JAS-eTea Guide to Pairing Fine Teas and Chocolates

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Pairing Fine Teas and Chocolates

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Š 2015 JAS-eTea. All rights reserved.

Tea and Chocolate Make a Sweet Team!

With a bit of trial and error and some tips from your friends and folks like us, you can pair teas very well with chocolates.

Get ready to go exploring the wonderful world of tea and chocolate pairings!

How you pair tea and chocolate can be a true art. That’s why we wanted to present some pairing recommendations – both our own and ones that tea connoisseurs (also known as sommeliers and aficionados) have presented. Who knows, you may be inspired to invite over friends and family for a tea and chocolate tasting party!

Today, people around the world consume more than 3 million tons of cocoa beans annually. Each country still has its own preferences and distinctive blends for candy and desserts.

The cocoa, chocolate, and confectionery industry employs hundreds of thousands of people and is a key user of agricultural commodities such as sugar, dairy products, nuts, and fruits.

See also our Guide to Tea and Cheeses.

Pairing Fine Teas and Chocolates

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Contents+++

Holding a Tea and Chocolate Pairing Session Chart of Tea and Chocolate Pairings The ABCs for Enjoying Fine Chocolates Basics of Pairing Teas with Chocolates Making Chocolate (Commercial) Making Chocolate at Home Types of Chocolate Health Benefits of Cacao Major Chocolate Makers Chocolate Terms Teas and Chocolate Short Chart About Us

Pairing Fine Teas and Chocolates

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Holding a Tea and Chocolate Pairing Session Hot tea helps melt chocolate a little faster in your mouth and creates a silky smooth texture, another reason to pair them but in a way that is pleasurable to you. A pairing session will help you do just that, and by setting the stage, you can having a session that is fun and rewarding. Tasting straight chocolates versus ones with flavors added, such as fruit centers or truffles, is best when starting out. Later you can get more adventurous.

Lots of information is out there in cyberspace about what tea goes with what chocolate. You could spend hours going through it all, or you can read our handy compilation of the pairings (does not include teainfused chocolates).

Setting Up Your Tea & Chocolate Pairing Select a location that has a minimum of bright lights, loud noises, and foreign (non-chocolate) odors. Have paper and pens/pencils available to note your impressions.

Professional tasters taste one chocolate type at a time (but often made by different companies). You could approach your tea and chocolate pairings this way (one chocolate with several types of tea), or flip it around (one tea with several types of chocolate).

Line up teas, labeled with names, along one side of the table.

Line up chocolates along the other side, with little labels proudly declaring “milk chocolate,” “semisweet chocolate,” “dark chocolate,” and “white chocolate” or the name of the maker, if you prefer that style of pairing.

The teas should be served at the temperature that is suitable for them. For example, Assams are great served fairly hot while Oolongs and greens can be more flavorful when they have cooled slightly.

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Chart of Tea and Chocolate Pairings Some quick points about chocolates:     

Milk chocolates: Most people prefer milk chocolates with a full flavor, creamy texture, and not too sweet. The best are said to be from European makers, but I find the great American brand Hershey’s on a par with them.

Dark chocolate: considered the most versatile of the chocolates, range from semisweet to bittersweet, and contrast well with sweet or tangy foods, the richer flavors bringing out richness of the chocolate.

White chocolate: pairing with tea is challenging due to its delicate flavors.

Green teas: difficult to pair with chocolate since their astringency, acidity, and tannins work against the flavors of the chocolate. But it can be done, and the variety is wide here, including some of the ones shown in the chart.

Flavored tea and flavored/filled chocolate: Keep it simple. Too many added flavors (either in the tea or the chocolate) makes pairings too busy or complicated. Pick your focus, and build around that.

Milk

Teas

more info

Pair with These Chocolates Dark White semi info more info bitter info

Flavored/ Filled

BLACK TEAS Assam (rich, strong, deep amber in cup; highlights the decadent flavors in 100% pure Belgian chocolates or hazelnut truffles; Ghirardelli® recommends a warm cup of black tea with their Intense Dark 72% Cacao Twilight Delight) Ceylon Lovers Leap (large, black twisted leaves, light amber liquid, forest aroma, smooth taste)

Complement

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Ceylon Black Tea (try with Orange Leaf Dark chocolate) English Breakfast Blend (classic black tea blend, smooth, full-bodied, malty, bold, clean finish – try with chocolate hazelnut truffles to bring out their roasted and caramelized notes) Irish Breakfast Tea (strong, full-bodied – try with chocolate truffles for delightful accents) Keemun (fully oxidized – pair with full-strength dark chocolate or hazelnut truffles) Lapsang Souchong (strong, black tea smoked over pine needles – try with Pralus Papouasie Bar made from beans from Papua New Guinea, dark, strong, fruity; also pair with really dark, bitter chocolate) Yunnan Gold Black Tea (brassy red in cup, vivid sweetness less intense than Yunnan pure gold) Pairing Fine Teas and Chocolates

Complement

Complement

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Milk

Teas

more info

Pair with These Chocolates Dark White semi info more info bitter info

Flavored/ Filled

OOLONGS Bai Hao (rich honey notes – pair with citrusy dark chocolate or chocolate infused with citrus)

Complement

Dancong Oolongs with fruity aromas Dung Ti Oolong (pair with a fruity dark chocolate for an aromatic combination, each enhancing the other)

Enhance

Jade Oolong (rich honey notes – pair with citrusy dark chocolate or chocolate infused with citrus)

Complement

Pouchong (very lightly oxidized oolong, some say is green) Shui Xian (Water Sprite) Tie Guan Yin (Iron Goddess), other floral oolongs (pair with dark chocolate that has floral notes) Wu Yi Oolong (roasty/toasty quality adds to the experience)

Enhance

Complement

Oolongs in general (pair with chocolates having flavor characteristics that complement flavors in chocolates)

Complement

GREEN TEAS Gen Mai Cha (pair with sea salt milk chocolate) Gyokuro (high quality green tea, shade grown) Houjicha (green tea with roasty/toasty quality)

Complement

Longjing (Dragonwell) (superior tea, mild nuttiness – try with almond bark or dark chocolate with nutty qualities)

Enhance

Matcha (both Chinese and Japanese versions – a fine powdered tea made of shade grown leaves)

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Sencha (crisp acidity makes the chocolate’s milkiness less cloying)

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Enhance

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Milk

Teas

more info

Pair with These Chocolates Dark White semi info more info bitter info

Flavored/ Filled

DARJEELINGS These teas are often sold as blends and without the flush and garden indicated.

First flush (a lighter flavor – try with white Belgian chocolate to bring out the delicately creamy taste) Second flush (more Muscatel)

Adventurous

Adventurous

Autumn Flush (steeped a bit extra strong and with milk and sugar)

Adventurous

WHITE TEAS White Peony (Pai Mu Tan, Bai Mu Dan – a mid-grade tea, buds and leaves, light cup, some nuttiness, try with hazelnut truffles)

Complement

Silver Needle (all unopened leaf buds) PU-ERH TEAS There is a wide variety of teas in this category. Go for ones that are more earthy.

Nicely aged pu-erh (shu or sheng – pairs well with something like Chuao Firecracker Bar with spicy, smoky, chipotle chilies and popping candy) Earthy pu-erh teas (pair with bright, floral dark chocolates)

Contrast

Orange Leaf Dark chocolate with Puer FLAVORED TEAS Black tea with raspberry, cornflowers, rosehips (full leaf, citrus notes, full body, sweet under tone, coppery liquid) Black tea with vanilla Black tea with toasted coconut, chocolate, vanilla (pair with Michel Cluizel’s Mangaro 65%, a fruity bar, nice, creamy texture, stands up to the black tea) Chai with more of a citrus flavor (good with almond bark made with dark semisweet chocolate) Citrus flavored tea (pair with citrus flavored chocolate) Pairing Fine Teas and Chocolates

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Milk

Teas

more info Earl Grey (fine black tea, citrusy bergamot, accents sweet notes in the chocolates – ideal pairing is dark chocolate with pronounced citrusy notes, but some find a fruity chocolate to be great, too)

Complement

Pair with These Chocolates Dark White semi info more info bitter info

Enhance

Flavored/ Filled

Complement

Flavored teas such as almond cookies green tea, and strawberry black tea Floral scented tea (pair with floral flavored chocolate) Fruit flavored tea (pair with fruit flavored chocolate; Guylian recommends black teas with fruit or spice combinations, especially raspberry, pomegranate, or vanilla, with their Extra Dark Chocolate Truffles to get a taste sensation like juicy fruits dipped in decadently rich chocolate) Jasmine Green Tea (go for higher quality versions where the jasmine is more subtle – pair with dark chocolate having floral notes or fruity chocolates) Jasmine Pearls (go for higher quality versions where the jasmine is more subtle – pair with a premium chocolate bar that is exceptionally creamy white chocolate to enhance the sweet, floral notes of the tea) Jasmine-scented Pouchong (go for higher quality versions where the jasmine is more subtle) Masala Chai (Spiced Tea) (strong black tea with spices, traditionally simmered directly in milk, many versions, emphasizing cinnamon, anise, or another spice – pairing with milk chocolates considered ideal by connoisseurs, chocolate truffles amplify the cinnamon and spice notes, extra dark chocolate truffles highlight the cloves; Ghirardelli® recommends a cup of masala chai (spiced tea) with their Intense Dark Toffee Interlude) Other spiced teas (the variety is endless and even includes some with a green tea base)

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Adventurous

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The ABCs for Enjoying Fine Chocolates+++ There are lots of guides for proper enjoyment of chocolates and how get the most from the experience.

We have put together our own guide by gathering the basic principles from those others and enhancing them based on our own personal explorations into this wonderful gastronomic treat.

Nothing hard and fast here, though, since no two people’s tastebuds are alike.

Just like knowing more about tea helps you identify and enjoy the better ones, so it goes with chocolate. Knowing what makes good chocolate different from great chocolate is one thing. Factors such as appearance, smell, mouthfeel, aftertaste, and texture are all important in tea, but also when it comes to chocolates. These steps will help you more fully appreciate chocolate by itself or when pairing with teas (and you will note the similarities between these and how enjoying fine teas is done).

A ppreciate the Appearance As with fine teas where the appearance of the leaves, before and after steeping, are part of the pleasure, so it is with chocolate. Welltempered chocolate should be smooth and have a high-sheen. If it’s dull or waxy, it will probably not taste the best. Worse yet, if the chocolate surface has any grayish or white areas, then the chocolate has been subjected to big changes in air temperature and humidity, causing fats or sugars to migrate to the surface and produce that odd coloring.

The edges should be smooth, not crumbly or layered, and the texture should be even. There should be a tight, fine grain and even-colored showing at cut or broken edges, indicating that the chocolate was well-tempered, and properly cooled and stored. Scuffed or scraped samples may taste fine but are not pleasing to the eye.

Chocolate colors vary from ivory, golden, copper brown shades, deep reddish, or charcoal brown depending on the type of chocolate, the percentage of cacao in the chocolate, the presence and quantity of milk or cream, and the source of the beans from which the chocolate was made.

B reak that Bar A well-tempered piece of chocolate will snap when you break it. Give your chocolate (chilled slightly in the refrigerator) a quick break to see how it goes. Naturally, a thicker bar will be a bit harder to snap.

You might want it to be a little warm first rather than “just out of the frig” cool.

Snap depends on the amount and quality of cocoa butter in the chocolate, how finely ground the chocolate particles are, and how well-tempered the chocolate is.

White and milk chocolate bars have a gentler snap than dark or semisweet chocolate; their milk and butter fat content make them naturally softer.

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C aress the Aroma Our sense of smell is closely linked with our sense of taste, which actually depends on aromas a lot. Anyone who’s had a head cold knows that.

So, take a big whiff of that chocolate and let the aroma caress your nose and your palate. (It helps to rub the piece of tasting chocolate a little with your thumb to warm it and release those aromas.)

Some will be nutty or fruity, others are earthy. Some are intense and others are weak. Milk chocolates are vanilly, creamy, malty, or caramelly, while dark chocolate is more chocolaty with hints of toasted nuts, roasted coffee, dried fruit, or wine. Some chocolates have floral or fruity qualities; others smell more roasted or nutty. As with, flavor each chocolate brand has a signature aroma. This comes from the blend or selection of beans and their quality, as well as the manufacturer's roasting and conching methods. There is no end to the specific notes that you can pick up with practice and no limit to the words that you may use to describe them.

