Sometimes, less is more when it comes to high-quality culinary techniques and ingredients. Dark chocolate, at its best, will taste pleasantly bitter and have an earthy, almost fruity sweetness to its aftertaste. Some chocolate makers struggle to balance a high cacao percentage without getting crumbly — characteristics that define our least favorite dark chocolate brand. To save you the grief, we found a plant-based dark chocolate bar that’s worth your time.
The option that impressed us the most in our ranking of 13 popular vegan chocolate brands was the signature dark chocolate bar by Evolved. Our taste test revealed that it had an excellent mouthfeel with its rich, creamy texture. Evolved hit all the notes we were looking for while containing only three ingredients: cacao, cacao butter, and coconut sugar. The company’s website describes tasting notes of warm fudge brownie and caramel, making this a good chocolate to savor on its own or melt on a s’more.
What to know about Evolved’s signature dark chocolate bar
Dark chocolate is characterized by a high percentage of cacao compared to sugar and other ingredients. Evolved’s signature dark chocolate comes in packs of four or eight 2.5-ounce bars made of 72% pure cacao with coconut sugar filling in the rest. Coconut sugar is comparable to brown sugar in its sweet, caramel-like taste, so it improves the dark chocolate’s flavor profile rather than distracts.
The bars sell for around $7 each — a bit higher than the average — but you’re likely getting a better product. Human rights activists have criticized the chocolate production industry for deforestation and unethical labor practices regarding cacao farmers. Evolved chocolate has been endorsed as a sustainable alternative, wearing a badge of approval from the Rainforest Alliance on the wrapper.
What’s perhaps the most impressive about Evolved’s vegan chocolate bar is that it is made with only USDA-certified organic ingredients in a gluten, dairy, soy, and peanut-free facility. Some vegan products and facilities contain these common allergens, so this dark chocolate is suitable for a wide range of consumers. The Evolved signature dark chocolate bar hits all the sweet spots for vegans and non-vegans alike.
