The World's Best Chocolate: Top 100 Ranked

Last updated: October 2026

The best chocolate in the world, judged blind, rarely comes from the brands most people know. It comes from a few dozen small makers who choose their cacao farm by farm and are scored, without their names attached, at the International Chocolate Awards. This page ranks the 100 highest-scoring bars since 2022, each by the best score it has earned.

Who makes the best chocolate in the world?

One great bar can be luck. Three is a pattern. So we rank makers by the average score of their three best bars in our Top 100, which means a maker needs at least three bars on the list to appear here. By that measure, these are the best chocolate brands in the world.

# Maker Average of best 3 Bars in Top 100 Best bar
1 Vigdis Rosenkilde (Norway) 91.7 8 Quellouno 70%, 91.7
2 Depetris Riccardo (Italy) 91.6 5 Monviso Violets & Blueberry, 94.2
3 Cacao Hunters (Colombia) 91.4 14 Arauca 70%, 91.7
4 Cacaosuyo (Peru) 91.4 7 El Ganso 70%, 92.3
5 Goodnow Farms (United States) 91.3 18 Putnam Rye Whiskey 77%, 92.0
6 Meybol Cacao (Germany) 91.2 4 Solo Kakao 100%, 91.6
7 Feliu (Mexico) 91.1 9 Leche y Café 58%, 91.5
8 Argencove (Nicaragua) 90.8 5 Mombacho 70%, 91.6
9 Allo Simonne (Canada) 90.5 4 Hazelnut & Jaguar Spread, 91.4
10 Kasama (Canada) 90.5 4 Strawberry White, 91.7

The single highest score on this page belongs to Depetris Riccardo's Monviso Violets & Blueberry, at 94.2. Makers with fewer than three bars in the Top 100, such as Prague Chocolate and Prophecy, appear in the full ranking below.

What Does “The Best Chocolate in the World” Really Mean?

The phrase is used casually. We treat it as a standard that can be checked.

The best chocolate is not decided by popularity, price or marketing. It is decided by origin, craft, clarity of flavor, balance and consistency, and above all by independent judges who taste without knowing whose chocolate is in front of them.

Looking for a gift? Our gourmet chocolate gifts are built from bars on this list.

How the World’s Best Chocolate Is Evaluated

Exceptional chocolate is the result of several things working together:

  • Cacao quality and origin: genetics, terroir and fermentation
  • Craftsmanship: roasting, grinding, refining and aging
  • Flavor balance: clarity, acidity, bitterness, sweetness and texture
  • Consistency: excellence repeated across batches and years
  • Transparency: traceable origins and ethical sourcing

To keep the ranking objective, we rely on the results of the International Chocolate Awards, an independent competition whose panels include sensory experts, chocolatiers, pastry chefs and food professionals from around the world.

Why Chocolate Awards Matter

Properly run, a chocolate award is not a marketing label. It is a blind tasting under strict protocols. The International Chocolate Awards:

  • Judge chocolate without revealing the maker
  • Separate entries by style: dark, milk, white, filled and drinking chocolate
  • Reward clarity of flavor and technical excellence
  • Keep the same standards year after year

Many of the most respected bean-to-bar makers built their reputations through these awards rather than advertising.

How the Top 100 Is Ranked

The bars are ranked from #1 to #100 by the highest score each has achieved at the International Chocolate Awards from 2022 to today. When a bar has won in more than one year or competition, its highest official score counts. Bars with equal scores are listed alphabetically by maker.

Scores of 80 and above indicate fine chocolate. Scores above 90 indicate exceptional quality and craft. The Gold Winners below show the score each bar earned in the year it took Gold, which can be lower than the score it is ranked by.

How the Top 100 Is Ranked

The bars are ranked from #1 to #100 by the highest score each has achieved at the International Chocolate Awards from 2022 to today. When a bar has won in more than one year or competition, its highest official score counts. Bars with equal scores are listed alphabetically by maker.

Scores of 80 and above indicate fine chocolate. Scores above 90 indicate exceptional quality and craft. The Gold Winners below show the score each bar earned in the year it took Gold, which can be lower than the score it is ranked by.

How the Top 100 Is Ranked

The Top 100 Chocolate Bars are ranked from #1 to #100 based on the highest scores achieved at the International Chocolate Awards from 2022 to the present.

When a chocolate bar has received multiple awards across different years or competitions, the highest official score is used for ranking purposes. In cases where scores are equal, editorial judgment is applied based on:

  • Consistency across multiple tastings

  • Breadth of international recognition

  • Sensory balance and technical precision

This methodology ensures the ranking reflects measured excellence, not popularity or sales performance.

