Artisan chocolate

Refers to Theobroma cacao tree, and the fruits it produces, as well as their seeds. The fermented and dried cacao seeds are also often referred to as "cocoa" beans.

This term usually refers to those companies that produce chocolate in small batches from fermented and dried cocoa beans.

This term usually refers to those large companies that produce a broad range of mass market and/or specialty chocolate from dried cocoa beans.

Ground up cocoa nibs, whether in molten liquid or solid block form. The term chocolate liquor has nothing to do with alcohol in any way but refers to the nibs being in the liquid state when they are ground.

The percentage of chocolate liquor + cocoa butter + cocoa powder in a chocolate. A higher cocoa percentage has little bearing on the quality. For example, a 70% chocolate may range from excellent to terrible. The only specific thing that we can say about a 70% chocolate bar, with any certainty, prior to tasting it, is that it has about 30% sugar in [..]

This term usually refers to a person that uses fine chocolate produced by chocolate manufacturers/makers to create unique chocolate products and confectionery.

or chocolate-flavored coating

Cocoa butter is rare among vegetable fats because it is mostly solid at room temperature, though it starts to very noticeably soften and melt at just a few degrees beneath body temperature, leading to its unique melting mouthfeel. These interesting qualities are due to the fact that cocoa butter is polymorphic, with about six, somewhat overlapping, [..]

Mass market chocolates and cocoa powders often have much lower cocoa butter percentages than fine chocolate and high-quality cocoa powders because cocoa butter is an expensive ingredient. The higher percentages of cocoa butter in fine chocolate and fine cocoa powders have a positive impact on mouthfeel and flavor.