*2.2. Stimuli*

Three major chocolate types were used in this research, including Whittaker's 28% Cocoa White Chocolate, Whittaker's 33% Cocoa Creamy Milk Chocolate, and Whittaker's 72% Cocoa Dark Ghana Chocolate (J.H. Whittaker and Sons, Ltd., Porirua, New Zealand). These chocolate products were purchased from a local supermarket before conducting sensory sessions. They were purchased in blocks and served in squares, and they were stored in sealed containers at 4 ◦C in a refrigerator (Samsung, Seoul, South Korea) when they were not in use. The preparation and sampling processes were conducted within two hours prior to the sensory sessions to prevent chocolate samples from being stale. Three stimuli (white, milk, and dark chocolate) were assessed initially by a focus group panel (*n* = 4) within Lincoln university to make sure they had notable differences in terms of certain attributes, such as sweetness and cocoa flavor. In each sensory session, each chocolate square was served in a transparent plastic cup coded with a 3-digit random number for identification. The presentation order of the three samples was randomized and balanced for each participant to prevent positional bias.
