Cocoa percentage

Cocoa percentage indicates the total proportion of bean-derived material (cocoa mass plus cocoa butter) in a chocolate, the remainder being mostly sugar. A dark chocolate labelled 70 percent therefore contains 70 percent cocoa derivatives and roughly 30 percent sugar. The figure signals intensity and bitterness rather than the origin or aromatic quality of the beans, which depend on terroir, fermentation and roasting rather than a single number on the label.