Best dark chocolate taste test

We selected all of the top brands of dark chocolate, with cocoa solids of around 70% and no added flavourings.

How we tasted

We love dark chocolate at olive, so we tried each chocolate on its own and looked for how it melted in the mouth, the balance of bitterness, fruitiness and sweetness, whether it had pronounced flavours and also the length of flavour.

The results of the best dark chocolate taste test

Winner: Original Beans Organic 75% Dark, £4.95 (70g)

Score: 9/10

This is deeply fruity with cherry notes, smokiness, sweetness, bitterness, umami – the works. Each bite provides a new flavour to unpack. But as well as being deep, dark and complex, it is balanced and utterly delicious.

Chocolate and Love Organic Rich Dark 71%, £3.50 (80g)

Score: 8/10

This tasted like blackberries! An incredibly fruity chocolate with rounded bitterness and a roasted flavour. Great mouthfeel and a great length to the flavour. A top choice for fruity choc lovers.

Lindt Excellence 70% Cocoa Intense Dark, £2 (100g)

Score: 8/10

A great chocolate for those moving up from the world of milk to the complexities of dark. Deep caramel and coffee flavour with a little more sugar than others to round out any intense fruitiness or bitterness. A great melter in the mouth, too.

Green & Black’s Velvet Edition 70% Dark Chocolate, £2 (90g)

Score: 7/10

Fruity and bitter with a balanced sweetness. It has really great snap and mouthfeel. It lacks a bit of flavour when compared to some of the big hitters in this test.

Montezuma’s Fitzroy Dark Chocolate, £2.60 (90g)

Score: 7/10

This has a deep, complex flavour with plenty of fruitiness at the beginning that soon mellows. Not as ‘melt in the mouth’ as others but unarguably delicious.

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