My Growing Aroma Library - Create Your Own Flavour Wheel!

A screen shot of my growing cacao and chocolate aroma library. Data is compiled from the books listed in my library and from research articles I summarized in my blog. If you are a seasoned chocolate enthusiast, use this as a guide to help develop your own flavour wheels and tasting tools!

Have you taken time to look at my cacao and chocolate aroma library?

Many people place too much importance on certain flavour wheels or flavour maps. Side note: some people refer to them as aroma or tasting wheels, but in my opinion it’s more correct to use the term flavour, since it’s the overall flavour which is being expressed (not simply the aroma or tastant). However, this list I have here are based on aromas more specifically. Remember, flavour is a combination mostly of aromas and tastants (as well as input from our other senses).

The truth is, there are many styles of flavour wheels/tools and may kinds out there. There is no ultimate flavour wheel. Even the ones created from various chocolate certification programs are essentially someone’s (informed) opinion. Flavour wheels and tools are very cultural specific too, and so there cannot be one ultimate wheel. one thing I love is a more concrete and quantitative look at aroma, which lacks in the bean-to-bar craft chocolate sphere. It’s not the only way to look at flavour, but still a valid and important way.

Over the years (and when I remember) I have been adding to my growing library of cacao and chocolate aromas. These are compounds associated with cacao and chocolate throughout the process. These are compounds which have been identified (sometimes many times over) by various researchers over years and even decades. I extract this information from the published books I’ve read and from the various research articles I have come across. You can see these for yourself if you go to Learning Center > Library or > Blog.

This is also a great tool for more seasoned bean-to-bar enthusiasts who wish to create their own flavour wheels and tasting tools. In combination with real life experience, referring to this list can help reinforce your flavour perceptions, and create a flavour wheel or tool with more accuracy and thought. Download my free blank flavour wheel, or create your own flavour tool. This may not suit you if you are new to this, as I recommend referencing other flavour tools. But if you are a seasoned fine chocolate taster, or hosting your own educational classes, it can be useful for you to come up with your own tasting tools that suite your experience and even your own cultural preferences to foods and flavour!