What makes dark chocolate dark?

[SmilingRawDancer]

Why does "dark chocolate" taste different, and why isn't there a raw version?

[Veganforlife]

Check this out:

http://www.rawfood.com/cacao.html

Okay - next question class?
Just kidding!

[kiwiLOVE]

I guess dark chocolate taste different because it doesn’t have as much stuff mixed into it as milk chocolate?

I’ve seen raw chocolate @ Whole Foods Market and SunHarvest, but it tastes really bitter.
Although, it’s really good added in a smoothie. ;)

[sport]

Raw chocolate is dark.
I make chocolate by melting some cocoa butter (someetimes coconut butter but I do not like it as much) in a bowl in a pan of warm water and adding chocolate powder and some agave.
Then you can add whatever you like. I like presoaked gogi berries and chopped cashews.
It is very dark and you can make it as bitter as you want.

[SmilingRawDancer]

All I know is that when I used to buy dark cocoa powder (hersheys) from the grocery store, it was very dark. I mean duh, it was processed and probably colored (although the ingredient list was very short. 1 item: cocoa processed with alkali), but I guess I just wondered, because raw cacao tastes like regular cocoa powder to me, whereas the dark stuff I would buy tasted so much richer and deeper.

[zenpawn]

Wikipedia has some good pages on chocolate and cocoa:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocoa

From the second page comes this explanation:

"Adding an alkali produces Dutch process cocoa powder, which is less acidic, darker and more mellow in flavor than what is generally available in most of the world. Regular (nonalkalized) cocoa is acidic..."