On a wet and cold winter’s night in Sydney, we warmed ourselves up with hot chocolate, a myriad of chocolates and cakes at an intimate session of chocolate tasting at Lindt Cafe. We walked away with a lovely experience of new taste sensations and knowledge about chocolate. Ginger and Roasted Almond are the two new flavours to the premium dark chocolate range.

The Ginger chocolate filled our taste buds with a pleasant and exotic surprise. The beautifully balanced dark chocolate with a light creaminess has a subtle spice of ginger which enhances the intensity of the cocoa with a lingering pepperiness – it is like no other chocolate we ever tasted. Although this one stood out for us, the Roasted Almond has a more predictable combination of lightly-toasted crunchy almond flakes with smooth dark chocolate which is probably going to be a bigger hit among the crowds.

Before you quickly devour your chocolate, Lindt Australia’s Master Chocolatier Thomas Schnetzler shows us how to appreciate chocolate’s full flavour and complexity by using our five senses, just like good wine:

Sight
Resist the temptation of munching away; first break off a section of dark chocolate and look at it. The finest quality chocolate has a smooth surface and a rich matte sheen. Lesser quality chocolate sometimes has small bubbles and air pockets on the bottom from being forced into the moulds.

Touch
Rub it between your index finger and thumb. The chocolate should feel silky but soften quickly, leaving a mark on the surface. Gritty and grainy chocolate indicates lack of refining and an excess of sugar, which is detrimental to the flavour.

Sound
Break a piece close to your ear. The sharp snap is a sure sign of dense, fine chocolate and indicates the correct formation of crystals in the cocoa butter.

Smell
Hold a piece to your nose and smell the chocolate to detect bittersweet cocoa bean, vanilla, and even earth.

Taste
Finally, place a piece of chocolate in your mouth, let it melt on your tongue, and experience the true intense flavour of premium chocolate. The flavour attributes vary from person to person which makes the indulgence an even more personal experience.

Mmmm… hope you managed to resist tasting to the final stage…

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