Gold Winners — World’s Best Chocolate

Each year, a very small number of chocolates achieve Gold-level recognition at the highest tier of international competition. These bars represent the absolute pinnacle of fine chocolate, judged through blind tasting by expert panels.

Scores of 80 and above indicate fine chocolate quality, while scores above 90 suggest extraordinary quality and craft.
Only the highest-scoring chocolates of each year are designated as Gold Winners.

🥇 Gold Winners 2025

🌍 World’s Best Dark Chocolate — Gold

Cacaosuyo (Peru)
El Ganso — Score: 91.6

A powerful and expressive dark chocolate celebrated for its depth, balance, and precision. El Ganso reflects exceptional control of fermentation and roasting, delivering a vivid sense of origin and structure.

🌍 World’s Best Milk Chocolate — Gold

Cacao Hunters (Colombia)
Tumaco Leche— Score: 91.6

A standout milk chocolate from Colombia's Tumaco region, recognised for its depth, balance, and distinctive origin character.

🌍 World’s Best Flavoured Chocolate — Gold

Prague Chocolate Steiner & Kovarik (Czech Republic)
White Chocolate 40% with Asparagus — Score: 92.1

An innovative and technically brilliant flavoured chocolate, distinguished by its clarity, restraint, and harmony. This bar demonstrates how unconventional ingredients can be integrated with precision and elegance at the highest level of craft.

🥇 Gold Winners 2024

🌍 World’s Best Dark Chocolate — Gold

Vigdis Rosenkilde (Norway)
70% Quellouno — Score: 91.7

A benchmark example of modern fine dark chocolate, combining clarity of origin, balance, and length. Quellouno exemplifies technical mastery paired with expressive terroir.

🌍 World’s Best White Chocolate — Gold

Kasama Chocolate (Canada)
Strawberry White Chocolate — Score: 91.2

A refined and contemporary interpretation of white chocolate, marked by purity, natural fruit integration, and precise texture. This bar redefines expectations for the category.

🥇 Gold Winners 2023

🌍 World’s Best Dark Chocolate — Gold

Vigdis Rosenkilde (Norway)
70% Kiteni — Score: 91.6

An elegant and expressive dark chocolate showcasing clarity, structure, and balance. Kiteni reflects a deep understanding of cacao origin and restrained craftsmanship.

🌍 World’s Best Milk Chocolate — Gold

Chaleur B Chocolat (Canada)
Milk Chocolate 51% — Score: 90.6

A standout milk chocolate recognized for its depth, cocoa-forward profile, and exceptional balance. This bar challenges traditional expectations of milk chocolate through precision and complexity.

The Top 100 Chocolate Bars (2022–Present)

Ranked by the highest score each bar has achieved at the International Chocolate Awards. Scores of 80 and above indicate fine chocolate; scores above 90 suggest extraordinary quality and craft.

