They definitely teach new consumers that chocolate can taste of something, but will end up confusing and irritating those who spend the most money on it. This is why writing Tasting Notes on craft chocolate packaging might not be a good idea. And it is $10 for a chocolate bar we are talking about! They are using an inaccurate piece of information to make a purchasing decision. If new chocolate is wrapped in old packaging (with different tasting notes), consumers receive the wrong guidance. Some love fruity notes, some enjoy their chocolate spicy, some like to keep it simple with nutty or chocolatey notes. But what's the value of using a reference that even the chocolate maker knows isn't right? Are consumers being taken for fools?įrustration gets even bigger when consumers make a purchase based on those Tasting Notes.Īfter some tastings, chocolate lovers develop their own preferences. This could be the reason of great pride or great insecurity, depending if the results matched or not. If the Tasting Notes are written on the chocolate bar, these aspiring connoisseurs would compare them with their own results. This is the quintessence of mindful eating! It takes sharp focus to conduct this exercise. These aficionados try to find the best words to describe the flavor of what they are tasting. Identifying tasting notes is the favorite game of craft chocolate lovers. Among all opinions, what's more reliable than the opinion of the person who voluntarily tried so hard to achieve those specific flavors? This is why consumers look up so much to the Tasting Notes written on the packaging of craft chocolate. But there is someone more trustworthy than others: the maker who created that chocolate. Everybody tastes different things in chocolate. It is true that Tasting Notes are subjective. Packaging is expensive after all, and they didn't see the value of throwing it away just because the Tasting Notes had changed.Īll good for the maker, but we can't say the same for the consumer. Many craft chocolate makers in the room candidly admitted that they would keep using the old wrappers, even when they knew for a fact that the Tasting Notes of the new batch were different. Or who knows from how long ago.Ĭonsidering inconsistency in craft chocolate, is it a good idea to write the Tasting Notes on the packaging? So it happens that the new batch of chocolate tastes different, but it is sold in a package with Tasting Notes from the previous batch. Unfortunately, the package that wraps such inconsistent chocolate often remains the same. While big manufacturers offer the exact same product over time, craft makers respect the cacao beans they receive and make the best out of them in the moment, surrendering to any difference from batch to batch. The craft chocolate movement actually takes pride in this inconsistency. From buying new equipment to switching suppliers, any change inside the chocolate factory can affect the end result. Also the chocolate maker contributes to this confusion.
Since most of the suppliers of fine cacao are small farmers, many factors influence flavor: weather, fermentation practices, quality protocols, time of harvest, even political instabilities. The biggest enemy for those who make chocolate starting from the beans is inconsistency.ĭepending on the conditions at origin, the supply of cacao beans is impacted in both quality and quantity. This way, consumers can enjoy guidance in their purchasing and tasting experience, and craft makers have a tool to differentiate themselves from a growing competition. They reveal the unique personality of that specific chocolate, and differentiates it from all the other bars on the same shelf. Tasting Notes also help the storytelling of a chocolate bar. To guide consumers during their tasting experience. To help consumers make a purchase based on the flavors they prefer. To make consumers understand that chocolate can taste of something other than "chocolatey". This indication serves three main purposes: And for those who want to savour, the majority of craft makers includes Tasting Notes on their packaging. The distinction is clear: craft chocolate is for savouring industrial chocolate is for mindless eating. Industrial chocolate dilutes the intrinsic flavors of cacao with sugar, milk, vanilla and other flavorings to keep the price tag low. Interesting aromas are what differentiates craft chocolate from industrial chocolate.Ĭraft chocolate aims to preserve the original aromas of cacao. Some involuntarily (genetics and terroir), some voluntarily (roasting and conching techniques).
These are not added ingredients, but the intrinsic flavors of the chocolate itself. Tasting notes indicate the aromas contained in a chocolate bar when you taste it.
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