Different Types of Chocolate And How They Are Made

Almost everyone likes chocolate. But only a fraction of consumers know that there are literally different types of chocolate, brands, recipes, or even how chocolates are actually made.

Chocolate is one of a few sugar confectionery that both young and old, men and women love to consume. There’s hardly anyone out there who doesn’t love chocolate. Chocolate is irresistible, sweet, and it’s a key recipe for numerous loved treats like the chocolate chip cookie, hot fudge, brownies, etc.

If you are one of those chocoholics and are eager to know not just the types of chocolate, but also where chocolate is extracted, how it is made, the brands, and the varieties of commercially available chocolate; then this article will serve as a guide as it will walk you through numerous forms, flavors and all the different kinds of chocolate you can find anywhere in the world.

Read Also: Top 30 Types of White Wine

The chocolate varieties at the storefront abound. There exist dark cooking chocolate, semi-sweet, melting chips, bittersweet chocolate, and chocolate chips. Some are bitter, sweet, bittersweet and some are irresistible. In case you’re wondering if there are any differences between these different chocolate facets, then read on!

Your curiosity will be laid to rest sooner, as this piece will take out the guesswork from your chocolate shopping list for the next moral and cultural recipe.

Similarly, two important things will come to mind when talking about the different types of chocolate. They are; simplicity & quality of the ingredients and the percentage of cocoa butter present in the chocolate.

These Are The 10 Different Types of Chocolate

1. Unsweetened Chocolate

Unsweetened chocolate is popularly known as baking chocolate. It’s mostly used as one of the core ingredients in baking delicious delicacies. It’s very common and bitter as opposed to other types of chocolate.

Equally, unsweetened chocolate contains 100% cocoa with 0% sugar level held by cocoa butter. Thus, vast numbers of chocolate lovers find unsweetened chocolate irritating, acrid, and bitter to eat.

2. Dark Chocolate

There’s no need for announcement again that there are different types of chocolate and that dark chocolate is one of them. This is a known fact to every chocolate consumer.

Hence, dark chocolate has over 70% cacao in its content. Although not all 70% of chocolates have exact numbers of flavors or bitterness.

This is so because the artifact of the cocoa bean can fundamentally change the flavor which will leave the chocolate to the same amount of sugar ratio and cacao level.

3. Bittersweet Chocolate

Just like the dark chocolate, bittersweet chocolate also have two sides—the sweet and the bitter taste. In fact, in some parts of Europe, there’s no bittersweet chocolate but dark chocolate.

Be that as it may, bittersweet chocolate contains 70% of cocoa level and 30% of sugar ratio. These days, confectioners prefer using bittersweet chocolate in baking than the conventional unsweetened chocolate.

4. Semi-sweet Chocolate

As the name implies, this type of chocolate can be savored. It tastes nice and has universal use. In its content, there are 60% cacao level and 40% sugar ratio.

The close range between the cacao and sugar makes it perfect all-round chocolate; it can be eaten, good for baking and it can equally be melted for decorating cookies and pastries.

5. Milk Chocolate

One should not expect anything less than sweet from this type of chocolate. Milk chocolate has over 40% cocoa butter mixed together with milk solids and sugar.

Depending on the manufacturer choice, some do add vanilla as an extra flavor as well as lecithin agent to aid the chocolate smoothness.

6. White Chocolate

White chocolate doesn’t have any cacao level in its content at all. It is made up of sugar, cocoa butter, and at times a little vanilla flavor.

However, some chocolate purists never for once consider this type of chocolate as a chocolate at all.

7. Sweet Dark Chocolate

This type of chocolate is considered to be sweet dark because it does not have any milk solids in its content, but the percentage of its sugar level is high. Hence, it tastes sweeter than any other dark class of chocolate.

8. Couverture Chocolate

Not all types of chocolate are good for baking and can be used by any baker. As such, couverture chocolate can be primarily used by experienced and professional confectioners.

This chocolate has a very high percentage of cocoa butter content plus a high ratio of chocolate liquor. The high cocoa butter percentage makes it be more expensive. It also enhances its smoothness and increases its melting ratio even.

Yet, couverture chocolate is the most preferred type of chocolate used for tempering, enrobing and adorning candies. It could be white, dark or milk in colour and it can equally be bought at a cake decorating stores or a well-stocked online cake hub.

