Corporate and Private Tastings
Let proud traditions, sublime craftwork and outstanding quality send your taste buds on a journey . . .
Kate Slesinger, Publishing Director of House & Garden:
“This chocolate rocks! I love the quirky branding and evocative names for each of the different flavours: like something out of Willy Wonka. Most of all, the bars themselves are utterly delectable and, once tasted, it's pretty hard to go back to a lesser chocolate.”
Amy Rowlatt, Press Officer, Spirit of Christmas Fair 2010:
“Richard O’Connor provides interesting insight into the intricate details of the chocolate-making industry. With character, humour and enthusiasm Richard captures the audience in the fascination and mouth-watering quality of the chocolates that ‘Chocolate and Love’ produce. Truly superb!”
Caspar Craven, co-founder of Trovus:
"We wanted to do something a little different for our valued user base. Richard and his team provided just that. An amazing experience - engaging, entertaining, informative and indulgent. A perfect way to spend time with people we care about."
Asa Bennett, President of UCL Chocolate Society:
"It was one of the best tastings we've attended. There was an extraordinary range of exquisite and rare chocolate, expertly presented by Richard. All our members who came along to this tasting can't wait to come back again!"
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We offer home tasting parties and corporate tastings for colleagues or clients.
Venue and set-up
We can perform the tasting in your premises or a selected venue. We make an atmosphere different from the ordinary office environment, such as having candles and playing soft music.
Facts and Background
The participants will be introduced to the story about the beans, their origin, the flavours etc.
Visuals
Photos and video is an integrated part to give the participants visuals on how the pods look likes, the process of making chocolate etc.
How to Taste Chocolate
The participants will be introduced to how to taste chocolate.
Chocolate to Taste
There will be a selection of chocolate to taste from different regions and with different notes.
Tasting Notes
Tasting notes will be available, for the participants to note down their personal ratings, comments and observations. It’s all about engaging people.
Chocolate Intelligence
A quiz can be handed out. The winner will get a goodie bag.
Goodie Bag
Goodie bags can be provided for each participant to take home for later indulgence.
Mobile Chocolate Boutique
We can bring products to sell after the tasting in case the participants should like to bring home some more of the chocolate they have tasted.
Allergen Infomation
Please be aware that chocolate can contain dairy, nuts, almonds, peanuts etc. and it is advisable if the participants are informed accordingly prior to the event. We can take special care if there are any participants with any allergen.
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Tips on how to taste chocolate
Look
Colour and appearance: Fine chocolate should have a brown tone. Black tone is a sign of over- roasted beans.
Touch
Melts at body temperature: Fine chocolate should feel silky and not sticky and should just begin to yield to the warmth of your finger. It should not feel greasy, grainy, sticky or waxy.
Smell
Aroma: Many of the flavour components in a piece of chocolate can be detected by smell, es- pecially at the break point. Inhaling will prime the tongue for the incoming chocolate. Burnt, musty or chemically smells have no place in chocolate.
Listen
Snap: Fine chocolate breaks cleanly, creating crisp edges without crumbling, and makes a sharp sound. If the chocolate has no clean snap it may be due to a high amount of vegetable fat.
First taste
Coat the mouth: Break the piece in half and place it in the centre of your tongue and allow it to melt slowly. Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth and move the melting chocolate around.
First flavours : You will experience different stages of flavours. The front tip of your tongue notices sweetness; the back of your tongue picks up bitter flavours; the sides of your tongue toward the front take in sour tastes while the back sides are for salty flavours.
Mouthfeel: The texture should be smooth, velvety or silky. It should not be grainy, gluey or waxy.
New flavours: Become aware of how new flavors may emerge. Different flavours: Spicy, roasted, herbal, woody, earthy, fruity, caramel, cocoa, coffee, li-
quorice, nutty, floral, vanilla, salt, tobacco . . .
Aftertaste: Finally, note how long the flavour lingers. Premium chocolate has flavours that last.
Chew: Do not chew - always allow the chocolate to melt - more flavours will be released. Have patience and enjoy!
Cleanse
Water or bread: You might want to cleanse the palate between tasting different chocolates.