When you purchase through chocolate chip cookies easy quick on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. What kind of magic do they put in chocolate, anyway?

A close up image of chunks of chocolate. Raw, unprocessed chocolate tastes bitter and dry, but chocolate that’s been fermented, dried, and roasted, and had a bit of sugar and cream added to it, tastes divine. People around the world enjoy the decadent flavor of chocolate on its own and in an enormous variety of foods. More than half of all the chocolate we consume comes from West African countries, primarily Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. Chocolate is derived from the fruit of the cacao tree, which grows exclusively in tropical climates. These lumpy berries, or pods, are full of up to 50 sour seeds, or beans, covered in white pulp. The pods are harvested by hand and cut open to remove the cocoa beans which are then placed in covered trays where they ferment for several days.

After fermentation, the beans are uncovered and left out to dry. Next, the beans are taken to the chocolate factory, where they are cleaned and debris is removed. The beans are roasted in large, rotating ovens. The roasting draws out flavor and removes the beans from their hulls. Roasted beans go into a winnowing machine, which cracks the beans and removes hulls. The remaining part of the bean is called the nib, and that’s the piece that becomes edible chocolate.

The nibs are ground down under a series of rollers to create a thick paste called chocolate liquor. At this point, chocolatiers have creative freedom to create chocolate to their tastes. According to the FCIA, ingredients separate fine chocolate from that of average quality. Additional flavors or ingredients like nuts can be added later.

What are the types of chocolate? Historically, fine chocolate falls into three main categories: dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate, Williams explained. Dark chocolate is made with chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, lecithin, sugar and vanilla. Milk chocolate includes the same ingredients as dark chocolate plus milk fats and milk solids. White chocolate is made with the same ingredients as milk chocolate, except it does not include the chocolate liquor. The lack of chocolate liquor in white chocolate has led chocolatiers to debate whether it’s truly chocolate. Food and Drug Administration considered it a confectionary rather than chocolate because it does not contain chocolate liquor.

Because the FDA refers to it as white chocolate, rather than confectionary, some experts, like Williams, accept white chocolate as chocolate. In 2017, a fourth category of chocolate joined the list: Ruby chocolate. Barry Callebaut, the world’s largest cocoa processing company, developed the pink-hued chocolate by adding a powder that’s naturally extracted as the cocoa beans are processed to make chocolate. According to its creators, ruby chocolate has a lighter flavor than milk chocolate and isn’t as sweet, The Guardian reported. Within each category of chocolate, the FDA also acknowledges several grades, Williams said. The type of chocolate depends on what ingredients are present and the percentage of cocoa, in addition to where the beans are from and the way they are prepared. A close up shot of various chocolate truffles: white chocolate, dark chocolate, and milk chocolate are shown.

What chocolate dreams are made of. Cocoa also contains high levels of flavonoids, chemicals in plants that are known for their health benefits in humans. Dark chocolate contains especially high amounts of flavonoids, which may be why chocolate consumption has been associated with a decreased risk of heart disease in recent years, according to the 2013 review. Some studies have found that regular chocolate consumption is associated with lower blood pressure, decreased stress levels and increased alertness.