How to Determine if Chocolate is Good
Part four of my “How to Read a Chocolate Wrapper” series is about how to tell whether a bar is “good” by reading the package. This is not straightforward, and there are reasons behind that. It is the trickiest part of reading a wrapper.
Already you’ve learned how to read and understand a chocolate bar’s %, ingredients, and bean origin. If a bar labels all three of those clearly, it must be good, right? Unfortunately, no.
What makes a bar good? It boils down to three factors: the beans, the chocolate maker, and personal preference.
The Beans- There are many types and strains of cocoa beans. Some beans are far superior in flavor than others. There are “bulk” or “mass market” beans which make up the majority of the beans sold in the cocoa market. These beans are grown to have classic chocolate flavor and disease resistant trees. These are the classic beans from places like West Africa. The smaller percentage of beans in the market are considered “flavor beans”. These are the beans that most craft chocolate makers are using, trying to bring out the unique flavor notes of berry or tobacco or jasmine. No matter what type of beans are used, if the beans are bad and not properly taken care of, the chocolate will be bad. You can not make good chocolate from bad beans.
The farmers who handle the beans also play a role in the outcome of the flavor of the chocolate. Different methods of fermenting and drying the beans after they are picked can produce a variety of results. Many chocolate makers have been working alongside cocoa farmers to help spread education about good fermenting and drying practices.
The Chocolate Maker- A chocolate maker has the power to let cocoa beans shine or fade. Good technique in roasting and refining is key to a good chocolate bar. Hours of test batches and hard work are a must when working with beans to develop the final bar the chocolate maker releases. Each step a chocolate maker does can create a variety in the outcome. Choosing the right beans, high quality ingredients, and method.
Your Own Personal Preference- Your personal taste is key to finding a good chocolate bar. You might often choose the earthy over the fruity notes of a high quality bar of chocolate, or maybe you like the nostalgic flavor of your childhood favorite candy bar. When it comes down to it, you are the best judge of what you like.
The last thing to consider is a packaging trend that is catching on. A trend to make the packaging of mass market chocolate bars to look “artisan” and include information about the %, origin, and ingredients. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference, and in those cases you can either purchase and taste to see what the quality is, or research the chocolate maker and find out their goals. Is their goal to make great chocolate, save the environment, or purely business? These are not all bad things, but if the balance is off it’s the chocolate that often suffers. Some craft chocolate makers have bars out there that I do not like. Just because it’s a small batch, craft chocolate bar doesn’t necessarily make it “good”. Taste, enjoy, take notes on what you like or dislike from each bar. You will find amazing chocolate out there!
This writing on this blog is my opinion only. I did not get paid for writing this article or featuring any specific bars.
