Combined Level 1 & Level 2 Certificate in Chocolate Tasting, 26 Feb 2024, Union City, Greater New York

The combined course takes you directly through to intermediate level in a concentrated four-day workshop course.

Level 1 provides in introduction to a sensorial approach to chocolate tasting and a good grounding in chocolate tasting, including tasting of 9 or more different origin or blended fine dark chocolate bars, tasted in different forms for an understanding of aroma, length, texture and taste.

The first day finishes with a 60-minute multiple choice exam for Level 1 based on the course content. Certificates will be issued upon achieving a pass mark.

The Level 2 intermediary course explores the world of fine and origin chocolate in greater depth, looking in detail at the styles of different chocolate makers and different approaches to chocolate making, from micro-batch to large scale. Treatment and flaws in cacao are examined as well as the chocolate production chain and how these contribute to flavor.

The course’s approach to chocolate history focuses on taste and the current chocolate market. Students will taste over 25 chocolate bars with repeat tasting, profiling and blind tasting to gain a full understanding.

Level 2 introduces the Institute’s online chocolate profiling system, which will be used throughout the course working with laptops of tablets.

The course is held over intense three days and provides fuller understanding of fine chocolate and its flavor possibilities.

The course finishes on the final day with a 60-minute multiple choice exam based on the course content and a blind tasting test. Certificates will be issued upon achieving a pass mark.

About the course in Greater New York

This combined Level 1-2 will take place in our new IICCT learning center in Casa Gran Cacao Americas in Union City, four blocks from Boulevard East, right across the Hudson River and only 22 minutes from Midtown Manhattan by train, bus, or ferry. This is the heart of the reconstituted Latin America in NJ and it speaks to the same agricultural cacao communities that IICCT works with and is proud to support. It is a lively, charming, and walkable town with restaurants and markets from all over Latin America that will enrich the IICCT learning experience.

Dr. Maricel E. Presilla, one of the founders of the IICCT and one of the founders and director of the International Chocolate Awards Americas competition, will be teaching the course in English. She is the author of the books The New Taste of Chocolate: A Cultural and Natural History of Cacao with Recipes (Ten Speed Press). Great Latin Cuisine: The Food of Latin America (W.W. Norton) and Peppers of the Americas (Ten Speed Press). A specialist in Latin American cuisine, cacao, and chocolate, she is also president of Gran Cacao Americas, a company dedicated to research and innovative agroecological programs in the sustainable production of cocoa and fine chocolate in the Americas.

The course fee includes £40 for registration with our UK-based accreditor, FDQ and issue of an official Ofqual (UK Government) approved certificate for the “FDQ Level 1 Foundation Award in Chocolate Tasting“, should you pass the assessment. Retakes will require an additional fee.

A Latin American inspired lunch will be offered. Let us know if you have any dietary restriction.

For information about the course and payment methods, as well as for transportation details and lodging recommendations, contact Dr. Presilla directly by email at grancacao@aol.com. In your registration application include full name, ID, gender, date of birth, email and home address.