Vegan & dairy-free chocolate: a taste-test!

I should start this with a disclaimer – I am not vegan. Nor are the other people who helped me to taste-test the chocolate mentioned below – in fact, the other tasters aren’t even vegetarian, and consider me a bit of a nutter because I am!

I’m not entirely sure whether this is a good or bad thing. On the one hand we all tested this chocolate from a non-vegan perspective, so people who like and/or miss ‘normal’ chocolate (of the ‘glass and a half of milk’ variety perhaps) might appreciate hearing how dairy-free alternatives match up. On the other hand, vegans who are used to eating non-dairy chocolate might feel that it’s a bit unfair to compare the two.

What follows then are of course personal opinions, and no doubt there are likely to be as many differing opinions as there are chocolate-lovers in the world – and that’s surely a big number! As always, if you have a preferred choccie that’s not on this list, or if you don’t agree with what we’ve said here and want to defend your favourite, please leave a comment below.

Small Bars

Montezuma’s Gourmet Gorilla, Organic Dark Chocolate with Almonds & Hazelnuts

What they say: ‘Designed and built in West Sussex. An every day snack made with Monty’s award winning house blends of organic chocolate and fabulous ingredients from around the world.’

What we say: The first thing we noticed when we unwrapped this one was that it was very hard. So hard that I had to use a knife to cut pieces off for our tasters – and it hadn’t even been stored in the fridge. It did look appetising though with a deep silky colour and a nice shine to the chocolate. The taste was incredibly bitter however, and the strong flavour reminded me of the very dark chocolate with a high cocoa content usually suited to making chocolate desserts rather than eating on its own. The almond taste also came across as very odd – I usually like almonds but I would have preferred a packet of almonds on their own than this. In fact if I was vegan and all vegan chocolate tasted like this I would give up chocolate altogether – and that’s a big claim as I am a chocoholic! I didn’t finish the small chunk I sawed off the bar, and I’d have to be really desperate for a chocolate fix to go back for more. The only saving grace was that worse was still to come, with my fellow tasters preferring this by a whisker to the next small bar on our list.

Ingredients: Organic Dark Chocolate (92%) (Cocoa Solids, Sugar & Vanilla), Organic Almonds (4%) & Organic Hazelnuts (4%)

Other Info:

• Contains nuts & possible dairy traces
• Organically grown, vegan, soya & gluten free
• 45g – Small bar
• Approx price: £1.25
• www.montezumas.co.uk

Conscious, The Nutty One, Handmade Raw Chocolate with Brazils, Cashews, Hazelnuts & Walnuts

What they say: ‘Free from pesticides, dairy, soya & gluten. Naturally sweetened with agave nectar.’

What we say: In an extreme contrast to the Gourmet Gorilla bar we immediately noticed that this bar had a very soft, almost sludgy texture. There was no need for the knife here – this was like the inside of a truffle. Walnuts and cashews are not the hardest of nuts either so the general impression of the texture of this bar is that everything is just a bit too soft, and in spite of all the nuts there’s not enough crunch. (It does say on the packet that this bar can be refrigerated so I’d probably do that to firm it up a bit before trying it again, in case this improved the texture.) The dark chocolate is also very bitter, to the extent that is makes your mouth water, and not necessarily in a good way! And you can only actually taste the flavour of the nuts when the bitterness of the chocolate fades. It also seems very expensive for a small bar of chocolate. One chunk of this bar was more than enough for me and my fellow tasters and we put the kettle on for a nice cuppa to get over it afterwards! This managed to beat Gourmet Gorilla to our least favourite of the two small bars tested, but it was a close-run race and sadly none of us would buy either of them again.

Ingredients: Cacao Solids (50% minimum), Cacao Butter, Agave Nectar, Cacao Powder (Ecuadorian), Coconut Butter, Wild Carob, Brazils (6%), Cashews (6%), Hazelnuts (6%), Walnuts (6%), Cinnamon, Himalayan Salt

Other Info:

• Contains nuts. Vegan.
• Printed on compostable and biodegradable board.
• 40g - Small bar
• Approx price: £2.40
• www.consciouschocolate.co.uk

Bigger Bars

Plamil Organic Dairy Free Alternative to Milk Chocolate

What they say: ‘A delicious blend of cocoa solids, raw sugar and rice powder.’