9. Gianduja Chocolate

The name Gianduja was given to a European fashion of chocolate made out of nut paste. It comes with dark or milk solid chocolate varieties. This chocolate type can be best used as a flavoring agent or a substitute for dark or milk chocolate.

10. Candy Coating Chocolate

Candy coating chocolate has many names and the popular ones include; confectionery coating, compound coating, summer coating, etc. It’s however called candy coating chocolate because of its candy products often flavored with white, dark or milk chocolate and substitute vegetables for cocoa butter.

More so, it’s cheaper than most types of chocolate, and the amount of chocolate liquor it contains is relatively low; thus, it has a slightly appealing mouthfeel.

However, it is very important to note that there may be other types of chocolate—be it locally made or industrial made—that are very popular in some other part of the world. Therefore, the ten aforementioned types of chocolate aren’t the only chocolate types in the market.

Where Different Kinds of Chocolate Are Made

As sweet, tasty, and yummy as chocolate is, only a few people are familiar with how it is being extracted out of the original cocoa bean before being made into the succulents food everyone craves for. Even though there are different types of chocolate, only a fraction of consumers knows how it’s made.

There are tier 1 countries that are leading the race for making delicious and high-quality chocolates. While Belgium stands out as the most popular production country; the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, Germany, and Spain also hold their share in the market.

The origin of chocolate can be traced back to cocoa beans, a plant that grows on cocoa trees that can be found in Central & South America, parts of the Caribbean countries, and largely in West Africa.

The cocoa butter is often extracted from the cocoa beans and the cocoa solids. These cocoa solids are often grounded into the popular cocoa powder.

The cocoa butter contains some fat, and it is best used as oil with which different types of chocolate are produced. Furthermore, chocolate is made by compounding cocoa solids, cocoa butter, and sugar together.

More often than not, chocolate is specifically classified as a food that is very rich in sugar and carbohydrate. Most European nations enforce a strict regulation as to the percent of milk, sugar, cocoa solids and cocoa butter to be used in chocolate production.

To control the standards and production of Chocolate, there is an organization (Chocolate Manufacturers Association) that is responsible for keeping a close tab on every kind of chocolate to see if they are in line with the regulations.

Different Types of Chocolate And How They Are Made

Almost every household knows and consumes chocolate but very few actually know how it’s being processed. Hence, by the virtue of flavoring and processing, different chocolate producers are used to creating numerous types of chocolate that vary in terms of ingredients combinations and the levels of sweetness.

Without further ado, the following steps will explain in detail, how chocolate is made out of the cacao bean pod.

Cocoa Bean Cleaning

Irrespective of the types of chocolate to be processed, the first thing to do on how to make a bar of chocolate begins with the cleaning of the cocoa beans.

This is done through a machine designed to removes the cocoa pod, dried cocoa pulp, and some other extraneous stuff.

Accordingly, the cocoa beans will be weighed and blended. Thus, the remaining vestiges of wood, sand, jute fibers and the dust will be extracted by a vacuum instrument.

Cocoa Bean Roasting

The bean has to be roasted in other to bring out the different chocolate taste and aroma. The end result desired, and variety of the cocoa beans will however, determine the number of minutes or hours it’ll spend on the fire.

As time goes by, the cocoa beans color will change to a dark brown and there’ll be drop-in content moisture too. At this stage, the chocolate amazing aroma will become obvious.

Removal of the Bean Shell

As has been said earlier that this steps of making chocolate can be adopted in making different types of chocolate, hence the next cause of action is to remove the shell off the cocoa bean. This will be done by the winnowing machine and it’ll undergo a lot of processes.

This stage is actually where the hidden card of many chocolate manufacturers lies. After the wheat must have been separated from the shaft, what is left are the bean nibs which will be blended.

Grounding of the Nibs

There is about 53 percent cocoa butter in the nibs and as such, the nibs have to be grounded by a grinding machine to bring out the cocoa paste.

The cocoa butter that’ll be garnered out from the grounded nibs contains valuable fat with a pure aroma. Do the filter and purify it so as to have the same semblance as an ordinary butter.

