National Dark Chocolate Day Date in the current year: February 1, 2024

Dark chocolate is a type of chocolate that contains cocoa solids and cocoa butter but doesn’t contain milk. It may or may not contain sugar or other sweeteners; dark chocolate that doesn’t contain sweeteners is also known as unsweetened chocolate or bitter chocolate.

Chocolate originated in Mesoamerica thousands of years ago. The Maya ground cocoa beans and mixed them with water and other ingredients to prepare an energizing drink with a characteristic bitter taste. Following the Spanish colonization of South America, chocolate made its way to Europe and became a fashionable beverage there.

The modern era of chocolate began in the early 19th century, when Dutch chemist Coenraad van Houten invented a press that allowed to separate cocoa solids from fat (cocoa butter). Chocolate bars were invented by English chocolatier Joseph Fry, whose factory in Bristol started producing them in 1866.

Those early chocolate bars were what we now call dark chocolate; they were made by mixing cocoa powder and sugar with melted cocoa butter. Milk chocolate was created about a decade later thanks to Henri Nestlé and Daniel Peter: Nestlé invented powdered milk and Peter came up with the idea to add it to chocolate bars. Milk chocolate quickly gained popularity among consumers, and the term “dark chocolate” was coined to distinguish between the new chocolate variety and its predecessor.

For a long time, milk chocolate was the most popular kind of chocolate, but dark chocolate began to regain popularity in the late 20th century due to its supposed health benefits. Dark chocolate often contains less sugar than milk chocolate, which makes it healthier, and the absense of milk makes it a great option for lactose intolerant consumers.

The taste of dark chocolate depends on two main factors: the percentage of cocoa solids it contains and the amount of sugar added. The more cocoa solids and less sugar, the more bitter the taste. According to European standards, dark chocolate must contain at least 35% of cocoa solids; in the United States, a 15% concentration of cocoa solids is enough. Depending on its sugar content, dark chocolate can be sweet, semisweet, bittersweet, or unsweetened.

The origins of National Dark Chocolate Day are unclear, but don’t let this stop you from celebrating this amazing holiday, and there are so many ways to celebrate! You can eat some dark chocolate (it is the perfect occasion to splurge on that expensive chocolate bar you’ve been eyeing for quite some time), cook a dessert or even a savory dish with dark chocolate, drink chocolate stout or hot chocolate made from melted dark chocolate, host a dark chocolate tasting party for your friends, learn about the health benefits of dark chocolate and share the facts you’ve learned with others, and, of course, spread the word about the holiday on social media with the hashtags #NatioanlDarkChocolateDay and #DarkChocolateDay.