12 Best Chocolate Tasting Classes for Fun Team Building

Chocolate tasting has become one of the most popular corporate food experiences, combining guided tasting, storytelling, and interactive team-building into a single memorable event. Whether your team prefers artisan bean-to-bar chocolates, gourmet pairings, or blind tasting challenges, a shared chocolate experience can bring everyone together in the sweetest way possible.

To help you plan your next team-building session, explore our list of 12 of the best chocolate tasting classes that your team will absolutely love. Read on.

You’ll explore:

• A quick comparison of the best chocolate tasting sessions
• Virtual and in-person experiences for teams
• Chocolate tasting classes with pairings and blind tastings
• Smart tips for a fun and memorable tasting session

Table of Contents

Best Chocolate Tasting Classes: Quick Glance

How to Taste Chocolates as a Team?

Whether you’re hosting virtual or in-person sessions, following a few tasting techniques can help your team get the most out of their chocolate tasting experience. These tasting practices can help your team enjoy a more flavorful and interactive experience:

• Choose a mix of dark, milk, white, single-origin, or flavored chocolates for a varied tasting experience.
• Explore the chocolate’s appearance, aroma, and texture before taking your first bite.
• Start with the mildest chocolate and gradually move to darker or more intense flavors.
• Encourage everyone to share the flavors and aromas they notice before revealing the tasting notes.
• Sip room-temperature water or eat a plain cracker between samples to reset your taste buds.
• Pair the session with wine, tea, coffee, whiskey, fruits, cheese, or bourbon and chocolate tasting to discover complementary flavors.
• Instead of sampling chocolates at random, organize your tasting as a chocolate flight. Start with lighter milk chocolates before moving on to darker, single-origin, or flavored varieties.
• Turn your tasting into a global adventure by sampling chocolates made with cacao sourced from different regions, such as Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Madagascar, or Ghana. As your team tastes each chocolate, discuss how climate, terroir, and production methods influence flavor profiles. 

12 Best Chocolate Tasting Classes for Teams

Explore chocolate tasting classes that offer a variety of experiences, including virtual sessions, in-person workshops, blind tastings, and chocolate pairings for teams.

Please note: Pricing, availability, event formats, and inclusions may change over time. Refer to each provider’s official website for the most up-to-date details. 

Virtual Chocolate Tasting Classes for Remote and Hybrid Teams

Explore fully hosted virtual chocolate tasting classes with curated tasting kits shipped to participants, making it easy for distributed teams to join from anywhere.

1. Hooray Teams: Virtual Chocolate Tasting

Price: $90 per person
Number of Participants: 8-1000
Duration: 60 minutes 

If you’re looking for expert-led virtual chocolate tasting classes, Hooray Teams delivers a gourmet experience for remote and hybrid teams. You and your team will get to savor a variety of artisanal chocolates and explore their rich flavor profiles under the guidance of an expert chocolatier. To amp up the fun, the host even throws in some chocolate-themed trivia questions to test your smarts. The platform delivers curated chocolate tasting kits to your doorstep in advance. With prior request, they can also customize the kits to accommodate dietary restrictions. 

Consider adding unique themes or pairings to make your event even more memorable.

• Chocolate & Coffee Pairings: Discover how different coffee roasts complement milk, dark, and single-origin chocolates.
• Bean-to-Bar Storytelling: Learn the fascinating journey of chocolate from cacao farms and harvesting to roasting, crafting, and tasting.

Kit Inclusions: Assorted chocolate bars in different flavors, tasting notes, a flavor wheel, and an instruction card.

Best for: Valentine’s Day celebrations, holiday office parties, Women’s Day events 

2. The Chocolate Genius: Virtual & Hybrid Luxury Chocolate Tasting 

Price: Customizable
Number of Participants: Up to 500
Duration: Customizable

For virtual and hybrid teams looking to elevate their next virtual event, The Chocolate Genius  offers a luxury chocolate tasting experience. Professional hosts guide your team through the tasting experience and share recipes and pairing recommendations after the event. Teams have the option to upgrade the session by pairing it with wine, beer, spirits, or cheese tastings. Participants can engage in a fun chocolate trivia and test their sweet wits in a friendly competition. They also offer options to customize the event with company branding for a personalized experience.