If you get a musty, burnt, or sour aroma, beware! Unfermented beans smell like burnt rubber. Beans stored in humid areas can smell like grass or burlap. Beans dried over wood fires smell smoky. The more you smell the chocolate and compare different types, the more you will notice general differences in richness, intensity, sweetness and earthiness. You’ll pick up on lower and higher notes. The aroma of some chocolates is faint, while for others it’s intense. You may then detect even more specific differences. Just as with tea, seriously accomplished tasters are adept at drawing from their own experience and memory, choosing words accordingly to describe what they smell and taste. Practice!

D etermine the Texture Texture (also called mouthfeel) is as important for chocolate as for tea. Creamy, velvety, or chalky are some aspects. How quickly it melts in your mouth is another. The snap also tells you a lot (as you discovered when breaking the bar).

To get a true sense of that texture, place some chocolate on your tongue, then gently slide your tongue across the top of your mouth. Let the warmed chocolate circulate and impact your tastebuds all around. Does it readily melt, feeling smooth and creamy, or greasy and slimy? Maybe it resists melting and seems hard or waxy? Does it feel grainy/gritty, powdery, harsh, or drying? Observe, also, if the chocolate feels dry or heavy, how it feels as you chew, and the aftertaste as you swallow. Does it linger, go through subtle changes? Is it gummy, sticky, cake-like, fudgy, fast-dissolving, etc.? Look for delicacy and balance, plus any distinct flavors. You may need to taste several pieces of the same chocolate to be able to observe everything, especially if the chocolate melts Temperature Notes: fast.  



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Chocolate melts at body temperature, that is, as soon as you put it in your mouth.

Compound coatings do not melt at body temperature and lack a high cocoa butter content.

A quick melt is desirable.

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E valuate the Taste Time for the big event: the taste. This will be divided into stages (start, middle, end). They are generally categorized as sweet, sour, salty, and bitter (umami, which is when the taste stimulates your saliva glands especially sharply, does not generally apply to chocolate).

Some terms are used fairly commonly to describe the flavors in a piece of chocolate:         

Fruity/citrus/berry Buttery/sweet (cashews) Moldy/musty/earthy Floral/spicy Brown fruit (raisins/prunes/red fruit) Nutty/buttery (macadamia nuts) Lactic sour (sour cream/cream cheese) Caramel/caramelized or burnt sugar Astringent (unripe fruit)

Note that the above terms denote flavors in the chocolate itself, not flavors added to the chocolate. Just as in tea, various substances added to chocolate mask its flavors.

As you taste the chocolate, here are some things to notice:    

If the flavor comes on quickly or slowly.

If the flavor builds and peaks, or remains constant.

If the flavor changes from the start to the middle and the end.

If the flavor lasts long in your mouth (a sign professional chocolate tasters use to determine top quality chocolate).

Pairing Fine Teas and Chocolates

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Basics of Pairing Teas with Chocolates Chocolate has a fairly low melting point – your body temperature! And melted chocolate gives a bigger flavor sensation. So, you can pop a piece of chocolate in your mouth, wait for the meltdown, and savor that flavor. Or you can speed things up a little by taking a sip of hot tea for more instant gratification. It’s no wonder, then, that pairing teas and chocolates is becoming such a featured event at tearooms and chocolate shops. And the right combo will give you a heavenly flavor experience.

Certain techniques for enjoying that combo will assure you an enjoyable and worthwhile outcome.

Exciting pairings are usually with black teas, black tea blends, oolongs, and herbals like Rooibos (redbush), especially with stronger flavors. Lighter teas, more delicate green teas, and the more dainty herbals should be paired with more delicate chocolates (milk chocolate or white chocolate are best – milder ones made in the U.S. and UK).

Preparing the Tea No matter how good the tea or the chocolate, the most common thing that spoils the experience is improperly steeped tea. So, here are a few tips to help you start things right:       

Start with freshly drawn cold water in the kettle (or other heating vessel).

Be sure to heat the water to the proper temperature for the tea you are having.

Pre-warm your steeping vessel with a little of the hot water.

Take a moment to appreciate the dry tea leaves’ appearance and aroma.

Add the proper amount of tea leaves to the steeping vessel (depends on your personal taste, size of steeping vessel, and specific tea you are steeping).

Let steep the proper amount of time (also varies by amount, personal taste, and specific tea).

Strain the tea into a drinking vessel.

Tip: Have your chocolate ready so you can do the taste pairing right away. Some teas, especially Assams and Ceylons, tend to get a bit cloudy or scummy as they cool. The tea flavors are also not as true.

Tasting Technique No, it’s not rocket science, but using a proper tasting technique will assure the best experience.   

Sip in some hot tea, slurping as you sip to pull in a little air, too, and let the tea wash around the inside of your mouth, then swallow.

Take a bite of the chocolate – your mouth is a bit warmer from the hot tea, so the chocolate will melt a little faster, helping you savor tea and chocolate flavors together.

Take another sip of tea when the chocolate is mostly melted.

Tip: If you are tasting a chocolate with high cocoa content, eat some chocolate first, then sip some tea to help melt the chocolate.

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Categorizing & Pairing Chocolates and Teas Time to back up a minute and cover some chocolate basics. First, there is a variety of chocolate types out there, just as there is a variety of teas. Simplify things by grouping these chocolates and teas by their broader characteristics. Start by seeing our list of Types of Chocolates.

As for teas, they are usually broken down into black, green, white, oolong, and pu-erh. This is based on things like oxidation of the leaves during processing, tea plant cultivar, and processing techniques that can include fermentation (non-alcoholic). There are also a host of herbal “teas” (actually, tisanes). Plus, teas and herbals combine flavors, such as fruits, flowers, spices, and other herbs. These will all have their own set of tastes and aromas. Grassy, floral, malty, and more. Pairings move on to the next phase from here.

Strong black teas and dark chocolates can overpower your palate, and the subtleties of white, green, and oolong teas as well as lighter milk and white chocolates can be like whispers or shadows – lost among reality. So, some general rules of pairing have been developed over the years:    

Black and Darjeeling teas with dark chocolate or dark milk chocolate.

Green, oolong, white, and herbals with light milk chocolate or white chocolate.

White chocolate with tea is similar to adding cream and sugar to it, but this style of chocolate also boosts the floral and fruity qualities of herbals.

When in doubt, read chocolate label for dominant flavors.

Pairing by Complementary Flavors in the Teas and Chocolates Pair flavors that complement each other rather than match each other. The characteristics of each aren’t necessarily the same, but are compatible or complimentary in some fashion – similar aromas and flavors that go together without cancelling each other out. This pairing style could be as simple as black tea with milk and some plain milk chocolate or even chocolates with a caramel center. Another choice would be a smoky tea like Lapsang Souchong and a bittersweet dark chocolate with a 75-80% cocoa content. Chocolates with citrus flavoring added go amazingly well with Jasmine scented teas.

Pairing by Enhancing Flavors in the Teas and Chocolates You can look for tea/chocolate pairings that share similar flavor characteristics, thereby enhancing one another with each more pronounced and noticeable. Beware of pairing those that are too strong, though. A mint tea with a mint chocolate could be one big mouthful of mint with little chocolate and almost no tea flavors. And some flavors, when in both the tea and the chocolate, will cancel each other out. Green teas go well with chocolates that have a floral scent added (rose and jasmine are especially good). Earl Grey, with its citrusy touch, is great with a dark chocolate flavored with citrus.

Pairing by Contrasting Flavors in the Teas and Chocolates You can also find very satisfying combinations where the flavors of the tea and chocolate contrast – these are sometimes the biggest hits. Examples include earthy pu-erhs with a more floral dark chocolate or even a chocolate with a touch of citrus. A tea flavored with spices like cinnamon and ginger could go well with a creamier chocolate, usually milk or white chocolate. And a green tea that is fairly fragrant will also be tempered by such creaminess in the chocolate.

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Lindt recommendations:

Dark Orange Intense with Ceylon Black Tea

Dark with Sea Salt with Assam Black Tea

Dark Chilli with Masala Chai

Mint Intense with Moroccan Mint Tea

Caramel with Sea Salt with English Breakfast Blend

Dark 70% bar with Green Teas

Cherry flavored dark chocolate with Darjeeling Teas

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Making Chocolate (Commercial)* * This information is from several sources online, but mainly from the World Cocoa Foundation and the Askinosie Chocolate Factory in Springfield, Missouri.

Cacao trees produce cacao pods. Cacao beans grow inside these cacao pods. Each seed pod can bear as many as 40 cacao beans. These beans are usually one inch long in length. It is the cacao beans that are converted into cacao butter, powder, and oil through various manufacturing processes. Cacao and cocoa are essentially same.

Cacao turns into cocoa when the bitterness is removed and a sweetening agent is added.

Where It All Starts There are more than five million family farms around the world that produce about three million tons of cacao beans annually.

Farmers grow cacao trees on small farms in tropical environments, within 15-20 degrees north and south of the equator (see map below). Cacao is a delicate crop. Farmers protect trees from the wind and sun, fertilize the soil, watch for signs of distress, and stave off attacks from pests and disease. Most cocoa trees begin to yield pods at peak production levels by the fifth year and continue for many years.

Top Cocoa Beans Producers*          

Ivory Coast Indonesia Ghana Nigeria Cameroon Brazil Ecuador Mexico Dominican Republic Peru

* as of EOY 2012

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Cacao Cultivation Harvesting Cacao trees (Theobroma cacao) grow best in humid and tropical climates with regular rains and a short dry season. These trees need: even temperature (21-23°C), regular rainfall (1,000-2,500 mm per year), and extremely controlled sunlight, preferably under taller trees and vegetation. These trees bear usable pods when they are at least 4-5 years old, grow to about 20 feet average, and can produce seed pods for many years if well tended.

Lower pods are cut with a machete-like knife.

Workers learn this skill at a young age and by the time they reach adulthood are quite expert.

The growing season in the tropics is continuous, so ripe pods may be found on cacao trees at any time. However, most countries have two peak production periods per year: a main harvest and a smaller secondary harvest. The main harvest lasts several months. The smaller harvest lasts several additional months.

Natural changes in weather dramatically affect harvest times, causing fluctuations from year to year, even on the same farm.

By practicing careful pruning, farmers keep the trees shorter for easier harvesting. But eventually the trees get too tall for this, so cacao farmers use long-handled, mitten-shaped steel tools to reach the pods and snip them without wounding the soft bark of the tree. They use machete-like knives to remove pods growing closer to the ground. All pods are dropped to the ground and a farmer, family members, and neighboring farmers work together to collect pods in baskets.

Cacao is a very important cash crop for them all.

The outer husk of the pod is split with a sturdy stick and discarded along with the inner white pulp of the pod. A farmer can expect 20-50 beans per pod, depending on the variety of cocoa.

Major Varieties of Cacao Trees Variety Criollo

 

Forastero

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Trinitario

 

Nacional

 

Where Grown Mexico Central America West Africa Central America South East Asia Central America west of Andes South America

Pairing Fine Teas and Chocolates



Notes famous for high quality cacao beans has sub-varieties like Chuao, Porcelana, Puerto Cabello, and Carupano 80% of total cacao production known to grow faster and give a higher yield a crossbreed between the Forastero and Criollo

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known for its pleasant aroma

   

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Fermenting & Drying The farmer removes the cacao beans from the pods, then either packs them into boxes (in Africa) or heaps them into piles covered with mats or banana leaves (in Asia and Latin America).

In some months, the cacao beans can be dried by laying them on trays or matting to bask in the sun. Sometimes farmers use solar dryers to help dry the crop.

The layer of pulp naturally surrounding the beans heats up and ferments them. This is an important step, lasting 3-7 days and responsible for the chocolate flavor we know when the beans are roasted. The beans are then dried in the sun, usually over several days.

The dried beans are packed into sacks, which the farmer sells to a buying station or local agent who transports them to an exporting company. That company inspects the cocoa and places it into burlap, sisal, or plastic bags which are taken by truck to the exporter’s warehouse near a port. Sometimes additional drying is necessary at this point.

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Buying from the Right Cocoa Farmer Some chocolate vendors actually travel to various cacao growing locations, establishing a more personal relationship with the grower, and determining the quality of the beans first hand.

At right: A chocolate maker flying in to the cocoa farm in Davao, The Philippines.

Packing & Transporting The exporting company finalizes the time and place for shipment and the beans are loaded onto ships.

When the ship arrives at its destination, the cacao is taken to a pier warehouse and stored in bags or bulk.

The buyer conducts a quality check to accept delivery and the cacao is stored until requested by the processor or manufacturer.

Trucks or trains carry the cacao in large tote bags or loose in the trailer to the manufacturer’s facility on a “just-in-time” basis.

Roasting & Grinding When the chocolate maker is ready to roast, beans are moved with care from storage – just the amount needed – to assure that they remain pretty intact. They are then thoroughly inspected and cleaned. Some places also use a magnet to attract and remove any metal particles there might be.

