- 4 days
- Fri - Mon, 8 - 11 Sep 2023
- 9:30am - 5:00pm
- Fu Wan Resort, Ping Tung, Taiwan
- €950
Combined Foundation and Intermediate level courses in Cacao Evaluation and Flavour Profiling.
Take your understanding of fine chocolate and cacao a step further with our Combined Level 1 & 2 Certificate course in Cacao Evaluation and Flavour Profiling.
The Cacao Evaluation course applies the sensory approach we use in our Chocolate Tasting courses to give you an understanding of the flavor potential of fine cacao, cacao production, cacao varieties and common cacao defects.
The course will be taught in English.
The exams will be taken in English (please note that translation tools are not allowed during the exam).
No reduction is offered in the event of not passing the course and retakes will be charged at 100€ (incl. VAT) and may also be taken online (plus surcharge for exam samples kit).
Lunch is included. Please let us know any dietary requirements or allergies.
Accommodation
The course fee includes lunches but does not include travel to or from Taiwan, hotels or other accommodation. We can offer the following special rates to stay at the Fu Wan Resort:
- One bed room in a shared villa: 3600 TWD per night
- One bed room with courtyard: 2800 TWD per night
- Two bed room in a shared villa: 4800 TWD per night
- Two bed room with balcony: 3600 TWD per night
Please note that these rates are only valid for bookings made until the end of August.
Level 1 & 2
The IICCT Certificate Course in Cacao Evaluation and Profiling is an advanced sensory training course suitable for anyone wishing to develop a deeper understanding of flavour in fine cacao and wishing to explore the role cacao flavour potential plays in developing the flavour of finished fine chocolate.
The Certificate Course is based on the concept that the quality of fine chocolate is measured by the enjoyment of its flavour and that cacao with the potential to make good chocolate will also have a pleasurable, complex or distinctive flavour.
The Cacao Evaluation course will help to develop the sensory skills needed to assess cacao quality through its flavour, the potential transformation of cacao flavour into finished chocolate and how cacao flavour relates to technical methods of evaluating cacao.
The course will be based around extensive tasting of example cacaos, including reference high quality cacao and cacao samples that represent common defects. The tasting methodology uses the Institute’s standard cacao sample protocols, including as unprocessed cacao and various finished stages of cacao-to-chocolate production.
The evaluations made during the course are made using the Institute’s electronic sensory evaluation method, which is based on an understanding of cacao flavour and quality that can be applied with any sample preparation protocol, including dried cacao, cacao liquor and sample or retail chocolate.
Our approach recognises that cacao is a crop grown to produce foods giving us hedonistic pleasure and an enjoyable eating experience. Products made with fine cacao focus on improved flavour that is directly related to the flavour of the cacao. We use basic tasting principles to determine if cacao has an enjoyable flavour or has defects to create a comprehensive flavour profile and to generate a quality score.
The course will also include background sessions on the cacao trading market, the supply chain from farmer to bar, how to source and buy cacao and recommended sources, fermentation and post-harvest processing, cacao varieties and their historical distribution around the world and other useful background topics in short presentations as breaks between tasting.
Assessments
Certificates will be awarded on a pass of a multiple choice exam for Level 1 and a pass in the Level 2 multiple choice exam and tasting assessments.
- Training the senses to appreciate cacao flavour
- Sensory exploration, practice and the brain science of cacao tasting
- What is fine cacao and how we define it
- Tasting of example cacaos and sample protocols
- Origins and varieties of cacao and their history
- Cacao production, quality and flaws
- How cacao is processed and how this affects flavour
- Cacao sourcing and direct trading
- Tasting practice and profiling with our online system
- Understanding and tasting flaws and defects in cacao
- Cacao farming, economics and trading
- History of cacao growing and distribution around the world
- Take away study guides
- Certificate for exam passes
The course will help your development and flavour understanding for:
- established chocolate makers
- start-up chocolate makers
- chocolate tasters
- cacao trader or commercial grower
- cooperative technicians
- NGO staff members
- anyone with an interest in cacao flavour and quality