Kit Inclusions: High-quality Swiss chocolates made with wild-harvested Amazonian cacao beans and more than seventeen luxurious accouterments.

Best for: Team bonding, holiday parties, client entertainment, employee appreciation, and corporate celebrations.

3. Taste 117: Corporate Chocolate Tasting Experience

Price: $25 onwards
Number of Participants: 8-100
Duration: 60-90 minutes 

Taste117 offers guided virtual chocolate tasting classes designed to help teams discover the world of fine chocolate together. An expert chocolatier walks your team through the tasting, sharing insights into flavor development, cacao origins, and what makes each chocolate unique. The platform also offers the flexibility to customize the experience with artisan cheese pairings or branded chocolate gifts for a more personalized corporate event.

Kit Inclusions: Nine artisan chocolate bars and a guided tasting card.

Best for: Corporate networking events, client appreciation events, and corporate team celebrations.

In-Person Chocolate Tasting Events for Teams

Planning an office outing or team celebration? Explore these in-person chocolate tasting classes for a flavorful and fun team building experience.

4. Artisan Confections: Chocolate Classes and Events

Price: $59 onwards
Number of Participants: Customizable
Duration: 90 minutes

Artisan Confections, a premier fine chocolate boutique in the DC Metro area, offers chocolate-tasting and chocolate-making classes. Led by expert chocolatiers, your team will sample a variety of fine chocolates while learning how cacao origin, percentage, and craftsmanship influence flavor. Depending on the class, teams can also make and decorate their own chocolate truffles or bars, making the experience both interactive and informative.

What you’ll get: A variety of chocolates with different percentages of cacao

Best for: Casual team hangouts and company milestone celebrations

5. BE Chocolat: Chocolate Tasting Classes

Price: $60 
Number of Participants: 6-20 
Duration: 90 minutes

BE Chocolat offers private chocolate tasting and chocolate making classes led by a Belgian Master Chocolatier. During the hands-on experience, teams learn chocolate tasting techniques, explore premium Belgian chocolates, and create their own chocolate treats. You can also customize the event with add-ons like wine and cheese pairings or choose an off-site class at your preferred venue. Their workshop is located at Atelier BE Chocolat in Fairfield, Connecticut.

What you’ll get: Chocolate making and tasting class with add-on options like chocolate class + wine + cheese board.

Best for: Corporate team outings and private celebrations.

6. Ethel M: Chocolate Tasting Experience 

Price: $15 
Number of Participants: 28
Duration: 30-45 minutes

Ethel M, known for its premium handcrafted chocolates, hosts guided tasting experiences at its flagship location in Henderson, Nevada. An expert chocolate ambassador walks participants through a curated selection of chocolates while explaining their flavors, textures, and ingredients. Teams can also choose specialty tastings paired with wine, whiskey, or craft beer, for a more elevated experience. 

What you’ll get: Their signature tasting experience includes a sampling of 4 of our favorites:

• White Chocolate Vanilla Truffle paired with Brachetto d’Acqui
• Milk Chocolate Bananas Foster Truffle paired with Sauternes
• Milk Chocolate Guajillo Pecan Caramel Rapture paired with Tawny Port
• Dark Chocolate Lemon Satin Crème paired with Moscato d’Asti
• A certificate upon completion of the class 

Best for: Client appreciation events

Chocolate Tasting & Pairing Classes for Teams

Take your team’s chocolate tasting experience up a notch with these classes that pair premium chocolates with complementary flavors, drinks, and unique tasting combinations.

7. Chocolate Noise: Virtual Chocolate and Tea Tasting

Price: $2300 per group
Number of Participants: Customizable
Duration: 60 minutes

Chocolate Noise pairs bean-to-bar chocolate with specialty tea for a flavorful virtual pairing experience. Led by an expert chocolate sommelier, teams will sample artisanal chocolate bars alongside carefully selected teas sourced from a tea company featured in Michelin-starred restaurants. As you taste each pairing, you’ll discover how the aromas and flavor profiles of bean-to-bar chocolate and tea complement one another.

