Well, I'm sorry, but in fact I feel that, despite your obviously vast knowledge of chocolate and chocolate-making (which I truly appreciate and admire, BTW), the confusion here is not mine alone.
I think the best, concise glossary of the terms that I've found is
hereNote that they make the (important) point that "% cacao" DOES indeed include added cocoa butter (as per your original complaint), since it is derived from cacao. They go on to specify, however, that "
chocolate with NO added cocoa butter may be labeled in terms of its '% cacao mass'" (emphasis theirs).
Again, the term "mass" (used more in Europe) is indeed synonymous with "liquor" (used more in the U.S.) . I think "paste" is yet another synonym (I see it here in Mexico as "pasta").
Have another look at that Lindt bar. Does it actually say cocoa "SOLIDS" (as a percentage) or merely cocoa/cacao?
(BTW, Lindt DOES list cocoa powder as an ingredient in their bars)
I realize I'm being a bit pedantic about all this, but I'm trying to clarify this both in my own mind, and also so that this forum can be clearer in the use of terms.
There is a good summary, also at
this site, which both clarifies the terms, and also echoes your concerns, along with a useful suggestion.
In summary, I propose the following definitions:
(Shall we call this the Theory of Chocolativity?)
(cocoa here= cacao)
1. Mass = Liquor (i.e. Just the original ground nibs)
2. Solids = Liquor minus Butter (can also include cocoa powder)
3. % Cocoa = all cacao-derived products.
4. % Cocoa Liquor (or Mass) = original nib product
5. % Cocoa Solids = amount of cacao minus any butter--which really SHOULD correspond to darkness
The interesting thing about this last definition is that pure liquor itself is less than 1/2 solids, so any labeling using the term "solids" cannot by (correct) definition have a very high percentage. You're probably correct about its misuse (I don't have access here to many brands so I can't easily check this myself).
Hopefully WE can all agree on terms usage, so that when we talk about, for example, "60% Criollo" this does indeed imply nothing definite about its actual darkness (60% taken to mean simply "60% Cocoa). The percentages of butter and sugar, then, can be fudged (sorry) within that overall 60%.
We can be more specific by talking about liquor (OR mass!) percentages.