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Tasting chocolate is much like tasting fine wine

1. Room Temperature
   For best tasting, chocolate should be at room temperature. This allows the chocolate to begin to melt the moment it hits your mouth. Cold chocolate doesn't release its flavors and aromas as quickly, altering the tasting experience.
2. Be Still
   You can't appreciate good chocolate if the phone is ringing or you are checking your e-mail. Chocolate comes from all over the world to end up in your house, so turn off the TV and give the chocolate some respect. It will reward you for it.
3. Clear Your Palate
   You don't want other tastes interfering with your experience of the chocolate. Make sure no flavors are lingering in your mouth before you begin tasting your chocolate. A piece of apple, a bit of bread or (believe or not) a bite of a pickle are all said to erase flavors in your mouth.
4. Look at the Chocolate
   Chocolate experts use the appearance of the chocolate as one of many criteria to judge its quality. Good chocolate should have a shiny, even gloss on its surface. If chocolate is too old, it will develop a hazy finish called 'bloom.' The color of the chocolate depends on the origin of the beans and the roasting process. The color should be uniform for the entire bar. Also examine the detail and care that has been put into creating the chocolate bar. Are the edges clean? Is the molding clear? Has extra effort been put into making an even, uniform bar?
5. Break Off a Piece
   Break your piece of chocolate in half and listen to the sound. High quality chocolate produces a sharp, crisp sound and a clean edge. This is called the chocolate's "snap." The higher the cocoa quantity and the better the tempering, the louder the "snap" of the chocolate. Professional chocolate tasters can tell a great deal about the quality of chocolate just by this sound.
   
6. Rub It
   Take your finger and rub just a bit of the chocolate. The chocolate should feel smooth and even. The warmth of your body will cause the chocolate to melt and release odors. These odors will enhance the intensity of your tasting.
7. Smell the Chocolate
   Much like wine experts, chocolate experts can find an incredible array of scents and aromas. Some chocolate flavors include:
   • burnt bread
   • nutty
   • spicy
   • fruity
   The list could continue forever. When you begin tasting chocolate, these aromas probably won't be clear to you. That's okay. Spend more time just smelling the chocolate. Warm it up more with your finger, close your eyes, and let your smell-imagination run wild. Eventually different chocolates will recall different odors. You will start to know which regions of the world produce chocolate with which aromas.
8. Feel the Chocolate in Your Mouth
   Good chocolate should literally "melt in your mouth." Chocolate melts at about 97 degrees. While melting the chocolate should feel rich and luscious in your mouth. You should not need to chew good chocolate at all, just let the flavors release on their own. Examine the texture of the chocolate -- it can vary from smooth to grainy. Good chocolate has a rich, velvety texture. Poor quality chocolate feels waxy or greasy.
9. Taste It
   Finally, you should taste the chocolate. You can chew if you want, but just a couple of times. Like with smelling the chocolate, pay attention to the flavors that just pop into your head. These could be the same as what you smelled, or completely different. Spend time being aware of how the flavors change over time as the chocolate continues to melt and coat more of your mouth.
10. The Finish
    As the last of the chocolate leaves your mouth, the lingering flavor is known as the 'finish' of the chocolate. Good chocolate should have a complex, interesting finish that is not bitter or unpleasant. The finish is an important part of the tasting, as many of the early flavors may be masked by other ingredients in the chocolate.

Tips:

1. When tasting many kinds of chocolate at one sitting, always taste from lowest percentage of cocoa to highest.
2. Store your chocolate in a dry, dark and cool place to avoid 'blooming' and other signs of aging.
3. Remember to balance the calories in chocolate by eating less of something else.
4. If you are having trouble sleeping at night, do not eat chocolate close to bedtime.

Simple tips to identify good quality Chocolate

There are many brands of Chocolate available in market. Price range of chocolates largely varies based on quality of chocolates and its packaging. Paying high price can be one parameter to ensure you are buying high quality chocolate, but it is not always true. Sometimes you may pay high but end up buying mean quality chocolate. Here are some simple tips to judge quality of chocolate.

Ingredients

Chocolate is made from cocoa beans. So anything made from other than cocoa beans is not chocolate. Milk chocolates are made from milk and sugar; those are called chocolates but are not real chocolate. Cocoa solids and cocoa butter are basic ingredients of chocolate.  So first thing to check is what ingredients are listed on chocolate wrapper or box. If percentage of cocoa solid and cocoa butter is more, chocolate is of good quality.

Touch

Cocoa butter melts at our body temperature. Good quality chocolate should start melting as you touch it. Its touch should feel smooth to hands. It should not be grainy.

