In a blind taste test of ten popular US chocolate bars, only four scored above average, with one bar being compared to 'Play-Doh'. The test, conducted by our New York office with ten volunteers, aimed to find the best-tasting chocolates among independent brands that claim ethical sourcing.
The top spot went to Hu Kitchen's Cashew Butter + Raspberry bar, praised for its vegan recipe. Also highly rated was Endangered Species' 48% milk chocolate, described as 'very creamy, not overly sweet', and Theo's 70% dark chocolate, which testers called 'uncontroversial, just good'. Only these three, plus one other, achieved more than three out of five stars.
Testers wore blindfolds to avoid packaging bias and rated overall impression, flavour, and aftertaste. Some bars were criticised for tasting rancid or like Play-Doh, though the source did not name the worst-performing bars. The test focused on independent brands with fair trade or direct trade claims, avoiding mass-market companies like Mars and Nestlé.
Hu Kitchen's bar impressed health-conscious tasters, while Endangered Species stood out for its ocean plastic neutral claim and donations to wildlife conservation. Theo, based in Seattle, is noted as the first organic and fair trade-certified chocolate factory in North America.
