Chocolate percentages get treated as a general quality signal — higher automatically reads as "better" or "more premium" — but the number is actually measuring one specific thing, and it's worth knowing what before assuming more is always better.
What the percentage is actually counting
It's the proportion of the bar's total weight made up of cocoa solids and cocoa butter combined, jointly referred to as cocoa mass or cocoa content. A bar labelled 70% is 70% cocoa-derived material by weight; the remaining 30% is mostly sugar, plus milk solids if it's a milk chocolate rather than dark.
Why milk chocolate sits at a lower percentage by design
Milk chocolate's recipe reserves a meaningful portion of its weight for milk solids, which necessarily reduces how much room is left for cocoa content. UK regulations set minimum thresholds for both categories: milk chocolate needs at least 25% cocoa solids and at least 14% milk solids, while dark chocolate's cocoa minimum sits considerably higher with no milk solids requirement at all. Our Kingsway Valentine Hearts, for example, states cocoa solids at 28% minimum and milk solids at 16% minimum on the label — comfortably inside the milk chocolate category, and a genuine, regulated figure rather than a marketing choice.
Why higher percentage isn't automatically "better"
A higher cocoa percentage means more intense, often more bitter chocolate flavour and correspondingly less sweetness — that's a taste direction, not a quality upgrade. Someone expecting the sweetness of a milk chocolate bar will likely find a 70-85% dark bar unpleasantly bitter, while someone who prefers dark chocolate's intensity will find milk chocolate too sweet and comparatively flat in cocoa flavour. Neither preference is more correct than the other.
The practical takeaway
Treat the percentage as a flavour-intensity dial, not a quality scale — useful for predicting how sweet or how intensely cocoa-forward a chocolate will taste, not for deciding which bar is objectively better.
Frequently asked questions
What does the chocolate percentage measure?
The proportion of the bar's weight that comes from cocoa solids and cocoa butter combined.
Why is milk chocolate's percentage lower?
It reserves part of its recipe for milk solids and more sugar, which reduces the share left for cocoa — UK rules set separate, lower minimums for milk chocolate.
Is higher percentage always better?
No — it means more intense, more bitter flavour and less sweetness, which is a taste preference rather than a quality measure.