CHENNAI: Some people travel to sightsee. L Nitin Chordia set out on a backpacking trip last year to do one thing — eat chocolate. The 36-year-old from Chennai recalls, "I went to where I thought was the Mecca of chocolate at the time, Belgium.
And I ate about four kgs of chocolate in 20 days!" Along the way, he happened to meet Martin Christy, a connoisseur of fine chocolate who invited him to sign up for a brand new course at his Institute of Chocolate Tasting in the UK. You don't have to guess what Nitin's answer was...
Two years, two-and-a-half lakh and possibly over 200 tastings later — Nitin is not only India's first certified chocolate taster, but one of three in all of Asia. And while his wife and friends are still grappling with the reality of his unconventional new career, this former retail business consultant gives us some insight by taking us back to where it all started. Rewind to 2005. Nitin was helping the owners of Godrej Nature's Basket, a premium food store to set up shop.
"My responsibility was to source the best food products to import and in the process I found myself spending a lot of extra time of chocolate," he remembers.
Conversing with close to 80 manufacturers of fine chocolate across Belgium, France and Italy — little did Nitin realise it at the time, but he was acquiring a taste for chocolate conversation. An experience that lingers much longer than the one minute it takes for a piece of chocolate to melt on your tongue.
By the way, he mentions in passing, "Did you know that chocolate or rather the fruit from which it is made, cacao, actually has more flavour notes than wine?" And this is not counting add-ons like roasted hazelnut, berries or even Guntur chilli, that he gives us samplings of as we chat. It turns out that apart from setting up tasting sessions via his 'Chocolate tasting Club' Cocoatrait (also the name of his original brand of chocolate), Nitin also has also taken a bite of the distribution market.
Although 'bite' is one word he's completely against when savouring a square of chocolate.
"There's natural cocoa butter in there, just let it melt on your tongue. That's how you're going to fully experience all that flavour," he advises.
Working with independent chocolatiers from Puducherry, Mysore, Daman and Mumbai - Nitin shows us brands like Earth Loaf and Bean Therapy that have never seen the shelf of a commercial supermarket. Instead of glossy wrappers, these slabs boast kolam and peacock motifs on their packaging, showcasing a local aesthetic.
"What I do is find quality chocolate and help it reach consumers all over the world. Like recently a small chocolate maker from Mysore found import interest with a vendor in Amsterdam," he explains.
So what does a chocolate taster to do? Turns out a heck of a lot more than finger licking! If you want to learn to make your own chocolate or become a taster yourself, Nitin tells us that his chocolate school Cocoa Shala will be open in three months. In the meantime, a chocolate tasting session is priced at Rs 1,000.
3 Don'ts While Tasting Chocolate: -
Do Not Bite: If you rush, you miss the flavour bus - Say No to cold chocolate: The ideal tasting temperature for chocolate is 23 degrees Celsius. So let it rest after you take it out of the fridge or you be prepared for subdued flavours - Don't get greedy: A moderate sized piece is all you need to melt into a tasting memory you won't be forgetting for a while.