Take a Deep Dive into Chocolate
Taste is personal, specific, and informed not just by how your mouth works but also by how your life has informed how you experience flavor. The unique circumstances of your existence on this planet have guided how much you enjoy hot chocolate, or pasta with marinara, or a spicy iced chai.
But there are things to learn and apply when you taste specific flavors or foods that can give you insight to WHY your mouth does what it does, and WHY your brain makes the associations that it does. Different types of acids do different things to the foods we eat. Different steps in chocolate making impact exactly what texture, taste, and lingering flavors we can expect from a lovely piece of regional artisanal chocolate made by a local maker from plants grown in specific climates.
Do you need a PhD in cacao to enjoy ethical chocolate? Do you need to be a food scientist to appreciate the magic of quick pickles? No, you don’t- we’ve done that for you, in a way that gives you the facts, the facets and the fascination with the food stories we have embraced. We believe that tasting should be approachable to everyone at the table. Our workshops and guides discuss how to engage in food systems in better ways, with a higher appreciation for the flavor experience. Learn, taste, and try for yourself the dialogue we are fostering on foods.
As an example, our chocolate guide hits the high points of origin and history, including the need for a regenerative approach to the conversation. The steps from a cacao pod on a tree to a wrapped bar in your hand show just where the opportunities to do better are. Tasting chocolate with this awareness, following our step by step guide, will truly reframe how you put chocolate in your mouth. With some ideas on how to bring your connection to the ingredient into your kitchen, we’ve closed the chocolate guide with recipe ideas and technique tips to try.
This model of background, science, tasting method, and at home application is our way to bring all of us into tasting with all our senses and our intentions. We’ve taken the same approach to the power of sour, journeys with tea, and exploring umami, as deeper dives into origins, tastes, and make recommendations to grow your relationship with these tastes and topics.
We’re not trying to make everyone an expert- it’s actually the opposite, offering a happy immersion in what you enjoy simply because you enjoy it. Our tasting guides greet you where you are in personal experience and appreciation of these flavors, celebrating that appreciation with you by providing more opportunities to explore.
Happy Tasting!