Depending on preferences, the beans are roasted with the shell, or the nib (inside the cacao bean) is roasted alone. Once this has been decided, the roaster is heated to the right temperature, depending on the bean origin, and the beans are loaded in the hopper. A good chocolate maker will look at and taste the beans during roasting. (This is a terribly important step that some larger companies have sub-contracted out.)

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A roasted cocoa bean, the papery skin rubbed loose. © 2015 JAS-eTea. All rights reserved.

Beans awaiting the roaster

After roasting, the beans are dumped into a cooling tray. Once cool they are put in buckets for the winnower.

The winnower removes the shell (also called the hull or skin) from the roasted bean, leaving the nib inside. The machine uses proper airflow to vacuum the shell (lighter than the nib) into a cyclone. The beans can be put through the winnower several times until all the shells are removed.

Nibs are visually inspected, removing any stray shell bits, and tasted to be sure they are top quality. (Some chocolate makers will mix bad beans with good ones or add vanilla, etc.)

The shells make a great mulch, and some chocolate makers donate them to local gardeners for this purpose.

The nib is ground into a paste, a process that generates heat and causes the cacao butter in the nib to melt into “chocolate liquor” (does not contain alcohol – see more information on the next page).

At this stage, the chocolate liquor can be further refined, sold as unsweetened baking chocolate, or used in chocolate manufacturing.

Dutching A processor treats the cacao liquor with an alkali solution to reduce the acidity.

The result is “Dutch processed cocoa,” a darker, milder, more chocolaty tasting version that also stays in suspension longer in liquids such as milk.

Chocolate liquor is solid at room temperature. More details on this process are on next page.

Handfuls of lovely nibs!

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Making Chocolate Liquor Chocolate liquor (as it is called in the industry) is nibs ground into paste.

The nibs are carefully weighed out and put in containers. This assures the batches will be about same size, making quality control easier.

The chocolate maker will use a mixer (melangeur) or a refiner to grind the nibs. This creates a rough paste that is then put in a dissolver tank to be melted, making it more viscous, and then pumped into a holding tank.

The liquor can be stored to make chocolate later. It will usually solidify. When it is time to make chocolate, the blocks are melted in the dissolver tank and pumped into a holding tank.

Refiner at Askinosie Chocolate Factory in Springfield, Missouri.

(Photo by Lisabeth)

Pressing to Make Cacao Butter

Most chocolate makers do not make their own cocoa butter. Cacao butter is often bought from industrial makers like Cargill or ADM. Those who make their own say that it enhances the chocolate’s texture better.

Cacao butter is made by separating it from the chocolate liquor. The chocolate liquor goes into an agitation tank and is pumped into a hydraulic press where it is squeezed. This divides the chocolate liquor into cacao butter and cocoa cakes.

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The cocoa cake is often sold into the generic cocoa cake market or ground into a fine powder.

The cacao butter can be used right away for making chocolate or stored for later use in making various recipes of chocolate. (The label usually says how much is in each. For example, if the label says 70% dark chocolate, it is usually made of 68% cacao liquor and 2% cacao butter, with the remaining 30% being pure cane sugar.)

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Chocolate Making You have reached the point where the actual stuff you know as “chocolate” is made.

The mixture is then placed into conches (large agitators that stir and smooth the mixture under heat).

The chocolate maker places melted liquor in the refiner and adds pure cane sugar and cocoa butter (for a creamier taste). When making milk chocolate, a quantity of milk is also added, usually about equal to the amount of chocolate liquor.

Conching may last for a few hours to three full days, or even longer. As a rule, the longer chocolate is conched, the smoother it will be. Carefully monitoring is essential to assure a good flavor for the finished chocolate.

The particle size is monitored by tasting and possibly using some kind of measuring tool. When ready, the chocolate is removed from the refiner.

After conching, the liquid chocolate may be shipped in tanks or tempered and poured into molds for sale in blocks to confectioners, dairies, or bakers.

Molding The final stage of the chocolate process, done in a molding room; temperature and humidity are constantly monitored.

Liquid chocolate is put in a holding tank that slowly turns the chocolate, keeping it mixed and in liquid form. Before molding begins, the temperature is raised to about 120°F. Then, it is poured into a pre-tempering tank. The viscosity is vigilantly monitored and the temperature cooled to 92-94°F for the final temper.

The chocolate is piped to the final temper tank.

The temperature is carefully watched. The right temperature will give the chocolate that all important snap and shine. From this tank, the chocolate goes into the filling unit, measuring out the perfect amount of chocolate for each mold.

The molds have to be the right temperature, too, keeping them from getting too cold in a cold room. The chocolate is pumped into the molds, which are moved quickly from the filling table to the vibrating table where air bubbles are removed. The molds are weighed to assure the proper amount is in them. This process goes on until all the chocolate has been molded. The molds go through a cooling tunnel, then the chocolates are removed from the molds and wrapped.

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Making Chocolate at Home Tip: Start with nibs instead of cocoa beans.

Ingredients Cocoa nibs – start with 1 lb

Cocoa butter

Sugar (pure cane works best) Nonfat dry milk powder (any brand you prefer)

Lecithin (a natural emulsifier or lubricant) 1 vanilla pod (optional)

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The Process Grind the nibs Use equipment strong enough to liquefy the nibs and separate remaining husks.   

Gently feed nibs into grinder (a food processor is shown at left) a handful at a time.

Chocolate liquor will come through the screen and husks and extra liquor will go through the spout.

Feed the husk/liquor mixture through the grinder again until only the husks come through the spout.

Measure out the other ingredients 

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Weigh the chocolate liquor in grams on a kitchen scale; use this weight to know how much of other ingredients to add. (A scale with a bowl like the one shown at right makes weighing easier and neater. Be sure to weigh the bowl empty first and subtract that weight from the total to get the amount of cocoa liquor.)

Cacao butter: up to 20% of amount of cocoa liquor.

Sugar: from 15-20% (bittersweet) to 75-80% (very sweet milk chocolate) of amount of cacao liquor.

Nonfat milk powder: the same volume (not weight) as the cocoa liquor, or slightly less.

Vanilla (optional): Split the pod and soak in cocoa butter for 1 hour.

Conch and refine the chocolate Conching affects the characteristic taste, smell and texture of chocolate. Refining reduces the size of cocoa solids and sugar crystals. Both processes are done at the same time with a powerful wet grinder. Which grinder you use will determine how you conch and refine the chocolate.

Sample guidelines (adjust for your grinder):   

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Melt chocolate and cocoa butter in oven at 120°F. Combine with nonfat dry milk powder, sugar, and lecithin.

Pour chocolate mixture in the grinder, periodically blowing on it with a hair dryer on high for 2-3 minutes to keep the chocolate melted during the first hour (until the friction created by grinding keeps the chocolate liquid without additional heat needed).

Continue refining 10 to 36 hours until taste is smooth and balanced; over-refining will make it gummy.

If you need to take a break from refining, turn off the grinder, put covered bowl into oven heated to 150°F but turned off, and leave it there overnight. If it solidifies, take cover off and turn oven on to 150-175°F until chocolate melts. (Watch carefully so the bowl doesn’t melt.) © 2015 JAS-eTea. All rights reserved.

Temper the chocolate.

This ensures the chocolate is shiny and has a “snap” rather than matte and soft enough to melt in your hands. You can re-temper many times until you are satisfied and the chocolate won't be ruined. However, moisture in the chocolate will ruin it. 

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Melt the chocolate carefully. (Tip: Always melt 1.5 lbs or more of chocolate at a time to have enough to work with.) o For larger amounts, in the oven. o For smaller amounts, in a double boiler on stove (keep stirring so the chocolate does not burn).

When the chocolate is melted to a temperature of around 110-120°F (use a candy thermometer), transfer it to a dry, cool bowl and stir until the chocolate temperature drops to about 100°F. Pour about one third of the chocolate from the bowl onto a hard, non-porous counter top or other surface (granite or marble works best).

Spread the chocolate out with the spatula, and then bring it all back together.

Continue doing this until the chocolate is about 85°F, which should take about 10-15 minutes. By the time the chocolate cools down to that point, the chocolate should be a thick, gooey mass.

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Add some chocolate from the bowl (should still be about 100°F) to the chocolate you are working to get it pliable again.

Gently work the chocolate around.

Return the chocolate back into the bowl with the 100°F chocolate. Stir it gently, and try not to create bubbles.

Check the chocolate's temperature. You want it around 90°F, but never over 92°F. Anything higher than this and you may need to temper the chocolate again.

Alternatively, you can purchase a tempering machine on the Internet for $300-400 USD.

Mold chocolate while still at about 90ºF.   

Pour chocolate into molds, being careful not to spill.

Use a large syringe or just pour with a steady hand.

Freeze, refrigerate, or let the chocolates harden at room temperature.

Remove hardened chocolate from molds.  

The molded chocolate should have a glossy appearance and should snap cleanly in two.

If you are unsatisfied with your chocolate, you may re-temper the chocolate as long as the chocolate remains dry and you haven't burned it.

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Types of Chocolate Raw Chocolate Almost raw cacao (it undergoes some processing, so “raw” is not acceptable to some chocolatiers).

Raw chocolates are prepared at low temperature, blending cocoa powder and cocoa butter with sweeteners. The chocolate is tasty but not transformed from cocoa powder into chocolate bars.

Raw chocolate retains all the natural beneficial properties present in cacao and at the same time removes many negatives that come with regular chocolates.

Raw chocolate is used to make things like truffles and puddings.

Famous Raw Chocolate Brands: 

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Giddy Yoyo – a Canadian company, makes flavored 75% dark raw chocolate bars, including gluten free, soy free, dairy free, and free of refined sugar. Sell raw cacao nibs.

Elements for Life – a British chocolate manufacturer.

They sell a kit for making raw chocolate yourself (no nibs or beans, just raw cacao powder & cacao butter), the Yummy Scrummy Brownie, and raw ingredients like nibs and nuts.

Sacred Chocolate – an American company making raw organic chocolate, hand poured/wrapped in a small factory.

Milk Chocolate Contains more sugar than chocolate liquor. It is 10-40% cacao, plus milk fat, milk solids, and sweeteners. The flavor is usually mild and sweet; the higher the cacao liquor percent, the stronger the chocolate flavor is.

Milk chocolate was invented in 1875

by Daniel Peter, a Swiss chocolate maker, and Henri Nestlé. The oldest Swiss chocolate brand is Cailler, founded by Alexandre-Louis Cailler.

He built a factory in Gruyere. The combination of milk and cocoa made the brand very special.

Milk chocolate has been the more popular kind ever since.

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Semisweet chocolate Semisweet chocolate contains 15-65% cacao and has a strong chocolate flavor with a balanced sweetness. The term “semisweet� is used mainly in the U.S. market and indicates a higher quantity of sugar.

This kind of dark chocolate is generally used for baking and eating.

Scharffen Berger Leonidas Nibs

Contains 62% cocoa. A taste A semisweet chocolate with 54% cocoa. that is a little Taste is similar to the Scharffen Berger, softer than the leaning towards lemon. However, this bittersweet verchocolate is much sweeter but not as sion, yet not too sweet as milk chocolate. Dark choco- sweet, and has a late enthusiasts taste the difference. taste of honey and lemon.

Dark (bittersweet) chocolate Dark (also called bittersweet) chocolate contains more chocolate liquor than sugar. It has an intense chocolate flavor with a minimum of 35% cacao liquor (at least 43% in the UK).

Dark chocolates contain little to no milk content and can be quite bitter, yet have a complex taste. The sugar content is minimal, and there are no traces of milk. This chocolate style is used mainly for cooking and eating. However, since it contains flavonoids, it is also consumed by people who are trying to lose weight.

Most major chocolate makers, including Lindt and Ghirardelli, make this type of chocolate.

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White Chocolate White chocolate contains no chocolate liquor and cacao solids.

Ingredients are typically cacao butter, sugar, milk solids and soy lecithin (an emulsifier commonly used in many foods these days).

Although white chocolate does not contain cacao liquor, it contains a minimum of 20% cocoa butter, milk, milk fats and sugar. This gives white chocolate its whitish-ivory color, its sweet taste and creamy texture.

The cocoa butter is what gives white chocolate that hint of chocolate-ness in its flavor. There should be at least 20% by weight in the white chocolate, not animal fat, which some makers have started using. The cocoa butter is a very stable fat and has a long lifespan without spoiling.

It contains several natural antioxidants and it has a shelf life of several years.

White chocolate is used in home baking, candy making and food manufacturing. It has a creamy taste, is very sweet and has a hint of chocolate flavor. It is also used in products other than chocolate and white chocolate, such as soaps, moisturizers and other skin care products.

