Types of Chocolate

Main Types of Chocolate:

• Pure unsweetened chocolate
• Dark Chocolate (sweet, semi-sweet, and bittersweet) 
• Milk chocolate
• White chocolate

Pure Unsweetened Chocolate (USA):

• AKA: baking or cooking chocolate
• Composition of solid unsweetened chocolate: chocolate liquor and some form of fat
• Used only for baking
• Taste bitter
• Not suitable for eating
• Contains almost 100% cocoa solids (cocoa and cocoa butter)
• Half of content can be cocoa butter (fat)

Dark Chocolate (USA):

• AKA: Black Chocolate
• Forms: sweet, semi-sweet, bittersweet or unsweetened
• Composition: sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, vanilla
• High cocoa solids content (cocoa and cocoa butter)
• Contains less than 12% milk solids

     
     Sweet Dark Chocolate (USA):

• Typically contains almost 35-45% cocoa solids (cocoa and cocoa butter)
• Contains at least 15% or more chocolate liquor
• Contains at less than 12% milk solids
• Taste similar to semi-sweet chocolate
• Has a good, sweet flavor

     Semi-Sweet Dark Chocolate (USA):

• Typically contains almost 40-62% cocoa solids (cocoa and cocoa butter)
• Contains at least 35% or more chocolate liquor
• Contains less than 12% milk solids
• Taste similar to sweet dark chocolate
• Classic dark baking chocolate
• Frequently used for cakes, cookies and brownies
• Has a good, sweet flavor
• Typically used as chocolate gifts

     Bittersweet Chocolate (USA):

• Must contain at least 35% cocoa solids (cocoa and cocoa butter)
• Higher quality bittersweet chocolate typically contain 60% to 85% cocoa solids
• High cocoa solids and low sugar content yields a rich, more bitter chocolate flavor
• Often used for baking or cooking
• Cannot use semi-sweet dark chocolate or sweet dark chocolate as substitutes.

Milk Chocolate (USA):

• Composition: sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla, and milk, milk powder, or condensed milk. 
• Typically contains 10-20% cocoa solids (cocoa and cocoa butter)
• Contains at least 12% or more milk solids
• Contains at least 10% or more chocolate liquor
• Seldom used in baking, except to make cookies

White Chocolate (USA):

• Contains at least 14% or more milk solids
• Contains less than 55% sugar
• Contains at least 20% or more cocoa fat
• Contains at least 3.5% or more milk fat
• Composition: sugar, cocoa butter, milk or milk powder, emulsifier, and vanilla.
• Unlike other chocolates, white chocolate typically does not contain cocoa solids (cocoa and cocoa butter)
• Typically used to make desserts
• Not considered a type of chocolate in some countries. 

Note: 

The content of each type of chocolate depends on the country's labeling guideline.
The United States, Canada, European Union, and Japan all have different labeling requirements.

References:

En.wikipedia.org. "Types of chocolate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." 1870. Web. 2 May 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_chocolate>.

Cacaoweb.net. "Types of chocolate." 1886. Web. 2 May 2013. <http://cacaoweb.net/chocolate.html>.