Chocolate 101 | Origins, Varieties & Top New England Makers

By Sarah Hearn Morrison

From cacao beans to cocoa powder and chocolate bars, the chocolate-making process is as scientific as it is artful. Learn how chocolate is made, plus an explanation of cacao percentages, types of chocolate, the difference between regular and Dutch cocoa powder, and where you can find and support some of New England’s best chocolate makers and chocolatiers.

How Do Cacao Beans Turn Into Chocolate?

Making chocolate is essentially the same multistep process, whether it’s being mass produced by a large company or made by hand by a craft chocolate maker: First the cacao beans are fermented and dried then shipped to the chocolate makers who roast the beans to develop flavor and then extract the nibs from the shells. The nibs are finely ground into cocoa liquor – a liquid paste of cocoa powder and cocoa butter. Now, the cocoa liquor (not to be confused with chocolate-flavored liqueur) can be poured and set into bars of unsweetened chocolate, separated into cocoa powder and cocoa butter, or it can begin the process of being made into chocolate for desserts and for eating with the addition of more cocoa butter, sugar, or other flavorings.

What Does the Percentage Mean on a Bar of Chocolate?

Simply put, the percentage on a label tells the consumer how much of the bar by weight is cacao. 100% cacao is pure chocolate while if a bar is labeled 55% cacao, that means the remaining 45% is made up of sugar, flavorings, milk solids, and often, an emulsifier. Keep in mind that the percentage communicates the quantity of cacao, not quality; two bars labeled 72% cacao might be wildly different in chocolate intensity, sweetness, and texture. The quality of the cacao beans and the skill of the chocolate maker are what truly impact the finished product.

What is Unsweetened Chocolate?

Also known as baking chocolate, this is 100% chocolate liquor containing only cocoa solids and cocoa butter, usually in a 50:50 ratio. The flavor is intense and- because there’s no added sugar- bitter and acidic.

What is Dark Chocolate?

In the US, the FDA classifies any chocolate as dark chocolate if it contains at least 35% cacao (the cacao beans and parts of the bean like cocoa butter) and less than 12% milk solids, however the names bittersweet or semisweet are essentially used for marketing as there’s no exact percentage required to label a chocolate as one or the other. For baking purposes, using a dark chocolate in the 60-72% range will work well for any recipes calling for semisweet or bittersweet chocolate.

What is Milk Chocolate?

Defined as chocolate containing at least 12% milk solids and at least 10% cocoa solids (though high quality chocolate makers’ bars will often have closer to 25-45% cocoa solids). 

What is White Chocolate? Is White Chocolate Even Chocolate?

White chocolate is known to be polarizing and many would hesitate to even call it chocolate but if it contains at least 20% cocoa butter and at least 3.5% milk solids, then legally it is chocolate in the US. Velvety smooth, creamy, and with notes of vanilla, the addition of white chocolate can make frostings, bread pudding, and even cakes more decadent. 

Natural Cocoa vs. Dutch Cocoa Powder

When selecting a cocoa powder there are two things to keep in mind: what type of leaveners are in the recipe (more on that in a minute) and fat content. The FDA requires cocoa powder to contain at least 10% cocoa butter, though you should definitely seek out higher fat cocoa powders (20-24%) which will yield chocolate cakes that are more moist, silky buttercreams, and fudgy brownies. More fat also means better chocolate flavor and typically more carefully sourced cacao beans. Most recipes call for relatively small amounts of cocoa powder so this is one ingredient worth splurging on.

The cocoa powder most frequently sold in supermarkets – usually labeled as unsweetened cocoa powder- is also known as natural cocoa. It’s lighter in color and higher in acidity which gives it a sharper flavor. Dutch cocoa, meanwhile, has been “dutched” or alkalized to neutralize the acidity which gives the cocoa a much darker color and a smoother flavor.  Dutch typically almost always has a higher fat content than natural cocoas.

Now let’s talk leaveners. Ready for a little science? Natural cocoa powder, which is acidic, reacts to baking soda, a base. The baking soda neutralizes the acid making the chocolate flavor smoother and the reaction between the acid and base gives lightness and lift to your baked goods.

Because Dutch cocoa has been neutralized it won’t react with the baking soda. Baking powder, however, has both baking soda (a base) and an acid so it causes its own reaction independent of the cocoa powder. The general rule of thumb is natural cocoa + baking soda and dutch cocoa + baking powder, but is it ever ok to swap one for the other? The short answer is yes.  Some recipes call for both leaveners and it’s usually fine to use either cocoa. And if a recipe calls for cocoa powder and baking soda but also contains something acidic like buttermilk, then it’s perfectly fine to use either natural or Dutch since there will be a reaction between the baking soda and the acidic ingredient.

Favorite New England Chocolate Makers and Chocolatiers

From the moment Milton Hershey introduced the first Hershey Milk Chocolate Bar around 1900 after successfully applying  new techniques in mass production to candy making, inexpensive chocolate became accessible to all and the American chocolate industry took off. 

Fast forward to the late 1990’s when a craft chocolate movement began, driven by a desire to create small batch, high quality chocolate, have the ability to oversee every part of the production process (literally from bean to bar), and establish direct trade with the farmers, putting more money into their hands and supporting farming communities. In the last two decades the craft chocolate industry in America has expanded. More than ever, consumers are paying attention to the foods they eat and craft chocolate, with its ethical sourcing of  the highest quality cacao beans, clean ingredient lists, inspired flavor combinations, and small batch production, has amassed a dedicated following.

For those that adore chocolate be sure to check out the list of award-winning chocolate makers and chocolatiers here in New England who are making some of the world’s best chocolate bars, from single origin dark chocolate to inspired flavor pairings (think 70% Dark Chocolate with Brown Butter or Milk Chocolate with Smoked Hickory Sea Salt). Like cheese, wine, and coffee, fine chocolate is complex and dynamic and reflects the cacao’s terroir and the skill of the maker. 

Be Chocolat | Fairfield, Connecticut
https://www.bechocolat.com/

Boho Chocolate | Florence, Massachusetts
https://www.bohochocolate.com/

Chequesset Chocolate | Truro, Massachusetts
https://www.chequessettchocolate.com/

Goodnow Chocolate | Sudbury, Massachusetts
https://goodnowfarms.com/

L.A. Burdick Chocolates | Walpole, New Hampshire
https://www.burdickchocolate.com/

Lake Champlain Chocolates | Burlington, Vermont
https://www.lakechamplainchocolates.com/

Taza Chocolate | Somerville, Massachusetts
https://www.tazachocolate.com/