Appearance

Surface of chocolate should look glossy and shining. If there is bloom or grey/off white dots on surface of chocolate, you can conclude that it is not handled or stored well or it is not fresh. Old chocolates develop this kind of bloom.

Aroma

Chocolate should have aroma chocolate. If it has some other smells, you can conclude that it is stored with some other food or substance. Chocolate quickly acquire smells of other substance it is stored with.

Snap

If it is chocolate bar, you should be able to hear good snap when you break it. If it is chocolate cube, it should make snap once you break it by teeth. If it is not making snap, it is not tempered well. So it is not a good quality chocolate.

Taste

Chocolate should taste like chocolate. Once you place chocolate on tongue, it should start melting. It should create silky smooth feeling in mouth. Chocolate should fill your senses with its aroma. It should not create sand like or grainy feeling. You should not need to chew it.

You can now select good chocolate and enjoy it.

FAQ'S

Q) Where is Tiya’s  Chocolates based? A) Tiya’s  Chocolates is based in New Delhi, India. Q) Does Tiya’s  Chocolates do home delivery? A) For smaller orders, we charge a nominal delivery charge, based on your location. Ofcourse, you are welcome to pick up your chocolates for free from our site. Q) Are my chocolates fresh? A) At Tiya’s  Chocolates, we firmly believe that chocolate is best enjoyed when its fresh. Your order is freshly prepared on the day you want, and can be delivered to your doorstep. Kindly place the order atleast 3 days before the day you want them to be delivered. Extra time may be required for orders over 2 kgs. Q) Which ingredients are used to prepare my chocolates? A) We only use the finest and freshest ingredients to prepare all orders. Our chocolates are purely vegetarian and we use the finest quality products to create that perfect taste for you, we use swiss chocolates to create that perfect taste of heavenly chocolates. Q) What sort of packing options are available? A) We offer a wide selection of packing and gift wrapping services, ranging from simple transparent plastic sleeves (topped with an adorable ribbon), to more elegant and customised designed boxes. To top it off, each individual piece of chocolate is wrapped in beautiful paper, sealing in the freshness and aroma of the chocolate. Please note that special gift wrapping may incur an extra charge. Q) I am confused...can you help me select the chocolates? A) Of course, it will be our pleasure. Tiya’s  Chocolates prides itself in customising orders. We understand how important it is to give the perfect gift on special occasions, or select the right chocolate for that special someone. Just give us a call, or drop us an email, and we will be happy to offer you recommendations based on your needs, and all free of charge. Q) Can you mix and match chocolates? A) Yes, you are welcome to mix and match chocolates, and order in any denomination of 250gm. Please note that you will be charged the average price of all the individual chocolates. E.g: If you mix Peanut Cup with Moonshine, you will be charged Rs 1300 per 1Kg. Q) Do your chocolates contain preservatives? A) No, some chocolates contain a dash of alcohol, lemon or a concentrate of fruit sugars, these are natural preservatives. We do not use chemical additives in our chocolates. Q) Do the chocolates have a shelf life? A) At Tiya’s  Chocolates, all the chocolates are freshly prepared without using any preservatives. For that purpose, we strongly advice you refrigerate the chocolates as soon as possible. Q) Can I add a message? A) Ofcourse, just mention your own personal greeting via an email, or tell us over the phone, alongwith any other special gift requirements. We will be happy to accomodate your request. Q) Why should I buy from Tiya’s  Chocolates instead of branded chocolates? A) Branded chocolates are mass produced in chocolate factories. This means that the chocolates are not fresh when you get them, and nearly all contain preservatives and harmful chemicals. At Tiya’s  Chocolates, we prepare your chocolates fresh and customised. All our chocolates, being hand made, are of better quality that manufactured chocolates. We also offer a range of attractive customisable gift wrapping options, which is not available with pre-packaged branded chocolates. Q) What modes of payment do you accept? A) We accept cash-on-delivery and bank transfer. Kindly contact us for details.

History of Chcolates

Forest Gump and his momma knew best: "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get!" Creamy, mouth-watering, delicious chocolate delight melts in your mouth. Rhetoric aside, the history of chocolate has moved in constant evolution throughout world history. Consumers question chocolate's benefits, is chocolate a "sinful delight" or is chocolate a "healthy delight"? No matter how the corporate and media world spin or shape the milky candy, the popular chocolate confection stands strong in the global market, healthy or not. Chocolate represents a world culture of courtship and consumerism.Chocolate makes you feel good, buy some today for yourself or the ones you love. Chocolate is known not only as a gift to loved ones, but as a tasty escape from the real world. So, Mrs. Gump was right about chocolate. Life, like chocolate, excites, delights and gives much more than what can be seen in the pretty packaging.

