Dare to Pair

Even though chocolate delivers exquisite flavours on its own, when paired correctly these flavours can be elevated, intensifying the taste experience.

When approaching a new pairing, use a two-part schema: start by testing combinations that promise intensification of similar or overlapping characteristics, then go on to pairs that contrast with each other by creating balance through difference.

A good way to look at it is to think about the pairs as either friends or lovers. Friends are pairs that have similar personalities, they share similar characteristics and help each other out. Lovers, on the other hand, can have completely different personalities or contrasting flavours but still somehow complement one another (opposites attract).

We recently paired wine with our chocolate. This was a particularly challenging task because unlike most foods which have 200 to 300 taste attributes, wine and chocolate each have 900 or more, making their pairing an extremely tricky affair. Now imagine sampling 5 different wines with 17 varieties of chocolate, and you’ll get a sense of the herculean task at hand.

Interested in learning more about chocolate pairings? Sign up to attend our next chocolate pairing session.