In order to be labeled chocolate (as defined in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration) a product must also contain cocoa solids from chocolate liquor.

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Health Benefits of Cacao In addition to its heavenly taste, cacao has also been known for centuries for its healing benefits. Early colonial records state that cacao was luxury food and a medicine for variety of diseases and discomforts like fatigue, fever, anemia, low sex drive, cardiac arrest, respiratory disease and low appetite. Cacao butter was also used for treatment of skin problems like psoriasis, burns, and eczema.

Cacao contains over 300 beneficial compounds. Scientists have studied the effects of several of these and found interesting properties.

Important Cacao Compounds: Flavonols

Theobromine Anandamide Phenylethylamine Serotonin

Tryptophan Vitamins and minerals

Anti-oxidants in cacao beans. They lower nitric oxide levels in the blood, improve responsiveness of blood vessels to changes in blood flow, improve memory level, and prevent cancer. However due to bitter taste, makers remove most flavonols from cacao products.

Similar to caffeine, reduces sleepiness, relaxes mentally and physically, washes out toxins.

Produces a blissful feeling and has a calming effect. Part of the cannabinoid family.

Part of the cacao nib. Increases during fermentation of cacao and decreases during roasting. An antidepressant, produces a peaceful yet not necessarily sedated experience.

A neurotransmitter in the human body. Its anti-depressant properties help build a “stress defense shield.” Cacao raises the serotonin level in the brain, stimulating and balancing brain activity and inducing better sleep.

An amino acid converted into stress protective neurotransmitters like serotonin and melatonin. Heat sensitive, can vanish if heat in the manufacturing process is not controlled.

Included:  

Essential vitamins A, B1, B3, C, E and Pantothenic acid.

Essential minerals like Magnesium, Sulfur, Iron, Zinc and chromium.

Magnesium and iron help the heart pump blood efficiently, builds strong bones, and lowers blood pressure. Good for healthy skin, nails and hairs.

Zinc plays a critical role in the immune system in our body by its involvement in thousand s of enzymatic reaction in human body. Chromium has role in balancing sugar level in blood. It detoxifies blood from alcohols when we make bad choice of foods.

Popular Misconceptions Despite the medicinal benefits of cacao, some misconceptions persist. One is that eating chocolate makes you gain weight. Eating chocolate won’t make you fat, but eating too much food will. A few bites of chocolate as you down a cup of tea certainly won’t hurt you. In fact, it probably does more for your well-being and state of mind than reading the morning newspaper. It’s all part of having a generally active and healthy lifestyle.

Actually, it is not cacao but other substances added during the manufacturing process that increase weight.

Scientific studies demonstrate that eating raw cacao can help you lose weight naturally.

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Another popular misconception is that cacao contains caffeine. While cacao has some elements of stimulant drugs, it does not contain caffeine. The caffeine in processed chocolates are usually added during the manufacturing process to make it a stimulant.

Cacao is perhaps nature’s best super food. The super taste it has and the health benefits it provides are simply incomparable. Like every other substance, cacao has a few negatives. It is bitter if consumed rough. It has some elements that induce fake pleasure and hallucination in humans. Nevertheless, its positives far outweigh the negatives.

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Major Chocolate Makers Arcor Arcor was founded in1951 by a group of pioneers whose vision was to offer quality food, at a reasonable price to consumers. Their history traces back to 1924, when a young Italian immigrant named Amos Pagani, settled in Arroyito, a small town in the province of Cordoba, Argentina. He opened a bakery shop like the one he had had in Italy. A few years later, he joined with fellow entrepreneurs to set up a confectionery factory.   

Argentina Ranked #8 in the world as of January 2015.

Their website.

From that humble beginning, Arcor grew to a global food company.

August Storck KG An international food company that makes such brands as Werther’s Originals and Riesen chocolates.

In 1903, August Storck founded the Werther’s Sugar Confectionery Factory “to manufacture all kinds of confectionery products by hand.” He began with three employees, a cooking kettle and a panning kettle. Soon he was supplying sugar confectionery products to all of East Westphalia. By 1909 the company employed a dozen people and supplied a large part of Westphalia.

They incurred severe damage during World War I but by 1921 were producing 200 varieties of candies.

In 1954, they began producing chocolate in a totally modern plant. They produced their own milk for making their milk chocolate. In 1981, they acquired the Dickmann company, producing these unique chocolates to rave reviews. In 1989 the Berlin wall fell, and the company expanded operations to the eastern portion of the city (they already had a factory, built in 1967, in the western portion).

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Ranked #10 in the world as of January 2015.

Headquarters in Berlin, Germany, with offices and factories in several European countries as well as Canada and the U.S. Their website.

Over the years, they expanded their production and sales, and today they are a top producer of chocolates and other candies.

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Barry Callebaut AG 1 in 5 chocolate and cocoa products consumed worldwide has their cocoa and chocolate inside.

In October, 2015, Barry Callebaut announced they will partner with Mondelēz International to scale up their Cocoa Life program.

The Barry Callebaut Group is the world's leading manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa. A business-to-business company, they source and process cocoa beans, produce the finest chocolates, including chocolate fillings, decorations, compounds.

In the industrial chocolate market, Callebaut has a 40% share in the open market.

As a business-to-business company, they serve the entire food industry, from industrial food manufacturers to artisanal and professional users of chocolate, (chocolatiers, pastry chefs, bakers, hotels, restaurants or caterers, etc.).

Two global brands: Callebaut®, Cacao Barry®.

Most popular gourmet chocolates brand includes Sarotti in Germany, Jacques in Belgium and Alprose in Switzerland.

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Ranked #6 in the world as of October 2009.

As of October, 2015 - annual sales about CHF 5.9 billion (EUR 4.8 billion / USD 6.5 billion) Headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.

Cadbury (now part of Mondelēz International)

Introduced in 1923, a perennial favorite at Easter, great with tea! 

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As of October 2009 - 4th in world for chocolate and confectionery revenue total is US$3, 868.2 million.

Considered largest confectionery manufacturer in the world.

Most popular chocolate products are Cadbury, Fry's, and Green & Black's.

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Cadbury began in 1824 by a young Quaker named John Cadbury who opened a shop in Birmingham, England. He sold coffee, tea, drinking chocolate, and cocoa. By 1842 John was selling 11 kinds of cocoa and 16 kinds of drinking chocolate. John’s brother Benjamin joined the company to form Cadbury Brothers of Birmingham. They opened an office in London and received a Royal Warrant (one of many) as manufacturers of chocolate and cocoa to Queen Victoria in 1854. John’s sons George and Richard took over the business in 1860 and continued to expand the product line, and by 1864, they were pulling a profit. Cadbury’s Cocoa Essence, which was advertised as "absolutely pure and therefore best," was an all-natural product made with pure cocoa butter and no starchy ingredients. Cocoa Essence was the beginning of chocolate as we know it today. The brothers soon moved their manufacturing operations to a larger facility four miles south of Birmingham. The factory and area became known as Bournville.

The company survived two world wars and continued to prosper and grow, providing employment for thousands of people. Cadbury merged with Schweppes, a well-know British company manufacturing carbonated mineral water and soft drinks, in 1969. Later they acquired additional beverage companies, including Typhoo Tea. They then licensed out the manufacture of Cadbury confectionery brands to Hershey in the U.S., even though they continue to make some chocolates in England. presented by JAS-eTea

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Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG Confectioner David Sprüngli-Schwarz and his son, Rudolf SprüngliAmmann, had a small confectionery shop in Zurich. In 1845, they used a recipe from Italy for manufacturing chocolate in solid form.

In 1879 Rodolphe Lindt, one of the most famous chocolate-makers of his day, developed a technique to manufacture chocolate with superior aroma and melting characteristics. He used the “conche” he had invented, producing chocolate with the wonderfully delicate flavor and melting quality we know and love today. His "melting chocolate" achieved fame and led to a merger with Sprüngli in 1899.

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(Switzerland) Ranked #7 in the world as of January 2015.

Ranked #8 in the world as of October 2009 - revenue total is US$2, 062.5 million.

Chocolate manufacturer, commonly known as Lindt.

A Swiss premium & confectionery company founded in 1845. Lindt & Sprngli's popular chocolates include the Lindor which is a hard chocolate shell with a smooth chocolate filling and comes with colored wrappers; Mint Intense, Toffee crunch, and Madagascar among many others. As of October 2009.

Their website.

Like many companies in Europe and the U.S., they saw expansion in the first two decades of the 20th century but struggled through the two World Wars. What saw them through was their superior quality that people were willing to pay for even in hard times. From 1947 onward, though, the company has grown tremendously, acquiring Russell Stover Candies and others. In 1986 their U.S. operation, established in 1925, moved from New York City to Stratham, New Hampshire. Various brands were introduced, including Lindor and Excellence.

Lindt & Sprüngli is now an international conglomerate sold in more than 80 countries with eight production sites in Europe and the U.S. They continue to roast their own cacao beans (a key to controlling quality) to produce chocolate from bean to bar.

Ezaki Glico Co Ltd A Japanese confectionery company headquartered in Nishiyodogawa-ku, Osaka. The company manufactures the traditional Glico caramel candy, as well as Pocky (known as Mikado in Europe) and many others. The company name, Glico, is derived from a shortening of the word “glycogen.” The first candy produced by the company (in 1921) was known as Glico-Caramel.

In the years that followed, the company grew and added a range of products. One of their best known is Pocky (a thin pretzel stick about 3/4ths covered in chocolate.    

Osaka, Japan Ranked #9 in the world as of January 2015.

Their website (in Japanese).

Their company profile (in English).

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Ferrero Group Ferrero was founded in 1946 and sold out of vans. Michele Ferrero joined them in 1950.

They opened a factory in Germany in 1956.

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A well-known brand (and very popular in Germany) is Nutella, launched in 1964. It’s a combination of chocolate and hazelnuts.

Just about every gasthaus (inn or motel) in Germany includes little packets along with jams on the breakfast table for guests.

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(Luxembourg / Italy) Ranked #3 in the world as of January 2015.

Ranked #3 in the world as of October 2009 - revenue total is US $5,269.6 million.

Ferrero SpA is owned by the Italian family Ferrero that manufactures chocolate and other confectionery products Founded by Pietro Ferrero in 1946.

Their website.

Another well-known brand, especially popular during the holidays, is Ferrero Rocher. Totally decadent chocolates with nuts, individually wrapped. Michele’s sons Pietro and Giovanni took over control of the company in 1997.

Pietro died in 2011 in South Africa.

Hershey’s  

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Ranked #6 in the world as of January 2015.

Ranked #5 in the world as of October 2009 - revenue total is US$3, 708.2 million.

The largest manufacturer of chocolates in North America.

Based in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

Founded in 1894.

Their website.

More company info.

Milton S. Hershey was 37 years old when he founded his company, originally making caramels. In 1893 he went to the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and bought chocolate making equipment. He used it to make chocolate coatings for his caramels, but soon chocolate production outpaced caramel production, so he started selling the excess. In 1898, he met his wife Catherine Sweeney, or “Kitty” as she was called by her family. The marriage was a good one. Their happiness was probably a contributor to the company’s success. It certainly contributed to their extensive philanthropic efforts, including a trade school, a town, and a trust fund.

Hershey was the first American to develop a formula for manufacturing milk chocolate, introducing in 1900 the molded milk chocolate bar we know today. Hershey limited his production to only a few items in order to keep the cost of producing each as low as possible. What had been a luxury for the rich was now an enjoyment for anyone.

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Mars Inc. Frank C. Mars was born in 1882 and had polio. He spent a lot of time at home with his mother who taught him how to hand dip chocolates.

He launched the Milky Way® bar in 1923 after years of making and selling other candy products such as butter creams. Their first plant, built in 1929 in Chicago, is still there today. Mars died in 1934, but the company continued to grow and diversify, including products like Uncle Ben’s Rice and pet foods.

Their most popular chocolate products include Snickers, Mars Bar, Milky Way, M&Ms, and Twix among many others.   

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Headquarters in McLean, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC, since 1959.

Ranked #1 in the world as of January 2015.

Ranked #1 in the world as of October 2009 - with revenues totaling to US $10,418.3 million, Mars, Inc. has topped the list.

Their website.

Today, they are global, promoting not just chocolate, but a host of other healthful products at affordable prices.

Meiji Co Ltd (Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd.) Meiji Sugar Co., Ltd., the forerunner of the Meiji Group, was established in 1906. Tokyo Confectionery Co., Ltd., the predecessor of Meiji Seika, was established in 1916. In 1917, Tokyo Confectionery merged with Taisho Seika, a subsidiary of Meiji Sugar, and started manufacturing caramels and biscuits at its Okubo Plant.

