Finding the chocolate you actually like

This is the percentage question. If you find 70% harsh, that is a preference rather than an inexperience, and 55–65% or a dark milk at 55% will serve you better than persevering. If you find 70% bland, move up rather than assuming you dislike dark chocolate.

The least-asked and most divisive question. Madagascan and Tanzanian chocolate is bright and fruity because it is acidic; Ghanaian and Venezuelan chocolate is rounder and lower in acid. Both are well made. Readers who have tried a celebrated single-origin bar and found it sour or thin have usually met acidity they did not want, and the fix is to choose a low-acid origin rather than to give up.

There is no obligation to find complexity interesting. A straightforward, well-made bar is not a lesser thing than a challenging one — a breakfast blend is straightforward because it was built to be. If you want something easy, the catalogue's approachability markers point at it directly.

Buy three bars at 70% from a Ghanaian or West African blend, a Madagascan or Tanzanian origin, and a Venezuelan or Dominican one. That spans most of the acidity range at a constant percentage. Whichever you prefer tells you more about what to buy next than any description could.