13 Common General Myths About Chocolate

A concise overview of some chocolate myths that float around these days. I get asked these questions often during my tastings, and so I feel it would be helpful to have a list with some direct answers. Some answers would benefit from a longer explanation, so I may expand on them in another post in the future. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me.

1. Cacao is more pure than Cocoa

Many people think there is a difference between something called “cacao” versus “cocoa”. The truth is, there is no difference. When a manufacture decides to market their product (be it powder, chocolate bar, nibs, the fruit, the fat) there really is nothing stopping them from using either term. These days, products labelled with “cacao” gives the impression that it is more natural, more pure, or healthier than a similar product labelled with “cocoa”. I can create a chocolate bar label tonight, and sell it tomorrow, and list the ingredients as “cacao” or “cacao beans” on my bar, and it would be no different than a chocolate bar with the ingredient labelled as “cocoa” or “cocoa beans”.

Image by Bean To Bar World

Within the chocolate industry in the past few decades there has been a move to make anything related to the cacao tree before it has been handled by humans or processed as “cacao”, and anything that has been processed becomes “cocoa”. Some manufacturers or writers may use this definition, but this is not the original definition, nor how the two spellings came to be. It is also not how most people in the industry use these terms. It’s a fairly new suggestion of which most people ignore.

It is believed the spelling “cocoa” was used by the English centuries ago (possibly a misspelling of cacao), and it stuck in the English language ever since. The word “cacao” was derived from the Mesoamerican word “kakawa” back in the 16th Century when the Spanish began using the word. You can learn more about this in the True History Of Chocolate.

As a consumer, it is best to just ignore the spelling differences, since all the products you purchase are processed in some way. The spelling is not a way to guarantee quality, nutritional value, or purity. For that, you will have to read more information on the label such as where the cacao comes from (not just the country but the region or co-op), the type of cacao, and finally tasting it! The more information about where the cocoa/cacao beans come from, the more likely you can trust that it may be better quality (however this is not always the case either).

So next time you see chocolate, nibs, cocoa powder, or cocoa butter labelled as “cacao”, you will understand that in of itself is not something to take into consideration when making your purchasing choices.

2. I don’t like dark chocolate because it’s bitter

This is an 80% dark chocolate made by Peruvian chocolate maker Cacaosuyo. It is a high-percentage dark chocolate bar, and it is not bitter at all. The flavour notes may be darker and heavier, but it does not actually have bitter notes. This is a sign of a high quality dark chocolate, no to little bitterness.

You may not enjoy dark chocolate, and it could be because you never had or found the right high quality dark chocolate. Dark chocolate should not be synonymous with bitterness. People assume dark chocolate is supposed to be bitter, and this is not the case. Bitterness is a sign of poorer quality cacao. Fine chocolate should have little to no bitterness, especially below 80%.

Keep in mind two things. One, we have different thresholds for bitterness. Some of us eat more sugar and sweeter foods on a daily basis, and so you have developed a lower threshold for bitterness, and what is not bitter to someone else you may find bitter. As well, some people have receptors in our mouth that sense some bitter tastants more than other people.

Two, what I would call intense, many beginner chocolate tasters call bitter. Bitter is also not synonymous with intensity. A high percentage dark chocolate bar can be intense (deep heavy flavours, toasty, smokey) but not actually be bitter in the way a grapefruit, rappini, or bitter melon is bitter.

3. I don’t like milk chocolate because it’s too sweet

This milk chocolate bar, made by Qantu chocolate maker in Montreal, is 60%. That means 60% of this bar by weight is made up of cacao nibs (the kernel of the cacao bean). Most milk chocolate bars you buy from the grocery store are around the 30% range, so have half the cacao, but nearly double the sugar and milk powder. High quality milk chocolate can still bey creamy and decadent without being overly sweet!

Just as high quality dark chocolate should not be bitter, high quality milk chocolate should not be too sweet. Again, your threshold for sweetness will impact how sweet you find a milk chocolate bar. Someone who always has sweetened coffee, dessert here and there, is likely to find a milk chocolate less sweet than someone who drinks espresso or black coffee and avoids sugar in their diet. The espresso drinker who avoids sugar will have a lower threshold for sweetness, and what one may consider not too sweet at all, they may find quit sweet.

