{"id":406151,"date":"2026-02-03T19:52:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T19:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/406151\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T19:52:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T19:52:15","slug":"i-tested-18-dark-chocolate-bars-the-best-was-a-2-40-supermarket-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/406151\/","title":{"rendered":"I tested 18 dark chocolate bars \u2013 the best was a \u00a32.40 supermarket brand"},"content":{"rendered":"

For years, dark chocolate<\/a> has had something of a love it or hate it reputation, as tastes err towards milkier, more sugary bars.<\/p>\n

But its high cocoa content, from 35 per cent in the UK, along with the minimal processing and few ultra-processed ingredients of many bars, has garnered it a reputation as a health product, promising all kinds of benefits from boosting brain function, lowering cholesterol and reducing the risk of diabetes.<\/p>\n

Before you tuck in, there is plenty of nuance to these claims. The British Heart Foundation (BHF), for example, explains that while dark chocolate is known to be high in flavanols, which are linked to reducing high blood pressure<\/a>, you wouldn\u2019t be able to get enough flavanols just from eating a few squares of chocolate. It\u2019s also high in sugar and saturated fat.<\/p>\n

New FeatureIn ShortQuick Stories. Same trusted journalism.<\/p>\n

Some benefits we can be confident of, according to Professor Tim Spector\u2019s ZOE organisation, include the high fibre content and nutrient count of dark chocolate<\/a>. If you choose a bar that is at least 70 per cent cocoa, it will be high in iron, magnesium, copper and manganese, and contain calcium, potassium and zinc, with around 11g fibre per 100g bar.<\/p>\n

Dark chocolate is also high in polyphenols, a health buzzword believed to fight ageing and inflammation and promote gut health among many other benefits.<\/p>\n

What about taste? We tried 18 supermarket bars costing from \u00a36.50 to \u00a369 per kilo \u2013 a vast difference in price, but almost incomparable in quality. I enlisted the help of chocolate expert Jennifer Earle, founder of Chocolate Ecstasy Tours and author of the Next Delicious Thing newsletter, who spends most of her time trying high quality craft chocolate made with beans that have been carefully harvested and processed (fermented and dried) to create great flavours. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis means that they don\u2019t need to be harshly roasted, alkalised or masked with vanilla to make them taste okay,\u201d she says, adding that craft chocolate should cost from \u00a369 per kg.<\/p>\n

I ask her what should go into a decent bar of dark chocolate<\/a>. \u201cOnly cocoa beans and sugar,\u201d she says. \u201cCocoa butter is usually also listed in the ingredients. It\u2019s part of the bean, but most bars have extra cocoa butter than you find in the natural ratio of the beans. It\u2019s acceptable to have soy or sunflower lecithin in the ingredients of a high quality bar, but more common in chocolate for cooking than for bars that are meant for eating. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you see vanilla in the ingredients of a dark chocolate bar that doesn\u2019t have vanilla in its title on the packaging \u2013 this is very unlikely to be a high quality chocolate bar.\u201d (In France, however, craft chocolatiers do use vanilla.)<\/p>\n

Chocolate prices have soared by as much as 17 per cent in the year to October 2025, but it is a slow food: it takes one tree two years to produce enough for 200g chocolate. Food giant Mondelez International has warned that shifting weather could leave 60 per cent of the cocoa-growing region across Ghana and the Ivory Coast unsuitable for cultivation within 30 years.<\/p>\n

The chocolate industry is known for being rife with problems such as child labour and deforestation. Tony\u2019s Chocolonely is one brand making a lot of noise about its Tony\u2019s Open Chain sourcing initiative. <\/p>\n

\u201cMany supermarket brands<\/a> use \u2018fairtrade balance\u2019, which is a halo effect where companies can put a fairtrade sticker on some chocolate and then purchase fairtrade for just that percentage of chocolate, but within their factory it can all get mixed up,\u201d says Jennifer. \u201cThat feels slimy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jennifer recommends splurging on craft chocolate, which would include Willie\u2019s Cacao, and also Islands, which can be found in some supermarkets. \u201cI know it\u2019s a big price difference, but for anyone who has a daily coffee from a shop, you\u2019d only have to forgo two to buy yourself a great bar of chocolate that will last longer than the coffees,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

How we tested: while we both tested each bar, Jennifer Earle provided flavour notes while the scores are mine.<\/p>\n

\u00a32.28\/100g (\u00a322.80\/kg)<\/p>\n

As an expert in high quality craft chocolate, Jennifer hasn\u2019t tried all of the supermarket bars in a while and wonders if the quality has gone down given the high cost of cocoa, or whether she\u2019s too used to high end bars. \u201cAsda Peruvian 70 per cent was the closest to being enjoyable,\u201d she says, \u201cwhich I think is more about the Peruvian beans than it being Asda.\u201d<\/p>\n

4\/5<\/p>\n

\u00a33.45\/50g (\u00a369\/kg)<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve liked his chocolate before,\u201d says Jennifer. \u201cThis was fine, but didn\u2019t have as many flavour notes as I\u2019d have hoped, or have had, from his other chocolate origins or milk chocolate in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

4\/5<\/p>\n

65p\/100g (\u00a36.50\/kg)<\/p>\n

\u201cVery sweet and a slightly powdery finish, with 49 per cent cocoa solids, Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa mass and cocoa butter, emulsifier, and for some reason, an unspecified flavouring. That said, the taste is not awful given the very low price. I would cook with this.\u201d<\/p>\n