Kit Inclusions: 3 artisanal chocolate bars per guest, three single servings of teas, a welcome letter, and a tasting mat.

Best for: Corporate events, conferences, and team tasting experiences.

8. Gourmet Boutique: Virtual Wine and Chocolate Tasting

Price: $99 
Number of Participants: Customizable
Duration: 45-60 minutes

Gourmet Boutique offers thoughtfully curated virtual wine and chocolate tasting experiences that teams can customize to their preferences and budget. Craft chocolate educator Anya Zelfond leads the session, pairing premium chocolates with carefully selected wines based on your chosen tasting theme. Your team will learn about chocolate making, flavor pairing, tasting techniques, and the stories behind the featured craft chocolate makers.

Kit Inclusions: Curated craft chocolates and wine pairings based on your selected tasting theme.

Best for: Corporate happy hours and client appreciation events.

9. Socola Chocolatier: Virtual Chocolate Truffle & Tea Pairing Classes

Price: $65
Number of Participants: Minimum 15-18
Duration: 60 minutes

Socola Chocolatier offers a relaxing virtual chocolate truffle and tea pairing experience for teams. CEO and Chief Chocolatier Wendy Lieu guides participants through handcrafted chocolate truffles paired with premium teas to highlight complementary flavors. Along the way, your team will learn tasting techniques, identify flavor notes, and discover how different teas enhance each chocolate. The experience also includes plenty of opportunities to ask questions, making it both educational and engaging for teams.

Kit Inclusions: A curated box of award-winning chocolate truffles and gourmet teas (varies by class package).

Best for: Wellness events and afternoon team socials

Blind Chocolate Tasting Classes for Teams

Discover how well your team can identify flavors, aromas, and textures with these blind chocolate tasting sessions. 

10. Melt Chocolates: Blindfold Chocolate Tasting

Price: $80.31
Number of Participants: Customizable
Duration: 90 minutes

Melt Chocolates takes chocolate tasting to a whole new level with its immersive blindfold experience. Guided by an expert chocolatier, your team will taste premium chocolates blindfolded, relying on their senses to identify flavors, aromas, and textures without visual cues. Throughout the session, you’ll also learn how factors like cacao origin, ingredients, and craftsmanship affect the way chocolate tastes.

What you’ll get: Tasting chocolate with a blindfold.

Best for: Team bonding experiences and client appreciation events

11. Not Boring Events: Virtual Blind Chocolate Tasting

Price: $500-$1,000 
Number of Participants: Customizable
Duration: 60 minutes

Not Boring Events puts a fun spin on chocolate tasting with an experience that combines blind tastings, storytelling, and interactive activities. Your team will kick things off with a blind tasting challenge to see if they can tell the difference between premium craft and everyday chocolates. Along the way, the host will share fascinating stories about the history of chocolate and how it affects the brain. The experience also includes interactive chocolate-themed games that keep everyone engaged throughout the session. You can add a red wine pairing to upgrade your tasting experience. 

Kit Inclusions: A blind chocolate tasting kit with four craft chocolate bars.

Best for: Interactive team socials and friendly competitions

12. Flight Chocolate: Blind Tasting

Price: Customizable
Number of Participants: Customizable
Duration: Customizable

Flight Chocolate offers carefully curated artisan chocolates from around the world for a flavorful blind tasting experience. Participants sample artisan chocolate bars without seeing the packaging and rely on their sensory perception to identify different flavor notes, aromas, and cacao origins. Once everyone has shared their guesses, the chocolates are revealed, and teams can compare their observations with the tasting sheets. 

Kit Inclusions: Five artisan chocolate bars and printable tasting sheets.

Best for: Self-guided blind chocolate tastings

Trending Chocolate Tasting Ideas

Looking to put a fresh spin on your next tasting session? Try one of these trending ideas:

• Dubai Chocolate Tasting: Sample the viral pistachio-and-kunafa-filled chocolate bars that have taken social media by storm alongside classic artisan chocolates.
• Build Your Own Chocolate Board: Arrange chocolates with fruits, cheeses, nuts, crackers, and spreads to create a dessert-inspired grazing board.
• Chocolate Flight Challenge: Taste five chocolates in order and vote for your favorite based on flavor, aroma, texture, and finish.
• Chocolate & Coffee Pairing: Match different coffee roasts with artisan chocolates to discover complementary flavor combinations.
• Around-the-World Chocolate Tour: Compare chocolates made with cacao sourced from renowned growing regions and see if your team can identify each origin.

