Flavors
Chocolate reveals a kaleidoscope of flavors. Hidden deep within the chocolate, just waiting to be released, the flavors are evocative; the experience of tasting chocolate may summon to mind other foods, or elements of nature.
The below-listed flavors are offered to stimulate your own path of tasting; what is present here indicates further and vast potentials which await your discovery.
Brine/Cure
leather
olive
pickle
Dairy
butter
caramel
cream
milk
Earth
grass
herbal
mineral
mushroom
soil
sugar cane
truffle
wood, e.g., cedar, pine, oak, walnut
Ferment
bread
cacao
chocolate
coffee
black tea
toast
tobacco
wine
Floral
beeswax
honey
honeysuckle
jasmine
orange blossom
lavender
rose
violet
Fruit (berry)
blackberry
black currant
boysenberry
muscat grape
passion fruit
raspberry
red currant
strawberry
Fruit (citrus)
grapefruit
lemon
orange
pineapple
Fruit (dried)
date
fig
prune
raisin
Fruit (stone)
apricot
cherry
peach
plum
Fruit (tropical)
banana
coconut
lychee
mango
green pepper
melon
muscat grape
pear
quince
tomato
Nut
almond
cashew
hazelnut
macadamia
marzipan
peanut
walnut
Spice
anise
black pepper
cardamom
chili
cinnamon
clove
licorice
nutmeg
mint
vanilla
Note, the above flavors is not a complete list.
Off-flavors
You may perceive an aroma that seems ‘off.’ Off-flavors in a chocolate may be attributed to any of the following: under- or over-fermentation, drying method, improper raw bean storage, handling and shipping, production parameters, and packaging.
Some off-flavors include:
ash
burlap
carbon
cardboard
cheese
ham
hay
metallic
mold
musk
musty
oily
perfume
petroleum
phenolic
rubber
smoke
straw
vinegar
yeast