Dark, Milk & White chocolate – a definition

Chocolate preferences are diverse. In earlier days we only had basics, nowadays you can get virtually any creation you can think of, even the most unlikely. Whether fruity, nutty, salty or liquorice flavoured – almost everything is possible in the chocolate universe, there’s no limit to creativity. Despite of many subcategories “chocolate” can be summed up three main types:

Dark chocolate

Chocolate with a cocoa percentage of 50 % and over is called dark chocolate. Between 50 and 70 % one speaks of plain or bittersweet chocolate and chocolate with over 70 % cocoa is called pure “dark chocolate”. Pure dark chocolate doesn’t contain milk so it’s suitable for lactose intolerant people and vegans.  Many chocolate experts think dark chocolate is the only true form of chocolate due to its high percentage of cocoa. Cocoa enthusiasts usually choose “fine cocoa” chocolates that are made using rare cocoa full of character.

Milk chocolate

Chocolate with milk powder and a maximum of 50 % cocoa is called „milk chocolate”. Compared to dark chocolate primarily made of cocoa milk chocolate usually contains more sugar and tastes sweeter.

White chocolate

In the proper meaning of the word „white chocolate” shouldn’t be called chocolate, because the cocoa mass made from the whole cocoa bean is an essential part of chocolate. White chocolate only contains cocoa butter generated from the cocoa mass using special processes. White chocolate is made of cocoa butter, milk or milk products and sugar. Due to its high sugar content, white chocolate usually is very sweet and feels fatty because of its high content of cocoa butter. Low-quality white chocolate (as well as milk chocolate) usually contains vanillin. The controversial vanillin has no place in high-quality chocolates. Vanilla flavor should be produced at least by natural vanilla flavor, but at best by genuine bourbon vanilla, like in our VIVANI chocolate bar White Vanilla.