  1. Depetris Riccardo (Italy) – White Chocolate – Monviso Violets & Blueberry (Score 94.2)
  2. Cacaosuyo (Peru) – Dark Chocolate – El Ganso, 70% (Score 92.3)
  3. Prague Chocolate (Kanada) – Chocolat blanc – Kasama – Fraise blanche (Score 92.1)
  4. Goodnow Farm (États-Unis) – Chocolat noir – Asochivite à l'érable, 70 % (Score 92.0)
  5. Cacao Hunters (Colombia) – Dark Chocolate – Arauca 70% (Score 91.7)
  6. Kasama (Kanada) – Chocolat blanc – Kasama – Fraise blanche (Score 91.7)
  7. Vigdis Rosenkilde (Norvège) – Chocolat noir – Écharate, 70% (Score 91.7)
  8. Vigdis Rosenkilde (Norvège) – Chocolat noir – Piura aux plumes, 70% (Score 91.7)
  9. Vigdis Rosenkilde (Norvège) – Chocolat noir – Vigdis Rosenkilde – Quellouno, 70 % (Score 91.7)
  10. Argencove (Nicaragua) – Chocolat noir – Mombacho, 70% (Score 91.6)
  11. Meybol Cacao (Allemagne) – Chocolat sans sucre – Meybol Kakao – Solo Kakao 100 % (Score 91.6)
  12. Vigdis Rosenkilde (Norvège) – Chocolat noir – Kiteni, 70 % (Score 91.6)
  13. Feliu Chocolate (Mexique) – Chocolat au lait – Moca (Lait & Café) 54% (Score 91.5)
  14. Meybol Cacao (Allemagne) – Chocolat noir – Vrai 68% (Score 91.5)
  15. Allo Simonne (Canada) – Chocolate Spread – Jaguar Chocolate Spread (Score 91.4)
  16. Cacao Hunters (Colombia) – Milk Chocolate – Tumaco Leche 53% (Score 91.4)
  17. Goodnow Farm (États-Unis) – Chocolat noir – Asochivite à l'érable, 70 % (Score 91.4)
  18. Prophecy Chocolate (United Sates) – Alternative Theobromas – Spicy Macambo Beans (Score 91.3)
  19. Cacao Hunters (Colombia) – Dark Chocolate – Sierra Nevada with Gulupa (Passion Fruit), 64% (Score 91.1)
  20. Cacaosuyo (Peru) – Dark Chocolate – Chuncho Cuzco 70% (Score 91.1)
  21. SLOK Chocolate (Hongkong) – Boire du chocolat – Chuncho au chocolat chaud du Pérou, 72% (Score 91.1)
  22. Feliu Chocolate (Mexique) – Chocolat noir – Pitaya De Mayo (Poire de Cactus) 58% (Score 91.0)
  23. Feliu Chocolate (Mexique) – Chocolat sans sucre – Lait Vanillé 52% (Score 90.9)
  24. Argencove (Nicaragua) – Chocolat noir – Argencove – 92, 92 % (Score 90.8)
  25. Cacao Hunters (Colombia) – Dark Chocolate – Arhuacos, 72% (Score 90.8)
  26. Kasama (Kanada) – Chocolat blanc – Framboise Blanche (Score 90.8)
  27. Sleep Walk (États-Unis) – Chocolat noir – Trinitario, 70% (Score 90.8)
  28. Vigdis Rosenkilde (Norvège) – Chocolat noir – Écharate, 80% (Score 90.8)
  29. Cacao Hunters (Colombia) – Dark Chocolate – Sierra Nevada, 72% (Score 90.7)
  30. Cacaosuyo (Peru) – Chocolat noir – Piura Select 70% (Score 90.7)
  31. Cacaosuyo (Peru) – Dark Chocolate – Piura Select, 70% (Score 90.7)
  32. Cacaosuyo (Peru) – Dark Chocolate – Piura Nibs, 70% (Score 90.7)
  33. Feliu Chocolate (Mexique) – Chocolat noir – Soconusco 71% (Score 90.7)
  34. Chaleur B Chocolat (Kanada) – Chocolat au lait – Lait 51% (Score 90.6)
  35. Cacao Hunters (Colombia) – Dark Chocolate – Tumaco 70% (Score 90.5)
  36. Meybol Cacao (Allemagne) – Chocolat noir – Vrai 72% (Score 90.5)
  37. Vigdis Rosenkilde (Norway) – Dark Chocolate – Koribeni 70% (Score 90.5)
  38. Depetris Riccardo (Italy) – Alternative Theobromas – Alternative Monviso – Macambo (Score 90.4)
  39. Duffy's Chocolate (Royaume-Uni) – Chocolat noir – Juno Nicaragua, 70% (Score 90.4)
  40. Goodnow Farm (United States ) – Dark Chocolate – Almendra Blanca 77% (Score 90.4)
  41. Vigdis Rosenkilde (Norway) – Dark Chocolate – Piura Blanco, 100% (Score 90.4)
  42. BOHO Chocolate (United States) – Dark Chocolate – Kablon Farms, Philippines, 70% (Score 90.3)
  43. Goodnow Farm (United States ) – Dark Chocolate – El Carmen With Coffee Crunch 69% (Score 90.3)
  44. Depetris Riccardo (Italy) – Dark Chocolate – Cioccolato Del Monviso with Genepy (Score 90.2)
  45. Feliu Chocolate (Mexique) – Chocolat noir – Chontalpa 70% (Score 90.2)
  46. Goodnow Farm (États-Unis) – Chocolat noir – Asochivite à l'érable, 70 % (Score 90.2)
  47. Depetris Riccardo (Italy) – White Chocolate – Cioccolato Del Monviso with Raspberry, Hibiscus & Rose (Score 90.1)
  48. Goodnow Farm (États-Unis) – Chocolat noir – Asochivite à l'érable, 70 % (Score 90.1)
  49. Meybol Cacao (Allemagne) – Chocolat noir – Inti 70% (Score 90.1)
  50. Sleep Walk (United States) – Dark Chocolate – Miel Y Chiltepe, 70% (Score 90.1)
  51. Allo Simonne (Canada) – Chocolate Spread – Dark Chocolate Spread with Buckwheat (Score 90.0)