Extraction of Chocolate out of the Cocoa Butter

Cocoa butter is the by-product of cocoa and it forms the most vital component of chocolate. According to research, it contains approximately 25 percent of most chocolate bars’ weight. So at this stage, the cocoa butter will be compressed, and the chocolate liquor will be extracted from it.

Add Other Ingredients to the Chocolate Love

At this point in time, different chocolate will be made with different recipes. That is, whatever the types of chocolate you’ll be making, here is the stage to add whatever ingredients are needed to bring out your desire taste and color.

For instance, if you’ll be making milk chocolate, milk, sugar and other ingredients will be added to the chocolate liquor and it’ll be heated for some certain degree. This is how it’ll be done for other types of chocolate.

Cooling and Reheating

This is the last step on how chocolate can be made. It’s a long process really, but it’ll be worth the wait in the long run. Cooling and reheating the chocolate mixture will thicken it, gives it a delicate composition, and enhance a perfect flow of its properties.

Best Chocolate Brands

One amazing fact about chocolate is how it is loved by kids and adults alike. Ever since it was introduced, chocolate has continued to be the cornerstone of numerous numbers of deserts.

Apart from having an irresistible taste as well as having some health benefits, chocolate with its glorious delicacy, when consumed too much, could also increase one shapes and sizes!

In this article, however, you’ll be introduced to top chocolate brands that are highly patronized by young and old. Though not limited to the below listed, they include:

Grove Square

Grove Square is one of the highly patronized chocolate brands. It is a delicious and awesome hot chocolate that goes better with Keurig or any other vending machine K-cups.

Godiva Chocolatier (Happy Birthday Cake) Truffle Flight

This is another chocolate name or brand that is particularly manufactured in form of an elongated box. It’s designed mainly as a birthday gift but that doesn’t mean it can’t be consumed at a good time.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate

There is also Cadbury dairy chocolate with 200 years or thereabouts history of create-the-art of chocolate. Cadbury’s chocolate products offer a fine and tasty flavor of fruit, sugar, milk, cream, and honey.

Often, it’s mold into beautiful nuts, bars, wafers, or crunches. This chocolate brand is available in almost part of the world and it’s fit for any age and gender consumption as it has a sweet and beautiful shape.

Patchi Milk Chocolate (Assorted Ballotin)

One of the most motivating chocolate bars out there is Patchi. This chocolate product is well packed with magic ingredients of premium cocoa and fresh milk.

Galaxy Milk Chocolate

Galaxy milk chocolate is another famous chocolate that is known to almost every household in many European countries. It is also common in Canada, the US, African Middle East and it almost floors the entire UK.

Guylian Belgium Chocolates

If you need a chocolate name or brand that renders a classy service to its customers; Guylian Belgium should be a perfect name for you. This chocolate product is unique, famous, magical, professional, and highly customized.

Ferrero Rocher Chocolates

Ferrero Rocher is said to be one of the best chocolate brands across the globe. This is not as a result of its high quality or amazing external appearance but rather as a result of the chocolate standard and culture that has put other chocolate manufacturing companies on the run.

Montezuma’s Dark Chocolate

Montezuma chocolate came into the limelight in 2000 and it was established by Helen and Simon Pattison – retired legal counselors. If you see Montezuma’s hand-made chocolates on a plate, you’ll exclaim!

Charles Chocolates

This chocolate name or brand is also known as San Francisco’s chocolatey town. In the wake of coming to outlive in 2004, Charles chocolate has amazingly grown up into a famous and profitable chocolate venture.

Theo Chocolate

Theo’s chocolate was founded in 2006 in Seattle, the United States. This famous chocolate bar deal is simple as it has 85% dark chocolate ingredients with a handful of other ingredients in its content.

Final Thoughts

By now, you should have known the different types of chocolate ranging from bittersweet chocolate down to candy coating chocolate and the sugar level of each different chocolate product.

Additionally, whether you are engulfed about eating chocolate as a food treat or you’re going to use it for a fancy dinner; or perhaps show-stopping cake, always remember that quality matters.

Bad chocolate is bad for the mouth and soul whereas; a well-made chocolate will always leave behind an unforgettable experience.

Eventually, this article has introduced you to so many things about chocolate, including how it is made and as such, you should be able to do it on your own.

Also, don’t forget how to make the best use of the different types of chocolate as only that will you be able to create sweet and irresistible chocolates for personal consumption and for your beloved ones.

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