Smart Tips to Enjoy a Great Chocolate Tasting Session

Here are some smart tips (we swear by!) to help you enjoy a fun and interactive experience with your team. 

• Partner with a professional chocolatier to learn about correct tasting techniques, pairing options, origin, and other fun facts.
• Offer diet-friendly alternatives such as vegan, dairy-free, nut-free, or gluten-free chocolates so everyone can participate comfortably.
• Choose a theme for the tasting, such as single-origin chocolates, bean-to-bar creations, or holiday-inspired flavors, to make the experience more cohesive.
• Ship chocolate tasting kits with assorted premium artisanal chocolates like single-origin dark chocolates, unique flavor infusions, truffles, and bean-to-bar selections.
• To elevate the chocolate tasting experience, consider adding classic food and drink pairings such as wine, bourbon, tea, fruits, and cheese. 
• Add some lighthearted competition and fun to the event with themed games like chocolate trivia, bingo, and Jeopardy.
• Set the vibe with good background music, such as soul, classical, or jazz, for a more soothing and engaging experience.
• Collect feedback after the session to learn which chocolates, activities, or pairings your team enjoyed most and make future events even better.
• Elevate the tasting by setting up a pairing station with complementary flavors such as coffee, tea, wine, bourbon, fresh fruit, nuts, or cheese. Encourage participants to experiment with different combinations and discover unexpected flavor pairings
• Use a chocolate flavor wheel to help participants identify tasting notes like caramel, citrus, berries, vanilla, floral, earthy, nutty, or smoky. This makes the experience more interactive and gives everyone a common vocabulary to describe what they’re tasting.
• Choose artisan chocolates that share the story of their origin, cacao variety, or makers. Learning about where the cacao was grown, how it was sourced, and the craftsmanship behind each bar adds depth to the tasting experience and creates more meaningful conversations.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is a chocolate tasting team building event?

A chocolate tasting session is a team building event where teams learn to savor artisanal chocolates in a professional way. Teams can either join online via online video conferencing platforms or visit the designated workshops for a chocolate tasting session. These events are typically hosted by experts and include curated chocolate tasting kits (in case of virtual events) for a seamless experience.

What will we learn during a chocolate tasting class?

In a chocolate tasting session, you will learn to taste handcrafted chocolates, explore their flavor profiles, and uncover interesting facts about the chocolate-making process.

How do we host a virtual chocolate tasting class?

To host a virtual chocolate tasting class, select an online video conferencing platform like Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Hire a professional or book slots for a virtual chocolate tasting class. If the selected event does not include kits, ensure that the participants source the required materials in advance. Send out meeting invites with all the necessary details so everyone can join the session. Alternatively, opt for team-building platforms like Hooray Teams to skip all the hassles and enjoy a fully-hosted experience with event kits delivered in advance.

What food pairings can be recommended for a chocolate tasting event? 

Wine and chocolate tasting, berries, cheese, coffee, tea, and nuts are some of the best pairing options for chocolate tasting events.

How long does a chocolate tasting party last?

A chocolate tasting event typically lasts 60 minutes, but it can differ based on the nature of the session.

What questions to ask during a chocolate tasting experience?

You can ask questions about chocolate making, pairing techniques, and tasting tips to elevate the experience. Additionally, you can ask the chocolatier about their personal experiences, favorite chocolates, and more.

How to prepare for a chocolate tasting session?

You can eat a light meal before the event to keep your palate fresh. Additionally, you can sip water between tastings to notice the differences between each sample better.

Name some chocolate tasting classes based in popular locations. 

Some chocolate tasting classes based in popular locations include Dubai chocolate tasting​, Manoa chocolate tasting​, Zurich chocolate tasting, and Brussels chocolate tasting.