Dark chocolate candy bars: How much cacao is too much?

Published 1:05 pm Wednesday, September 7, 2011

I believe there are two kinds of people in the world: those who eat regular milk chocolate candy bars and those who eat dark chocolate.
Really dark chocolate. I’m talking 70 percent cacao and above.
That’s the kind of dark chocolate I eat. Besides its pure flavor, really dark chocolate has less sugar so it doesn’t spike glycemic levels. So I can have a treat with less worry.
And it doesn’t seem to take much dark chocolate to satisfy my sweet tooth.
But the question then becomes: How much cacao is too much?
A co-worker brought in a Seattle-made Theo dark chocolate bar for me to sample. It’s 91 percent cacao. For me, that was too much.
I liked that each serving only had 4 grams of sugar. But still, that level of cacao tasted, sadly, chalky to me. There was also a weird after-taste.
That Theo bar convinced me that my cacao comfort zone is right around 85 to 86 percent.
Some of my favorite dark chocolate brands are Ghiradelli and Lindt. I also like the Endangered Species brand, especially the dark chocolate with blueberries.
What’s your favorite dark chocolate?