What we say: For obvious reasons most vegan chocolate is dark chocolate, so it’s nice that there are a few ‘milk chocolate’ alternatives out there for people who prefer it. I’m coming to realise however that rather than classifying chocolate into two types – either ‘dark’ or ‘milk’ – it’s really more of a scale with some milks more milky, and some darks darker than others. The first thing you notice when you unwrap Plamil’s alternative to milk chocolate then, is that it’s pretty dark in colour. It also smells quite bitter, like dark chocolate, and has a slightly bitter aftertaste.  It doesn’t ‘melt-in-the-mouth’ in quite the same way as traditional milk chocolate, but it still has a pleasing silky smooth texture. This chocolate has a dense, intense flavour, and is very filling too. So rather than being a traditional ‘milk chocolate’ it’s perhaps something in between – a few shades lighter than dark chocolate but not a million miles away from it.  It’s not especially more-ish but it definitely curbs your chocolate craving, so there’s no need to eat the whole bar meaning that it’s good for sharing, and for your waistline! One especially nice touch is that it’s produced in a factory which doesn’t handle nuts so it’s guaranteed nut free, which makes it a good choice for nut allergy sufferers.

Ingredients: Fairtrade Raw Cane Sugar (35%), Fairtrade Cocoa Butter, Rice Powder (Rice Syrup Powder, Rice Starch, Rice Flour) (20%), Fairtrade Cocoa Mass, Emulsifier – Sunflower Lecithin

Other Info:

• No nuts. No animal, egg or dairy ingredients. No wheat or gluten. Against genetically modified food. Factory powered by 100% renewable energy. Fairtrade.
• 100g – Big bar
• Approx price: £2.00
• www.plamilfoods.co.uk

Organica Organic White Bar

What they say: ‘A vanilla confectionary bar using a non dairy alternative to milk.’

What we say: This bar looks very grainy at first glance, with obvious vanilla inclusions, so you’d expect it to have a bit of a crunch. However, the texture is actually very odd indeed, with tasters describing it as jelly and cookie dough!  There was certainly something strange about it, with almost translucent edges and an impression that the bar hadn’t quite ‘set’. The smell is incredibly sweet, reminiscent of the Milky Bars you might have had as a child. But the smell turns out to be very misleading with any flavour disappearing almost immediately after you pop a piece in your mouth. There’s no lingering creaminess to savour as you would expect from ‘white chocolate’, instead it’s an almost empty, fresh taste – like eating watery sugar, with just the tiniest hint of vanilla. All that’s left a few seconds later is a slightly greasy wetness on your fingers!  None of us went back for a second piece and the bar remains untouched since. I wouldn’t recommend it and I’m still on the look-out for a good vegan alternative to white chocolate.

Ingredients: Cocoa Butter, Cane Sugar, Rice Syrup (10%), Vegetable Oil, (Sunflower Oil), Vanilla, Sea Salt.

Other Info:

• Organic, vegan, gluten free, non GM. Soil Association approved. 84% ethical ingredients.
• May contain traces of dairy, nuts, almonds and peanuts.
• 100g – Big bar
• Approx price: £2.50
• www.seriouslyorganic.co.uk

Organica Chocolate Couverture Bar

What they say: ‘A bar of chocolate couverture using an organic non dairy alternative to milk – 41% cocoa solids.’

What we say: If it’s a genuine alternative to milk chocolate you’re looking for, this was our favourite of the two ‘milk chocolate’ big bars we tasted here by a long stretch, leaving Plamil in the shade. It tastes a bit like milk cooking chocolate or cheap milk chocolate – the kind you’d find in the bargain-shop Easter eggs you might have been given as a kid. The flavour is pleasantly sweet, but perhaps marginally less creamy than mainstream, non-vegan chocolate. It’s a little bit harder with a slight crunch but it’s still a very good, smooth vegan alternative. Certainly less more-ish than mainstream non-vegan brands but this was one of only two products on this list where the wrapper was empty by the end of the tasting and I would definitely buy this again.