Sociologists spin the significance of chocolate based on how it affects a global culture and economy. Culturally, chocolate represents an important role in the dating rituals, potentially propelling a successful courtship. Courtship rituals can include one person giving chocolates and flowers to the object of his or her affection, as a thoughtful gesture. The seemingly minor role of giving chocolate as only one of many courtship rituals remains significant and common practice in many different cultures world wide. Chocolate represents a small promise from one to another: "I'll be thoughtful and sweet in the future. Pick me! Pick me!" Chocolate plays many roles in the world's culture of love and economics. Love and capitalism correlate to chocolate during the millennium. Chocolate brings lovers together. Chocolate contributes to the economy of a country, creating jobs during the production and sales of the sweet creation. In many ways, the simple and delectable; yet culturally complex morsel of chocolate reflects the modern life. Imagine if someone set a mug in front of you that held something that looked like mud, dark brown and thick and oily. Being polite, you take a sip. It's bitter - and spicy from the chili peppers they put in to try to make it taste better. You'd wonder why this drink was served with such ceremony- Why is it so precious? This was the early history of chocolate. And if you drank the cup, you would find that you felt better, your mood would almost instantly lift. But that taste… Then the Aztecs got a hold of it. They added vanilla bean and honey instead of the chili peppers. It was considered so precious that only royalty was allowed to drink it. Aztec legend says that a god was kicked out of the heavens for allowing mere mortals to have this precious drink.Montezuma's court drank over 2000 cups a day. Montezuma himself was said to drink 50 cups a day himself, and always drank a cup before visiting his harem Chocolate gradually spread through Italy, England, Switzerland, and Holland. Each country worked diligently to make this magic elixir taste better. The Dutch invented the process which makes the chocolate less bitter. The Swiss made the chocolate creamier and lighter. The Swiss and the U.S. found ways to mass produce it so we can all enjoy it. Whew. Finally! It only took about 1500 years. Here's a few more chocolate facts - Casanova drank chocolate to improve his love-making. M & Ms were invented so that soldiers could carry chocolate with them. It was issued as nutrition. Toll-House Cookies were invented by accident. The owner of the Toll-House Inn was making a dessert when she found that she had run out of Baker's chocolate. All she had was a Nestle chocolate bar. She broke it into little pieces and mixed it into her dough. But to her dismay, the chocolate didn't melt completely. Fortunately, everyone loved the new cookies. Nestle gave her a lifetime supply of chocolate for exclusive rights to the recipe. I wonder what that was worth? Though the chocolate today hardly resembles the chocolate of early times, they are finding that it is still good for your heart and your mood. What a sweet addiction! The tasty secret of the cacao (kah KOW) tree was discovered 2,000 years ago in the tropical rainforests of the Americas. The pods of this tree contain seeds that can be processed into chocolate. The story of how chocolate grew from a local Mesoamerican beverage into a global sweet encompasses many cultures and continents. The first people known to have made chocolate were the ancient cultures of Mexico and Central America. These people, including the Maya and Aztec, mixed ground cacao seeds with various seasonings to make a spicy, frothy drink. We tend to think of chocolate as a sweet candy created during modern times. But actually, chocolate dates back to the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica who drank chocolate as a bitter beverage.For these people, chocolate wasn’t just a favorite food—it also played an important role in their religious and social lives. The ancient Maya grew cacao and made it into a beverage. The first people clearly known to have discovered the secret of cacao were the Classic Period Maya (250-900 C.E. [A.D.]). The Maya and their ancestors in Mesoamerica took the tree from the rainforest and grew it in their own backyards, where they harvested, fermented, roasted, and ground the seeds into a paste. When mixed with water, chile peppers, cornmeal, and other ingredients, this paste made a frothy, spicy chocolate drink. The Aztecs adopted cacao. Drinking chocolate was an important part of Maya and Aztec life. Many people in Classic Period Maya society could drink chocolate at least on occasion, although it was a particularly favored beverage for royalty.

