- Appearance: How does it look?
- Color? (light brown, medium brown, medium-dark brown, dark brown, darkest brown)
- Shine? (surface glossiness)
- Bloom? (gray or whitish coloring on surface due to improper storage)
- Texture: How does it feel?
- Texture of surface? (rough, smooth, imprints, scoring, etc.)
- Texture of break? (consistency, air bubbles, etc.)
- Snap: How does it sound?
- Sound/feel as you break a piece in two? (soft, medium, hard, very hard, brittle)
- Aroma: How does it smell?
- What scents do you notice? (try smelling the aroma after breaking a piece)
- Taste: How does it taste?
- What flavors do you taste?
- Melt? What is texture as it melts in your mouth? (grainy, less smooth, smooth, more smooth, creamy)
- Length? After the chocolate is gone, how long does the flavor last? (minimal < 5 sec, short < 20 sec, medium < 40 sec, long > 40 sec)
- Finish? What is the final aftertaste? (after the chocolate flavors are gone)
Scents & Flavors
- ALCOHOL (liquor, rum, vodka, whiskey, wine)
- BASICS (acidic, ashy, bitter, salty, savory, sour, sweet, tangy, tannin, tart)
- DAIRY (butter, cheese, cream, milk, yogurt)
- EARTH (burlap, cardboard, forest, grass, hay, leaves, meadows, mold, moss, mushroom, must, soil, straw, yeast)
- FLOWER (carnation, hibiscus, jasmine, lavender, rose)
- FRUIT
- berry (blackberry, blueberry, cranberry, currant, raspberry, strawberry)
- citrus (clementine, grapefruit, kumquat, lemon, lime, orange, tangerine)
- dried (date, fig, prune, raisin)
- tree (apple, apricot, avocado, cherry, nectarine, olive, peach, pear, plum)
- tropical (banana, coconut, kiwi, mango, papaya, pineapple, pomegranate)
- vine (cantaloupe, grape, pumpkin, tomato, watermelon)
- LEGUME (alfalfa, clover, pea, bean, lentil, licorice, carob, soy, peanut)
- NUT (almond, brazil, cashew, chestnut, hazelnut, macadamia, pecan, pine nut, pistachio, walnut)
- ROAST (cocoa, coffee, malt, smoke, tea, toast, tobacco)
- SPICE (allspice, anise, arugula, basil, caraway, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, curry, dill, fennel, garlic, ginger, mint, mustard, nutmeg, oregano, paprika, parsley, pepper, rosemary, thyme, vanilla)
- SWEET (brown sugar, butterscotch, cane sugar, caramelized sugar, caramel, honey, maple syrup, marshmallow, molasses, toffee)
- WOOD (ash, cedar, juniper, oak, pine)
- OTHER (bread, chalk, plastic, rubber, vinegar)
