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12 best organic chocolates

Feel less guilty about your sweet splurge by switching to organic

Friday 05 July 2019 09:18 BST

Celebrate your inner chocaholic (Cocoa Runners)

As National Chocolate Week commences, what better time to bring you a roundup of our favourite organic chocolate brands that bear the official seal of approval.

So why make the switch, we hear you ask? Organic produce (including these chocolate bars) will be free of harmful pesticides, which is better for both you, and the planet.

There’s often not much, if any, price difference, and many of these brands also adhere to fairer trading practises as well.

So it really is a win, win situation for all. If you’re looking for the healthiest bars, seek out the ones with the highest concentration of cacao for optimum antioxidants.

So whether you prefer white, milk or dark chocolate, flavoured, raw or handmade – there really is an organic bar for every chocoholic out there. Put the kettle on, and enjoy.

You can trust our independent reviews. We may earn commission from some of the retailers, but we never allow this to influence selections, which are formed from real-world testing and expert advice. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Fjak Bejofo Estate 70% Madagascar 53g: £6.95, Cocoa Runners

This award-winning bar made us do a double take upon tasting. Fruity notes of black cherry and citrus shone through from the cocoa beans, and although 70 per cent dark Madagascar chocolate, the result was oh-so-smooth, without the slightest bitterness. We’re clearly not the only ones to think highly of this stylish Norwegian chocolate, it picked up three stars at the Great Taste Awards 2018 (which only three percent of products manage) and won Gold at the Academy of Chocolate Awards 2018.

Taking responsibility for the whole chocolate process, Fjak roast, crack, winnow, grind, conch and temper the finest beans at their little factory by the fjord, before packaging them up beautifully. A truly outstanding bean to bar experience.

Booja Booja Truffle Selection No. 2 138g: £15.99, Selfridges

Crafted from cocoa beans sourced in the Dominican Republic, this stunning purple box of truffles are an ethical choice that’s suitable for vegetarians and vegans alike. Each box contains four uniquely dessert-inspired flavoured truffles, lightly dusted and sealed inside a gold packet for optimum freshness. We tucked into the likes of rhubarb & vanilla fool, hazelnut, stem ginger and almond & salted caramel – but please don’t make us choose a favourite!

Pana Chocolate Hazelnut 45g: £3.90, Pana Chocolate

Well loved by the health conscious, this handmade organic bar is made with 36% cacao, coconut milk, maple syrup and roasted hazelnuts – making it completely vegan. With a consistency we’d liken to fudge brownie, the new creamy hazelnut flavour is sure to be popular. We know it’s what’s inside that counts, but the beautifully designed wrap made each bar feel like a little present.

Rococo Cardamom Organic White Chocolate Artisan Bar 70g: £5.50, Rococo

The most grown-up white chocolate we’ve ever had the pleasure of eating, Rococo have collaborated with the Grenada Chocolate company to bring us this ethical bar. Aromatic cardamom cuts through the creamy white chocolate for an utterly delicious organic treat that we couldn’t put down.

Zoque 88% Spirited Dark Chocolate 70g: £5.45, Original Beans

Seriously dark and moody, this brand new bar boasts a whopping 88 per cent cocoa, with beans sourced from Select Tribal Tabasqueño beans from Mexico. Certified organic, vegan and gluten free, the Selva Zoque rainforest is the only place in the world that can claim 4,000 years of uninterrupted cacao farming and consumption which explains the unique lychee and coconut flavour profile. Used in many of the world’s best restaurants, not only does this taste great but for every bar sold Original Beans plants or preserves one tree.

Doisy & Dam Organic 74% Maple, Toasted Rice & Pink Salt 80g: £2.50, Ocado

It was nigh on impossible to choose a favourite flavour from the delicious Doisy & Dam range, but this bar just pipped the others to the post. Smooth dark chocolate has been blended with a touch of maple syrup for natural sweetness, toasted rice provides a crunch and Himalayan pink salt turns this into a healthy rift on your favourite salted caramel dessert. If dark bars are more your thing, the maca and vanilla bar with its pleasingly bitter cacao nibs won’t disappoint.

Seed and Bean Aromatic Fennel Dark Chocolate Bar 85g: £2.69, Seed and Bean

Boasting 100 per cent ethical accreditation, this British brand aren’t afraid of pushing the boundaries when it comes to creating new chocolate flavours. The whole range is handmade in the UK, organic and Fairtrade, with fully recyclable packaging, ticking all of our boxes. And whilst we were extremely dubious of the new aromatic fennel to begin with, we’re happy to report we were completely won over with the first bite. This larger size is great for sharing (oh ok, if we must!), but they also offer 75g and mini 25g portions too.

Daylesford Organic Organic Earl Grey Dark Chocolate 75g: £2.49, Daylesford

There are some things which are simply a match made in heaven – case in point – chocolate and tea. Thankfully organic pioneers Daylesford have managed to combine both things in one smooth bar. Whilst not overpowering, there is a definite earl grey flavour which tastes and smells delicious coupled with the 63 per cent dark chocolate. If you’re after an unflavoured version, there’s also pure dark and milk varieties in the range.

Green & Black's Organic Connoisseur Collection 580g: £17.99, Green & Black’s

Well-loved and widely accessible, Green & Black’s is a great brand to turn to when seeking out an organic chocolate treat. However, this supersized collection takes in all of the best flavours in the range – white, milk and dark – in both mini and sharing size bars. The box also includes a clever tasting wheel which will guide you through pairing the bars with other food and drink alongside more in depth tasting notes for the true chocolate nerds among us.

Harvey Nichols Organic Dark Chocolate Bar 90g: £4.95, Harvey Nichols

Rich and naughty, this square slab of dark chocolate is best saved for a grown up after dinner treat. It utilises beans from a single estate in the Dominican Republic but the super thick bar is lovingly made in bonny Scotland. Completely free from soya (which is quite rare for chocolate) this bar doesn’t contain any palm oil either.

Sainsbury's Santo Domingo Organic Fairtrade Dark Chocolate 100g: £1.45, Sainsbury’s

This Sainsbury’s dark chocolate was one of the cheapest we put to the test, but by no means could you tell. With hints of red wine and tart red berries, we found this single origin bar from the Dominican Republic’s Cibao Valley region to be perfectly balanced with a complexity we didn’t expect to find. Velvety smooth and an absolute steal.

Love Cocoa Avocado 70% Organic Dark Chocolate Bar 80g: £4.25, Love Cocoa

Are you even a millennial unless you’ve tried this avocado infused chocolate bar? Created by James Cadbury (great grandchild of that Mr Cadbury) all bars in the Love Cocoa range are certified organic, Fairtrade and made in Great Britain. You can’t particularly taste the avocado, but it adds to the creamy texture – you won’t find any bitterness in this bar!

The verdict: Organic chocolates

Fjak blew us aware with their stylish Norwegian chocolate. Everything from the minimalist packaging, to the complexity in each bite, this is organic chocolate at its best.

Stacey Smith is the founder of food & drink website Crummbs