The 2024 Best Vegan Chocolate Awards sponsored by TasteTV was a small affair with no local competitors. Luckily there were some excellent entries and most of them were total surprises to me.
Recommended
This is the category for entries I rated 4 or 5 stars, the highest rating in the competition. I suspected one of these competitors would be in my top tier, but I did not expect the others in this list would make it in. They all stepped up their game this time and surprised me. Kudos.
Amano Artisan Chocolate
Longtime Chocolate Salon vendor and occasional competitor, Amano Artisan Chocolate, Orem, UT, was the one I thought would rank high based on my previous experiences with their excellent bean-to-bar chocolate. They submitted 2 bars to this competition — including one I’d seen in a previous competition and loved. Even that one held a surprise for me in the judging.
Citrus Mélange À Trois
The Citrus Mélange Á Trios was the repeat bar with one tweak — they upped the cacao percentage from 55% to 63%. Otherwise it was the same flavored bar infused with vanilla bean, yuzu, tangerine, and grapefruit. Mixed into the bar were little pieces of orange fruit leather — made with orange pulp, orange juice, apple puree, apple juice, and paprika.
The bar had a medium snap and was a little grainy with an immediate citrus chocolate flavor. The thing I think is so cool about this bar is that the citrus infusions manage to be distinctly different. The first citrus flavor I tasted was yuzu, then grapefruit, then the sweeter citrus flavor of tangerine.
I don’t know what chocolate they used for this bar but it’s a good base — slightly bitter and savory but it didn’t call much attention to itself as the taste experience cycled through citruses as it melted. I think I might prefer the original 55% but I didn’t have it to compare. The bar had a faint spicy heat and a soft chew at end from the orange fruit leather bits. I rated it 5 stars.
In the competition, Amano Artisan Chocolate’s Citrus Mélange À Trois won Gold for Best Ingredient Combinations, Best Taste, Most Unique, Best Flavored Chocolate, and Top Vegan Chocolate; and Silver for Best Texture and Best Dark Chocolate. It was rated 5 stars — I don’t think I have ever seen that — a unanimous verdict that this entry deserved the highest rating.
Dos Rios, Dominican Republic
Amano’s other bar in the vegan competition was their 70% Dos Rios, Dominican Republic bar. It had a strong fruity aroma and a super fruity taste that practically exploded as it melted.
It had a very unique flavor which they described in the flavor notes as bergamot, lavender, spices, and blueberry. I totally tasted blueberry and bergamot which is so interesting. The bar is not flavored — those flavors come from the cacao bean used. I didn’t get lavender but that’s okay — I’m not a big floral fan.
While it was a big fruity bar it also had a savory undertone that was kind of spicy. It had a smooth texture which makes me wonder why the Melange Á Trois was grainy. I liked this bar the most of all the entries this year and rated it 5 stars.
Amano Artisan Chocolate’s Dos Rios, Dominican Republic won Silver for Best Taste, Best Texture, Best Dark Chocolate, and Top Vegan Chocolate; and received an Honorable Mention for Most Unique. It was rated 4.5 stars.
You can order Amano bars online (they have a couple of sampler packs that are good deals). They are also available at some special events (like the SF International Chocolate Salons) and at some stores around the country (like Chocolate Covered). On their website they announced they will be raising prices soon due to the jump in cacao prices worldwide so if you are interested you might want to act now to save yourself some $$.
Chocopunto by Mabel
Veteran competitor, Chocopunto by Mabel, Dominican Republic, makes bars using local cacao. They have recently become a regular in TasteTV competitions and are rising in the ranks of my judging — although there are still some stumbles along the way. They had 3 bars in this year’s white chocolate competition but only one made my list. This time their 3 vegan submissions all made my list — including 2 in the Recommended tier.
Café Grand Cru Coffee
Chocopunto’s Café Grand Cru Coffee 62% Dark Chocolate smelled like coffee before I even unwrapped the bar — yum! In addition to the strong aroma the coffee made the chocolate look extra dark even though it’s a lighter dark at 62%.
The bar had a hard snap and immediate coffee flavor. It was a little grainy from the grounds but not unpleasant. This is a bar for coffee lovers. It’s a delicious savory, not too sweet but not bitter bar with a deep coffee flavor. I rated it 5 stars.
In the competition, Chocopunto’s Café Grand Cru Coffee 62% Dark Chocolate won Silver for Most Unique; Bronze for Best Taste, Best Texture, Best Dark Chocolate, Best Flavored Chocolate, and Top Vegan Chocolate; and received an Honorable Mention for Best Ingredient Combinations. It was rated 4.5 stars.
74% Dark Chocolate with Cocoa Nibs
The other Chocopunto bar I really liked was their 74% Dark Chocolate with Cocoa Nibs. It had a hard snap and faintly sour aroma. It also had an initially sour chocolate taste that reminded me of Hersheys.
It was a little bitter as it melted but then I had to chew it because of the nibs and that brought out an unexpected sweetness with echoes of bubblegum.