That same year, Kyokuto Condensed Milk Co., Ltd., the predecessor of Meiji Dairies, was established and started manufacturing condensed milk and other products. That was the beginning of a long history of product development and further mergers. Milk chocolate and cocoa powder drink mix started their chocolate adventures in 1926.

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A Japanese company with a U.S. headquarters in Itasca, Illinois.

Ranked #5 in the world as of January 2015.

Ranked #9 in the world as of October 2009 - revenue total is US $702.2 million.

A confectionery and pharmaceutical company that produces the popular chocolate products Hello Panda and Yan Yan as of October 2009.

Their website (in English).

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Mondelēz International

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Ranked #2 in the world as of January 2015.

Corporate office is in East Hanover, New Jersey.

Brands include Alpen Gold, Barni, belVita, Bubbaloo, Cadbury products (Bournvita, Dairy Milk, Creme Egg, Eclairs, Roses), Chips Ahoy!, Clight, Club Social, Côte d'Or, Dentyne, Dirol, Enjoy Life Foods, Freia, Halls, Hollywood, Honey Maid, Kinh Do, Lacta, Lu Petit Beurre, LU, Marabou, Mikado, Milka, Nabisco, Newtons, Nilla, Nutter Butter, Oreo, Philadelphia, Premium, Prince, Royal, Ritz, Sottilette, Sour Patch Kids, Stimorol, Stride, Tang, Tiger, Trakinas, Toblerone, Trident, Triscuit, TUC, Wheat Thins.

Their website.

Mondelēz International is an American multinational confectionery, food, and beverage conglomerate, with 107,000+ employees worldwide. The Mondelēz name, adopted in 2012, came from the input of Kraft Foods employees at the time, a combination of the words for "world" and "delicious" in Romance languages. The company consists of the global snacking and food brands of the former Kraft Foods, Inc., following the spin-off of its North American grocery operations in October 2012.

Mondelēz Canada controls the rights to Christie Brown and Company, which consists of brands such as Mr. Christie and Dad's Cookies.

Some of their brands have been on the market for over 100 years. In the U.S., these include: Chiclets, Dentyne, Barnum’s Animal Crackers, the Kraft brand, the Nabisco brand, the Newton’s brand, Oreos, Triscuits, and more.

The history of Kraft Foods begins with National Dairy Products Corporation, where Thomas H. McInnerney sought to form a monopoly in 1923 for the dairy industry and went to Washington, DC, to get funding. By 1930, his company had bought up many small dairies and was larger than Borden. Many brands still on the market today are part of them, including Breyers, Breakstone, Hiland, and Kraft.

Meanwhile James L. Kraft was setting up his company in Chicago starting in 1874. In 1928 they merged with Phenix Cheese Company and became Kraft-Phenix Cheese Company. National Dairy acquired them in 1930. In 1969 they changed the company name from National Dairy to Kraftco. In 1961, the firm acquired Dominion Dairies of Canada, becoming international.

In 1980, Kraft merged with Dart Industries to form Dart & Kraft. Various mergers and other changes happened over the years. In 2010, they succeeded in buying Cadbury, a well-known British chocolate maker and confectionery.

More corporate changes occurred (typical in big business), but the big one to note is in 2012 when the company split off its snack foods and renamed that business Mondelēz International.

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Nestlé Nestlé began as a baby formula maker in Switzerland in the mid 1860s. Henri Nestlé created a healthy and economical product as an alternative for mothers who could not breastfeed. The product was a carefully formulated mix of cow’s milk, flour, and sugar.

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Ranked #4 in the world as of January 2015.

Ranked #2 in the world as of October 2009 - revenue total was US $7,261.3 million.

Most popular chocolate products: Baby Ruth, Butterfinger, Kit Kat, Milky Bar, Matchmakers, Nestle Crunch, Oh Henry, Wonka Bars (introduced as a promotion for the original movie about Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in 1971).

Their website.

In 1874 Jules Monerat purchased the Nestlé Company and developed their brand of condensed milk. In 1904, Nestlé started making chocolate. A year later they merged with their competitor, the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company. They struggled through World War I, but a banker helped reduce their debt. By the 1920s Nestlé was creating new chocolate and powdered beverage products and were international.

During World War II, many of Nestlé’s executive officers were transferred to offices in the U.S. More products were added to their lineup. Today, products include beverages, ice cream, baby foods, formulas, soups, snacks, candy.

Russell Stover Candies Inc. (now part of Lindt & Sprüngli) In 1923, Russell and Clara Stover began a candy business in their home in Denver, Colorado, and was originally called “Mrs. Stover's Bungalow Candies.”

The Stover family and their partners operated the company for the next 37 years, becoming well known for quality candy sold on a regional level.

By 1960, the company had 35 retail stores and more than 2,000 agencies selling its candies. The partnership dissolved and the company was purchased by Mr. Louis Ward.

The company was bought in 2014 by Lindt & Sprungli, a worldwide manufacturer of premium quality chocolates since the early 1800s, from the Ward Family. (Lindt also owns Ghirardelli Chocolates.)

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Ranked #10 in the world as of October 2009 - revenue total is US$ 509 million.

Corporate office is in Kansas City, Missouri.

Most famous products include mint chocolates and dark chocolates.

Their website.

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The company is now international and is the largest producer of fine boxed chocolates in the United States (and they are still made here, according to the company’s website). They sell in about 35 company-owned retail shops in the U.S. and at over 70,000 drug stores, card and gift shops, grocery stores, department stores and retail stores in all 50 states and Canada.

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Chocolate Terms Chocolate has a long history, and that means a lot of specialized terms. This list is not complete, but it is more comprehensive than we have seen on most chocolate sites.

Term

Description

1er Cru

Abbreviation for premier cru. “1er” is French for 1st, or premier, growth.

Adopted by growers of cacao beans to designate their finest.

Abaisse

(ah-BAYZ) French for rolling out gianduja or marzipan with a rolling pin.

Aftertaste

Flavors lingering on the palate after the chocolate is swallowed. Called the finish in the tea industry. A good aftertaste should leave positive chocolate flavors in the mouth for two minutes or more.

Alkalinisation

See “Dutching.”

Alkalization

See “Dutching.”

Alkalized Cocoa Powder

See “Dutching.”

Amande de Cacao

See “Nib.”

Amandes Décortiquées

See “Nib.”

Amelonado Bean

One of the finer subgroups of Forastero bean, delicate and mild-flavored (most Forasteros are harsh and bitter). A hybrid of the Arriba or Nacional subspecies of Forastero bean.

Amenolado Cacao

The only variety of Forastero cacao that is delicate and mild-flavored, derived from the Arriba bean.

Antioxidant

A substance that blocks oxygen damage to body cells. High levels have been found in dark chocolate, specifically from its flavanol content. Anti-oxidants are also in tea. See also “Flavanol.”

Arriba

A variety of Forastero cacao beans cultivated in Ecuador which produce a delicate, mild-flavored cocoa, considered to be one of the world’s best.

Arriba Nacional Cacao

See “Nacional cacao.”

Artisanal

Chocolate produced by a small maker, usually from a unique blend of beans or a rare single type.

Bahia Beans

A hybrid of the forastero cacao bean. Strong flavor, usually blended with other beans. From a province in eastern Brazil.

Bain Marie

The French term for water bath. The equivalent of a double boiler that melts chocolate gently over warm water so it will not burn.

Baker’s Chocolate

Chocolate liquid cooled and molded into blocks. Pure, unsweetened, sometimes bitter chocolate liquor (non-alcoholic), pressed from the cacao bean.

Baking chocolate usually has lecithin added, which acts as an emulsifier, and vanilla, for flavoring. Available as milk, bittersweet, semisweet, and white chocolate, and sold in one-pound blocks for baking.

Baking Bitter

See “Baker’s Chocolate.”

Baking Chocolate

See “Baker’s Chocolate.”

Balao Malacha

(bah-LAH-oh) Another hybrid of the forastero cacaco bean cultivated in Ecuador. Always blended with other beans to make the flavor palatable.

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Term

Description

Ballotin

A small, elegant box of chocolates designed to prevent the chocolates from damaging each other.

Bâton

(BAH-tohn) A slim bar of chocolate.

Bean

See “Cacao Bean.”

Bean Strains

Botanical bean families. See “Criollo Bean Family,” “Forastero Bean Family,” and “Trinitarios Bean Family.”

Bean to Bar

Making chocolate from scratch. Raw cacao beans are roasted and turned into couverture, which is melted and used to make chocolate products.

Belgian Chocolate Belgian-Style Chocolate

A slightly larger size, a thicker chocolate shell and a heavier and sweeter ganache than Swiss and French. Made in molds, a technique created by Belgian chocolatier Jean Neuhaus in 1912.

Bitter Chocolate

See “Baker’s Chocolate.”

Bitter/unsweetened chocolate

See “Baker’s Chocolate.”

Bittersweet Chocolate

Dark chocolate that contains a minimum of 35% (usually a minimum of 50%) chocolate liquor and less than 12% milk solids. Deep, strong, tangy, slightly sweet flavor. Primarily used for baking, also eaten and used as couverture.

Has more cocoa butter than regular chocolate.

Blended Bar

A chocolate bar made of beans representing a combination of bean varieties, growing regions, and harvest years. Sometimes called “house bars,” blended to a consistent recipe year after year to represent the style of the producer.

Blending

Mixing cacao beans of different types or from different regions. Done after the beans are roasted but before grinding. Based on a formula or “recipe” determined by the master blender, to determine the flavor of the finished chocolate. Since beans vary from harvest to harvest (acidic, bitter, fruity, earthy, sweet, spicy, woody, etc.) blending helps produce a consistent “house style.”

Bloom

A whitish-gray discoloration due to a temperature or humidity change. There are two kinds, both conveying an unappetizing appearance. They are generally the result of improper storage and poorly done tempering.

Fat Bloom – The cocoa butter has separated out from the chocolate due to poor tempering or incorrect temperature. It creates a hazy surface appearance, but is fine to eat.

Sugar Bloom – White streaks and dots of sugar crystals drawn to the surface by moisture and then drying. Causes a grainy texture.

Bonbon (Bon Bon)

(BOHN-bohn) French for “good, good.” A hard shell of chocolate filled with a variety of centers. Referred to as praline in Belgian.

Bouchon

(BOO-shohn) French for “cork.” A molded, cork-shaped chocolate, can be solid or filled.

Brut (Bitter) Chocolate

See “Baker’s Chocolate.”

Butter Oil

Clarified butter, used instead of more expensive cocoa butter in some chocolate formulations to create a smoother texture and mouthfeel.

Cabosse de Cacao

See “Pod.”

Cabruca

Cutting down some tall trees and planting mid-height cacao trees under the remaining ones. Lower yields than in open land. See “Cacao Mothers.”

Cacahuatl

(cah-cah-WA-tay) Aztec for cacao bean and father of the word “chocolate.”

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Term

Description

Cacao

Refers generally to the raw materials of chocolate: the trees (Criollo, Forastero, and Trinitario), pods, beans, and liquor (pure cacao bean paste).

Cacao Bean

The seed of the cacao pod of the Theobroma cacao tree. Also called the grain.

Contains the nibs used to produce chocolate liquor. Cacao was misspelled on a ship’s manifest in the 18th century as “cocoa,” continues to be used today.

Cacao Butter

The natural, cream-colored vegetable fat extracted from the chocolate liquor in cacao beans. Done today by hydraulic presses. Adds smoothness and flavor. The main ingredient in white chocolate.

Cacao en Grains

See “Nib.”

Cacao Content

Total percentage of cacao fat and solids in chocolate. Generally, the higher the cocoa content, the more intense the chocolate flavor and less sugar.

Cacao Fevier

French term indicating a bean-to-bar chocolate producer.

Cacao Mothers

Tall trees grown on plantations next to cacao trees to shade them from sun.

Banana, rubber, or coconut palms depending on the plantation location.

Cacao Nib

See “Nib.”

Cacao Pod

See “Pod.”

Cacao Seed

See “Cacao Bean.”

Cacao Tree

See “Theobroma Cacao.”

Cacao Walks

Large groves or orchards of cacao trees.

Caffeine Content

The amount of caffeine in chocolate, 5-10 mg, lower than coffee, cola, tea.

Caraque

(kah-RAHK) Spanish for Criollo cacao beans when first brought to Europe.

Carraque

Solid milk or dark chocolate pieces, sometimes topped with raisins, almonds, walnuts, and hazelnuts.

Carré

(kahr-RAY) French for “square.” A small square of chocolate, generally five to 10 grams, for tasting. See also “Napolitain.”

Chocolat de Luxe

French for fine chocolate.