Fun Facts

Impress your friends with your knowledge of this wonderful and lovable substance and you can then proudly call yourself a knowledgeable chocolate-holic. :) Just how much do you know about chocolate ? Apart from it being addictive, did you know that it has less caffeine than coffee. Ten percent of U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance of iron is found in one ounce of baking chocolate or cocoa. It is reported that Napoleon carried chocolate with him on his military campaigns, and always ate it when he needed quick energy. Although chocolate is not an aphrodisiac, as the ancient Aztecs believed, chocolate contains phenylethylamine (PEA), a natural substance that is reputed to stimulate the same reaction in the body as falling in love. Hence, heartbreak and loneliness are great excuses for chocolate overindulgence. Chocolate can be lethal to dogs. Theobromine, an ingredient that stimulates the cardiac muscle and the central nervous system, causes chocolate's toxicity. About two ounces of milk chocolate can be poisonous for a 10-lb puppy. Consumers spend more than $7 billion a year on chocolate. Chocolate syrup was used for blood in the famous 45 second shower scene in Alfred. Chocolate has over 500 flavor components, more than twice the amount found in strawberry and vanilla. Once upon a time, money did grow on trees. Cocoa beans were used as currency by the Mayan and Aztec civilizations over 1400 years ago. When they had too much money to spend, they brewed the excess into hot chocolate drinks. The word "chocolate" comes from the Aztec word "xocolatl", which means "bitter water". Chocolate was originally only used as a beverage, and only served to men as chocolate contains PEA, which stimulates the same reaction in the body as falling in love. People in Denmark eat the most chocolate - about 30 pounds per person a year. Most women like to get chocolate instead of flowers on Valentine's Day - especially women over the age of 50. The melting point of cocoa butter is just below human body temperature - this is why chocolate melts in your mouth. Dental studies report that eating chocolate does not cause cavities. The first chocolate house was opened in London in 1657. Chocolate cost 10-15 shillings per pound and was considered a beverage for the elite class. If you've got melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly. REMEMBER: "Stressed"  spelled backward is "desserts". In soda fountain slang, a "bucket of mud" is a bowl of chocolate ice cream. Chocolate in a blue wrapper won't sell in Shanghai or Hong Kong because the Chinese associate blue with death. (Based on research and survey)

CHOCOLATE GLOSSARY

Artisan Chocolates

Chocolate that is hand made by a small maker, rather than machine mass produced.

Bittersweet Chocolate

Bittersweet chocolate is chocolate that contains a minimum of 35% cocoa solids. 

It has less sugar and more liquor than semisweet chocolate, but the two are used interchangeably in baking.

 Bittersweet chocolate is dark and rich in flavor and appeals to dark chocolate lovers.

Cacao

A term used for the cacao tree, Theobroma Cacao. 

The same term is also used for the unprocessed product (pods or cocoa bean) of the cacao plant.

Carraque

Solid chocolate pieces, usually topped with raisins and nuts.

Chocolate Liquor

Chocolate liquor, also referred to as cocoa liquor, is finely ground processed cocoa bean nibs in their liquid state. 

This is unsweetened chocolate in its purest form and, in spite of what the name suggests, does not contain any alcohol.

Cocoa Bean

Cocoa bean is derived from the fruit of the cocoa tree. 

The beans are processed and cocoa solids and butter are extracted, which form the fundamental basis for chocolate.

Cocoa Butter

Cocoa butter is an edible fat extracted from the cocoa bean and is a primary ingredient of chocolate. It is firm at room temperature with a melting point close to the human body temperature: a characteristic that is responsible for that unique melt-in-your-mouth experience of real chocolate.

Cocoa Pod

The cocoa pod is the fruit of the cocoa tree. 

Each pod contains cocoa beans, from which solids and butter are extracted to produce chocolate.

Cocoa Powder

Cocoa powder is cocoa paste (ground coco beans) minus cocoa butter. 

So essentially, it is the low fat component of the cocoa bean. 

 It is commonly used in baked cookies, tarts, chocolate drinks and as a sprinkling on truffles.

Compound Chocolate

Compound chocolate is a less expensive variant of real chocolate, 

the difference being that compound contains vegetable oils instead of the more expensive cocoa butter as its source of fat.

Conching

Conching is a mechanical process of plowing chocolate back and forth in a mixer /agitator to evenly distribute  

the cocoa butter content within the chocolate. 

This step is essential for proper flavor, texture and quality development of the chocolate.

Couverture

Couverture means coating in French. It is used to describe professional high quality chocolate with a  significant percentage of cocoa butter, at least 32%, and as high as 39% for premium quality. The extra cocoa butter gives the coverture more sheen and snap, and allows the chocolate to form a thin coating, hence the name.

Criollo

The best quality cocoa bean, but low yielding and more difficult to grow. 

Less than 10% of the world chocolate production is from this rare bean type. 

Criollo chocolate has a distinctly reddish color and a complex taste with many subtle layers of flavors.

Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate is characterized by a high percentage of cocoa content, usually a minimum of 35%. Dark chocolate does not contain any milk and therefore has a more pronounced bitter taste.

Enrobing

Enrobing is the process of covering a confectionery center filling with an outer layer of chocolate either by hand-dipping in liquid chocolate or by using an enrobing machine.

Fondant

Fondant means “melting” in French. It is a kind of creamy icing-like confection used as a filling in sweets and candies or as a coating/frosting to decorate or sculpt cakes and pastries. It is made from a cooked mixture of sugar, water and cream of tartar.

Fudge

Fudge is a soft, flavored and and extremely rich confectionery made by boiling sugar in milk to the soft-ball stage, and then beating the mixture while it cools so that it acquires a smooth, creamy consistency.

Ganache

Ganache is a rich velvety mixture of chocolate and cream, used as center filling for confections such as truffles and candies. The proportion of chocolate to cream varies depending on the recipe and consistency required. In French, the word colloquially refers to a “foolish” person. 

Chocolate folklore has it that ganache was invented by accident when a chocolatier’s foolish apprentice spilled hot cream  over melting chocolate. Needless to mention, the result of his mistake was a fantastic new mixture  that we use extensively to this day!

Gianduja

An originally Italian specialty, gianduja is a sweet chocolate made from a mixture of emulsified hazelnuts, sometimes even almonds, cocoa, and sugar.

Lecithin

Soy lecithin is a by-product of soybean oil production and is used as an emulsifier in chocolate to bind the cocoa and                                                                                           cocoa butter together. 

It reduces viscosity, controls sugar crystallization and the flow properties of chocolate, helps in the homogeneous mixing of ingredients, and also improves shelf life.

Maltitol

Maltitol is a sugar-substitute used as a sweetner in sugar-free chocolates. It has about 75-90% of the sweetness of sugar, implying that a slightly higher quantity of maltitol must be added for the same level of sweetness as sugar. Maltitol (powder:36-syrup:52) has a lower glycemic index than cane sugar (60).

Marzipan

Marzipan is a thick paste of almond powder and sugar or honey. Addtional ingredients such as egg whites, corn syrup, and water may also be added as wetting agents to give it a soft doughy consistency. Marzipan can be used as a center filling as well as a decorative icing for chocolates.

Milk Chocolate

In addition to chocolate liquor and cocoa butter, as the name suggests, milk chocolate also contains milk (condensed or solids). Milk chocolate contains less chocolate liquor than dark chocolate, and therefore has a sweeter and milder chocolate flavor compared to the latter.

Nougatine

Nougat is a dense and chewy candy filling used in chocolates (Nougatine) and is made from crushed caramelized nuts or dried fruit.

Pods

Cocoa pod is the fruit of the cocoa tree containing the cocoa beans used for chocolate production. An interesting characteristic of the cocoa pod is that, unlike most fruits, it grows directly on the trunk of the tree rather than from the end of a branch.

Praliné

Sugar-coated nuts are called pralin in French, and any chocolate incorporating this as an ingredient, whether powdered or as a paste, is called Praliné chocolate. Some recipes call for a smooth paste of cocoa blended with finely ground nuts inside a chocolate outer shell, while others have a crunchy nutty powder dusted over the chocolate.

Semisweet Chocolate

Semi-sweet contains between more than 35% chocolate liquor and less than half as much sugar as cocoa. It is considered to have a good balance of chocolate and sweetness that making it versatile for many recipes, as compared to milk chocolate which can be too sweet and dark chocolate which can be too bitter.

Sweet Chocolate

Sweet chocolate contains between 15%-35% chocolate liquor and usually has more than half as much sugar as cocoa.

Tempering

Tempering is the process of bringing chocolate to a specific temperature to encourage its cocoa butter content to harden into a fine crystalline pattern resulting in uniform gloss and crisp snap.

 Chocolate that has not been tempered  often appears mottled and matte, and crumbles rather than snap when broken.

Truffle

A traditional chocolate truffle is a confection made of ganache rolled into balls, enrobed in chocolate couverture and dusted with cocoa powder. Although many variants are possible both with respect to the filling (caramel, berries, marshmallows, fudge, etc.) as well as the outer layer (icing sugar, nuts, etc.). The truffle is thought to have been invented in France, and derives its name from the Latin word “tuber” meaning lump.

White Chocolate

White chocolate contains cocoa butter, milk solids, sugar and vanilla (or other flavorings). It does not contain cocoa solids, a vital ingredient of chocolate, and therefore some people do not even consider it to be real chocolate. White chocolate is rich and creamy, and is characterized by a pale yellow or ivory appearance.