Other than that it tasted vaguely tropical — at least I couldn’t define which tropical fruit it was reminding me of. I thought it was interesting and rated it 4 stars.
In the competition, Chocopunto’s 74% Dark Chocolate with Cocoa Nibs won Bronze for Best Ingredient Combinations, Best Dark Chocolate, and Top Vegan Chocolate; and received an Honorable Mention for Best Texture. It was rated 4 stars.
Chocopunto’s website is currently under construction and I am not aware of any US distributors of their bars.
7th Heaven
Veteran competitor, 7th Heaven, Wilmington, DE (but made in Israel), was one of the big surprises this time. A couple of times they made my Good/Worthy of Mention list but this is the first time they made my Recommended list — and with both of their entries.
Oat Milk Peanut Butter Cups
The 7th Heaven Oat Milk Peanut Butter Cups came 2 to a pack and were the size of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. They had a little bloom on them — not unexpected since they had to travel all the way from Israel and probably experienced some temperature shifts along the way.
The cups smelled peanutty and had a good peanut butter texture and flavor. The bloom didn’t seem to affect the taste of the chocolate.
I was impressed by how well they captured a peanut butter cup experience in a vegan confection.
Based on the taste and relatively short ingredients list I think 7th Heaven has worked out a decent non-dairy “milk” chocolate. When they started out they had an extensive ingredients list on their submissions that included tofu in the chocolate. With the switch to oat milk, they have whittled their ingredients list down to a respectable under 10 items.
I liked that I didn’t taste any oats flavor from the dairy substitute. Nor did I catch any coconut flavor from the ground coconut and coconut oil ingredients. It was a good peanut butter cup and I rated it 4 stars.
In the competition, 7th Heaven’s Oat Milk Peanut Butter Cups won Silver for Best Vegan Milk Chocolate; Bronze for Best Ingredient Combinations and Best Texture; and received Honorable Mentions for Best Taste, Most Unique, and Top Vegan Chocolate. It was rated 4 stars.
Rice Crisps & Hazelnut Cream
7th Heaven’s other entry, the Rice Crisps & Hazelnut Cream bar was very bloomed but it didn’t seem to affect the taste of their revamped “milk” chocolate. The “chocolate confection” had a good hazelnut flavor and a small crunch from the crispy rice. It ended a little coconut forward but not too bad. I rated it 4 stars.
In the competition, 7th Heaven’s Rice Crisps & Hazelnut Cream bar won Bronze for Most Unique and Best Vegan Milk Chocolate; and received Honorable Mentions for Best Ingredient Combinations and Best Flavored Chocolate. It was rated 3.5 stars.
7th Heaven’s chocolate confections are sold online and in some stores nationwide. Check their website for locations.
CacaoLab
The competitor that surprised me the most was CacaoLab, a bean to bar maker in Hong Kong. I have judged them in a couple of competitions before this and they never made my lists afterwards. This time 2 of their entries made my Recommended list and their 3rd entry was worth a mention.
CacaoLab’s vegan submissions were mysterious gold foil wrapped tasting squares with just the name of the piece and its percentage on a plain white label. The tasting squares inside were embossed with pretty illustrations of cacao flowers.
Treasure Blender 70%
I tried their Treasure Blender 70% first. It had a tobacco aroma but thankfully didn’t taste like it. It had a smooth texture with light caramel and milk flavors in the chocolate but I don’t know how that can be right — it was a 70% dark chocolate so there probably wasn’t any milk in it. I checked their website afterwards and there was no mention of Treasure Blender so I remain in the dark. Still I thought it was a good unusual chocolate and rated it 4 stars.
In the competition, CacaoLab’s Treasure Blender 70% won Bronze for Best Taste and Best Dark Chocolate; and received Honorable Mentions for Best Texture and Most Unique. It was rated 4 stars.
Perla 88%
From there CacaoLab’s submissions got weirder — but are interesting enough to share. The Perla 88% was bitter and drying — not unexpected for an 88% — but the flavor was so unusual. It was not super chocolatey. Instead it was very savory — the closest analogy that came to mind was it tasted like beef. It was a weird but interesting chocolate. I rated it 4 stars because it was competently made at the same time it was quite unique.
In the competition, CacaoLab’s Perla 88% won Bronze for Best Texture and Best Dark Chocolate; and received an Honorable Mention for Best Taste. It was rated 4 stars.
CacaoLab’s chocolates are available on their website and at a few locations around Hong Kong. The prices on the site are in Hong Kong dollars and I don’t know if they ship outside the country.
Worth a mention
In addition to the outstanding entries above, there were a few good entries that I think are worth mentioning. I rated all of these 3 stars.
Chocopunto by Mabel
The 3rd vegan entry by Chocopunto was a solid entry but needed something more to make it top tier.
62% Coconut
The 62% Coconut bar had a good snap and good chocolate aroma with visible small coconut flakes mixed into the bar. The smooth chocolate took time to melt and tasted a little raisiny.
