What is fine chocolate?

When I discovered fine chocolate, immediately I could pick up on the fact that there was a drastic difference between what I had ever tried up that point, and my first exposure to fine chocolate (and it was a doozy - Amedei's world champion Chuao). Talking with Nick, I quickly gathered that there was a lot to know about a lot of aspects of fine chocolate. And where there are a lot aspects, there are a lot of opportunities to do things right or wrong.

This question often comes up at this point: "What is right, and what is wrong?" or "Who decides what is right or wrong?" The who is basically you, me, and anyone who puts the stuff near his nose or in her mouth. That part is easy - it is fairly subjective. But there are some common threads between what the observant would consider good and bad, and that is what I want to focus on now.

It starts with the plant. Cacao has different varieties the same way apples do. That said, the average layman can tell the difference between a Fuji and a Granny Smith by looks alone. But cacao has its own subtle differences between varieties. But beyond just the variety, the terroir - the special characteristics imparted by the growing conditions - lends even more nuance and flavor notes to the beans. And then every step in the production process affects the flavor profile of the finished product.

Fine chocolate starts with fine beans - grown under fine conditions and treated "finely" in every step of the process. I have a background in manufacturing, so I have caught myself focusing very much on the production of individual bars. I love finding the intrinsic flavors, and I love noticing what notes are accented by a particular chocolatier.

A hallmark of "bad" chocolate is chocolate flavor hidden by cover-ups. Cheap chocolate very often has a strong smell of vanilla if you're lucky - its evil doppelganger vanillin if you are not lucky. The roast speaks volumes about the intentions of a chocolatier, and people using sub-par beans often far over-roast their beans to cover up other flaws. Those producers walk a delicate line between the bitter flavors of cheap forastero beans and too little fermentation - and fancy charcoal briquettes. The strong vanilla hides much of the rest.

So what is "fine" chocolate? Fine chocolate starts with fine beans, and is made by skilled people who care about the subtleties available. What makes the world of great chocolate so great is that those skilled people have different philosophies that come across so differently. The thrill is in the chase of those differences - finding and identifying them and savoring them.

I have some ideas for meetings for the Chocolate Society meetings. One is basically an extension of Caputo's intermediate class. We will taste several chocolates starting from as similar beans as possible. For example, at least 4 of the top chocolate producers use the same plantation for their Madagascar (also "Sambirano") bars, but they come across very differently.

Hopefully, you get a chance to see these attributes for yourself!

--Brian