I know, it’s a tough job. But someone had to go out there, line up all the delicious, organic chocolate we could find, and taste test it until the cows come home. This inevitably resulted in so much chocolate that we were almost hallucinating milk chocolate cows, coming home to demand more chocolate. Moo!

Recently, we rated ten chocolate/candy brands for their green practices. The two companies to earn all four coveted Greenopia leaves were Endangered Species Chocolate and Theo. Next came Yummy Earth with three leaves, to be followed by Cadbury, who earned one leaf.

But more importantly – how do they taste? We all know just how incredibly good dark chocolate can be. (And if you have forgotten all the healthy reasons to chow down, click here!)  But it’s all for nothing if a piece of chocolate is more bitter than a sparkly vampire after sunrise. And so, we took up the arduous, heavy task of applying our taste buds to loads of chocolate.

One recent cold Los Angeles evening, sans sparkly vampires, five chocolate and candy aficionados assembled to sample the goods. And here’s what we tasted.

ENDANGERED SPECIES CHOCOLATE
Endangered Species Chocolate is a fantastic green brand. Almost all of its products are certified organic, shade grown, and/or ethically grown. Much of their chocolate is vegan. They use water based inks on its packaging and it also contains recycled content. Endangered Species Chocolate is made in a LEED Certified building.

And generally, their chocolate was deemed the tastiest of the evening.

Organic Dark Chocolate with Goji Berry, Pecans and Maca, 70% cocoa (Highest Marks)
This was the favorite dark chocolate of the pack. It has a subtle sweetness that brightens the dark chocolate. The goji berries and pecans balance the flavor of the chocolate just enough to give it an aftertaste of sweetness. Also, the texture is impressively smooth for all the adding of Goji berries and more. It is designed to be a “health” chocolate – so if you’re looking for a guilt-free sweet, you cannot go wrong with this.

Dark Chocolate with Cocoa Nibs, 75% cocoa
This bar is crunchy with a nutty finish. It also has a nice clean finish with a slight walnut-like aftertaste. Further, it has a “candy box” taste to it – like a “yummy dark chocolate chew you find in a See’s candy box.” It seems to be much more of the “sweet, sweet candy” experience than some of the other dark chocolates.

Organic Dark Chocolate with Goldenberry and Lucuma, 70% cocoa
This was deemed “smooth” with a nutty finish. It almost has a raisin-y aftertaste to it. Several of the tasters felt that the Organic Dark Chocolate with Goji Berry, Pecans and Maca was the better of the two. The Goldenberry bar “tries too hard,” resulting in a bit of a bitter ending. This is part of Endangered Chocolate’s Organic Health line, which is designed to provide a rich, antioxidant experience. And frankly, you do get more of a health food than candy bar experience from it.

Smooth Milk Chocolate, 48% cocoa
This was another “top earner” with the tasting bunch. It was deemed a quality, very smooth chocolate. One taster called it “good for the girly PMS moment.” It has a nice caramel finish to it – almost like condensed milk. It is a “fantastic” milk chocolate and the perfect pick if you want something high quality and completely delicious.

Organic Dark Chocolate with Blueberries, 70% cocoa
This got decidedly mixed reviews. One taster didn’t like it at all – another called it “smooth” but noted “you could not taste the blueberry at all.” In fact, “all I tasted was seeds.” Hence, “this one if for the birds.”

Organic Milk Chocolate with Peanut Butter
This bar was greeted with a lot of anticipation – who doesn’t like peanut butter and chocolate? However, it just fared a little better than its blueberry counterpart. It has more of a hazelnut than peanut butter aftertaste to it. It was deemed a bit dry for a milk chocolate, and one taster wondered if we just got a faulty bar. Unfortunately, it does not provide the “Reese’s via organic” experience that a lot of us were hoping for.

THEO CHOCOLATE
This is another chocolate company that gets high green marks from Greenopia. According to Theo, throughout the manufacturing process every care is taken to preserve the integrity of the cacao. The line ranges from 74 - 91% cacao content, and offers a truly uncompromised chocolate experience, rich in both satisfying flavor and antioxidants. Many of their lines are vegan, soy, and dairy free.

45% Milk Chocolate
This got high marks all around. It is a tad richer than most milk chocolates and has a nice cocoa finish to it. There are also “notes of freshness.” It has much more of a “Dutch chocolate” taste to it, which essentially means that it is sweet and smooth.

70% Dark Chocolate
This dark chocolate did not fare as well as its milky counterpart. It is earthy and dry – it “tasted like grass” for some of us. There were notes of coffee or almost espresso to it. Several people asked for a glass of water after eating this. Dark chocolatiers beware.

Madagascar Dark Chocolate Bar 74%
Interesting, this bar fared much better than its 70% counterpart. It is indeed bitterer, but it has a smoother finish that makes it more palatable. It is not as dry as the first dark chocolate. Also, there is a warm feeling to it – as if when you bite into it, you are heating up.

Ghana Dark Chocolate Bar 84%
This is plain, almost like baking chocolate. It was the least liked of the bunch and was deemed “very bitter.” It is almost “meat-like” and dries out your tongue. It might be good with a latte or something to compliment it – but if you’re going for a candy experience, this is not the bar for you.

YUMMY EARTH
We were unable to get our hands on any chocolate from this line. However, I was able to find some USDA Organic Sour Worms to sample.
These were indeed tasty – not too sweet, not too sour, and also containing your 100% allowance of vitamin C. My young nieces absolutely loved them and especially liked that “you could eat them without hurting your mouth.” (Apparently, this happens with other sour worms. Who knew?) They are certified organic, gluten free, peanut free and more. If you want your kids to get into organic candy, this is a great place to start.

CADBURY
We sampled the Dairy Milk bar, which is a staple of English chocolate. And it didn’t disappoint – Cadbury is the go to bar for sweetness and the full on candy experience. It seems to have a lot more sugar than the organic brands. If you’re looking for a memory of childhood, this is for you. If you’re looking for ethical green chocolate, then go to Endangered Species.

HERSHEY
Oh, Hershey’s. I included an anonymous bar of this chocolate to “test against” and it was immediately deemed “too sweet, “too sugary,” “oh please, I could taste that this was Hershey a mile away.” Essentially, it served to confirm that investing an extra couple dollars in your Endangered Species or Theo bars is going to pay off in taste, experience, and the knowledge you are purchasing from a company that keeps the environment in mind.

And finally, I just wanted to give a shout out to a small chocolate company located in southern New Jersey. Sweet Mary’s is not organic or fair trade, but a small Mom and Pop chocolate company that was designed for energy efficiency. The business has features like triple pane windows to double insulation. 90 percent of the work is done by hand. And the chocolate is delicious. You can find them at 856.769.2314.