1\/5<\/p>\n

\u00a32.30\/200g (\u00a311.50\/kg)<\/p>\n

\u201cQuite sweet with a rounded, earthy finish. I couldn\u2019t eat much of this, though. It\u2019s made with 55 per cent cocoa solids, Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa mass and cocoa butter, emulsifier and an unspecified flavouring \u2013 just like Ms Molly\u2019s, so at close to twice the price it feels like poor value. I\u2019d cook with this rather than snack on.\u201d<\/p>\n

1\/5<\/p>\n

\u00a32.35\/180g (\u00a318.10\/kg)<\/p>\n

\u201cWaitrose has joined the Tony\u2019s Open Chain initiative, which has decent sourcing principles \u2013 on paper at least. This bar contains cocoa mass, added sugar and emulsifiers, but no flavourings. Again, not sure I\u2019d eat this out of choice. Would rather cook with it, or grate it onto porridge.\u201d<\/p>\n

2\/5<\/p>\n

\u00a33\/100g (\u00a330\/kg)<\/p>\n

\u201cNoticeably less sugary than cheaper bars \u2013 this is 90 per cent single origin cocoa, which means the beans are sourced from one country, in this case Ecuador. There\u2019s some depth of flavour to the finish with earthy and toffee notes.\u201d<\/p>\n

3\/5<\/p>\n

\u00a33\/100g (\u00a330\/kg)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile this wasn\u2019t bad, it still wasn\u2019t something I\u2019d go to for pleasure,\u201d says Jennifer. \u201cIt felt like quite a lot of the additional cocoa percentage came from cocoa butter, which made the melt quite oily and dumbed down the flavours of the cocoa.\u201d<\/p>\n

3\/5<\/p>\n

\u00a32.95\/100g (\u00a329.50\/kg)<\/p>\n

Eighty-five per cent dark chocolate produced to the Co-Op\u2019s Chocolate for Change initiative, which works with smallholder farmers in Peru to give them a fair deal. I like this one: there\u2019s a burst of burnt toffee notes. While Jennifer wouldn\u2019t expect to find a burnt taste in good quality, she says that some people do enjoy the taste of burnt cocoa and vanilla.<\/p>\n

3\/5<\/p>\n

\u00a32.40\/100g (\u00a324\/kg)<\/p>\n

Just three ingredients, cocoa, cocoa butter and sugar, with 90 per cent Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa solids. I\u2019m pleasantly surprised at the velvet mouthfeel of a bar with such high cocoa content and it comes in Jennifer\u2019s top five.<\/p>\n

4\/5<\/p>\n

Around \u00a34\/180g (\u00a322\/kg)<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, Tony\u2019s ran a bizarre publicity campaign about how hard their bars are to break into, announcing that 62 per cent of its own fans find the chunky bars, made without a uniform grid for easy breaking, hard to get into. I\u2019ve not yet met anyone who enjoys breaking a nail while their chocolate flies around the room, staining sofas and sweaters. The chocolate equivalent of \u2018you don\u2019t have to be mad to work here\u2019. Unfortunately, for me the flavour doesn\u2019t redeem it, but I\u2019m awarding a few points for effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

2\/5<\/p>\n

\u00a32.39\/125g (\u00a319.10\/kg)<\/p>\n

\u201cThough there are emulsifiers in these bars. They are really handy for school lunches and picnics, coming in at under 50p a bar, making them far cheaper and healthier than 99 per cent of packaged snacks. Too much of an easy win not to recommend these to everyone, even if the chocolate itself isn\u2019t top notch.\u201d<\/p>\n

3\/5<\/p>\n

\u00a32.74\/90g, ASDA (\u00a330.40\/kg)<\/p>\n

One of few certified organic bars, with added vanilla extract. G&B really changed the chocolate market in the UK when it was launched by Jo Fairley and Craig Sams in 1991. It was bought by Cadbury in 1995 and is now owned by food giant Mondelez International. I enjoy this bar. Not too sweet with a fiery peppery note at the end. Jennifer says it is \u201cboring but not violently bitter or astringent the way many of the others are\u201d.<\/p>\n

3\/5<\/p>\n

Around \u00a33.75\/100g (\u00a325\/kg)<\/p>\n

I try a range of Lindt bars with varying cocoa content: 70 per cent, 78 per cent, 85 per cent, 90 per cent and 99 per cent. I used to eat these a lot but several years ago went off them, finding them too sugary. Jennifer wonders if some of the bars we try have changed since she last tasted them. To my surprise, the 70 per cent is my least favourite. After a smooth opening, it turns a little bitter and has a burnt aftertaste.<\/p>\n

The 78 per cent, 85 per cent and 90 per cent sit in a group for me. They all taste more earthy, less sugary, with some rounded berry notes; not hugely interesting but not offensive. The 99 per cent is sugar-free and tastes markedly different to all the others. It\u2019s not an enjoyable eat.<\/p>\n

2\/5<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For years, dark chocolate has had something of a love it or hate it reputation, as tastes err…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":406152,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[2760,242,59,12018,102,151325,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-406151","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-chocolate","9":"tag-features","10":"tag-gb","11":"tag-groceries","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-taste-test","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom","16":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=406151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/406151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/406152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=406151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=406151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=406151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}