A little physiology first. The tongue can sense 4 flavors.  The four basic tastes are sour, sweet, salty, and bitter.  All of our taste sensations can be described as a combination of these four basic tastes.¹

The nose, on the other hand, has 100,000,000 receptors that can virtually smell any odor, but allows us at least 10,000 different smells.² Also, the speed at which aromas cross these receptors help us discern them.  Dogs have 200,000,000 receptors.³ 

Recommended procedure for premium chocolate bar tasting:

1. Look at the presentation.  Is it marked?  Is it lumpy or smooth?

   Feel the texture of the chocolate.

   Snap the bar to break into small pieces. Usually the top of the bar is scored to make for easy snapping.

2. Take 3 different sniffs with your nose.  The first, a long inhalation.  The second, a medium inhalation.  And the third, a short sniff.  This will fully engage your brain as to what is coming next.  You may also experience different aromas during this process.

3. Take a bite of the small piece and press it against the roof of your mouth. As it begins to melt, take note of the flavors.  Premium chocolate usually has a length to it as well.

At this point, if you want to introduce a liquid like an appropriate wine, coffee, tea, milk, beer, or water.  Please feel free to do so.  The introduction of a cold liquid might cause the chocolate to stiffen.  Let the warmth of your mouth remelt the chocolate with the liquid to form a liquid chocolate mass.  Sense how the chocolate influences the notes of the liquid and visa versus.

Before eating, make sure to use your other senses such as sight to observe the finish of the bar, hearing to listen to the sound the snap makes, and touch to feel how the chocolate reacts to the heat of your body.

One of my favorite things to do is take a square of milk and a square of dark chocolate and let them melt together in my mouth.  What's your favorite combination with chocolate?  How about grate 100% onto vanilla ice cream oatmeal or steak?  Chocolate is a fun food!

Enjoy!

References:

1.) http://www-psych.stanford.edu/~lera/psych115s/notes/lecture11/

2.) http://www.xomba.com/what_is_the_speed_of_smell_answers_on_the_science_of_smell

3.) http://dogs.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_tracking_dogs_nose