Cacao Beans

12 samples of fine chocolate bars. Some samples will be duplicates - one for analyzing, and the other for pairing. You will chose dark, milk, flavoured, etc. in the reservation form.

Interactive Handout

Live Zoom Session

Live Video Chat Covers:

A Brief Process Of Chocolate Making

Chocolate Neurogastronomy & Analyzing

Interactive Tasting/Pairing

Duration:

About 1 hour. Can be adjusted longer or shorter if need be.

How It Is Shipped:

It will arrive in the shipping box all nicely bundled in decorative tissue.

Cacao Beans

16 samples of fine chocolate bars. Some samples will be duplicates - one for analyzing, and the other for pairing. You will choose whether you want dark, milk, flavoured chocolate, etc. in the reservation form.

Interactive Handout

Live Zoom Session

Video Chat Covers:

Breif History Of Chocolate

The Process Of Chocolate Making

Chocolate Neurogastronomy

Interactive Tasting/Pairing

Duration:

About 1 hour and 15 minutes. Can be adjusted longer or shorter if need be.

How It Is Shipped:

It will arrive in the shipping box bundled in decorative tissue.

4 Full Bars*

Sample of Fine Cacao Beans

Interactive Handout

Live Zoom Session

Video Chat Covers:

A Brief History Of Chocolate

The Process Of Chocolate Making

Chocolate Neurogastronomy

Interactive Tasting/Pairing

Duration:

About 1 hour. Can be adjusted longer or shorter if need be.

How It Is Shipped:

This kit will come wrapped in a mailer box with tissue and crinkle stuffing.

*Default is 3 dark single origin and 1 milk. You can request a different ratio or types of bars if you wish.

+ Flavour Wheel & Poem Keepsake

$2

A Takeaway

This can be a great momento after the tasting concludes. It contains a wonderful poem on one side (Written by Geoseph) and a beautiful flavour wheel on the other. The flavour wheel is a great tool to help one articulate the flavours they experience in fine dark chocolate.

The flavour wheel can be used for other fine foods as well, not only fine chocolate.

They are printed on thick Mohawk Superfine card paper, with a wonderful texture and clean finish.

Your kit will include a flavour tree printed on the handout (a similar tool to a flavour wheel) to help the guests analyze the flavour. This keepsake would be an additional upgrade.

+ Craft Chocolate Bars

$11

A Takeaway or Incorporated

Once the tasting is over, all the chocolate samples will have been eaten. This may make some people sad! Adding 1 or more craft chocolate bars is a great way for your guests to continue enjoying fine chocolate, and also apply what they learned as they eat it.

If you order the full bar kit, then these add on bars will also be incorporated into the tasting. If you order a 4 full bar kit, and add on 2 more bars per kit, we will taste all 6 bars.

Normally most bars range from $11-14+, but if purchased with a kit, the bars will only be $11 each.

Bars will be selected according to any dietary restrctions (example: no dairy). Not everyone may get the same chocolate bar, and the bar received may not be the same as one of the samples in the kit. A popular choice is one single origin dark chocolate, and one milk or flavoured dark chocolate.

If you want specific brands included, you may inquire, but this is subject to an extra charge depending on the brand you prefer, and may not be able to accomodate depending on stock levels.

+ Extra Samples

$4 for two

Incorporated

Each kit contains two of the same chocolate samples (one for analyzing, and one for pairing). If you want to add more, you can do so in pairs. Since pairing kits have samples sold in pairs, it's $4 for two samples.

You can even add a few sample sized additions to your full bar kit to add a bit more variety without the additional cost of more full bars.

Each pair of samples is an additional $4 per pair per kit. You may just ask for more samples, and I choose the best ones, or you may request the type of samples you prefer (Although I can't always guarantee I can add them depending on stock levels and cost).

+ What Is A Pairing?

A fine food pairing is when you combine various foods, usually two, and analyze how they work together. This means interactions may heighten some flavours, mute others, and even creating new flavours alltogether.