That being said, fine milk chocolate should not be too sweet. Most commercially available milk chocolate is in the range of 25-35% milk chocolate. That means its around 30% cocoa bean, and the other 70% is a mixture of milk powder and sugar. This is why most milk chocolate is very light in colour and often very sweet. The fine milk chocolate you see in the online shop here is anywhere from 40% to 65%, most being around 50%. This means there is much more cocoa bean, and far less sugar than most milk chocolate. The “dark milk chocolate” bars which are around 60-65% even have the same percentage of cocoa bean as in many commercial dark chocolates! In fact, the dark chocolate bar is made from cocoa bean and sugar, so a 65% dark chocolate bar is 65% cocoa bean, and 35% sugar. A 65% milk chocolate is 65% cocoa bean, and the rest is a mixture of milk powder and sugar. So in essence, the dark milk chocolate bar can contain even less sugar than a 65% dark chocolate bar, since the remaining 35% is not all sugar, some of it is milk powder.

The bottom line is, you want enough sugar to reduce the intensity, but not too much sugar where the sweetness masks the flavour notes of the chocolate. A fine milk chocolate bar will have more flavour than just cocoa and sweet. A high quality milk chocolate will have other notes as seen in the milk chocolate bars in the online shop.

4. White chocolate is NOT chocolate

This is a flavoured white chocolate from Rozsavolgyi based in Hungary. It’s a beautifully crafted “white” chocolate. I use parenthesis because it is actually green due to the addition of matcha tea and other herbs. It is well balanced in regards to sweetness, and the white chocolate is a good base to carry on the more delicate flavours of the herbs and lemon.

Not true. White chocolate is chocolate. Dark and milk chocolate is made from the whole cocoa nib. White chocolate is made only from the fat of the nib. The cocoa bean or nibs are pressed, and the fat that comes out we call cocoa butter. This cocoa butter is mixed with sugar and milk powder, and this is usually the basis of a white chocolate. Of course, there are some plant-based white chocolates which omit the milk powder.

White chocolate is no less chocolate than an egg white omelette is an omelette. It is still an omelette, and it’s still made from egg. However, it is only made from half the egg as white chocolate is made from half the bean/nib (The kernel of the bean is 50% fat. The kernel is what we use to make dark and milk chocolate).

Now, white chocolate is not at the same caliber as fine dark or milk chocolate, especially dark chocolate. In dark chocolate, the flavour and quality is solely based on the cocoa bean and how it was roasted and refined into chocolate. For white chocolate, you don’t require high quality cocoa beans to retrieve cocoa butter and make high quality white chocolate.

All the health benefits of chocolate is found in the cocoa solids (the dark portion) not the fat. Therefore, white chocolate is a treat as opposed to a nutritious food as dark chocolate is. The fat does not contain any or sufficient amounts of any antioxidants or minerals as dark chocolate does.

A true high quality white chocolate is made only from cocoa butter. No other fats should be used. As well, they should be made with a higher percentage of cocoa butter and milk powder as opposed to sugar. They will always be sweet, but should not be too sweet.

5. Ruby Chocolate is the 4th type of chocolate

This is not Ruby chocolate, but another pink white chocolate by McGuire Chocolate based in New Brunswick, Canada. It is a flavoured white chocolate that contains freeze-dried strawberry.

Speaking about white chocolate, there is a new “type” of chocolate called Ruby chocolate. What exactly is it. It is a flavoured white chocolate. The ingredients is exactly the same as white chocolate with the major ingredients being cocoa butter, sugar, and milk powder. So what makes it ruby in colour? On top of those three ingredients, it contains a very small percentage of actual whole cocoa bean. Here is the major point - the cocoa bean retains its pre-fermented pink/violet colour and is treated to be acidic. This is what adds the pink colour and the tartness to the Ruby chocolate. Ruby chocolate is an interesting and unique chocolate product. It is essentially flavoured white chocolate that is flavoured with, itself!

