Learn To Be A Chocolate Connoisseur With Us

What do we usually do when we come across chocolates? We gobble them so that our annoying siblings or greedy friends do not finish it. But that is not what a chocolate connoisseur would do. Thanks to Mr. L Nitin Chordia, India’s first certified chocolate taster, who organized a World Chocolate Day session at The Park, Chennai, the ignorant chocolate lover in us learnt how to not only eat a chocolate, but also to understand and appreciate the work of art that melts in our mouth.

The workshop began with a brief and engaging discussion about the various process that goes into the making of chocolate. Starting with obtaining the finest beans to processing them to making them the bars of chocolate that we know, Mr. Chordia did an excellent job of explaining in detail about the processing methods and tiny details that separates chocolate of highest quality from average ones.

Who knew the darker the chocolate, the lesser the sugar content. Ever heard of compound chocolates?  Used as a lower-cost alternative to genuine chocolate, compound chocolates uses less-expensive hard vegetable fats such as coconut oil or palm kernel oil in place of the more expensive cocoa butter. Also, doctors recommend 30g of dark chocolates for a healthy heart. Yes, we did not know about this too!

This was followed by a chocolate tasting session. Mr Chordia calls it one-minute experience. He gave nine guidelines to be followed when tasting a chocolate to understand the bitterness, sweetness and a lingering after taste, and they are as follows.

• Never taste a cold chocolate. Make sure that you do not store your chocolate in refrigerators. It is important to make sure that it is not too hardened.
• Always make sure that your palate is clean. Before you taste the chocolate, it is important to clean your palate. Drinking water is one way of doing it.
• It is important to make sure that only a moderate piece is taken to taste. Ensure that it is not too small or too big.
• Before you put the entire thing in your mouth, ensure that you hold the chocolate piece between your thumb and forefinger for 10-15 seconds. Pure chocolates melts at room temperatures.
• Take a moment to smell the chocolate.
• Place the chocolate on the tongue and press it on top of the tongue.
• Let the chocolate melt slowly and allow the flavour to evolve.
• Give time for the after taste to develop slowly.
• Make sure you enjoy your chocolate and evaluate the after taste.

The audience were given nine different chocolates to taste and understand each one of them. For some, a particular taste would be strong whereas it would not be that dominant for others. We absolutely loved the chocolate that left a lingering taste of chilli.

After the chocolate tasting session, Mr. Chordia showed how the coco nibs are broken down to form a paste by putting them in a grinder. We were given a chance to taste the paste, which was nothing like the chocolate you get in your shops.

This was followed by a lunch curated with all elements of chocolate, and we were apprehensive about it. But we love to be proved wrong when it comes to food. The lunch started with a butternut and coconut soup infused with pistachio silvers, organic Ecuadorian lemongrass, topped with chocolate shavings. Followed by a main course of coco hazelnut chicken roulade with sweet potato fries and chocolate barbeque sauce. Now, that we were done with main course, it was time for dessert. Amarettodacquois mille feuille with rose chocolate and mascarpone melange and wild berry compote.

Can the day get any better? We do not think so.

We will always be thankful to Mr. L Nitin Chordia and Cocoatrait who made the World Chocolate’s Day the best day ever.