Around the World Chocolate Tasting

 Looking at the various library calendars, I saw that Kimberly was having a Chocolate Around the World Tasting. That sounds like an event for me. I confirmed that the hubby was busy and no one else wanted to go. I signed up first thing in the morning when registration opened. I think I surprised them that I wanted to sign up as soon as the library open.

The event was from 6-7. We were given the chance to taste 8 different chocolates from around the world plus learned some history of the chocolate in that country. Tracy, the librarian, went to World Market and brought a variety of chocolates. 

We were told use all of our senses to taste, smell, look, and touch to taste the chocolate. We actually had a crash course in tasting chocolate from Maui Kuʻia Estate Chocolate. 

Our chocolates

Japan -- Meltybend: A chocolate truffle coated in a thin layer of cocoa powder. Definitely smooth and creamy. This was my favorite chocolate. 4.5 stars.

Mexico -- Mazapn de la Rosa: A Peanut confection similar to the English Almond Variation. It was very crumbly, kind of Peanut butter like, very sweet. This was my least favorite. 2 stars.

Germany -- Mazipan Niederegger Lubeck: Kissed by the sun, the almonds have a sweet nutty flavor. It was smooth and soft. Sweet but not too sweet. A solid 3 stars

US -- Macadamias Hawaiian Host -- Creamy, nutty, milk, and honey dusted in powdered sugar. I thought it had a coffee undertone. I didn't taste the honey. It was sweet and crunchy. Another solid 3 stars

Iceland -- Traditional Icelandic Chocolate Noi Sinius -- Bitter, cocoa, and vanilla. It was only 58% but it was hard. It was not dark enough for me. 3.5 stars

Belgium -- Lait Caramel Sale (Cote De' Or) -- Rich Smooth Milk Chocolate bar with delicious salted caramel chips. It needs to be at least 35% cacao to be Belgium Chocolate. Definitely smelling the caramel. I thought it was too crunchy and sweet. 2.5 stars.

United Kingdom -- Willie Cacao Cuban Bar (Lime Ginger) -- It is made in small batches that takes several weeks to make a single bar. It was dark and the lime and ginger made for an interesting flavor. Very tasty in my book. I was in the minority on this one. 4 stars

France -- Terry's Original Chocolate Orange Bar -- Definitely smell the orange. It was like a chocolate orange in bar form. Their motto: Tap it, Unwrap it, Enjoy it. Too much orange for me. 2.5 stars.

It was definitely a fun and tasty experience. I will have to explore the more international chocolate bars when I'm at World Market next. I usually go for the darker the better but some of these were intriguing enough to see what else World Market has. 

It was a perfect Galentine's Day or even Valentine's Day activity put on by the library. I will definitely keep my eye out for more library fun.

Quarantine Adventures: Chocolate Tasting

 One of the virtual alum events that Carroll University offered was a virtual chocolate tasting. We had to buy several different kinds of chocolate and then Bryn Kirk would walk us through the art of tasting chocolate. Hello... Chocolate tasting.. right up my alley. 

Half the adventure was buying the chocolate. We need to get 4 dark chocolate bars and 4 milk chocolate bars -- 2 in each category of 4 categories. We were told we could get them at Walmart, grocery stores, etc. The only brand I heard of on the list was Lindt. Everything else I never heard of -- Theo, Green and Black, Chocolove, Divine, Alter Ego. Walmart, Meijer, Pick n Save really only had Lindt and maybe Green and Black. I ended up getting most of it at Woodman's. And each bar was at least $3 on average. This was not a cheap chocolate tasting. 

Then came the actual tasting. The hubby was home. So while we were in the process of putting a shelf in my new office space we tasted the chocolate.

Apparently there is a method to chocolate tasting. Break off a piece of the two types you were going to sample. Let it melt in your mouth and then just before it's gone, bit the second piece. Repeat. This was to get the most flavor out of each type of chocolate.

I flunked out of Chocolate University. I could not really distinguish between flavors. At one point I thought the chocolate tasted like dirt. I never got hints of banana, fruit, or nut flavors. Guess I don't have the taste buds for a professional chocolate taster.

The hubby and I both decided that we didn't care for the Lindt chocolate. Chocolove Milk Chocolate was his favorite for milk and I would have to agree. 

For the dark chocolate, I went with 2 85% dark chocolate and 2 70% dark chocolate. The Theo was better than Divine in the 85% category. Green and Black beat out Lindt again in the 70% category.  The Theo was probably my favorite. 

It was a good night of tasting chocolate. In the future, I'm just going to buy what I like and not worry about what hidden flavors are in my chocolate.