Cocoa beans that are raw and unfermented can be pink and violet in colour. Tartness is also an impact of fermentation. Now many will say the Ruby chocolate tastes fruity, but I have never actually tasted anything fruity in it. Keep in mind that when our minds taste something sweet and tart, our brain automatically goes “oh, it’s fruity!”. The fact that it is pink also reinforces this idea of fruitiness.

It is nice to have a product for chocolatiers that is naturally coloured and provides another element of flavour different from the other types of chocolates, but it is essentially a flavoured white chocolate. In the online shop, there are many flavoured white chocolates. Some are even pink! But they are pink because they contain fruits such as freeze-dried strawberry powder.

6. chocolate is a sweet

Image by @shutters_guild. Chocolate and cacao do not only have to be associated with sweets and desserts. A very untapped corner of the food industry is using chocolate and cacao in savory dishes. Chicken Mole is a popular item in Mexican cuisine which incorporates cocoa into a brown sauce that is poured over chicken or turkey.

Chocolate as we know it is considered a sweet, candy, or dessert. However, for most of it’s history it was not. To the South and Mesoamericans thousands of years ago, the cocoa bean was a food just as maize and beans were. It was part of their bread basket. Chocolate for thousands of years was a drink, much like tea or coffee is to us today. It didn’t because a chocolate bar until the 19th Century. Prior to that it was either a drink or an ingredient in foods.

In Mesoamerica, chocolate was a drink (usually unsweetened) or used as an ingredient in foods such as porridge or other foods. In Italy in the 18th Century, chocolate was cooked with foods such as liver, lasagna, and soup. Even today, chocolate is uses as an ingredient in Mole, a brown sauce Mexicans pour over boiled turkey or chicken.

The idea of chocolate being solely a sweet or dessert is a relatively new idea in regards to the history of chocolate. In fact, fine chocolate bars can be well paired with charcuterie and eaten as an appetizer to a meal. You will actually enjoy the fine flavours at a more intense level eating fine chocolate before a meal as opposed to afterwards. Fine dark chocolate pairs well with an array of cured and smoked meats, aged cheeses, breads, crackers, dried fruits, and nuts.

And if you love to experiment in the kitchen, try adding chocolate into sauces or stews. You may be surprised!

7. Chocolate is unhealthy

Image by @climatechangevi. Chocolate can be part of a healthy lifestyle if consuming high quality dark chocolate in moderation regularly.

Chocolate is a wonderful healthful food. Cocoa beans and dark chocolate contain one of the highest concentrations of antioxidants, more than high antioxidant fruits and vegetables such as goji berries, blueberries, pomegranate, and leafy greens. Tea leaves contain more than cacao, but we don’t actually consume the tea leaves, we drink a dilution of them.

Cacao beans and dark chocolate also contain an array of minerals such as manganese, magnesium, iron, and zinc. Although it is a high fat product, the fat is the natural fat from the cocoa beans, and in many ways is like eating nuts such as almonds, macadamia, and cashews. The fat, cocoa butter, is made up of predominately 3 fatty acids: oleic (the fatty acid found in olive oil, which has cholesterol lowering properties), stearic (which has none to moderate impact on cholesterol), and palmitic (which can be associated with higher cholesterol). However, the any slightly negative impact by the palmitic fatty acid is balanced out in a way by the high antioxidant capabilities of dark chocolate to potentially reduce inflammation associated with blood vessels. Procyanidins (flavanols found in chocolate) stimulate anti-inflammatory cytokines, while some studies suggest it may cause a chain reaction that may lower LDL in the blood as well as platelet production soon after consumption.

High percentage dark chocolate offers you long-term energy with its high fat content in the way of cocoa butter, which can also help with feeling full sooner. Lifestyle diets which promote consistent consumption of healthy fats (instead of avoiding fats) may encourage the body to shed unnecessary weight over time as opposed to a diet which focuses on carbohydrates. Chocolate, which contains only natural cocoa butter (from the bean used to make the chocolate or the addition of extra cocoa butter), can certainly be part of a balanced diet. It is the palm-kernel oils and synthesized fats in lower quality chocolate which has negative impacts on our health long term, not the natural cocoa butter found in cocoa beans.

