Cémoi, a French chocolate manufacturer, has come up with a chart that uses colors to identify tastes and aromas in chocolate. It’s meant to be used by their commercial customers (manufacturers, distributors and artisans) to specify what they want in the cocoa blends they order from Cémoi for their own chocolate recipes.
Red + Yellow + Blue =
I like the idea of a visual aid for describing chocolate, since I’m often at a loss for how to explain what different chocolates taste like. And using colors appeals to the nerd/artist in me because the way to get brown, the color of chocolate, is by mixing other colors together. But in the end the chart is most useful to me in its descriptive names and their organization.
A place for every taste, and a taste for every place
The Pantarome chart (at left) divides flavor notes into 13 main categories, that are further subdivided into 3 stages of intensity, then they are all arranged according to where they occur in the tasting experience: top notes (the initial sensation), middle notes, and finish (or back notes).
A tasting primer
Some of the categories confuse me: dried fruit, acid vs. bitter, and I’m assuming yellow fruit means citrus; but I think with some practice, I’ll get the hang of these categories.
And my goal is to one day be able to describe chocolate tastes in such a detailed way as the example on their website:
“The CEMOI Premium Ivory Coast has a slightly bitter taste with top notes of pineapple and a hint of rose, overlaid by distinctive middle notes of cocoa and chocolate. The finish is a lingering base note of roasted coffee.”
Sounds delicious!
