several ways to calibrate your palate. One method is to taste and compare a range of ingredients and flavors, such as sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami, on their own and in combination. You can also try taste testing with your eyes closed to focus on the flavors and aromas, and try to identify the specific ingredients or flavor profiles in the food or drink. Another way is to get consensus on the flavor of each ingredient. This will show your guests that despite their differences, they can agree on flavors and tastes.
Calibrating your palate can be a lifelong process, and it is important to continually challenge and expand your taste preferences and knowledge. It can help you make more informed and satisfying food choices, and it can also enhance your enjoyment and appreciation of different people's perspectives.