Explainer: What Is 70% Dark Chocolate and How Is It Made?

What Does 70% Mean?

[{ "selector": "#anim1", "keyframes": { "opacity": [0, 1] }, "delay": 0, "duration": 600, "easing": "cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)", "fill": "both" }] 70% refers to the percentage of cocoa solids, cocoa butter and cacao mass with the remaining 30% of sugar and other ingredients in the chocolate.

Key Ingredients

[{ "selector": "#anim2", "keyframes": { "opacity": [0, 1] }, "delay": 0, "duration": 600, "easing": "cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)", "fill": "both" }] Cacao beans are the main ingredient for dark chocolate from which cocoa butter and cacao mass is extracted. It is then mixed with sugar for sweetening.

Harvesting Cacao Beans

[{ "selector": "#anim3", "keyframes": { "opacity": [0, 1] }, "delay": 0, "duration": 600, "easing": "cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)", "fill": "both" }] Cacao beans are harvested from the fruits of cacao tree, after which the beans are fermented, dried and roasted to develop rich flavor.

Grinding and Conching

[{ "selector": "#anim4", "keyframes": { "opacity": [0, 1] }, "delay": 0, "duration": 600, "easing": "cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)", "fill": "both" }] The roasted cacao beans are grounded to a paste called cacao mass which is then refined and conched to smoothen the texture and make flavor intense.

Tempering and Molding

[{ "selector": "#anim5", "keyframes": { "opacity": [0, 1] }, "delay": 0, "duration": 600, "easing": "cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)", "fill": "both" }] Final step is to bring a glossy finish to the chocolate by tempering it and its is then poured to mold and frozen.