Chocolate and mindfulness

There's an art to tasting chocolate mindfully. Did you know that?

I just read an interesting blog written by Todd Masonis of Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco saying that he gets asked often whether there's a right or wrong way to taste chocolate. He goes on to give a few tips on tasting it mindfully.

Part of what he says is to slow down, read the label and really look at and smell the chocolate. Spend time with it. Savor everything about it. Then "take a tiny bite to break it into a few pieces," he says. "Let it start to gently melt on your tongue. Now move the chocolate around your mouth and coat your tongue, but avoid chewing. If you eat it quickly, you'll miss the tasting experience that makes each bar origin unique."

Masonis says it's best not to "overthink it, just taste slowly and mindfully." He points out that chocolate makes us happy and "if it's too cerebral, you may be missing the experience."

I think the same can be said about other life experiences, too. Approach life slowly, look at it from several different viewpoints, examine it, taste and smell and feel it, savor it. What difference might such an attitude and approach make to your life and experience? I'm already thinking about several ways to apply this. I'd love to hear your thoughts, too.