Raw 75% dark chocolate with caramel and sea salt, from Lovechock in Amsterdam — the most immediately likeable bar in the range, and the one to start with.
Why salt belongs in chocolate
It is not a fashion, and it is not there to make the bar taste salty. Salt does two specific things. It suppresses bitterness — sodium ions interfere directly with the bitter receptors on the tongue — which is why a pinch makes dark chocolate read as sweeter without any sugar being added. And it amplifies aroma, so the caramel and the cacao both come through more clearly.
The same trick is why bakers salt caramel, why salt goes into bread, and why a tomato without it tastes flat. Here it lets a 75% bar taste rounder than its sugar content would suggest.
What the percentage means
The proportion of the bar 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 of the bar is sweetening, which is why it sits in the comfortable middle: definitely dark, but not austere.
Raw cacao
Lovechock work with unroasted beans — only the shells are briefly heated, for hygiene, while the core stays raw. Roasting creates the deep toasted note most of us call "chocolate", so raw cacao is brighter, fruitier and more acidic than a conventional dark bar. Against caramel that fruitiness stops the sweetness becoming cloying.
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 of its own, which suits this bar particularly well. 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. Check the pack for the full allergen declaration.
Lovechock NL
Lovechock NL
Lovechock NL
Lovechock NL
