The Worst Store-Bought Dark Chocolate Bar Is A Total Miss

You'd be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't love chocolate — it's one of Americans' favorite treats, the perfect indulgence at the end of a long day's work. But when you have such an oversaturation of chocolate brands on the market, many of which are even being slated for not having as much cocoa as they ideally should, it's worth knowing what to spend your money on — and what not to. It may not be to everyone's taste, but dark chocolate has a higher percentage of cocoa solids and, as such, delivers a more concentrated cocoa flavor — although that doesn't always translate into an excellent product. To help you discern, we ranked 14 store-bought dark chocolate bars and found that bettergoods' Premium Swiss 72% Dark Chocolate Bar was decidedly the worst.

For our tester, the brand scored especially low on a variety of factors, including flavor, texture, and value for money, among other things. The chocolate bar was seen as having a gratingly dry and hard finish, a lack of both sweetness and proper chocolate flavor, as well as a weird aftertaste and artificial quality — not exactly what you're hoping to grab when you want something to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Now, dark chocolate may be perceived as somewhat bitter and harsh to some, a well-made bar can preserve the dark richness of the cocoa with just enough sweetness to make it palatable: all things our writer didn't find in bettergoods' bar. At 72%, it isn't even on the particularly extreme end of the dark chocolate spectrum, as our ranking included bars with much higher percentages. Texture is also important, and bettergoods flopped on that front, too — for a high-quality chocolate product, you ideally want a proper, clean snap.

Our review of dark chocolate brands didn't just look at product quality, but also at pricing and whether each bar was worth your buck. With bettergoods, you aren't even really getting a bargain. You can find a 3.5-ounce bar at Walmart for $4.44, placing it midrange relative to other higher-ranking bars on our list, sandwiched between the $2.50 to $4 Trader Joe's bars occupying second through fourth place and our winner, Tony's Chocolonely Dark Chocolate 70%, at $6.

The more disappointing part is that bettergoods' bar looks good on paper — or, in this case, on the wrapper. Part of Walmart's more exclusive food line, the bar is labeled "Premium Swiss" and as using cacao from Ghana and Ecuador, and it claims to be sustainably sourced and certified by Fairtrade. While this can all sound promising, it doesn't exactly translate into the tastiest finished product — and if ethically crafted chocolate is a priority, our winner, Tony's Chocolonely (of which we've tried and ranked 10 flavors), is known for its vocal stance against exploitation in the cocoa industry, including forced and child labor.

At the end of the day, not all chocolate cravings are created equal, and, indeed, it seems that not all customers would agree with our placement. bettergoods Premium Swiss 72% Dark Chocolate Bar scores well on Walmart, with a 4.7 out of 5 from over 600 ratings (although, then again, many of its buyers may be brand devotees). We'd just recommend being kinder to your taste buds — and your purse — and trying out one of the other bars on our list.