DARK CHOCOLATE TASTING GUIDE
Years ago my husband and I attended a dark chocolate tasting in Strasbourg France and the experience was amazing. While that might seem like an odd way to describe something as ordinary as simply tasting chocolate, what impacted us so deeply wasn’t just sampling the flavors put before us, but learning about the exquisite process of discovery that goes into making each bar. Our chocolatier guide was charismatic and inviting, an eccentric and animated character whose contagious passion for the craft spread to all of us in attendance. He explained how the flavors of dark chocolate are tied to environmental factors like the condition of the soil in which the cacao trees grow, the kind and quality of the beans produced by these trees, and more. This means that the flavors of the chocolate are very much inherent to the beans before the chocolate making process even begins.
The French call this terroir, which refers to the way in which factors like topography and climate affect the flavors of what’s produced in a particular environment’s soil. For dark chocolate this is an exciting revelation, for while one is in a sense at the mercy of the cocoa beans’ environment, this also means that one’s experience of dark chocolate’s distinctive flavors is primarily one of surprise and discovery. From this point, so our chocolatier explained, it’s like each unique cocoa bean from each unique environment is a different color with which to create a painting. Manipulating the percentages of dark chocolate highlights and subdues different flavors, while mixing in nuts or fruits amplifies different tastes. This experimentation begins and ends with discovery, and it’s this very same attitude I’ve brought to my tasting experience of Ghirardelli Intense Dark, the dark chocolate line by Ghirardelli.
I’ve decided to focus on four Ghirardelli Intense Dark chocolates: 72% Cacao, 86% Cacao, 92% Cacao, and Sea Salt Almond. The 72% Cacao strikes a fantastic balance between the standard chocolate realm with which we’re all familiar and the dark chocolate realm suffused with depth, boldness, and that characteristic bitterness. In order to amplify its qualities I paired it with figs, blackberries, almonds, pretzels, jack cheese, red wine, and a freshly baked baguette. The figs and blackberries pair nicely with the chocolate’s hints of jammy fruit and berry flavors. The honey-forward profile of the figs highlight the chocolate’s sweeter side, while the blackberries complement the chocolate’s bitterness with their gentle tartness and earthy undertones. The almonds, pretzels, and baguette create a sweet and savory dynamic that plays off the chocolate’s sweetness in a satisfying way. For the wine I went with a sangiovese, whose fruity flavors combine well with the chocolate’s own notes of similar fruits. The nuttiness of the jack cheese at once provides a contrast to the wine while enhancing the chocolate’s subtle bitterness. Each item brings out something new, and with each successive pairing the chocolate’s depths are unearthed and its many flavors unfolded.
The 86% and 92% Cacao venture further into dark chocolate territory and the qualities that make it so distinctive. At this stage, the chocolate’s signature bitterness and unique personality intensifies. The 86% and 92% Cacao follow a similar flavor path, with the 92% being a bit bolder and demanding more of your attention. These pair really well with raspberries, plums, dried fruits, cherries, espresso, rich red wines, and ports. Raspberries and plums both walk the line between sweetness and tartness really well, being equal parts saccharine and sour. This is like the fruit counterpart of the 86% and 92% Cacao, which bring the sugary chocolate flavors to which we’re all accustomed alongside a deeper, earthy richness. I chose an aged port wine to match with the chocolate, which itself could aptly be described as featuring notes of bitter chocolate on the palate, alongside hints of raspberry which I’d also selected as a pairing item already. This mix of sweetness, juiciness, and bitterness created contrasts and complements of a satisfying variety.
Lastly, the Sea Salt Almond dark chocolate presents an incredible sweet and savory combination. The nuttiness of the almonds brings out similar qualities in the chocolate in addition to its earthiness and richness, while bursts of sea salt crystals intensify the chocolate’s sweetness by contrast and are as a consequence intensified themselves. It’s a delightful mix that I found paired very well with pretzels, salami, plum, and even whiskey.
In each of these pairings with each of these chocolates the same theme continued through them all: a sense of discovery. Trying each chocolate after tasting each paired item revealed a new set of flavors, just as the chocolate led to a reinterpretation of the flavors of those items paired. In each scenario I didn’t really know what was coming next, but loved the experience all the more because of this. So please, do yourself the favor of acquiring some of these dark chocolates. Set aside some time, choose some fruits, nuts, wine, and more with which to pair the chocolate, and enjoy!