The TAM2 chocolate challenge

did I smell chocolate... ?

Gotta judge! Gotta judge!! Can I, can I? :)

And just 'cause my man is submitting a British sample doesn't mean I'll be biased. Really. I like aaaaaaallll chocolate. Not discriminatory in the least.

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DREADFUL stuff.

taste-pour.jpg
 
Kitty, if you'd like me to bring the Burdick's (their Cambridge, MA location is inches from my home), I can do that.

Also, I note that Scharffen Berger is not representin' here. Shirley we are not properly depicting the breadth and scope of the USerican chocolate industry without Scharffen Berger. And the Lake Champlain Chocolate Company of Vermont.

What sort of quantities are we looking at having to bring to qualify as an entry? Because I can certainly add Scharffen Berger and Lake Champlain to the US chocolate flight!
 
Brazil a great producer of the following products: cocoa, milk and sugar. We have had a considerable Swiss colonization. Need I say more? :p I'll bring a box. :)
 
totally sidhedevil, though Burdicks uses Belgium chocolate, so I don't think that's fair. A lot of the US companies get their chocolate from Belgium then shape it here in the US.
 
Sidhedevil said:
Kitty, if you'd like me to bring the Burdick's (their Cambridge, MA location is inches from my home), I can do that.

Also, I note that Scharffen Berger is not representin' here. Shirley we are not properly depicting the breadth and scope of the USerican chocolate industry without Scharffen Berger. And the Lake Champlain Chocolate Company of Vermont.

What sort of quantities are we looking at having to bring to qualify as an entry? Because I can certainly add Scharffen Berger and Lake Champlain to the US chocolate flight!
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Hi Sidhedevil,
You should bring enough for the nine judges to sample, and as much more as you want for the rest of the people at the party. I didn't know you and your husband were near Boston. If I had known I would have invited you both to the pre-TAM get-together Supercharts, Repcon, Paul C. Anagnostopoulos and I had in Littleton.
 
"Skeptics Choice" International Chocolate Challenge

FINAL STATUS:
We have eight entries in the national competition, and six "other" entries. There are nine official judges.

National competitors and countries
--------------------------------------------
budddyh, Britain
Byzantine Magpie, Australia
CFLarsen, Denmark
Chaos, Germany
deBergerac, Sweden
Exarch, Belgium
Luciana Nery, Brazil
Peter Jenkins, Britain

Other entries
-----------------
Girl6 (Ghiradelli, and possibly Godiva, chocolate)
kittynh (Burdicks chocolate)
Renata (Russian candy)
Sidhedevil (Burdicks chocolate)
SkepticScott (Van Otis chocolate)
The Central Scrutinizer (Hershey's chocolate)

Judges
---------
Chanileslie
Finella
Girl6
kittynh
Mercutio
MoeFaux
renata
The Bad Astronomer
Wyvern

Over-worked and
Under-chocolated
Organizer
-----------------------
SkepticScott

Voting: We'll remove each box top and number the chocolates. The judges will pick their top three; the one with the most votes wins! The lack of a formal protocol is intentional so the losers can have a scapegoat (me). ;)

WHEN: Saturday night, at the start of Girl 6's party.

WHERE: Girl 6's party.

I'm printing the name tags tonight, but I'll make some extras just in case.
 
Have we established a protocol for the judging yet? I may have missed it in this thread.

I think it should be a single blind test, to avoid complications. We can label the pieces of chocolate "A" through whatever, with a master list identifying which chocolate has which label.

The only problem I see with this is that most chocolate has a distinctive shape. A Hershey's kiss would be fairly obvious. :)
 
The Bad Astronomer said:
Have we established a protocol for the judging yet? I may have missed it in this thread.

I think it should be a single blind test, to avoid complications. We can label the pieces of chocolate "A" through whatever, with a master list identifying which chocolate has which label.

The only problem I see with this is that most chocolate has a distinctive shape. A Hershey's kiss would be fairly obvious. :)
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Hi BA, I plan to leave it fairly loose but try to make it a single-blind test. I've made "1" through "20" cards to label the chocolates, and have blank cards for the judges to write their top three choices. This way the protocol will have enough flaws so the losers will be able to blame it for their loss and won't feel bad.

I picked up a pound of chocolate from Van Otis yesterday. I naturally got a few extra pieces so I could check the quality before the contest. Yumm. :)
 
oookkkkkk

How about unwrap all the chocolate, throw in big pile in middle of room? When you taste something expecially yummy say, "Dis goob" and keep eating.

Everyone pass out in chocolate orgy pile. Get kicked our of Vegas. Shame JREF forever.
 
The Bad Astronomer said:
Congrats, Moe!

I have been practicing diligently for my role as Chocolate Judge. I have eaten 200 grams of Toblerone already since yesterday. And M&Ms, non pareils, chocolate mints, fudge...
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Keep up that pace and we may have to call you The Wide Astronomer.

:D
 
kittynh said:
When you taste something expecially yummy say, "Dis goob" and keep eating.
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Isn't that proper chocolate procedure?

Okay, then, I'm bringing Burdick's, Lake Champlain Chocolate, and Scharffen Berger.

Scott, thanks for the belated invitation to Littleton, but I'm still trying to cling to my air of mystery.
 
The Bad Astronomer said:
Have we established a protocol for the judging yet? I may have missed it in this thread.

I think it should be a single blind test, to avoid complications. We can label the pieces of chocolate "A" through whatever, with a master list identifying which chocolate has which label.

The only problem I see with this is that most chocolate has a distinctive shape. A Hershey's kiss would be fairly obvious. :)
Click to expand...

I'm bringing the blindfolds, people! :D

G6
 
Originally posted by Girl 6
I'm bringing the blindfolds, people! :D
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I envy the skeptic who gets to feed the judges the pieces of chocolate :(
 
exarch said:
I envy the skeptic who gets to feed the judges the pieces of chocolate :(
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That would be me as "organizer" in most cases. :) Mercutio and The Bad Astronomer will get their chocolate handed to them. The other judges, well, husbands get dibs, but that still leaves a few judges ... ;)
 
SkepticScott said:
That would be me as "organizer" in most cases. :) Mercutio and The Bad Astronomer will get their chocolate handed to them. The other judges, well, husbands get dibs, but that still leaves a few judges ... ;)
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Damn my timing...I just came up with a job for Cleopatra, and she won't be there!
 
Chocolate has been obtained, at the risk of frostbite. I am bringing it to the conference on Thursday because it looks so good that I refuse to spend a night with it in my hotel room!
 
The results

After a the judges finished their chocolate melee, the results came in. The top three chocolates were:

First place went to Schanferberger, with 7 votes.
Second place was Van Otis, with 6 votes.
Third place went to Galaxy, with 5 votes.

(Each judge picked the three best, and there were about 11 judges. I lost count with last minute additions. When a skepchick tells you she promised Jamy Ian Swiss that he could be a judge, you don't say no!)
 
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