Ingredients: Raw Cane Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Rice Syrup (17%), Cocoa Mass, Hazelnut, Vanilla, Sea Salt.

Other Info:

• Organic, Vegan, Gluten Free, Non GM. Soil Association approved. 77% ethical ingredients.
• Containts hazelnuts & can contain traces of other nuts and dairy.
• 100g – Big bar
• Approx price: £2.50
• www.seriouslyorganic.co.uk

Gifts & Fancy Choc’s

Hipo Hyfryd, Maple Syrup Chocolate Truffles

What they say: ‘As a dedicated vegan chef my aim was to produce a range of chocolate truffles with a variety of flavours. Some flavours are well known and comforting, such as the coffee truffles or the maple truffles. Others are more playful, such as the chilli truffles or the salt and pepper truffles.’

What we say: These truffles come packaged in a square box which is nicely designed, modern and funky. It’s a friendly looking design and immediately we thought that this box would make a great gift. The truffles themselves are chunky squares, which look a lot like dark chocolate Munchies, only much bigger. They have that bitter smell of dark chocolate but with a slightly sweeter top note, possibly provided by the maple syrup flavour we chose. However, although presumably the maple syrup takes the edge off the bitter dark chocolate we couldn’t really taste it, and wouldn’t have been able to identify it if we didn’t already know it was in there. This was a bit disappointing as I like maple syrup and would have been happy with the flavour coming through more strongly. The truffle filling is creamy and dense with a nice silky texture – so dense that it feels like you might be putting yourself at risk of death by chocolate! It’s so rich, deep and filling that it’s almost like eating a dessert. One is certainly satisfying enough and these extremely substantial chocolates would definitely curb your chocolate craving. On the hipo hyfryd website they recommend eating them in a candle-lit bath for maximum pampering and although I probably wouldn’t go that far they do feel like a special treat.

Ingredients: Chocolate (50%) (Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Vanilla Powder, Emulsifier – Soya Lecithin), Another Chocolate (29%) (Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Vanilla Powder), Cold Pressed Sunflower Oil, Maple Syrup (6%), Wheat Syrup (Gluten Free) and Vanilla Extract.

Other Info:

• Handmade. May contain traces of milk or nuts.
• 200g – 16 chunky truffles
• Approx price: £9.50
• www.hipohyfryd.co.uk

Booja-Booja Organic Chocolate Truffles, Hazelnut Crunch with Sweet Italian Hazelnuts

What they say: ‘Melt in your mouth, multi award winning, chocolate truffles. Hand made in Norfolk with sweet, organic, Italian hazelnuts. Minimally packaged in sustainable, poplar wood boxes.’

What we say: These truffles are packaged in what looks like a camembert box, so perhaps that might put some vegans off from the outset. However I liked the modern, ethnic design and the gold paper, and thought the packaging looked special enough to give this box as a nice gift. Inside the box the truffles sit like little pillows in mini cake-cases. They look like they have been sprinkled liberally with cocoa powder, and they must have been, because they do smell like hot chocolate! The truffles have a slightly harder exterior than filling, as they should, but the whole thing is still pleasantly soft and creamy. The beautifully silky texture of the super smooth truffle is also speckled with lovely nutty bits to give it a bit of a crunch. These were the most more-ish chocolates so far, so the only downside was that we only got seven in a box. Be warned then if you’re hoping for a taste yourself, that if you give them as a gift the recipient might not want to share them! These are so delicious that even the non-veggie tasters said they would happily buy them again.

Ingredients: Dark Chocolate (Cocoa Solids 55%, Cane Sugar, Soya Lecithin, Vanilla), Coconut Oil, Hazelnuts18%, Cocoa Powder.

Other Info:

• Dairy Free, Cholesterol Free, Gluten Free, Organic, GMO Free. Soil Association approved.
• Contains Nuts
• 80g – 7 truffles
• Approx price: £5.00
• www.boojabooja.com

Animal Aid Finest Pecan Parfait

What they say: ‘Deliciously smooth chocolate and crunchy pecan truffle filling.’

