Chocolate > Composition > Chocolate Types

Chocolate Types

There are three main types of chocolate:  dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate.  The ingredients that make up each of these types of chocolate are different and there are specific regulations that define the composition of these products. The terms used to describe chocolate products often communicate certain expectations we have when we eat them.  For instance, when we eat a dark chocolate we expect a rich, full-bodied chocolate with less sweetness and no milk flavor.  However, a milk chocolate should have milder chocolate flavor with pleasant milky notes and well balanced sweetness.  White chocolate lovers look forward to a pleasant, sweet, milky confection with little or no chocolate flavor.  Based on these expectations, it is important for manufacturers to adhere to established requirements that define these categories of chocolate.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has established standards of identity for many chocolate and cocoa products in the United States.  The standards define the percentages of key ingredients that must be present in each type of chocolate.

Dark Chocolate has no official “standard”, or definition in the U.S., but there are standards for both Semisweet (Bittersweet) Chocolate and Sweet Chocolate, both of which are often referred to as dark chocolate. 

Semisweet (Bittersweet) Chocolate contains chocolate liquor with added cocoa butter and sugar. The government standards require at least 35 percent chocolate liquor. Fat content may vary but averages between 30-35 percent. 

Sweet Chocolate contains more sweeteners and cocoa butter than semisweet chocolate. The level of chocolate liquor must be at least 15 percent to meet the standard.

Milk Chocolate is the most frequently consumed type of chocolate in the U.S.  Milk chocolate contains sweeteners, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, milk (or cream), and flavors.  Milk chocolate must contain at least 10 percent chocolate liquor and 12 percent milk solids to meet the US standard of identity.  The only fats allowed in milk chocolate are cocoa butter and milk fat.

White Chocolate contains the same ingredients as milk chocolate with the exception of chocolate liquor or cocoa powder.  White chocolate must contain at least 20 percent cocoa butter, 14 percent total milk solids, and less than 55 percent sweetener (sugar).