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| KAREN HOCHMAN, Editorial Director, and PETER ROT, Chocolate Reporter, work together to bring NIBBLE readers some of the most exciting chocolate content anywhere. This article is a work of original scholarship as well as part of their commitment to educating others to more fully enjoy the nuances of fine chocolate. |
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April 2005
Updated July 2009
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The Flavors & Aromas of Chocolate
Page 2: Chocolate Characteristics
by Peter Rot and Karen Hochman
This is Page 2 of a four-page article. Click on the black links below to visit other pages.
THE NIBBLE Guide to Chocolate Descriptors
This material is copyrighted. Reprints, redistribution and repurposing are by written permission only.
Chocolate has more than 1,500 distinct compounds that combine to produce many aromas and flavors. Expect to find some of these in different pieces of fine chocolate—whether they are blended or single origin chocolate.
FRUITY
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SPICY |
FLORAL |
COLOR DESCRIPTORS |
Berry
Blackberry, blueberry, cranberry, currant, raspberry, strawberry
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Any Spice
Cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger, licorice, mace, nutmeg, pepper, vanilla |
Specific Flowers
Carnation, hibiscus, lavender, pansy, rose, any floral |
Brown
Dried |
Citrus Fruit
Grapefruit, kumquat, lemon, lime, orange, pomelo (pummelo), tangerine |
HERBACEOUS |
VEGETAL
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Green
Fresh—grass
Unripe—unripe fruits, such as bananas, mangoes, or nuts |
Dried Fruit
Cherry, date, fig, prune, raisin
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Fresh
Basil, fresh tobacco leaf, grass, licorice, mint |
Bean
Cocoa, coffee
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Orange
Sweet, tart, tangy (combination of tart
and sweet) |
Tree Fruit
Apple, apricot, cherry, peach, plum, olive |
Dried
All dried herbs, brown grass/hay, dried tobacco |
Vegetable
Mushroom |
Purple
Blackberries, black currants, blueberries, prunes
Robust, tart, tangy (combination of tart
and sweet) |
Tropical Fruit
Banana, coconut, kiwi, mango, pineapple |
SUGARY |
ALCOHOLIC |
Red
A red fruit combined with puckery, robust, sour, sweet, tangy (combination of tart and sweet)—e.g., “a tart and sweet strawberry flavor” |
Vine Fruit
Cantaloupe, grape, watermelon
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Brown sugar, caramel, honey, molasses, malt
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Pungent
Vodka, wine |
Yellow
Puckery, sweet, tangy, tart |
NUTTY
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DAIRY
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Smooth
Rum, whiskey
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White
Grapes, pineapple, white peach |
Almond, cashew, hazelnut, peanut, pistachio, toasted/roasted |
Butter, buttermilk, cheese (soft and hard), cream, milk, yogurt |
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| WOODY |
BREADY
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Burned
Ashy, charred
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Baked bread
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Types of Wood
Cedar, juniper, oak, pine |
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Continue To Page 3: Single Origin Chocolate ~ Regional Differences In Cacao
Go To The Article Index Above
Read More About Chocolate
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| The Science of Chocolate, by Stephen Beckett. Get to know your favorite food on a molecular level, like a professor. Click here for more information or to purchase. |
The Chocolate Bible, by Christine McFadden. A delight for any true chocolate lover. Click here for more information or to purchase. |
Chocolate; A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light, by Mort Rosenblum. Learn to distinguish the subtle differences of chocolate from their country of origin. Click here for more information or to purchase. |
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