The small amount of sugar (most often unrefined cane sugar in fine chocolate) gives us a quick source of energy. There are many diets today which encourage the elimination of all sugars in the diet, not because sugar in itself is bad (we need sugars in our diet), but because our culture has introduced too much sugar in too many aspects of our foods. Nearly all the countless studies which have analyzed the potential health benefits of chocolate contained sugar, and this did not automatically cancel out the health benefits achieved by the individuals in the study. Moderation is key, and if you are conscious of how much sugar you consume in your diet and steer clear of processed foods and highly sweetened drinks on a regular basis, a few times of fine chocolate throughout the week will certainly fall into your “sugar budget”. Chocolate even has a lower glycemic index than an apple and bread, and has longer sustaining energy as well. Fine chocolate isn’t intended to be consumed in large amounts. Just as one glass of wine at dinner can be beneficial, so can 2 or 3 pieces of fine chocolate a day.

Real chocolate is essentially a nut butter. It’s a seed mixed with some sugar and ground into a paste, not unlike almond butter, peanut butter, and other nut based butters which in moderation are part of healthy diet. Whether it’s sweetened with honey, natural cane sugar, or dates does not matter so much if consumed in moderation and within your sugar and fat budgets (just as you would consider any other foods you eat).

The Aztecs and Mayans as well consumed a great deal of chocolate/cacao (in the form of drinks). Although they did not have the technology we have today to study food and nutrition in a lab, they also believed chocolate was a healthful food, and built incredible empires with chocolate flavanols flowing through their veins. The wisdom of those who have gone before us should not be downplayed. Their food choices which kept them going strong for millennia should be something worth understanding with the tools we have today, and not ignored.

To learn a bit more about the research behind chocolate, visit my research blog.

8. Cacao originated in Africa

Image by @k_o_amanfo. Although Africa grows most of the world’s cacao today, the cacao tree did not originate there, and was not grown widely in Africa until the 19th Century.

Not true, but I understand why most people think this is the case. Africa grows most of the cacao in the world today and for the past few decades. However, it was brought over to Africa from South America by the Europeans. It took a while to expand production, but eventually it became a huge supplier of cocoa beans.

West Africa, mainly Ghana and Ivory Coast grow the most cacao in the world. Keep in mind that the cacao grown here is primarily for the enormous chocolate manufacturers of the world, and they don’t produce prime high quality cacao. What they grow is cacao intended for mass commercial production, just like coffee beans used for Starbucks, Tim Hortons, or Dunkin Donuts.

Although those countries are capable of growing fine cacao in the future if things did change in some regions, currently they tend to pump out cacao that is good for commercial chocolate, but not for the high quality bean to bar chocolates you will see on this website. There are some regions in Africa such as Tanzania who is doing a great job promoting and encouraging the production of fine cacao.

9. Chocolate originated in Mexico

Image by @dutchdanny. We owe a lot of gratitude for the peoples and civilizations of present day Mexico for their contributions to our beloved food chocolate. However, it appears now that like other parts of the world, cacao and chocolate was an imported product.

For many years, chocolate was thought to have been invented in Mesoamerica, what is present day Southern Mexico and Guatemala. This is where the wealth of chocolate history is found not only through the Aztecs and Mayans (who exited at the time when the Spanish arrived) but also other earlier people such as Toletcs, Izapans, Olmecs, Mokaya, and others.

However, the bulk of the information comes from the Aztecs and Myans. However, in the 21st Century, a site in Southern Ecuador (Santa Ana-La Florida) was excavated, and traces of cacao consumption was discovered on the pottery there. This site dates back to around 3300-3500 BC, much earlier than most of the evidence found in what is now present day Mexico and Guatemala.

This has caused a shift in thinking, that chocolate perhaps was invented first in South America, and then brought up into Mesoamerica. South America is believed to be where the cacao tree originated as well, so this seems to be logical.

