Raw 75% dark chocolate, plain, from Lovechock in Amsterdam — the bar to buy if you want to taste what raw cacao actually tastes like without anything else in the way.
What raw cacao means, and why it tastes different
Nearly all chocolate is made from roasted beans. Roasting is what creates the deep, toasted, unmistakably "chocolatey" flavour we all grew up with — and in the process it burns off a great deal of the bean's own fruit character, which is considerable.
Lovechock work with unroasted cacao: only the outer shells are briefly heated, for hygiene, while the core of the bean stays raw. The result is noticeably brighter, fruitier and more acidic than a conventional dark bar — closer to the cacao pod than to a supermarket 70%.
Plain, at 75%, is where that shows most clearly. Nothing is masking it. If you have only ever had roasted chocolate, this is the bar that will surprise you.
What the percentage means
The proportion of the bar that comes from the cacao bean — cocoa mass plus cocoa butter. It is not a quality score; almost all the remainder is sugar. At 75%, roughly a quarter is sweetening, which puts it in the comfortable middle of the dark range.
An honest word on the sugar
Lovechock sweeten with coconut blossom sugar rather than refined sugar. It is less processed and carries a faint caramel note. It is still sugar. This is very good chocolate, not a health food.
Storage and diet
Cool and dry, 15–18 °C, away from strong smells and out of the fridge. Organic, dairy-free, soy-free and gluten-free — so it is a vegan dark chocolate. Check the pack for the full allergen declaration.