Host a chocolate tasting with a few friends

Updated September 2026

Four to eight people fit comfortably around many kitchen tables and give everyone a chance to talk. Pick a time when nobody needs to rush, set out a few chocolate bars and keep some extra pieces for second tastes.

Ask about allergies before choosing the chocolate. Leave wrappers and ingredient information on the table, and use separate plates and utensils where needed. Check shared-facility notices as well as the ingredients themselves.

Choose one comparison

You could compare milk and dark chocolate, different cacao origins, or a plain bar beside one with added salt or spice. A clear comparison makes it easier to notice what changes.

Our Dark Chocolate 6 Bar Collection gives you two tasting rounds. Start with the three 70% single origin bars from Nicaragua, Uganda and the Dominican Republic. Then try Whiskey Barrel, Sea Salt and Scorpion Pepper. Leave the pepper until last so its heat doesn't dominate the earlier samples.

For a milk chocolate tasting, the Milk Chocolate 3 Bar Collection includes Brown Butter Milk Chocolate 45%, Dark Milk Chocolate 53% and Hazelnut Milk Chocolate 45%. Keep the hazelnut ingredient in mind when choosing for your guests.

Set the table

Number the plates and set a small piece of each chocolate at every place. Keep a note of which wrapper belongs to each number. Water, napkins and plain crackers or bread are useful between tastes; choose accompaniments that suit your guests' dietary needs.

A cool room works well. Outdoors, keep the chocolate in the shade and bring it out just before tasting. Skip scented candles and heavily scented flowers near the plates so everyone can smell the chocolate.

Give each person a scrap of paper with room for aroma, flavor, texture and a favorite. You can leave the tasting notes on the wrappers face down until everyone has written their first impression.

Take a first bite, then compare

Smell the chocolate before tasting. Let a small piece melt, then notice what changes as it softens. Try naming a familiar food, such as coffee, caramel or dried fruit, if that helps describe it. The words don't have to match anyone else's.

Let everyone make a note before reading the maker's description aloud. Then go back for another piece. If somebody notices coconut and you notice chocolate cake, taste again and see whether either description fits. Our guide to comparing cacao origins has a side-by-side exercise you can use.

If you're serving coffee, tea or wine, taste the chocolate on its own first and try the pairing afterward. Keep water available throughout. Finish by putting the remaining pieces and their wrappers back on the table so everyone can return to a favorite.