8 Types of Chocolate: What Sets Different Chocolates Apart

Chocolate comes from the beans of the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao). These cacao beans (or cocoa beans) come packed full of flavor, antioxidants, and other compounds.

To turn these beans into the sorts of chocolate products you see in stores, people process the cocoa butter and chocolate liquor found inside them alongside other ingredients (like sugar, milk fat, and lecithin). You can find chocolate in cakes, candy bars, ice cream, and many other popular types of treats.

Chocolate makers distinguish one type from another by altering the natural ingredients in cocoa beans or adding additional ingredients into the mix. These ingredient ratios make different chocolates distinct from each other.

For example, a compound chocolate might feature palm oil rather than natural cocoa butter. Similarly, some types of chocolate feature less sugar than others. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also issues requirements for the percentage of cocoa and other ingredients necessary for labeling each kind of chocolate accurately.

There are many different varieties of chocolate, and each of them has its uses in different recipes. Here are just eight you might want to consider trying out for yourself:

1. 1. Couverture chocolate: This coating chocolate melts easily, making it a suitable choice for tempering confections, such as truffles or chocolate-covered fruits. Couverture chocolate mixes contain high amounts of cocoa butter, which expedites the melting process and makes this variation smooth in general. To make your own sweets, learn how to temper chocolate with Chef Dominique Ansel.
2. 2. Dark chocolate: With its bitter taste and touch of acidity, dark chocolate possesses a far more authentic chocolate flavor than some of its more sugary counterparts. Dark chocolate bars, candies, and mousses maintain the natural balance of chocolate liquor and cocoa butter found in cacao beans—sometimes with a little sugar and vanilla for a smidgen of sweetness.
3. 3. Milk chocolate: Some of the most famous and popular chocolate bars in the world come from milk chocolate. While these candies still include plenty of natural cocoa content, those who make them also add milk solids, various emulsifiers, and sugars to give them a very smooth texture and sweet taste.
4. 4. Natural cocoa powder: Sometimes, it’s best to use ground-up cacao nibs as a natural baking powder. You can also purchase alkalized cocoa powder to cut down on the natural acidic flavor without compromising the other organic ingredients. This way, you can bake a chocolate cake or another type of treat without any additives in the chocolate itself. As such, you can add as much sugar, milk, or other ingredients as you see fit, rather than relying on a premade mixture.
5. 5. Ruby chocolate: Belgian chocolate maker Barry Callebaut pioneered ruby chocolate, which has a rich chocolate flavor with berry notes. This product combines ruby cocoa beans (which have a reddish hue and a distinctly fruity and sour flavor) from Brazil and Ecuador with milk and sugar to create a taste that’s both unique and familiar all at once.
6. 6. Semisweet chocolate: Common in brownies and other floury treats, semisweet chocolate usually contains around half cocoa butter and half chocolate liquor. Technically, FDA standards dictate that semisweet chocolate needs only around thirty-five percent of its mixture to be chocolate liquor to qualify as such. The same goes for bittersweet chocolate.
7. 7. Unsweetened chocolate: Next time you’re baking chocolate chip cookies, try unsweetened chocolate from pure chocolate liquor. You can always add additional sweeteners to these cocoa products if you feel they don’t have enough sugar to satisfy your sweet tooth. If you appreciate natural cocoa powder, unsweetened chocolate is practically the same.
8. 8. White chocolate: To make white chocolate, you must strip out nearly all the cocoa solids and chocolate liquor in cacao beans, leaving just the cocoa butter. Although it might not feature the trademark brown color or traditional chocolate taste of other forms of chocolate, white chocolate is still part of the broader cacao family. It often includes plenty of milk, added sugar, and vegetable fats to give it a smooth, sweet, almost vanilla flavor.

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