When tasting chocolate, one of the first things you should do is snap off a small piece, and listen to the sound it makes when it snaps.

Good chocolate has a clean, crisp snap, Woodbridge chocolatier Ben Rasmussen said. Bad chocolate has a muffled or crumbly sound as it snaps. 

On Feb. 9 at 2 p.m. at 9246 Lee Avenue in Manassas, Potomac Chocolate owner Rasmussen will guide chocolate tasters through an edible history of chocolate. 

"In the approximately 1.5 hour program, I talk about cacao and chocolate production from its earliest known uses in Meso-America up to modern day," Rasmussen wrote in a recent blog post. 

Humans have been making and enjoying chocolate for almost 2,000 years, and tasters can try the wide varieties of gourmet artisan chocolates and learn how fine chocolates are made.

Reserve your spot for $15. Learn more about the event here.

Buy Rasmussen's chocolate after the event or at MJ's Ice Cream-N-More in Occoquan. A new batch arrives next week. 

Related content: 

• Occoquan Holds Chocolate Walk Just in Time For Valentine's Day
• Occoquan Chocolate Walk: Polka Dot Divas
• Occoquan Chocolate Walk: Glory Be
• Occoquan Chocolate Walk: Blue Arbor Café