23 July 2026

Flavour vs. Percentage: Why '85% Dark' Doesn't Tell You Much

Walk down a supermarket aisle and every dark bar is sold on one number: the percentage. Higher must mean better, right? Not quite.

Percentage measures quantity, not quality

Cacao percentage tells you how much of the bar (by weight) is cacao solids and cacao butter versus sugar. It says nothing about the bean’s origin, how it was fermented, or how carefully it was roasted — the three things that actually shape flavour.

Two 70% bars can taste nothing alike

A 70% bar made from well-fermented Madagascan cacao can taste bright and red-fruited. A 70% bar made from underfermented, over-roasted beans can taste flat and bitter. Same number, completely different experience.

What to look for instead

• Origin — single-origin bars tend to carry more distinct character than blends.
• Fermentation notes — makers who talk about fermentation time usually care about flavour development, not just percentage marketing.
• Small-batch roasting — batch roasting in small quantities gives a maker far more control than industrial continuous roasting.

Percentage is a starting point for figuring out how intense a bar will be — not a scorecard for how good it is. Taste past the number.