Bittersweet Chocolate:

Dark chocolate that contains s minimum of 35% chocolate liquor.  Bittersweet and semi-sweet fall under this definition; however, bittersweet is traditionally the term reserved for chocolate with a minimum of 50% chocolate liquor.

Chocolate Liquor:

The ground up center (nib) of the cocoa bean (otherwise known as unsweetened chocolate).

Cocoa Beans:

Seeds from the pod of a Theobroma tree.  Native to the tropical Amazon forests.  Commercially grown worldwide in tropical rainforests within 20" latitude of the equator.

Cocoa Butter:

The fat of the cocoa bean.

Cocoa Powder:

The cocoa solids resulting from pressing cocoa butter out of chocolate liquor.  Available in different fat levels.  May be natural or dutched.

Compound::

Known as confectionery coating.  A blend of sugar, vegetable oil, cocoa powder and other products.  Vegetable oil is substituted for cocoa butter to reduce the product cost and to develop special melting profiles.

Conche:

A machine in which the chocolate is kept under constant agitation.  This assists in achieving desirable flavors and liquefying the refined chocolate mass.

Dutch Process:

A treatment used during the making of cocoa powder in which cocoa solids are treated with an alkaline solution to neutralize acidity.  This process darkens the cocoa and develops a milder chocolate flavor.

Fat Bloom:

The result of inadequate tempering or temperature abuse of a properly tempered chocolate.  Visible as a dull white film on the surface of the chocolate with the possibility of a soft or crumbling texture on the interior.  A visual and textural defect only.  The product is safe to use.

Fineness:

The measured particle size of the coating solids.  Expressed in ten thousandths of an inch or in microns. 

Lecithin:

A natural emulsifier used in chocolate to improve its flow properties. 

Milk Chocolate:

Chocolate with at least 10% chocolate liquor and 12% milk solids, combined with sugar, cocoa butter, lecithin and vanilla. 

Nib:

The center (meat) of the cocoa bean.  When ground, the nib becomes chocolate liquor. 

Semi-Sweet Chocolate:

Also known as bittersweet chocolate.  Contains a minimum of 35% chocolate liquor. 

Sugar Bloom:

Visible as a dull white film on the surface of the chocolate.  Dry and hard to the touch, sugar bloom is the result of surface moisture dissolving sugar in the chocolate and subsequent recrystallization of the sugar on the chocolate surface.  Typically caused by cold chocolate being exposed to a warm humid environment with resultant condensation forming on the product.  This is a visual and textural defect.

Sweet Chocolate:

Chocolate that contains a minimum of 15% chocolate liquor with varying amounts of sweeteners and cocoa butter.

Tempering:

A process of preparing chocolate that involves heating and cooling so that it will solidify with a stable cocoa butter crystal form.  Proper tempering, followed by good cooling, is required for good surface gloss and to prevent "fat" bloom. 

Unsweetened Chocolate:

Same as "chocolate liquor." 

Viscosity:

The measure of the flow characteristics of a melted chocolate.