In general, there are two basic kinds of chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate.
That said, the broad range in quality and flavors means there’s actually an enormous variety of different kinds of chocolates to be savored.
But in terms of basics, milk chocolate is made with chocolate liquor, whole milk solids and granulated sugar. Additional cocoa butter (obtained from the production of cocoa powder) may be added to the chocolate liquor.
Dark chocolate is produced in the same way except that no milk solids are added. It may be sweet, semi-sweet or bitter-sweet, depending on the amount of added sugar. In general, both semi-sweet and bitter-sweet chocolate have at least 35% chocolate liquor.
Unsweetened chocolate, also known as baker’s chocolate, is bitter chocolate made with pure chocolate liquor and no added sugar, i.e. 100% cocoa content.
While milk chocolate is more commonly found in North American candy aisles, in France, dark chocolate is more popular.
Artisan chocolate makers in France and elsewhere use the finest beans from around the world to create their own unique blends, often adding spices, fruit and other ingredients to produce their signature sweets.