Chocolat en Tablette

French for a chocolate bar for eating. Also called “Tablette.”

Chocolat Supérieur

French for fine chocolate.

Chocolate

A food product made from the nib in the roasted beans of the cacao tree.

Chocolate Bar

A solid form of chocolate for eating. First made in 1847 by Arthur Fry, the great-grandson of the founder of Joseph Fry & Company. He discovered a way to mix some cocoa butter back into “Dutched” chocolate (cocoa powder), added sugar, creating a paste, and molded into the world’s first chocolate bar.

It was rough and gritty. Bars today are smooth and velvety, due to conching.

Chocolate Bloom

See “Bloom.”

Chocolate Chips

Miniature drops of chocolate used in baking that keep their shape in the finished product. Also used in ice cream, for decorative purposes on various sweets, and snacking. Milk, semisweet, and white chocolate; in “kiss” shapes and oblong chunks. Made by mass producers and the finest chocolate houses.

Can be melted for recipes requiring melted chocolate but contain less cocoa butter than regular chocolate so may not produce the same results.

Chocolate Morsels

See “Chocolate Chips.”

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Term

Description

Chocolate Extract

A concentrated natural chocolate flavoring often used in recipes to replace chocolate in an attempt to cut back on calories or fat.

Chocolate Liqueur

Alcoholic cordial with chocolate flavoring like crème de cacao; can be drunk as a liqueur or used in a cocktail. Not to be confused with chocolate liquor.

Chocolate Liquid

See “Chocolate Liquor.”

Chocolate Liquor

Also known as cacao mass, the liquid or paste produced when cocoa beans are roasted and ground. Non-alcoholic. It only turns liquid when it is heated.

Chocolate Mexicano

See “Mexican Chocolate.”

Chocolate Milk

Milk with sugar and chocolate added for flavoring. Available in whole, low fat and nonfat (skim) milk.

Chocolate Milk Crumb

See “Crumb.”

Chocolate Modeling Paste

Dark, white, or milk chocolate mixed with corn syrup. Pliable, malleable texture, similar to marzipan. Used for decorating pastries, cakes, etc. Rolled out thin and ribbons, ruffles, flowers, leaves, and stems cut out and shaped.

Chocolate Nibs

See “Nibs.”

Chocolate Sauce

See “Chocolate Syrup.”

Chocolate Syrup

A liquid form of chocolate. Used as a beverage mixer, a sweet topping and a cooking and baking ingredient. Made in dark, milk and white chocolate from chocolate based foods with sweeteners added.

Chocolate Thermometer

A specially designed thermometer in 1-degree graduations (40-130°F). Critical when you are tempering chocolate since extreme accuracy is necessary.

Chocolate Torrone

Italian confection made with honey, egg whites, toasted almonds, pistachios, and other nuts, such as hazelnuts, with chocolate added.

Chocolates

Confections made from chocolate (bonbons, pralines, truffles, etc.) as opposed to chocolate, the general food product made from cacao beans.

Chocolatier

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A candy maker who specializes in the creation of fine chocolate confections using artisanal techniques, usually making them by hand in small batches.

The shop of that person.

Individuals in chocolate production facilities, e.g., who evaluate beans or supervise roasting, conching, and blending, adjusting times and other factors to ensure a final formula that conforms with the house style.

Chocolats Fourrés

See “BonBon.”

Chocovic

A chocolate maker in Barcelona, Spain, that makes a line of three dark couverture varieties, each made from single origin fine grade cacao beans.

Chuao

An isolated plantation in Venezuela which dates back to the 17th century; grows one of the world’s most highly prized, flavorful varieties of the Criollo cacao bean, usually blended with other beans before being shipped to market.

Assertive, powerful, intense flavor, notes of blueberries, plums, molasses, and traces of vanilla. Slightly tart, and the finish is clean, long, and strong.

Cocoa

The remaining solid materials, after some or most of the fat has been removed with a hydraulic press, which include the flavoring and coloring components of chocolate liquor.

Cocoa Bean

See “Cacao Bean.”

Cocoa Belt

The band 20° north and south of the equator where the cacao tree grows.

Cocoa Beverage

A hot beverage made from cocoa powder, generally served sweetened.

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Term

Description

Cocoa Butter

A yellowish-white, complex, hard vegetable fat made up mostly of triglycerides, remains firm at room temperature, contracts as it cools and solidifies.

Removed from chocolate liquid under high pressure. Not a dairy product.

Cocoa Butter Transfer

A technique used to transfer designs to the surface of chocolate bonbons.

Sheets of paper with the design are set atop the enrobed chocolate. The design is transferred through rubbing, resulting in the finished chocolate.

Cocoa Cake

A fairly dry, solid cake, left over after hydraulic presses extract the cacao butter from chocolate liquor. They are crushed, ground, and sifted to produce cocoa powder. Also called “press cake.”

Cocoa Content

See “Cacao Content.”

Cocoa Dance

Where women shuffle through the cacao beans that are spread out to dry.

This turns the beans and assures they dry evenly. Performed twice a year after harvest in Trinidad and some regions of South America.

Cocoa Liqueur

See “Chocolate Liquor.”

Cocoa Liquor

See “Chocolate Liquor.”

Cocoa Mass

See “Chocolate Liquor.”

Cocoa Percentage

See “Cacao Content.”

Cocoa Pod

See “Pod.”

Cocoa Press

A press used to separate out the elements in roasted cacao beans. Invented by Coenrad Johannes Van Houten, a Dutch chemist who took out a patent for it in Amsterdam on April 4, 1828. Van Houten also invented “Dutching.”

Cocoa Solid

See “Chocolate Liquor.”

Cocoa Powder

Solids resulting from pressing cocoa butter out of chocolate liquor. Categorized by the amount of cocoa butter (10-24%) that remains after pressing, depending on whether beverage, breakfast, or cooking cocoa. The powder is made by pulverizing and sifting the cocoa cake. Two main types: natural/ non-alkalinized; and Dutch/alkalinized.

Black Cocoa

Dutch-process cocoa, super-dark, super-rich.

Cocoa Rouge (Red Cocoa)

Dutch-process cocoa, fudgy flavor, intensely bittersweet, deep-red color.

Cocoa Solids

Same as “Chocolate Liquor.”

Cocoa Solids Content

The weight of the non-fat cocoa portion of the chocolate.

Compound Coating

See “Confectionary Coating.”

Conch (Conche)

Machine used for conching.

Conching

Passing the cocoa mass through the conching machine where it is kneaded.

Controlled temperatures. Reduces moistness and removes the volatile acids.

Allows for specific aromas and smoothness to be associated with chocolate.

Rodolphe Lindt invented the conching machine to improve the texture of chocolate 32 years after the first chocolate bar was made in 1847.

Confectionary

From the Latin noun “confect,” meaning that which is produced with skill.

Also the name for the shop of a confectioner. Confections, or sweet preparations, include cake, pastry, candy, jams, preserves, and other sweets.

Confectionary Coating

A chocolate-type product that substitutes vegetable oil for all or part of the cocoa butter. Less expensive, does not require tempering, melts easily, and hardens quickly. Used to coat fruit and other decorating purposes. Products made with confectionary coating will be designated “chocolate-flavored.”

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Term

Description

Confiserie

French for shop that sells candy and chocolate

Confiseur

French for confectioner. Can refer to either a company or a person.

Cotyledon

A leaf of the embryo of the cacao bean (or any seed plant).

Couverture

(koo-vehr-TYOOR) French for “blanket.” Glossy chocolate for enrobing.

Couverture Chocolate

See “Couverture.”

Coating Chocolate

See “Couverture.”

Criollo Bean Family

One of the three cocoa bean families. Thought to originate around Southern Mexico or Nicaragua. Most are from Venezuela. Rare, best quality, lower yield per tree, most vulnerable to disease, sensitive to its climate, most expensive of the three. Complex, lots of secondary flavors.

Croquant

See “Nougatine.”

Cru

See “Terroir.”

Crumb

A mixture of milk, sugar, and chocolate liquor created in the manufacture of milk chocolate. It is a liquid, not dry as the name might indicate.

Crushing

The step in the chocolate making process after roasting the beans. Separates the nibs and hulls. Also, at this stage blending can be done.

Crystallization

Excess sugar added to liquid chocolate, ends up sticking together and forming crystals. Can give chocolate a grainy texture (stirring while the mixture is warm) or a smooth one (stirring while the mixture is cool). See “Bloom.”

Cupuacu

(COO-pwa-coo) See “Theobroma Grandiflorum.”

Cuvée

(COO-vay) A blend of different types of cacao beans.

Dark Chocolate

Chocolate that contains more than 50% chocolate liquor. It often contains added cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla, and lecithin, but no milk.

Dark Milk Chocolate

A new category. Milk chocolate with a higher than normal percentage of cacao. Deep flavor of semisweet bar, extra milkiness of milk chocolate bar.

Decoration

Patterns, nuts, piped gianduja, etc., added to the top of bonbons and pralines.

Decorator’s Chocolate

See “Confectionary Coating.”

Deodorization

A manufacturing process where the cocoa butter’s characteristic chocolate flavors are removed. Quality makers deodorize their cocoa butter to manufacture characteristic white chocolate. Used by lesser companies on poor quality and alkali-treated beans to avoid an unpleasant cocoa butter aroma.

Designated Origin Chocolate

Made from beans from a specific locale. Also called origin chocolate and single origin chocolate.

Devil's Food

A chocolate product flavored more by cocoa butter rather than chocolate.

Diamant

French for “diamond.” Refers to diamond-shaped chocolates.

Dipping

Original method of coating hard centers with chocolates. Still done by artisan producers. Other methods: enrobing, panning, molding, shell molding.

Drinking Chocolate

A product used to make hot chocolate. Not a finely-ground product but bits of actual hard chocolate. It can be shaved chocolate, discs, pistoles, or tablets.

Dutch Chocolate

See “Dutched Cocoa.”

Dutch Process

See “Dutching.”

Dutch Process Cocoa

See “Dutched Cocoa.”

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Term

Description

Dutch Processed

See “Dutching.”

Dutch Processing

See “Dutching.”

Dutched Chocolate

See “Dutched Cocoa.”

Dutched Cocoa

Cocoa powder which has been alkalized to reduce its natural acidity, make it darker in color, more chocolaty in flavor, and easier to mix with liquids.

Dutching

A process of neutralizing the acidity of cocoa with potassium carbonate.

Brings out more chocolate color, resulting in a darker cocoa. Since the end of the 19th century, all commercial chocolate manufacturers have used this technique. Cocoas and chocolates that are 100% natural will not be alkalized.

In the early 19th century the Dutchman Coenraad Johannes van Houten discovered that the acid taste of cocoa was neutralized if he added alkali-potash to the nibs before they were roasted.

Eating Chocolate

Chocolate in bar or other form for eating (as opposed to drinking chocolate, or cocoa, or cooking chocolate). Originally, chocolate was a beverage, made by grinding cacao beans and mixing them with liquid and spices. Over time, cocoa powder was invented and used in cooking as well as beverages. It was not until 1847 that “eating chocolate,” or the chocolate bar, was created.

Emulsifier

Usually soya lecithin; stabilizes the chocolate to prevent bloom and improve shelf life, as well as imparting a smoother mouthfeel to the chocolate.

Enrobe

Coating candies and confections with chocolate in an enrober.

Enrober

A machine that coats assorted centers (nuts, nougats, fruit, etc.) with a waterfall of liquid chocolate.

Enrobing

Covering by hand or with an enrober a chocolate or the intended center of a chocolate like a ganache interior with a thin layer of tempered chocolate.

Estate-Grown

Beans from a single plantation or hacienda.

Fat Bloom

See “Bloom.”

Fermentation

A natural, post-harvest process that converts the sugars in raw cacao beans to alcohol, kills the germ, and develops the necessary elements that modify the composition of the beans so they yield the characteristic flavor and aroma of chocolate during roasting. Done in baskets, wood boxes, or cylinders stored away from light. Beans turned to ensure even fermentation. Lasts 3-7 days.

Fève de Cacao

French for “cocoa bean.”

Filled Chocolates

See “Bonbon.”

Finesse

The measurement of the average particle size of the cocoa solids in the chocolate. Expressed in ten-thousandths of an inch, or in microns.

Flat

Less lively taste. Some makers omit vanilla, thinking will let cacao nuances be more prominent. However, the vanilla enhances flavors, not mask them.

Flavanol

The antioxidants in cacao. Levels of flavanol content may fluctuate widely depending upon the species and subspecies of bean, recipe, processing practices, and storage and handling conditions. There is no scientific determination of how much chocolate should be consumed to achieve health benefits.

