Raw cacao at 99%, with essentially no sugar in it, from Lovechock — the Amsterdam maker founded by Laura de Nooijer after she came back from Mexico and Brazil determined to make chocolate differently.
What the percentage actually means
Worth understanding, because it is widely misread. The percentage on a dark chocolate is 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.
So a 58% bar is roughly 42% sugar; a 75% bar about a quarter sugar; and this one, at 99%, is very nearly all cacao and contains next to none. That is the entire difference.
Be prepared for it
A 99% bar is not a stronger version of the dark chocolate you already eat — it is a different experience, and it catches people out. Sugar does not just sweeten chocolate; it masks bitterness and astringency, and it gives the bar its familiar smooth mouthfeel. Take it away and what remains is intense, dry, faintly sour and genuinely bitter, closer to unsweetened cooking chocolate or to very strong coffee.
Approach it as you would a strong espresso rather than as a sweet. A single square, allowed to melt slowly rather than chewed, is the way to meet it. People who love it tend to love it very much; people expecting confectionery do not.
Raw cacao
Lovechock work with unroasted beans — only the outer shells are briefly heated, for hygiene, while the core stays raw. Roasting is what creates the deep toasted note most of us call "chocolate", so raw cacao tastes brighter, fruitier and more acidic. At 99%, with no sugar to soften anything, that fruitiness is unusually exposed.
Also good for cooking
An unsweetened high-percentage bar is genuinely useful in the kitchen: grated into a chilli or a mole, melted into a rich stew, or used in baking where you control the sugar yourself.
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. Check the pack for the full allergen declaration.