The coconut flakes were hard and needed chewing — and were not very coconut tasting. The bar was definitely about the chocolate more than the coconut which was disappointing since it’s labeled Coconut and images of halved coconut shells decorated the outside of the package.
I did get a little coconut aftertaste from chewing on the flakes but it wasn’t enough for me to rate it top tier. I think Chocopunto could maybe learn something from the next competitor about upping the coconut flavor in this bar.
I did want to mention Chocopunto’s packaging — the colors and graphics are very compelling. They make you want to grab the bars — and even the inside of the packages are attractive with their monotone pattern of random small dots.
In the competition, Chocopunto’s 62% Coconut won Bronze for Best Ingredient Combinations; and received Honorable Mentions for Best Texture, Most Unique, and Best Vegan Milk Chocolate. It was rated 4 stars.
PLAYin CHOC
Veteran competitor PLAYin CHOC, Southend-on-Sea, UK, makes bean to bar chocolate from Peruvian cacao. They use coconut as their dairy substitute and both their dark and “milk” chocolate are very coconut forward, which is why I think Chocopunto should maybe look at PLAYin CHOC’s ingredient lists for inspiration for upping the coconut experience of their coconut bar.
The 2 PLAYin CHOC chocolates have very similar ingredient lists: cacao, coconut sugar, creamed coconut — yes even the dark chocolate — and vanilla pods. In fact the only differences are the percentages of creamed coconut — 21% vs. 24% — and cacao solids — 70% vs. 53%.
They have been submitting these chocolates for several years now and it wasn’t until last year that they finally made my Worth a Mention list. Previously the coconut was overpowering and the chocolate not up to snuff. Last year they had tweaked the bars so while they were still very coconutty it wasn’t overpowering and they tasted chocolatey.
Organic Peruvian Cacao Dark Chocolate
This year the chocolates seemed similar to last year. The Organic Peruvian Cacao Dark Chocolate smelled like dark chocolate and coconut. It had a medium break and smooth texture. It’s definitely coconut flavored chocolate but not as strongly as their “milk.” It seemed more like a dark chocolate, not bitter but with a drying aftertaste.
In the competition, PLAYin CHOC Organic Peruvian Cacao Dark Chocolate won Gold for Best Texture and Bronze for Best Dark Chocolate. It was rated 3.5 stars.
Organic Peruvian Cacao M*lk Chocolate
PLAYin CHOC’s Organic Peruvian Cacao M•lk Chocolate had a softer break and the same smooth texture. It smelled and tasted like coconut. I think it’s a good vegan coconut chocolate but not as tasty as a straight milk chocolate is. It had a vegetal aftertaste and was slightly drying like their dark chocolate.
In the competition, PLAYin CHOC Organic Peruvian Cacao M*lk Chocolate won Gold for Best Vegan Milk Chocolate and received an Honorable Mention for Best Texture. It was rated 3 stars.
You can buy PLAYin CHOC chocolates online.
Delysia Chocolatier
Experimental chocolatier and competition veteran, Delysia Chocolatier, Austin, TX, entered a new filled square bar I liked.
Hazelnut Orange Blossom Molded Chocolate
The Hazelnut Orange Blossom Molded Chocolate had a thick dark chocolate shell encasing a dark ganache flavored with hazelnuts, orange zest, orange blossoms, and salt. Orange was the first taste and it became a nice orange dark chocolate experience. It needed more hazelnuts for them to be the first word in the bar’s name because I couldn’t detect hazelnut under the orange and chocolate.
In the competition, Delysia’s Hazelnut Orange Blossom Molded Chocolate bar won Gold for Best Dark Chocolate; Silver for Best Ingredient Combinations and Most Unique; Bronze for Best Taste and Top Vegan Chocolate; and received Honorable Mentions for Best Texture and Best Flavored Chocolate. It was rated 4 stars.
Delysia chocolates are available online and at their shop in Austin.
CacaoLab
Perla 100%
CacaoLab’s 3rd entry, the Perla 100% — 100% meaning a single ingredient, cacao, and nothing else — was as mysterious as their other entries. It didn’t break so much as shatter and had a strange, slightly beefy, not chocolatey at all taste. It had a very smooth texture, almost slippery like olive oil had been added. According to their site their Perla cacao is from Ecuador and they describe it as having a unique flavor. Because it is 100% cacao they were recommending it for “anyone who truly appreciates chocolate to savor its authentic flavor.”
I can say it made for a very different experience from most chocolate I’ve had before. I can’t say I liked it but it’s well made and weird and that might be enough to seek it out.
In the competition, CacaoLab’s Perla 100% chocolate received Honorable Mentions for Most Unique and Best Dark Chocolate. It was rated 3 stars.
You never know
I like seeing competitors improve over the years. It’s one reason I tend not to mention entries that I don’t rate 3 stars or higher — their makers might be working things out and come back in the next competition and totally nail it. This time I was pleasantly surprised by competitors 7th Heaven and CacaoLab zooming up to my top tier. I look forward to what they and other chocolatiers and chocolate makers are working on now for the future.
View the entire list of 2024 Vegan Chocolate winners here.
