How Chocolatiers Choose the Best Chocolate Percentages

Contemporary chocolatiers enjoy an endless array of choices, ranging from 25% whites and 38% milks to 49% "dark" milks and dark chocolates stretching all the way to 85% and beyond. But what goes into the process of selecting chocolate for beans, bars, and bonbons? Do certain percentages work best for specific products, or pair best with specific ingredients? And when it comes to dark chocolate, can you ever push the boundaries too far? To find out, we spoke to chocolatiers and pastry chefs to understand how they select the chocolates to use in their work.

Flavor First

The selection process often begins with flavor, which Josh Johnson, Pastry Chef at Guittard Chocolate Company, considers "the number one factor" when choosing chocolate for a recipe. "The flavor of the cocoa takes priority over the percentage," adds Chef Quest of Quest XO Chocolate in Toronto, Canada. "Very much like coffee, cocoa beans are highly influenced by their environment and what grows around them. So you can have several types of 75% dark chocolate but one might be fruity, another acidic, the other earthy." Tamsin Robinson, founder of UK-based Bakester, agrees, noting that chocolates with same percentage of cocoa solids might taste totally different depending on where and how they're produced.

Richard Tango-Lowy, Master Chocolatier at Dancing Lion Chocolate in Manchester, New Hampshire, also considers flavor first. "We make our own couverture chocolates, with particular attention [to] flavor profile," says Tango-Lowy. For instance, "Our Puerto Rico 70% is deep with balanced yellow tropical fruits, while the Wild Bolivia Tranquilidad Heirloom starts smooth before opening to notes of black cherry. Ghana is bold with a coconut honey base, while Ecuador is round and earthy with floral and herbal notes."

Contrasts and Complements

In addition to the taste of the chocolate, chefs and chocolatiers observe how it interacts with the other flavors in a recipe. At Grumpy Chocolatier in Los Angeles, Chocolatier Esther J. Park opts for "a darker chocolate of 70% or higher" to emphasize nutty or earthy notes, often pairing it with "bold and bittersweet flavors like nuts, coffee, or citrus." Says Park, "The rich and intense flavor of the dark chocolate complements these strong flavors, whereas a lower percentage chocolate would not highlight the flavors as well."

Lisa Costanzo, Chocolatier and Owner of Boston-based Bittersweet Violet, considers seasonal flavor pairings. "If I were making a citrus or berry-based filling, I would choose a chocolate that complements those notes," says Costanzo. "Valrhona Taïnori 64% [is] fruity [...] so it pairs well with fruit or nut fillings." In colder months, Costanzo prefers Valrhona Guanaja 70% ("on the bitter side, with hints of coffee, molasses and mild fruit and floral notes") or Valrhona Jivara 40%, a milk chocolate with a "creamy, malty profile," to go along with seasonal flavors like autumn spices or gingerbread.

"I typically follow a method of like-like rather than sharp contrast," says Morgan Roddy, who takes a bean-to-bar approach at Queer Chocolatier in Muncie, Indiana. "If I'm pairing chocolate with a lighter, fruitier, sweeter, floral flavor, I like to keep my chocolate percentages at the 60% mark, but if I'm going bolder with nutty, earthy, toasty, woody notes, 70% [holds up] to those options." Roddy also notes the importance of choosing chocolates which will highlight—rather than overwhelm—any inclusions, a viewpoint shared by many chocolatiers. Chef Quest offers an example: "We recently tried using a 55% milk chocolate for our hazel chai bar," says Quest. "The chocolate was too rich and bitter, which ended up overpowering the other ingredients. To remedy this, we adjusted the recipe to include white chocolate, which brought in the needed sweetness and creaminess."

Fluidity

Fonte Noir, Valrhona — Fonte Noir Valrhona copyright Studio B

Fluidity plays an equally crucial role in chocolate selection. Higher-fluidity chocolates contain a higher percentage of cocoa butter (creating thin, shiny, snappy shells) while lower-fluidity chocolates produce thicker shells. "In general, chocolatiers pay attention to percentages for flavor and texture, but also, importantly, for fluidity," says Pam Williams, a member of the fine chocolate industry for 30 years and the founder and lead instructor at Ecole Chocolat Professional School of Chocolate Arts. "The more fluid the chocolate, the more evenly it will enrobe the filling or coat the mold cavity. So we need to pay attention to the percentage of cocoa butter in the chocolate mass regardless of the cocoa percentage. A high percentage cocoa chocolate could have most of that percentage in cocoa mass not cocoa butter, so would not be fluid." Cocoa butter and cocoa solid percentages also affect the way chocolate behaves in baking and pastry, adds Robinson, noting that these "play a part in the meltability of the chocolate, which is particularly important when you want chunks of chocolate, [like] in a cookie."

