Bean tasting Welcome 12 Delicious beans Tasting Guide Russian Toast Charades d'Chateau Bean Cellar Gift Shop New! A stand-alone site with all the Bean Cellar content and more, freshened-up and fun. Click here.

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Bean Tasting Ritual & Romance (Wherein we study Characteristics of the Bean) While there is certainly an art to the formal tasting of fine jelly beans, don't be put off by the posturing of boorish snobs. Bean tasting is jolly good fun and should be enjoyed by all. Chateau Meddybemps provides a much needed opportunity for beaneophytes to be properly introduced to joy of beans. The following notes and recommendations were gleaned from a typical gathering. In tasting, one explores the four principal characteristics of jelly beans. Appearance Fine beans are bright in color and may range from clear to cloudy when held up to a light. Swirl your glass anti-clockwise and look for "tears" or "legs" (sticky residue on the sides of the glass). Properly aged beans will settle neatly in the bottom. Aroma The bouquet or "nose" of a bean is made up of mysterious and complex aromas. Swirl the beans to release them. Raise the glass and inhale. Mmmmmmmmm! Taste The four primary tastes (sweet, sour/acid, salt and bitter) are sensed by different areas of the tongue. Take a nibble and move it around in the mouth to ensure complete exposure. "Chew" the bean to release flavors and odors. Suck a little air across it and look for fruitiness, sweetness, and intensity of flavor. Be careful not to inhale any beans. The commotion will be embarrassing, to say the least, and could be fatal. Aftertaste This is simply the flavor that remains after you have swallowed the beans. Finer beans generally provide a greater "finish" (the length of the aftertaste). This is not a primary factor in determining quality but it is fun to talk about. On to the Proper Technique of Bean Tasting... Back to Top © 1995, 1997, 2000 Jerry Jindrich. All rights reserved.