  52. Allo Simonne (Canada) – Gianduja – Dark Chocolate Gianduja with Buckwheat & Melilot Flowers (Score 90.0)
  53. Argencove (Nicaragua) – Chocolat noir – Apoyo, 70 % (Score 90.0)
  54. Cacaosuyo (Peru) – Milk Chocolate – Piura Milk, 50% (Score 90.0)
  55. Feliu Chocolate (Mexique) – Chocolat noir – Flor De Un Dia 70% (Score 90.0)
  56. Cacao Hunters (Colombia) – Dark Chocolate – Tumaco 82% (Score 89.9)
  57. Goodnow Farm (United States ) – Dark Chocolate – Limited Release, Yasica Especial 70% (Score 89.9)
  58. McGuire Chocolate (Kanada) – Chocolat au lait – Hanky ​​Panky 57% Lait épicé (Score 89.9)
  59. SLOK Chocolate (Hongkong) – Chocolat au lait – Lait noir au cupuaçu 60% (Score 89.9)
  60. Cacao Hunters (Colombia) – Dark Chocolate – Hachimitsu, 86% (Score 89.8)
  61. Duffy's Chocolate (United Kingdom) – Dark Chocolate – Nicaragua Amarillo, 72% (Score 89.8)
  62. Goodnow Farm (États-Unis) – Chocolat noir – Boyaca, Colombie 73% (Score 89.8)
  63. Vigdis Rosenkilde (Norvège) – Chocolat noir – Vigdis Rosenkilde – Santa Ana, 70 % (Score 89.8)
  64. Cacao Hunters (Colombia) – Sugar-free Chocolate – Colombia, 100% (Score 89.7)
  65. Feliu Chocolate (Mexique) – Chocolat noir – Criollo Rioja 73% (Score 89.7)
  66. Goodnow Farm (United States ) – Milk Chocolate – Classic Milk 60% (Score 89.7)
  67. Goodnow Farm (États-Unis) – Chocolat noir – Goodnow Farms – Asochivite, Guatemala 77 % (Score 89.7)
  68. McGuire Chocolate (Kanada) – Chocolat noir – Santa Maria 70% (Score 89.7)
  69. Argencove (Nicaragua) – Chocolat noir – Lot 18, 80% (Score 89.5)
  70. Chaleur B Chocolat – Chocolat noir – Pérou Ucayali 72% (Score 89.5)
  71. Feliu Chocolate (Mexico) – Sugar-free Chocolate – Soconusco 70% Sugar-free (Score 89.5)
  72. Cacao Hunters (Colombia) – Chocolate Dragees – Chocolate-covered Nibs Dragees (Score 89.4)
  73. Cacao Hunters (Colombia) – Dark Chocolate – Sierra Nevada, 64% (Score 89.4)
  74. Sleep Walk (United States) – Dark Chocolate – Oaxaca, 70% (Score 89.4)
  75. Chaleur B Chocolat (Kanada) – Chocolat noir – Tanzanie 79% (Score 89.3)
  76. Goodnow Farm (United States ) – Dark Chocolate – Special Reserve 100% (Score 89.3)
  77. McGuire Chocolate (Kanada) – Chocolat au lait – Lait épicé à la citrouille (Score 89.3)
  78. Duffy's Chocolate (Royaume-Uni) – Chocolat au lait – Duffy's – Nicaragua, Oh Juno, 45 % (Score 89.2)
  79. Goodnow Farm (United States ) – Dark Chocolate – Las Palomas Coffee 77% (Score 89.2)
  80. Goodnow Farm (États-Unis) – Chocolat noir – Asochivite à l'érable, 70 % (Score 89.2)
  81. BOHO Chocolate (United States) – Dark Chocolate – Belize, Maya Mountain 70% (Score 89.1)
  82. Cacao Hunters (Colombia) – Dark Chocolate – Campesino, 64% (Score 89.1)
  83. Duffy's Chocolate (Royaume-Uni) – Chocolat au lait – Honduras, Maya Red, 61% (Score 89.1)
  84. Goodnow Farm (États-Unis) – Chocolat noir – Asochivite à l'érable, 70 % (Score 89.1)
  85. BOHO Chocolate (États-Unis) – Chocolat noir – Colombie, Sierra Nevada 70% (Score 89.0)
  86. Depetris Riccardo (Italy) – Dark Chocolate – Cioccolato Del Monviso Peru Chuncho Cuzco, 75% (Score 89.0)
  87. Goodnow Farm (United States ) – Vegan Milk Chocolate – Oat Milk Vegan (Score 89.0)
  88. Cacao Hunters (Colombia) – Dark Chocolate – Pepper, 70% (Score 88.9)
  89. Goodnow Farm (United States ) – Dark Chocolate – Pure Passion Fruit 70% (Score 88.9)
  90. Kasama (Kanada) – Chocolat noir – Rhum Tanduay 75 % (Score 88.9)
  91. Allo Simonne (Canada) – Gianduja – Dark Chocolate Gianduja with Whole Hazelnuts (Score 88.8)
  92. Argencove (Nicaragua) – Dark Chocolate – Saffron, 70% (Score 88.8)
  93. Feliu Chocolate (Mexique) – Chocolat sans sucre – Soconusco 100% (Score 88.8)
  94. Kasama (Canada) – Dark Chocolate – Kisinga, 70% (Score 88.8)
  95. Cacaosuyo (Peru) – Dark Chocolate – Cuzco, 80% (Score 88.7)
  96. Prague Chocolate (Czech Republic) – White Chocolate – White Chocolate 40% with Oyster Mushrooms (Score 88.7)
  97. Sierra Sagrada (Colombie) – Chocolat noir – Sierra Sagrada – Sierra Nevada 85 % (Score 88.7)
  98. Cacao Hunters (Colombia) – Dark Chocolate – Perla Negra, 74% (Score 88.6)
  99. Goodnow Farm (United States ) – Dark Chocolate – Esmeraldas, Ecuador 70% (Score 88.6)
  100. Goodnow Farm (United States ) – Dark Chocolate – Ucayali, Peru 70% (Score 88.6)