10. Terroir gives fine chocolate its unique flavours

This seems to be a contentious issue in the fine chocolate world, although I don’t understand why. When I first began in fine chocolate in the late 2000s, those who knew more than me would constantly go on about terroir and its impact on fine chocolate flavour. They would speak about how it was the soil and climate of where the cacao grew as to why they varied in flavour so much as fine cacao does. And I accepted what they were saying was true because they knew more than me in general about chocolate. However, it’s important not to put your trust in people to do the thinking for you. It would be wise to go find out where they got this information in the first place. As the years went on, I began to look for the evidence myself. To my surprise, I found that no such evidence existed in any book, textbook, or peer-reviewed research paper. The idea of terroir and chocolate existed at least since the 19th Century, but it’s only been the last few years that you are starting to see research that attempts to link the connection of terroir and cacao bean flavour (without much success so far).

Bill Nesto has some insightful thoughts on terroir and chocolate. Click here to read more.

The truth is, we don’t have any evidence to date to suggest that the mechanism behind the variance in cacao flavour from different regions is linked to local climate or soil (be it directly or indirectly). Anyone who insists otherwise has not done their research. Interestingly as well, no one has ever relocated specific clones of some trees in one country to another to see if they the transplanted trees in the new area take on the flavour of the local cacao trees. Seems like a fairly simple starting point that could have been accomplished and published since the late 1800’s, but nothing of the sort exists.

The truth is, there are many factors which contribute to the flavour of cacao, and terroir (precisely soil and climate which is what the word terroir is mostly used to define) is a very tiny factor compared to more important factors such as genetics of the tree, fermentation, roasting, and refining time. There is no doubt that the weather and elements in the soil do impact the way in which plants and trees grow and develop. However, it is quite the jump to be so specific about going from that to the impact of the flavour of the cacao beans. The four factors mentioned above (individual tree genetics, fermentation, roasting, and refining time) contribute most to the final flavour of the cacao and fine chocolate. Although there is no doubt that soil and climate do impact the ways in which trees and fruits develop, its impact on the flavour of fine chocolate has been grossly overplayed.

So why overplay it? This idea of cacao and terroir was adopted from what people knew about wine in the 19th Century, but chocolate is not wine. Although there are some similarities between wine and chocolate, there are many more important differences. First of all, wine is made from the fermented fruit of the grape. Chocolate is made from the seed, not the fruit. Although the fruit is fermented, and does impact the seed to some degree during fermentation, the fruit is discarded and not consumed in the chocolate process. It’s only used as a starter to ferment the seeds.

However, terroir has a deeper purpose that I won’t go into much here. It is used to market and promote regions of where the cacao is grown, much like grapes. It entices the buyers, and so fine chocolate makers have used this for over a century. There is truth to the fact that cacao in different regions taste very different, but this is mostly due to genetics. Another factor is fermentation. There are studies that suggest the species of yeast and bacteria that ferment the cacao seeds (which differ from region to region and continent to continent) can impact the final flavour of the cacao. Although this is also sometimes grouped with the idea of terroir (and sometimes referred to as microbial terroir) it is not due to climate and soil which is how most people define terroir.

Another reason why so many chocolate makers and sommeliers continue to push the idea of terroir is because it sounds cachet, it appears to be associated with scientific research (which it is not), and it is a trusted term in the world of fine foods. Therefore, many are afraid to not use it as it may make them appear ignorant, when in fact the opposite is true. If you would like to learn a bit more on terroir and fine chocolate, read another one of my blog entries here.

I understand the fear of going back on what you said. I too felt embarrassed when I discovered the truth of terroir. Until we come across better research to connect the two ideas, it’s better to educate the public on what we DO know, such as genetics, fermentation, roasting, and refining time. This is what should be discussed in more depth, since this is what we have evidence to support these claims (as well as real-world experience). If the Bean-to-bar community is supposed to be an industry that promotes transparency, education, and quality, then what better way to exemplify it than to admit when one was wrong and move forward with better information.