CandyLoverThe Chocolate Atlas

The intensity scale

How dark do you like it?

The percentage on a chocolate label is the share of the bar that comes from the cocoa bean — cocoa solids plus cocoa butter. The rest is mostly sugar, plus milk in milk chocolate. The higher the number, the less sweet and more intense the bar.

  1. A bar of white chocolate broken into squares Mellow under 45% Creamy, sweet and gentle — white and classic milk chocolate. 26 chocolates
  2. An assortment of filled chocolates laid out in rows Smooth 45–64% "Dark milk" and gentle dark — the easy step up. 69 chocolates
  3. A box of chocolate truffles dusted with cocoa, coconut and nuts Rich 65–74% Classic dark chocolate — where origin flavour really shows. 100 chocolates
  4. Roasted cocoa beans cracked into nibs Intense 75–89% Deep, bold and only lightly sweet. 60 chocolates
  5. A bowl of cocoa nibs Extreme 90–100% Barely sweetened to pure cocoa — for the committed. 31 chocolates

Percentage is not the whole story

Two 70% bars can taste completely different. Origin, fermentation and roasting all shape flavour, and a fruity Madagascan 70% can taste lighter than a deeply roasted blend at the same number. Use the scale to find your comfort zone, then explore origins within it.

We place a chocolate on the scale only when its maker states a cocoa percentage. Plenty of good chocolate — especially boxed and filled chocolates — doesn't, so it won't appear here.