What we say: These chocolates come in a nice presentation box with a clear lid and pretty blue foil-wrapped chocolates. However, the Animal Aid logo does look a bit scruffy and personally I’d prefer it if the logo moved to the side or bottom of the box, and was replaced by a ribbon on the top instead. The chocolates themselves look like they might be hard, something like caramel squares, from the chunky substantial-looking exterior. But when you bite into them they are light and fluffy inside, reminiscent of a Wispa or Aero bar. They are nicely sweet too, perhaps because of the addition of golden syrup.  They also have a good crunchy texture from the pecans, but again you can’t taste an especially strong pecan flavour coming through. I could definitely eat a few of these! They didn’t prove to be quite as popular with the tasters as the Booja-Booja truffles but they came very close.

Ingredients: Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Golden Syrup, Cocoa Butter, Pecan Nuts, Emulsifier, Soya Lecithin, Walnut Flavour, Pectin, Calcium Chloride, Acidity Regulator (E339(ii))

Other Info:

• Plain chocolate contains cocoa solids 70% minimum.
• Contains soya, nuts and may contain milk traces.
• 150g – 14 pieces
• Approx price: £6.50
• www.animalaid.org.uk

Animal Aid Vegan Selection

What they say: ‘Plain chocolates with assorted centres.’

What we say: This is the box that most closely resembles what you might think of as a ‘proper’ gift box of chocolates – an assortment of chocolates rather than all one kind, in a silver box with a card describing what each chocolate is. Once again however, the Animal Aid logo looks a bit out of place and I’d rather see a ribbon on the top of the box instead. After all, if this box is made for gift-giving, which I think it is, then a ribbon would surely be more appropriate. For a specialist box of gift chocolates the £7 price doesn’t seem that expensive either, so I’d happily have paid 50p more for the addition of a ribbon if I was buying this for a present.  The selection of chocolates includes the Pecan Parfait (listed separately above), Cafe Noix, Strawberry Fourre, Orange Cream, Stem Ginger, Pistachio Marzipan, Marzipan Amande and Brazil Nut. The tasters loved them and said that they couldn’t tell that they weren’t ‘normal’ chocolates. The true test however, has to be how quickly the box emptied and these were the first to go, with no competition! A really lovely selection of very tasty chocolates, which would make a great gift for the vegan in your life – and which could only be topped off with a ribbon!

Ingredients: Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa Butter, Water, Brazil Nut, Glucose Syrup, Almond, Ginger, Golden Syrup (Pectin, Acidity Regulator: Mono Sodium Phosphate; Calcium Chloride) Pecan Nut, Pistachios, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin), Flavour (Natural Coffee), Walnut, Apple Extract, Strawberries, Orange Oil, Invertase, Colours (Caramel, Paprika Extract, Anthocyanins, Copper Chlorophylls, Curcumin), Humectant (Sorbital), Acidity Regulator (Citric Acid)

Other Info:

• Contains nuts and soya. May contain traces of wheat and milk.
• 190g – 16 chocolates
• Price: £7.00
• www.animalaid.org.uk

This is just a tiny selection of vegan chocolates available out there – check websites such as those listed in our ‘on the web’ section for a start. As a non-vegan what surprised me most is generally how acceptable vegan chocolates can be. I wrongly expected to be exposed to a strange variety of bitter, grainy chocolate that would fail to satisfy my chocolate cravings, but I am happy to say that I was wrong. Whilst there are some that could do with quite a lot of improvement in my opinion, me and my fellow tasters were still pleasantly surprised by some of the vegan chocolates available.

Some vegan/non-dairy chocolates can be found in traditional shops & supermarkets such as certain dark chocolate bars for example, some of the Green & Blacks or Divine chocolate – usually it is the dark chocolate bars with a very high cocoa content. Check their websites for more information.

For vegetarians who do eat dairy there is a wide selection with many of the mainstream chocolate makers such as Cadbury’s, Mars and Nestle (all of these list their chocolate products suitable for vegetarians on their websites).

If you have any vegan/dairy-free chocolate recommendations or you would like to have your say please leave a comment below.