Many believe food pairing is a science, as in, we can calculate which foods pair best with which. This is not entirely true. It's more about pairing foods that will interact in the way you want them to in order to exude certain flavours and emotions.

Since flavour is a preception formed in the brain and combines all our senses (which can also be individually unique) as well as memories of previous foods (also individually unique), pairings are to a degree subjective since they incorporate cultural and individual aspects as well.

Therefore, many guests will experience the pairings in unique ways. This is a good thing, and the feedback from the guests is appreciated and encouraged throughout the tasting.

+ How will this pairing work?

Each guest will receive the kit with the various samples of chocolate. Primarily single origin dark chocolate, but milk or flavoured chocolate can be included as well if you choose so.

If you choose the sampler kits, the samples will come as doubles, that is, two of the same sample. If you choose the full bar kit, all bars will be unique.

1. Analyze The Chocolates

It will begin with information on how chocolate is made, how its flavour is formed, and how to analyze fine dark chocolate. You may be surprised how varied the flavour can be! We will analyze the various samples of chocolate together.

If you choose the sampler kits, we will try one sample now on its own, and then the same sample again with the drink/food we pair it with.

2. Pair It With Your Drink/Food

After we have tried each chocolate and have an idea of the flavour profiles, your group will then pair it with the chocolate. Either the duplicate samples, or trying the same bars again now with the drink/food. We will analyze as a group how the pairing influences the flavour of the chocolates, and I will offer some feedback on why this may be.

+ What Drink/Food Can I pair it with?

This is up to you. Fine chocolate is a very versatile food believe it or not. I have nearly a decade and a half of experience as a chocolate sommelier, and have paired fine chocolate with craft beers, whiskey, wines, cheeses, charcuterie, and more.

Drinks and Foods that work well with fine chocolate:

Whiskey

Various Liquors

Craft Beer

Wine (ideally red) and not chilled

Fine Tea

Fine Coffee

Fine Cheeses

Cured meats & Other Charcuterie

Smorgasbord of nuts/dried fruits/bread/crackers

In the reservation form, you will select which drink/food you are planning to pair it with, and how many drink/foods you wish to have. For example, you may wish to pair one wine with all or most of the samples, or you may have a few wines we can pair with various chocolates.

+ Do you supply the wine/drink/food?

I do not. I only supply the chocolate. It would be up to you to supply the wine/whiskey/cheese or whatever else you wish to pair it with.

If you already know what you want to use, or have an idea, you will let me know in the reservation form.

If you are unsure, let me know in the reservation form and I will find what will suit your group. For instance, if you want to have a wine pairing, but not sure which wine(s) to purchase for your guests, let me know and I'll make suggestions.

+ How do I know what exactly to pair it with?

You will let me know in the reservation form what kind of pairing you wish to do (Wine, Cheese, Whiskey, Tea, etc.)

From there we will work together to determine which type of wine/whiskey/cheese etc. will work best.

+ How many drinks/foods can we pair with?

We can use one, or more than one. Pairings can work in many ways. Perhaps you want your group to enjoy one bottle of wine during the tasting. We will figure out which bottle of wine to buy, or I will try and match chocolates to go with what you had in mind.

Or, you and your group may have a flight of wines/beers/cheeses. Let me know ahead of time, and I will find chocolates to match well with the ones you have in mind.

As long as I know ahead of time what you will be pairing the chocolate with, I can make it work. Fine dark chocolate varies greatly in flavour profile, and can be paird with many drinks and foods you may not have thought possible.

+ What does the kit include?

The kits include the chocolate (either sampler sizes or full bars depending what you choose), a handout with information on chocolate including pages to analyze the chocolate, and a sample of cacao beans.

+ What are the add-ons for?

Add-ons are optional.

The handout comes with a flavour tree printed on it, but you can also add a flavour wheel keepsake. This can be used for other foods as well, not only chocolate.

You can also add extra samplers to either the sampler kit or even the full bar kit. In the same way, you can add on extra bars to the full bar kit.

You can even add a full bar or two to the sampler kits as a takeaway, so that your guests have something to enjoy the next day after their samples are done.