Flavor Cacao

Cacao beans added to a blend to provide delicate flavor and finesse. Often, these are from the Criollo or Trinitario families.

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Term

Description

Flavored Chocolate/ Chocolate Bars

Chocolate where flavor essences have been added to it or where the actual items are inclusions in the bar or candy. Essences include anise, chili, cinnamon, coffee, lemon, liqueur, mint, orange, and raspberry. Inclusions include dried fruit, nuts and cacao nibs.

Fondant

(fohn-DAHN) French for dark or pure chocolate. The standard for modern, high-quality chocolate, extremely smooth and palatable.

Fondant Chocolate

See “Fondant.”

Forastero Bean Family

Hearty, produces high yields, approximately 75-90% of world’s crop, often called “bulk beans.” Most widely spread cocoa strain worldwide. Originated in the upper Amazon. Higher quality strains from Ghana and Ecuador. Quality ranges from very low to complex. Sometimes bitter and astringent, most often blended with other beans, used to make most generic chocolate bars..

Varieties known for aromatic properties (Amelonado, Nacional, São Tomé).

Forastero Cocoa Beans

See “Forastero Bean Family.”

Forest-Grown

Beans that are cultivated among diverse plants, rather than clearing the land.

Framboise

(frahm-BWAZ) French for “raspberry.” Also a bonbon with a raspberry filling (crème, ganache, or raspberry liqueur).

French-Style Chocolate

Bonbons with a thinner shell of chocolate (than Belgian and Swiss). Some are molded into shapes, but the original style was hand-dipping (enrobing) producing the thinner style. Ganache centers—chocolate and cream, either plain, infused with another flavor (coffee, orange, raspberry, Cognac) or praliné, with a nut (generally hazelnut, pistachio or walnut).

Fudge

A confection that is usually extremely rich and often flavored with chocolate.

It starts with boiling sugar in milk to the soft-ball stage. Then the mixture is beat while it cools to get a smooth, creamy consistency.

Ganache

(gahn-AHSH) A rich, silky chocolate mixture made by combining chopped semisweet chocolate and boiling cream and stirring until smooth. (Butter can also be added.) Made with varying proportions of chocolate and cream. More chocolate is firmer. More cream is softer. Can be flavored with fruits spices and different liquors. Used as centers for truffles, fillings for cakes and tarts, poured over cakes and pastries for a glaze, flavored with liqueurs and extracts, and combined with soft, beaten butter to create ganache beurre.

Ganache Beurre

Ganache with butter added. Mixture is beaten until light and fluffy. Also called ganache soufflé. A filling and frosting for cakes; a filling for tarts, etc.

Garnissage

French for filling a chocolate shell using a piping bag.

German Chocolate

A baking chocolate with sugar already in it. Developed in 1852 by Sam German, an Englishman, for Walter Baker & Company of Dorchester, Massachusetts, as a convenience for bakers.

German’s Chocolate

See “German Chocolate.”

Ghana

A prime growing region for cacao. Bold, assertive, dark-toned. Most is Forastero with low bitterness. Common flavors are pure cacao, coffee, and tobacco.

Gianduia

See “Praline Paste.”

Gianduja

See “Praline Paste.”

Glaze

A thin, glossy melted chocolate mixture, smooth and shiny when cooled.

Gourmandises

(goor-mun-DEEZ) French for “sweets.”

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Term

Description

Gourmet Chocolate

The second most expensive category of chocolate ($25-40 per pound), according to the confectionary industry standard of price per pound.

Grain

See “Cacao Bean.”

Can also refer to the pattern of crystallization of a chocolate bar’s components (cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, sugar), which can be observed on a crosssectional basis, when a bar is broken in two.

Grain de Cacao

See “Nib.”

Grand Cru Chocolate

See “Single Estate Chocolate.”

Grinding

The mechanical process of pulverizing the roasted cacao nibs into the chocolate liquor. Nibs (about 53% cocoa butter) pass through a millstone, separating the fat (cocoa butter) and cocoa mass (chocolate liquor).

Griotte

(Gree-UT) French for “Morello cherry.”

Guayaquil

Beans with a sweet flavor that blends well with other beans. A variety of the Trinitario cacao beans grown in western Ecuador.

Hacienda

A plantation or estate where cacao is grown.

Harvest

Cacao is harvested throughout the year; the main growing seasons are May to July and November to January.

Hazelnut Praliné

See “Gianduja.”

Hot Chocolate

Hot chocolate, first served by the Swiss, is made with defatted cocoa powder.

Infusion

A method of flavor extraction that incorporates flavors such as fruits and nuts into chocolate by steeping and removing.

Java

A prime growing area for quality beans, often used in milk chocolate because they usually offer bold flavors that can withstand dilution by milk solids and relatively low cocoa content. Usually characterized by a dark tone of leather and smoke, sometimes lighter flavors such as lemon and sweet spice.

Kakawa

Olmec for “cacao.” Still used by the people native to what is now Honduras.

Kastanjes

(kas-TAN-ya) A molded, chestnut-shaped chocolate filled with ganache or a chestnut-flavored filling.

Lecithin

A natural product extracted from eggs and soybeans. See “Soya Lecithin.”

Limited Edition Chocolate Bar

Bars made from a limited supply of a certain type of beans. May have an unusual flavor that can’t be guaranteed from next season’s crop.

Liquid Chocolate

Cheaper chocolate made with vegetable oil, not cacao butter. Doesn't deliver the same texture or flavor as regular unsweetened chocolate. Developed for baking, unsweetened, in individual 1 ounce packages, requires no melting.

Lissage

See “Conching.”

Low Fat Cocoa

Cocoa powder containing less than 10% cocoa butter.

Madagascar

A cacao growing region; the cacao from here has a vibrant and crisp citrus tartness, grape and pineapple-like tones, and sometimes vodka and white wine notes. Less common are spice, cedar, and other woody tones. Slightly lighter style, sharp on the palate, no bitterness.

Magra

A hand tool used by inspectors on plantations in Africa to open cacao pods lengthwise so the beans can be classified into various grades by appearance.

Has a blade suspended in a frame, which drops swiftly to open the pods.

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Term

Description

Maltitol

A natural sugar substitute based on a malt extract. Allows chocolate to keep a sweet taste without sugar. Popular sugar substitute in many chocolate couvertures, especially Belgian chocolate sugar-free products.

Manon

A classic bonbon filled with buttercream and topped with a halved walnut (sometimes inside). The couverture can be white, milk, or dark chocolate.

Maracaibo

A Criollo cacao grown near the banks of the Maracaibo River in the Sur del Lago region of Venezuela. Soft, gentle, very smooth consistency, fairly noncomplex, flavors of sweet spice, soft woods, and slight red fruit tones.

Maragnan

A variety of the Forastero cacao bean, having a strong flavor good for blending with other beans. Grown in Brazil.

Mass Market Chocolate

The least expensive category of chocolate (less than $15 per pound), according to the confectionary industry standard of price per pound.

Mass Market Premium Chocolate

The third most expensive category of chocolate ($15-25 per pound), according to the confectionary industry standard of price per pound.

Maya

People who planted and cultivated the first cacao plantations in the Yucatan region of Mexico about 600 A.D. These plantations made them wealthy and established them as significant traders.

Meat

See “Nib.”

Medium Fat Cocoa

Cocoa powder containing 10-20% cocoa butter.

Mendiant

(MAHN-dee-AHNT) French for “mendicant” (beggar). Disks or bars of chocolate usually made with nuts and fruits studded in the top for visual appeal plus flavor. Often made in large slabs and broken into pieces, like bark.

Metate

(meh-TAH-tay) Concave curved stone slab used by Aztecs to grind shelled cacao beans to paste. Method was also used in Europe until late 19th century.

Mexican Chocolate

A chocolate beverage similar to cocoa, or a semi-soft cinnamon-scented sweet chocolate, also called Oaxaca Chocolate.

Milk Chocolate

A mix of chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, milk, sugar, vanilla, and often lecithin. Good for garnishes and candy coatings. All milk chocolate made in the U.S. must contain at least 10% chocolate liquor and 12% whole milk. Quality milk chocolate contains a minimum of 30% chocolate liquor.

Mocha

(MOH-kah) Chocolate and coffee combination used in desserts, pastries, and confections.

Molded Chocolate

Tempered chocolate poured in a mold, cooled, unmolded. Solid or hollow.

Molding

Forming the chocolates by pouring tempered chocolate into molds, passing them through a refrigerated tunnel and then unmolding them.

Mole

(MOH-lay) A spicy, unsweetened chocolate sauce.

Mole Poblano

(MOH-lay poh-BLAH-noh) A classic Mexican dish composed of turkey in a spicy, savory chocolate sauce. It is reputed to have been invented by the nuns of Puebla near Mexico City.

Molinet

(moh-lih-NAY)See “Molinillo.”

Molinillo

(moh-lih-NEE-yo) A wooden tool developed by the Spanish in the16th century. Fat and round at one end with several deep carved grooves. Put this end in the chocolate upright. Twist it in your hands to make the chocolate drink frothy. The French created chocolate pots in the 17th century with lids with a center hole to hold a molinillo to stir the chocolate.

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Term

Description

Mouthfeel

The texture and other sensations of the chocolate in the mouth.

Mucilage

The white pulp surrounding the cacao beans in the pod.

Nacional

See “Arriba Nacional Cacao.”

Arriba Nacional Cacao

A variety of Forastero cacao bean cultivated in Ecuador. It produces a light, delicate, and flavorful cocoa, considered to be as good as the world’s best.

Predominantly grown in Arriba Mocache, Los Rios, Ecuador, with some stock grown in Colombia. Shares the hearty flavor of Forastero and nuances of Criollo, and could be viewed as the best of both worlds.

Napolitain

A small, sample-sized square of chocolate, typically 5-10 grams.

Natural Cocoa Powder

See “Natural Process Cocoa.”

Natural Process

See “Natural Process Cocoa.”

Natural Process Cocoa

Chocolate liquor or cocoa processed without an alkaline treatment, usually yellowish-brown color; fruity, acidy flavor.

Nibs

The inner part of caca0 beans. Bitter until further processed. Roasted, then ground to produce chocolate liquor, from which all chocolate products are made. Sometimes, nibs are added to chocolate bars/desserts for texture.

Non-Alkalized Cocoa

See “Natural Process Cocoa.”

Non-Alkalized Cocoa Powder

See “Natural Process Cocoa.”

Nougat

(NOO-gaht) French for a stiff, chewy confection (torrone in Italian). Made of whipped egg whites, honey and sugar. Nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, or pistachios), and sometimes candied citrus zest, are added. Chocolate nougat has chocolate added. Can be dipped in chocolate.

Nougatine

Sugar heated until it caramelizes, mixed with crushed roasted hazelnuts or almonds, and crushed in a caramel roller. A filling in chocolates and bars.

Nut

See “Pod.”

Oaxaca Chocolate

A chocolate made in Oaxaca, Mexico. See “Mexican Chocolate.”

Ocumare 61

Criollo and Trinitario hybridized blend originally from the Ocumare de la Costa valley of Venezuela. Has a sharp punch. Flavors vary, but earthy spiciness, peaches, red fruits, and fresh dairy are common.

Ocumare 67

Criollo and Trinitario hybridized blend originally from the Ocumare de la Costa valley of Venezuela. Has a darker in tone, more robust and assertive, and lacks Ocumare 61’s sharpness. Flavor notes include cashews, peanuts, spice, pepper, and sometimes dairy.

Origin Cacao

See “Single Estate Chocolate.”

Origin Chocolate

See “Single Estate Chocolate.”

Palet

See “Napolitain.”

Palet d’Or

(pa-LAY dohr) French for “golden disc.” A regional specialty that has expanded to general usage. A pure ganache bon bon of dark chocolate.

Panned

A method of coating chocolate onto hard centers. Chocolate is sprayed onto the centers as they rotate in revolving pans; cool air is then blown into the pan to harden the chocolates. Can also be done on the stovetop.

Para

A variety of Forastero cacao bean cultivated in the Brazilian state of Para.

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Term

Description

Particle Size

A measurement the size of the particles of the cacao beans and sugars. Generally, particles sizes of 14-18 microns are desirable for smoothness.

Pastille

A small, hard, round or oval fruit candy, often used as a lozenge, or a disk of chocolate. A rounded top intended for the roof of the mouth, and a smooth flat bottom on which the tongue could gently press the chocolate upwards.

Fits, and melts, perfectly in the mouth.

Pasty

See “Thick.”

Pâte de Cacao

See “Chocolate Liquor.”

Paté Glacée

See “Confectionary Coating.”

Patisfrance

A brand of premium quality chocolate and couverture used by professionals.

