That probably isn’t the most unusual confession you’ll ever hear. A lot of us love chocolate.
For most of my life, though, my experience with chocolate has been pretty simple. I’ve eaten milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate and dark chocolate. I’ve had my favorite candy bars and chocolates, but I never really thought much about where the chocolate came from, how it was made or why one chocolate could taste so different from another.
Then I started noticing just how big the world of chocolate really is.
There are craft chocolatiers making chocolate in small batches. There are chocolates made with cacao grown in different countries and even different regions within those countries. There are single-origin chocolates, bean-to-bar makers and bars with cacao percentages ranging from fairly sweet to extremely dark.
That’s when I became curious.
And that’s how ChocolateCurious.com began.
I’m Definitely Not a Chocolate Expert
Let’s get that out of the way right from the beginning.
I’m not a chocolatier. I’ve never made chocolate from cacao beans. I don’t have a professionally trained palate, and I’m probably not going to take one bite of a chocolate bar and immediately identify notes of red berries, roasted nuts and tropical fruit.
At least not yet!
I’ve tried chocolate containing 80% cacao, and my first reaction wasn’t particularly sophisticated.
It was bitter!
Maybe my tastes will change as I try more chocolate. Maybe I’ll discover that 70% is perfect for me. Maybe I’ll decide that I still prefer a good milk chocolate. And there will probably be chocolates that other people rave about that I simply don’t like.
That’s part of what I want Chocolate Curious to be about.
I’m not setting out to tell you what chocolate you’re supposed to like. I want to explore chocolate, learn about it and discover what I like.
And hopefully I can help you do the same.
There’s a Lot More to Chocolate Than I Realized
I have plenty of questions.
What does 70% cacao actually mean?
What’s the difference between cacao and cocoa?
What makes something a craft chocolate?
What does bean-to-bar mean?
Why can one chocolate bar cost $2 while another costs $10 or $15?
Does cacao grown in Ecuador really taste different from cacao grown in Ghana, Madagascar or Hawaii?
And perhaps most importantly:
Can an ordinary chocolate lover like me actually taste the difference?
Those are the kinds of questions I want to explore on Chocolate Curious.
I’ll try different chocolates, compare them and share what I discover. I’ll learn about cacao percentages, ingredients, origins and the chocolate-making process. I’ll explore chocolate shops and chocolatiers when I travel. And I’ll probably conduct a few blind taste tests along the way.
Some chocolates I’ll love.
Some I probably won’t.
Either way, I’ll tell you what I think and what I learned.
Come Explore Chocolate With Me
Chocolate Curious isn’t the story of a chocolate expert teaching everyone else about chocolate.
It’s the story of a chocolate lover who realized there is an entire world of chocolate he knows very little about—and decided it might be fun to explore it.
If you’re already a chocolate expert, perhaps you’ll find something interesting here.
But if you’re like me—someone who loves chocolate and has started wondering why different chocolates taste the way they do—I think you’ll feel right at home.
I hope what I learn and share on this site helps you with your own chocolate journey.
We’ll taste some chocolate. We’ll learn a few things. We’ll probably find some new favorites.
And who knows?
Maybe someday I’ll even learn to appreciate that 80% cacao chocolate.
Welcome to Chocolate Curious. Let’s see what we discover.