A Chocolate Connoisseur....

A week ago at our Moments for Moms night, we had the owner from the Chocolate Chisel give us some tips on tasting chocolate. She discussed the process of harvesting and grinding the cocoa beans before they actually become that delicious, magical chocolate that most women crave. We were able to do some tasting of milk, white, and dark chocolate along with a few other special darks. (I can't remember which countries they were from anymore). So, there are a couple of steps in getting the most taste out of the chocolate and in determining how expensive it really is.

1) Break the chocolate in half. A nice, crisp snap indicates a good one.
2) Smell the chocolate. If needed, rub it between your fingers a little to warm it up so the smell is stronger.
3) Take a small bite and let it melt on your tongue.
4) Close your eyes and enjoy!

Well, I might've tweaked the steps a little bit, but you get the general idea. Anyway, there were some extra samples after the tasting, so I brought them home for Tim and Caleb to try. I thought this would be right up Caleb's alley since he's been obsessed with watching "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Plus, what kid doesn't love chocolate? I went over the steps with Caleb while he tried a few chocolates. It took him about 5 minutes to eat a piece the size of a quarter. Talk about success! Meanwhile, Tim didn't realize I wanted him to take his time trying the chocolate too so he just tossed a piece in his mouth and gulped it down without even savoring the exotic flavors as they melded together.

After we did this taste test, my funny little son remembered the steps when he was eating chocolate a few days after the fact. Just picture him telling Tim that he needs to smell the chocolate, bite it, close your eyes, and enjoy it. haha... makes me laugh. He's going to be my little chocolate connoisseur someday. Love that Caleb-boy. :-)