In order to be properly labeled as "couverture chocolate", the percentage of cocoa butter must be between 32-39%, and the total percentage of the combined cocoa butter plus cocoa solids must be at least 54%. Couverture is primarily used by professional chocolatiers for dipping, coating, molding and garnishing.
Making of a praline from couverture is a Neuhaus invention dating back to 1912. The "praline" is a bite-size filled chocolate. Their variety consists of over 60 pralines with different shapes and fillings.
The best chocolate candies made with couverture are from Belgium, which are still hand made today. Unlike most chocolate companies that receive their chocolate in solid form, which then requires reheating to be prepared into candies. The Belgium process is made with the couverture chocolate, delivered in heated tanker trucks soon after the tempering process. Because the chocolate has not cooled, it retains much more of the aroma than the cooled varieties.
Belgian chocolate praline companies such as Leonidas, Neuhaus, Godiva and Nirvana are famous for their gourmet candies. They all use couverture which is used making of pralines for dipping, coating, molding and garnishing.