Percentage of Cacao

The amount of cacao solids in a bar compared to other ingredients. The higher the cacao percentage in a bar, the more depth of chocolate flavor, and the less sweet the chocolate. Ranges from 30% cacao for some milk chocolates to 100% cacao (no sugar but still enjoyed by some people for eating).

Pistoles

Milk, white, or dark chocolate chips for tempering.

Pod

Fruit of the cacao tree, leathery, oblong or oval. About 6-12 inches long.

Ripens in 5-6 months. Inside are 30-40 half-inch-long, almond-shaped seeds (beans) from which chocolate is made. Pods are harvested, cut open with a type of machete, and left to ferment. The beans are scooped out, spread out in the sun to dry, graded and sold to chocolate producers.

Polishing

A cosmetic cleaning of fermented and dried beans in preparation for market.

Porcelana

One of the rarest beans in the world, a genetically pure strain of the Criollo bean from the Andean region of Venezuela. The beans have a pale, almost white-colored interior, but the nibs produce regular-colored cacao. Flavors vary by producer, but typically yields almonds, strawberries, cream, butter, butterscotch, and sometimes bread flavors. Bars tend to be reddish-brown.

Praline

See “Praline Paste.”

Praline Paste

A ground nut paste generally made from almonds or hazelnuts and sugar (and sometimes ground chocolate), used in French patisserie since the 16th century and is also made in Italy (known as gianduja) beginning in 1865.

Praliné

(prah-lee-NAY) See “Praline Paste.”

Premier Cru Chocolate

Estate-grown chocolate. The term is used by some chocolatiers.

Press Cake

See “Cocoa Cake.”

Pressed Cake

See “Cocoa Cake.”

Pressing

Where the chocolate liquor is carried through hydraulic presses and the melted cocoa butter is extracted from the paste.

Prestige Chocolate

The most expensive category of chocolate ($40 per pound and higher), according to the confectionary industry standard of price per pound.

Pugging

Chocolate mixture after it has been kneaded with the addition of vanilla, cocoa butter and (if milk chocolate) powdered milk.

Pure Origin Chocolate

See “Single Estate Chocolate.”

Quetzalcoatl

A mythical plumed serpent god worshiped by the Aztecs and that provided them with cacao, which they considered to be divine.

Quick Tempering

See “Tempering.”

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Term

Description

Raw Cacao

Cacao beans that have been harvested, fermented, dried, sorted, graded, and packed into jute bags at the farm and ready for sale and processing.

Refining

Reducing the size of cocoa solids and sugar crystals.

Rio Caribe

A Trinitario bean grown near the Rio Caribe, in the Sucre State of Venezuela.

A slight dark tone and a refreshing bitterness. Common flavors are coffee, almonds, slight red fruits, and pure cocoa.

Roast, Dark

Cacao beans roasted longer to further mellow the cacao’s flavor. Tend to have “dark” tones with traces of caramel, woods, and coffee.

Roast, Light

Cacao beans roasted for a shorter time. Imparts a sharp, fruity tone to the finished chocolate.

Roasting

Heating process that fully develops flavors and aromas of the cacao beans.

Typical roasting time is 30 minutes, then nibs are ground.

Rocher

(ROH-shay) French for “rock.” In chocolate, rochers are slivered almonds, coated in chocolate to create clusters that are poetic chocolate “rocks.”

Rustic Chocolate

A pre-industrial style of chocolate, before conching was invented. An inferior texture and mouthfeel.

São Tomé

An island republic in the Gulf of Guinea off the west coast of Africa. A prime growing area for the Amelonado subspecies of high quality Forastero. Can be bitter with flavors of pure cocoa, sharp red fruits, cinnamon, and vanilla. A good base for blended chocolate.

Score Marks

The grooves, or channels, that separate a chocolate bar into segments.

Seed

See “Cacao Bean.”

Seed Leaf

See “Cotyledon.”

Seize

When melted chocolate becomes lumpy and stiff, usually as a result of too much liquid coming into contact with chocolate during heating or when the chocolate itself is overheated.

Semisweet Chocolate

Chocolate liquid blended with varying amounts of sweetening and extra cocoa butter. Flavorings may be included. Available in bar form, but usually sold in pieces or chips. Contains 15-35% chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, sugar, lecithin, and vanilla. Not interchangeable in recipes with milk chocolate.

Sheen

Shine on couverture and eating chocolate. Brighter on high-quality chocolate.

Single Estate

Beans from a single plantation or hacienda.

Single Estate Chocolate

Chocolate created with beans from one particular estate, plantation or hacienda. Single estate does not necessarily mean only a single variety of beans in the chocolate, as long as the beans come from the same estate.

Single Origin Chocolate

See “Single Estate Chocolate.”

Snap

A clean, sharp break of the chocolate when it is cool. One of the characteristics of well-tempered chocolate. Plus, the higher the cacao content, the harder the chocolate, and the crisper the snap.

Soya Lecithin

Lecithin extracted from soybeans. Used in the manufacture of chocolate.

Increases the pliability of the chocolate. See “Lecithin.”

Sugar Bloom

See “Bloom.”

Summer Coating

See “Confectionary Coating.”

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Term

Description

Sur Del Lago

One of the two distinct cacao growing regions of Venezuela (the other is Andean). It produces beans called Sur Del Lago Clasificado.

Sur Del Lago Clasificado

A hybrid of Criollo and Trinitario cacao beans. Hearty, robust, bears an extreme dark tone with flavors of butter, hazelnuts, red fruits, and floral tones.

Sweet Chocolate

Contains more sweeteners than semisweet chocolate and at least 15% chocolate liquor. Chocolate liquor with sugar and extra cocoa butter. Fat content is similar to semisweet chocolate. Often interchanged with semisweet or bittersweet chocolate. Used mostly for decorating and garnishing.

Swiss-Style Chocolate

Creamy, smooth, soft, and velvety (more than French and Belgian). A greater focus on milk chocolate. This is based on the heritage of the Swiss chocolate.

See “Milk Chocolate” and “Conching.”

Tablette

French for a chocolate bar for eating. Also called “Chocolat en Tablette.”

Tasting Square

See “Napolitain.”

Temper

The visible appearance of chocolate; varies by cooking method; “tempered” chocolate will have a high-gloss sheen and clean snap when broken.

Tempering

The process of bringing the chocolate to a certain temperature so the cocoa butter reaches its most stable crystal form. If the chocolate is melted in the normal way (40-45°C) and then left to cool to working temperature, the finished product will not be glossy. Proper tempering, followed by proper cooling produces a nice shine and good eating properties.

Terroir

(tehr-RWAHR) French for “soil,” “land,” or “terrain.” Used in wine, tea, and coffee analysis to denote the special characteristics of soil, geology, aspect, and altitude that give the grape, leaf, or bean its individuality. For cacao it indicates single varietals and/or areas that have specific plants.

Another word for terroir is cru, borrowed from the wine and tea worlds.

Theobroma Cacao

Botanical description for the cacao tree that produces cacao beans. Theobroma means “food of the gods” from the ancient Greek words for “god” (Theo) and “food” (Broma). A tropical evergreen in the family Byttneriaceae. Native to the Amazon basin, but now grows worldwide in a tropical belt 20° above and below the equator in Ghana, the Cote d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Grenada, Java, Sri Lanka, Sumatra, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Mexico.

Theobroma Grandiflorum

A species of the genus Theobroma, grown in the Amazon rain forest in Brazil, also called cupuacu. Pods are about the size and shape of a football, with skin like a kiwi fruit. Seeds are in the moist pulp inside the pods. They are dried, then processed like cacao beans to produce a light-colored chocolate that has a mellow, mild bittersweet flavor with fruity undertones. Cocoa butter is present in cupuacu as it is in chocolate. Cupuacu is processed into both powder and bars and is used in the same way as cocoa powder and chocolate.

Theobromine

A stimulant, one of the more than 400 compounds that comprise chocolate.

Thick

Also called pasty, refers to the texture of the chocolate, can be due to too low fat content in the beans, not using lecithin in the manufacture of the chocolate, or a high (over 80%) cacao content.

Torrone

(toe-ROW-nay) Italian for nougat.

Tourteau De Cacao

See “Cocoa Cake.”

Trembleuse

(TRAHM-blurz) A special cup for chocolate drinks, created in the early 18th century, set in a holder in the center of a saucer to keep it erect and steady.

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Term

Description

Trichocolate Terrine

A cold molded dessert in three layers, each flavored separately with dark, milk, and white chocolate, usually served with a fruit or custard sauce.

Trinitarios Bean Family

Hybrid of Criollo and Forastero varieties, hardier growing than the former and a more delicate, fruitier flavor than the latter. Quality can be very good and complex. Flavorful, high-fat cocoa. Developed originally in Trinidad, now grown in where Criollo is grown: the Caribbean, Colombia, Mexico, Trinidad, Venezuela and in southeast Asia. About 10-15% of current world production.

Trinitarios Cocoa Beans

See “Trinitarios Bean Family.”

Truffle

A small, rich chocolate, usually shaped into a ball but can also be irregularly shaped or oval. Ganache or couverture center, chocolate coating, and often a cocoa powder exterior.

Tumbadores

The men who harvest the pods for crushing, roasting, and pressing.

Unsweetened Chocolate

See “Baker’s Chocolate.”

Vanilla

The flavor derived from the cured pod of a tropical orchid. The pod is referred to as “vanilla bean.”

Vanilla Bean

Moist and flavorful beans from climbing orchid vines grown in Tahiti and Madagascar. Used as a flavoring for hundreds of years.

Vanilla Extract

Produced by steeping vanilla beans in an alcohol and water solution, concentrated, only a small amount is needed for flavoring.

Vanillin

A substitute for natural vanilla, a byproduct of the paper industry. Used to flavor some chocolate and candies.

Varietal

The type of bean, such as criollo, forestero or trinitario, used in the chocolate.

Varietal chocolates are made from a single type of bean.

Viscosity

The measure of flow characteristics of melted chocolate. Determines its ability to coat or enrobe confections. Varies by type (dark, milk, or white) and whether or not it is couverture (higher percentage of cocoa butter).

White Chocolate

Made from cocoa butter, dairy, sugar, and vanilla. Soya lecithin is often used as an emulsifier. It does not contain chocolate liquor, but must contain at least 33% cocoa butter to be considered of good quality.

Winnowing

The process of de-shelling (removing the outer husk of) the cacao bean after roasting to release the inner nibs during the manufacturing of chocolate.

Xocoatl

Aztec for “bitter water.” What the Aztecs, Toltecs, Mayas, and Incans called the beverage made from cocoa beans. The word “chocolate” comes from this.

Pairing Fine Teas and Chocolates

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Teas and Chocolate Short Chart A handy short version of the tea and chocolate pairings detailed in the preceding pages. Please feel free to print this chart and keep it with you when you are at the confiserie (candy shop).

Type

Teas Assam Ceylon Lovers Leap Ceylon black tea English Breakfast Black Irish Breakfast Keemun Lapsang Souchong Yunnan Gold Bai Hao Dancong (fruity) Dung Ti Jade Oolong Pouchong Shui Xian Tie Guan Yin Wu Yi Oolongs Oolongs in general Gen Mai Cha Gyokuro Houjicha Green Longjing (Dragonwell) Matcha Sencha First flush Darjeeling Second flush Autumn Flush White Peony White Silver Needle Nicely aged, Earthy Pu-Erh Pu-erh with Orange Leaf Dark chocolate Black tea, raspberry, cornflowers, rosehips Black tea, vanilla Black tea, toasted coconut, chocolate, vanilla Chai, citrus flavor Citrus flavored tea Earl Grey Flavored Floral scented tea Fruit flavored tea Jasmine Green Tea Jasmine Pearls Jasmine Pouchong Masala Chai Other spicy teas

Pair with These Chocolates Milk, Dark, White Milk, White Flavored/Filled Milk, White, Flavored/Filled Milk, White, Flavored/Filled Dark, Flavored/Filled Dark, Flavored/Filled Milk, White Dark Milk Dark, White Dark, Flavored/Filled Milk Milk Dark Milk Flavored/Filled Milk, White Dark, Flavored/Filled Milk, Dark, White, Flavored/Filled Milk, Dark, White Milk, Dark, White Milk, White, Flavored/Filled Milk, White Milk, Dark Milk, Dark Milk, Dark, White, Flavored/Filled White Dark Flavored/Filled Milk, Dark, White Dark Flavored/Filled Dark Flavored/Filled Milk, Dark, White, Flavored/Filled Flavored/Filled Dark, Flavored/Filled Milk, Dark, Flavored/Filled White Dark Milk, Dark, White, Flavored/Filled White

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Pairing Fine Teas and Chocolates

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© 2015 JAS-eTea. All rights reserved.