Best extra dark chocolate: Aldi vs Lindt vs Waitrose

Extra dark chocolate has never been more tempting. Often chosen for its richer flavour and perceived health benefits, higher-cocoa bars are growing in popularity. But is it worth paying extra for a premium brand such as Lindt, or can a supermarket own label deliver just as much bang for your bar?

To find out, we asked a panel of experts to blind-taste three 85% cocoa bars from Aldi, Lindt and Waitrose. One chocolate emerged as the standout, impressing our judges with its flavour, texture and overall quality.

This taste test was a follow-up to our main best dark chocolate guide, in which our experts blind-tasted and rated 12 supermarket dark chocolate bars containing 70–75% cocoa to find the best-tasting options. We carried out this separate comparison to see how higher-cocoa, extra dark bars from premium and supermarket brands stacked up.

Best extra dark chocolate

Our experts agreed that Lindt's Excellence Robust Dark 85% Cocoa chocolate was better than the other two extra dark chocolate bars on test. 

It was also more expensive than the others, but might be worth the extra cost if you're buying an occasional treat.

Lindt Excellence Robust Dark 85% Cocoa Dark Chocolate

Price: £3.50 for 100g (£3.50 per 100g)

Score: 71%

Lindt's 85% cocoa extra dark chocolate was our experts' favourite out of the three supermarket bars on test. The chocolate was well tempered, shown by its smooth and creamy texture, as well as its satisfying snap.

The taste was intense. One expert commented on 'the tropical fruit notes akin to mango', while another noted 'a hint of something a little like cloves'. It had a slight aroma of pineapple, too. 

The chocolate wasn't very bitter and was thought to be a little on the sweet side for a bar with 85% cocoa. 

Suitable for vegetarians.

Available from Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose.

Aldi Moser Roth 85% Cocoa Dark Chocolate

Price: £2.49 for 125g (£1.99 per 100g)

Score: 49%

Aldi’s extra dark chocolate was described as a 'nice-looking bar' with good thickness, but very dark in colour. Our experts thought the chocolate was not creamy or very smooth, and it had a bitter, earthy and heavily roasted cocoa taste.  

One expert said: 'The almost black colour of this chocolate suggests the cocoa may have been alkalised.'

Alkalisation (also known as Dutch processing) involves treating cocoa with an alkali, such as potassium carbonate, to reduce bitterness and acidity and create a darker colour. It can also reduce some naturally occurring polyphenols and alter the flavour profile. However, taste and appearance alone cannot always confirm whether cocoa has been alkalised.

Fairtrade. Suitable for vegetarians.

Available from Aldi (in-store only).

Waitrose No.1 Fairtrade Uganda Dark Chocolate 85% Cocoa

Price: £3 for 100g (£3 per 100g)

Score: 47%

Waitrose claims its No.1 85% cocoa chocolate bar has a deep cocoa richness and hints of nuts and spice, but our experts didn't agree. It looked pleasant, but the panel were disappointed with the flavour, describing it as 'one-dimensional with no complexity or excitement'. 

One expert said it tasted bitter, like ‘burnt beans’, while another felt there was ‘really very little taste of chocolate’.  

'I can see why people think 85% is a punishment to endure with this bar,' concluded one expert.

Fairtrade. Suitable for vegetarians.

Available from Waitrose.

Looking for more taste test recommendations? See our guides to the best extra virgin olive oil, best white wine and best pork sausages

What does 85% cocoa actually mean?

If you're buying 85% cocoa extra dark chocolate, it means that 85% of the chocolate's total weight comes directly from ingredients derived from cocoa beans (such as cocoa solids and cocoa butter). The remaining 15% typically includes sugar and vanilla flavouring.

The amount of cocoa in dark chocolate can range from 35% to 100%. A higher-percentage bar with more cocoa solids is likely to be higher in fibre and minerals and lower in sugar.

Health? or Hype?

Make the right choice with recommendations you can trust, backed by expert testing.

Explore health recommendations

Is 85% dark chocolate good for you?

Extra dark chocolate with 85% cocoa is rich in polyphenols, naturally occurring plant compounds with antioxidant properties. Some studies suggest polyphenols may support cardiovascular health, while researchers are also investigating their potential effects on brain and gut health.

However, while extra dark chocolate has a reputation for being a healthy choice, especially if comparing it to the likes of milk and white chocolate, it's still something to eat in moderation – 85% cocoa extra dark chocolate still contains sugar (and fat), and the NHS recommendation is to consume no more than 30g of free sugars a day for adults.

Find out more about the health benefits of dark chocolate

How much sugar is in 85% dark chocolate?

The extra dark 85% chocolate bars we tested contain between 13-15g sugar per 100g, which gives them an amber traffic light rating. While this is still a moderate amount of sugar, extra dark chocolate can be much lower in sugar compared with bars with a lower cocoa percentage.

For example, Lindt's Excellence Robust Dark 85% Cocoa extra dark chocolate has 15g of sugar per 100g. This is considerably less – almost half the amount – than the 29g of sugar per 100g found in Lindt's Excellence Intense Dark 70% Cocoa dark chocolate.

Prefer crisps to chocolate? Find out more about the healthier crisp choices

How to store extra dark chocolate

Store chocolate, whether milk, dark or extra dark, at room temperature (around 16–20°C). Don't be tempted to pop a bar in the fridge as it will lose its flavour, and cold chocolate tastes less sweet. 

What's more, any chocolate that's already been opened will act like a sponge, absorbing unwanted fridge odours, so store it in an airtight container.

Are you storing your condiments correctly?  We reveal the correct home for products such as ketchup and mayo – with surprising revelations

Should I buy Fairtrade dark chocolate?

When it comes to cocoa production, there are various independent certification schemes, such as Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance, which set out minimum requirements for environmental, economic, and social standards.

However, some highly ethical chocolate brands may opt out of these schemes, preferring to invest directly in farmers rather than pay for expensive logos to put on their wrappers.

Learn more about the issues surrounding the production of ethical and sustainable chocolate – how to buy more sustainable chocolate

How we test extra dark chocolate

The three extra dark chocolate bars were blind-tasted and rated by a panel of four independent chocolate experts in May 2026.

Our expert tasting panel included:

• Gabriella Cugno Award-winning pastry chef and chocolatier 
• Aneesh Popat Founder and director of chocolate company The Chocolatier 
• Jennifer Earle Food industry consultant, writer, private guide and chocolate specialist 
• Dom Ramsey Chocolate maker, consultant, development chef and writer. 

We always buy all the test samples ourselves to maintain our independence. And we always buy a backup sample, just in case.

Our experts rated each dark chocolate bar on taste, aroma, texture and appearance. The taste test was blind, so the panel didn't know which chocolate bar they were trying, and each expert tried them in a different order to avoid any bias. As some bars had recognisable branding on the chocolate squares, our experts were also given a blindfold to wear to prevent any influence on their scores.

After all the products had been tasted, the panel discussed their ratings and agreed on a score for each one. Only then did we reveal the products.

Why you can trust us: at Which? we're free from manufacturer and retailer influence. Find out more about our editorial independence policy and see behind the scenes of our taste tests to understand more about how we work.

Pricing and availability information correct as of July 2026.