David Menkes at LetterPress Chocolate
Your Chocolate Questions… Answered
Here at Chocolate Connoisseur we are very excited, and it is with much anticipation, that I introduce you to the debut of our Ask a Chocolate Expert feature here in June!
Join us as we welcome super chocolate maker David Menkes of LetterPress Chocolate as our “expert” for the rest of 2017!
BIG, BIG THANKS to David for taking the time to answer two questions from readers this month.
— Eric Battersby
Editor-In-Chief
Chocolate Connoisseur Magazine
Question #1
“David, What a treat to ask a question to you. So many questions but – if you had to spend your last $100 on chocolate – what product would you buy?”
Answer #1
Only one product? I can’t think of any $100 chocolate bars offhand… but as this is a uniquely individual question I’ll try to answer for myself personally then make suggestions.
The best chocolate in the world is your favorite chocolate. In other words, there is no “absolute” best, regardless of what competitions and judges may say. Your palate is your own, and different from anyone else’s. It’s a uniquely personal, individual experience – and that’s what makes chocolate so awesome to begin with!
- Rogue Chocolatier’s Bachelor Hall Estate Jamaica 75% Bar, Batch #5
- SoMa’s Black Science Camino Verde Bar (click here to view)
- Rosavolgyi Cscolata’s Porcelana Bar
- Bonnat’s Haiti Bar
- Francois Pralus’ 75% Cuba Bar (click here to view)
Question #2
“If one wanted to become a true chocolate connoisseur, what would you suggest for a first step?”
Answer #2
The first step is: reading! The ultimate starting point is Maricel Presilla’s The New Taste of Chocolate ($18 on Amazon). This is the best book I’ve come across that gives an excellent overview of the history and in-depth exploration of chocolate. Of course you’d need to have some chocolate handy while you’re reading!
Being a Chocolate Connoisseur means different things to different people. For me, I really enjoy delving into the single origin bean to bar dark chocolate world. After reading The New Taste of Chocolate, you should be familiar with terms such as bean to bar, single origin, and what the different types of ingredients you may see on the back of the label.
Next – start buying more chocolate! Really, that’s it. Find a shop that specializes in craft chocolate and pick out 2-3 different bars, hopefully around the same year percentage but from different origins. Either first thing in the morning or at least an hour or two after a meal, sit down and study each bar. Who made them? Where do the cacao beans come from? What kind of sugar did the maker use?
Click the pic to view THE NEW TASTE OF CHOCOLATE on Amazon
Taste the first bar, and write down anything that comes to mind – again, there’s no wrong answer. If you liked it, great! Save that one in your files. Didn’t like it? Why not? Too bitter? Too sour? Was it gritty? Write down your thoughts as you may discover a pattern later.
Whenever you find yourself in a collection of chocolate, see if anything looks familiar. After a while, you’ll start to recognize the makers.
Another fun thing to do is to buy a few different bars from different makers but *the same origin*. So for example, if you see two or three different bars from Peru, try them all and again, take notes. This system is what eventually turned into Little Brown Squares, our chocolate blog we ran until 2014 when we started our own chocolate company.
Happy Tasting!