What about Lindt, Godiva or Valrhona?

The names most people know as premium (Lindt, Godiva, Läderach, Teuscher, Valrhona, Amedei) are absent by design, not oversight. This ranking includes only bars with verified International Chocolate Awards scores that we can source and ship. In blind tasting, the highest scores on this list have gone to small makers working from a single origin, not to the largest houses.

If you are looking for a step up from the supermarket shelf, the wrapper tells you most of what you need: a named origin (a country, a region, sometimes a single farm), a cacao percentage, and a short ingredient list, usually cacao, cane sugar and cocoa butter, plus milk for milk chocolate.

How This Page Relates to Our Other Rankings

The Top 100 is the foundation for every other guide on Hello Chocolate:

These are selective guides drawn from the same results, and may include fewer than 100 bars.

Looking for Chocolate Near You?

If you are searching for “chocolate near me”, you are probably hoping for something better than the supermarket shelf. Most bars on this list are made in small batches and rarely sold outside their home country. We ship them across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and worldwide.

Explore the Top 100 Chocolate Collection

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FAQ

What is the best chocolate brand in the world?
Judged by blind-tasting scores at the International Chocolate Awards, the best chocolate comes from small craft makers rather than famous brands. The makers in the table near the top of this page have the highest average across their three best bars in our ranking.

Is Lindt or Godiva the best chocolate in the world?
They are the best known, not the best scored. This ranking is built only on International Chocolate Awards blind-tasting results, and the top places on it belong to small craft makers.

What is the best chocolate you can buy online?
The bars in our Top 100, ranked by their International Chocolate Awards scores. Most can be ordered from us and shipped to your door; each bar's link shows whether it is in stock.

Where can I buy great chocolate near me?
Most local stores carry mass-produced chocolate. We source award-winning bean-to-bar chocolate from the makers on this list and ship it across North America and internationally.

Does Hello Chocolate ship to me?
We deliver to Canada, the United States and many countries worldwide.

Who Compiles This Ranking

The Top 100 is compiled by Dima, founder of Hello Chocolate, who has worked in craft chocolate for ten years, first in Singapore and now in New Brunswick, Canada. A bar is added only after its score is checked against the official International Chocolate Awards results.

A Living Reference

New harvests, new makers and new award winners arrive every year. The list stays at 100 bars, but places change as new results come in.

What our customers say

  • Elizabeth N. (delivery to Los Angeles, CA)

    Birthday Present.

    Bought a selection for my brother-in-law who is a dark chocolate lover. He was very enthusiastic!

  • Anthony H. (delivery to Potomac, MD, USA)

    My “go to” for dinner with friends

    Well done. This is what bean to bar is supposed to be! Beau Cacao’s three “single origin” bars have become my favorite way to introduce friends to high quality chocolate. They’re very similar in content (78%, Indonesian), but the slight geographical
    differences create a remarkably difference in flavor profiles.

  • Ihor S. (delivery to Benahavis, Malaga, Spain)

    Never tried craft chocolate before. Loved it.

    I never understood the hype behind the craft chocolate. Now I do. I had to try it once to understand the difference and taste superiority compared to mainstream commercial chocolate. Hello Chocolate was very effective in solving a shipment issue so its customer service reinforces the quality of the product.

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