Beyond Percentage—Sustainability and Ethics

For some chocolatiers, sustainability and ethical concerns also influence chocolate choices. "I don't typically go lower than 60% for cocoa and I have never gone below 45%, even when making a milk chocolate," says Roddy. "I want the cocoa to shine, and I want to buy larger quantities of beans so that I can nudge the needle in the direction of helping the growers of fine cacao. If I'm making chocolate with a low percentage, the quality of the beans won't be as perceptible, and I won't be making as much of an impact [...] on farmers."

Utilizing 55%-70% chocolates from Toronto-based Soul Chocolate allows Quest XO to source ingredients locally, provide "much greater transparency into the production process," and offer products made from "organic ingredients and fair trade cacao." Park adopts a similar philosophy, preferring chocolates (including the 36% Edelweiss and 65% Maracaibo Clasificado Grand Cru) from Felchlin, a Swiss chocolate manufacturer prioritizing sustainability and fair direct cacao. Regardless of percentage, "Their mission to provide quality, transparency and sustainability is an important part to consider when choosing chocolate," says Park.

Consumer Appeal & Cost

Chocolate percentages often correlate to consumer appeal, so listening to the customer remains key. "If percentage is a deciding factor, it is because I’m trying to align what I'm making with what I think a consumer might want," says Johnson. "I mostly use chocolate in the 60-70% range simply because it's appealing to a wide range of consumers. It's so important to make decisions based on what the consumer would like to experience." Bean-to-bar chocolate makers like Roddy also consider audience appetites. "When I make a chocolate, I'm considering the end use of the chocolate and how the consumer will be experiencing the chocolate," she notes.

Cost also matters to consumers. "Sometimes [...] I put a lot of work into a product that really showcases a unique chocolate, and customers don't buy it because of the price," says Hattie Cuffin, owner of Hot Cocoa in Knutsford, England, who solves this problem by offering products made from affordable chocolates, as well as higher-end options.

The "Goldilocks" Percentage

Confections made by Richard Tango-Lowy of Dancing Lion Chocolate photo credit 603 Fotophaghy

Most chocolatiers keep a few versatile products on hand—typically, chocolates which work for many applications, pair with many flavors, and please many palates. "I'll quip with curious customers that 60% is a 'Goldilocks' percentage," says Roddy. "Neither too dark for milk chocolate fans nor too sweet for those who crave especially dark chocolate." Cuffin refers to these as "all rounders," preferring the Callebaut range (especially the 28% white, 33% milk, and 54% and 70% dark) for its accessibility and flexibility. Costanzo opts for Valrhona Satilia for similar reasons, bulk-buying Lactée 35% milk chocolate and Noire 62% dark chocolate during the holiday season. "It's foolproof technically," explains Costanzo, "and both have a simple balanced flavor profile that works well [all] around."

Some chocolatiers combine products to achieve their personal Goldilocks. "I actually use a combination of [62% Valrhona and TCHO] chocolates to create the dark that I use," says Liane PR, Chocolatier and Owner of Colorado Cocoa Pod, who blends the two to make a fluid, easy-to-use, "pleasant dark chocolate that pairs with all of my flavors."

At Dancing Lion, variety and price motivate the company to make their own couvertures, using chocolates ranging from 35-75%. "We love producing our own for several reasons," says Tango-Lowy. "First, we can make the chocolate exactly as we want it, using really rare and unusual cacao, and second, it's a lot cheaper than buying chocolate."

Higher Percentages

While chocolatiers often utilize "all rounders" in the 60-70% range, many include a few high-percentage options, too. "It can be challenging to use very high percentage chocolates (85%+) as they can overpower most ingredient flavors. But there are exceptions to that rule," says Williams, noting that higher percentages can offer balance when used to enrobe extremely sweet fillings.

Even 100% isn't off-limits. For instance, Roddy occasionally goes "all the way" to 100% for drinking chocolates. Because it's combined with liquid, "the intense chocolate is still present but muted," she says. "It's a way for folks to try to push their boundaries and [step outside their] comfort zone with dark chocolate." And at Colorado Cocoa Pod, PR pairs 100% dark chocolate with sea salt or freeze-dried fruit, offering a sugar-free product for customers with dietary concerns while also appealing to a "niche customer base" who simply love ultra-dark chocolate. "I do get people who ask for a higher percentage, and jumping from 62% to 100% is a bit extreme," says PR, who eventually plans to offer more high-percentage bar options. And PR might be onto something. "Right now, there's a high consumer interest in higher percentages," adds Johnson. "It's important to think of what will be appealing to your target consumer when crafting something for that demographic."