1. Start with a clean palate: Bitter tastes like coffee can overload your taste buds with a bitter experience and the chocolate may taste too sweet or have a weak overall flavour. Cleanse the palate with lukewarm water or eat a small amount of chocolate first to condition your palate for the best taste experience.
  2. Take your time to enjoy: Cut off all distractions around you and take time savouring the taste. The Thorntons 'Sensory Accumulator' in Westfield Stratford, created by culinary architects Bompas & Parr, will 'cleanse' your senses before you taste the chocolate, but if you are trying this at home, start by turning off the TV and ignoring your mobile phone so you can truly savour the delicious tastes, ingredients and textures you experience when eating one of the new flavours in the Thorntons Continental collection.
  3. Avoid cold water: For an ultra smooth chocolate eating experience, sip warm water while eating the chocolate. This will help to melt it slightly and allow it to defuse quicker. Drinking cold water however will decrease the perception of sweetness, chocolate flavour, and creaminess so avoid ice cold drinks.
  4. Keep it out of the fridge: While chocolate should be stored in a cool dark place, like a kitchen cupboard, the optimum temperature to store to eat Thorntons chocolate in is room temperature, 18-20°C, so no need to sit shivering in the cold to keep it from melting.
  5. Let it melt: Hold the chocolate in your mouth to melt it slightly. This will allow maximum flavour to be taken up by the palate and defuse into your taste buds. By letting chocolate dissolve slowly in your mouth you are releasing feel-good chemical called 'Anandamide' which is found naturally in the brain.
  6. See pink: The colour pink may evoke the taste sensation of sweetness whereas yellow-green may evoke sensations of sourness. The Thorntons Sensory Accumulator will be employing colour stimulants to enhance the chocolate eating experience. To try this at home glance at something pink as you tuck into a Thorntons chocolate.
  7. Listen to classical music: If you enjoy classical music, it could make your chocolate taste even more delicious. High frequency music such as a string quartet causes the sweetness of chocolate to intensify whereas low frequency music can cause the taste buds to retreat and give a dull, insignificant taste
  8. Add a little salt: To heighten the taste experience, try enjoying chocolate with a tiny bit of salt, but no more a finger dab! The salt will draw out the different tastes within the chocolate to allow you to taste the complexities within it. Some chocolates, such as the Thorntons new Salted Caramel Praline, provide a balance of savoury to the sweetness of caramel, which enhances the flavour of the chocolate and taste sensation.

Thorntons will be inviting consumers to enjoy a unique taste journey with Bompas and Parr in store in Westfield Stratford on 28th Jan that excites all the senses. The Thorntons Continental range contains unique flavours crafted by Thorntons British Chocolate makers including five new flavours: Apricot Danish, Seville Caramel, Chocolate Milano, Espresso, and Salted Caramel Praline.

Thorntons give their 8 top tips

Thorntons give their 8 top tips

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