ZiggyU Announces:

 

Group Chocolate Taste Project

 

 

 

 

ZiggyU Announces: Group Chocolate Taste Project Working together using PB Wiki  Tasting Group Names Group Comments Rubric for Chocolate Tasting Chocolate Tasting Comments

 

Working together using PB Wiki 

 

Think of this PB Wiki as a shared online whiteboard. Our entire group can share information using this wiki, making research accessible to everyone. Play around with this wiki: Notice how you can add comments to a page, see what people have changed, and edit all the text.  We are going to have some fun recording our chocolate tasting from the Chocolate Tech Affair using this wiki page! Chocolate tasting skills take some time to develop.  As your taste for chocolate is developed you can start to notice the subtle differences in the flavor of chocolate made with cocoa beans of various origins, manufacturers and cocoa percentages. 

 

If you want to blog about your experience use the Chocolate Tasting Blog! Sign in with your own Gmail or ask for the special Gmail accounts/passwords designed for this workshop.

 

Tasting Group Names

 

Your workshop chocolate chefs  will give you the passwords and login information to participate in the tasting comments!

 

 

Cocoa Nibs	cocoa_nibs	Cocoa  Has Beans	cocoa_hasbeans
Chocolate Pods	chocolate_pods	Chocolate Vats	chocolate_vats
Chocolate Hotties	chocolate_hotties	Chocolate Fevers	chocolate_fevers
Devine Chocoholics	devine_chocoholics	Chocolate Virtuals	chocolate_virtuals
Master Chocolatiers	master_chocolatiers	Cocoa Godivas	cocoa_godivas
Chocolate Techies	chocolate_techies	Cocoa Junkies	cocoa_junkies

 

Group Comments

 

 

When tasting chocolate you should use most all your senses.  Before sampling, does it have an aroma or a texture? Under no circumstances according to experts, should it be grainy!   Allow the chocolate to melt on your tongue to savor for a few seconds. Is it bitter, salty or sweet? Today we will be tasting only dark chocolate.  Each group should log in, click on the comment bar and comment on their favorite chocolate!

 

Rubric for Chocolate Tasting

(5 points for each dark chocolate tasting category w/5 the top of the scale)

Rubric for Chocolate Tech Affair V.2.doc 

 

	Excellent 4 - 5 Points	Fair 2 - 3 Points	Poor 1 - 0 Points
Appearance	Color is rich brown with a nice even sheen.	Color is good, but not real deep. There is a slight sheen.	Color is uneven.  Bloom (white splotches) may be present.  There is minimal sheen.
Aroma	Aroma is rich, chocolaty and slightly sweet.	Aroma is chocolaty but not overwhelming.	Aroma is burnt and smoky.
Touch	Smooth to the touch. Melts slightly when held.	Smooth, but not silky.	Slightly grainy feel.  Doesn't melt when held.
Sound	Crisp snap when broken.	Breaks easily, but not a crisp sound.	No crisp snap when broken.
Taste	Sweet and bitter tastes are nicely balanced. Smooth and creamy on the tongue.	More of a sweet taste.  Classic Chocolate taste. Smooth on the tongue.	Burnt, earthy or overly sweet taste.  Grainy feel on the tongue.

 

 Santa Clara Chocolate Fanatics!

 

Brand Sample	Appearance	Aroma	Touch	Sound	Taste	Total Points/Comments

 

Ideas for the Rubric came from the Wiki titled "How to Taste Dark Chocolate" and the Tifa Chocolate Factory website guide called "Protocol for Tasting Chocolate."  When finished with filling in your own Rubric you'll be instructed to go to Chocolate Comments PB Wiki!

 

Appearance:

• Look at the color, dark chocolate will have more radiant rich sheen than milk chocolate.  Usually brown or dark brown in color.
• Chocolate should not have any white splotches (bloom). This is caused by separation of cocoa butter crystals.

Aroma

• Inhaling the aroma will prepare the tongue for the incoming chocolate!  Most dark chocolates don’t have a strong aroma unless you stick your nose right on the sample.
• What do you smell?  Is the aroma sweet and lingering; rich and chocolaty or it a burnt smoky aroma?

Touch

• Smooth or grainy feel? Melting?  Higher quality chocolate will melt easier due to proper cocoa butter content.

Sound

• The sound is also called “the snap” refers to the chocolate breaking.  If it is a smooth crisp  break, the higher the cocoa level.

Taste

• “Tastes ranged from burnt, roasted, bitter to very smooth to creamy to classic and earthy. Cinnamon notes on a long, velvety finish.”  You should experience a nice balance between sweet and bitter.

 

Chocolate Tasting Comments

 

This particular PB Wiki called "Chocolate Tasting Comments" was designed to go with ZiggyU's Chocolate Tastings which is part of the ZiggyU's Chocolate Tech Affair.  Find your team name on chocolatecomment.pbwiki.com, ask for the edit password, grab your chocolate rubric and fill in the data for the best darn chocolate brand for your group!  Let's see how your team results fair with the other teams :-)