Supermarket sweet Print
Wednesday, 03 March 2010 01:14

 

25 February 2010

There’s been a choc shock as supermarkets have beaten well-known brands in the Which? blind taste test* of Fairtrade and organic chocolate.

Fairtrade Fortnight began this week and is encouraging people to swap their normal products for the Fairtrade equivalent**. Which?’s results*** show that chocolate-lovers can head to the supermarket and wouldn’t be missing out. Tesco’s Finest Fairtrade Organic Dominican Republic received the top score for dark chocolate (75%), followed closely by Waitrose’s Fairtrade Swiss Dark Chocolate (74%). Which? found that Green & Black’s Organic chocolate was worth considering, but came in third with 70%.

The cheapest dark chocolate on test, 99p from Lidl, was rated higher than other well-known brands Divine and Seeds of Change. However, it was the powdery finish of Sainsbury’s Organic Fairtrade bar that put it at the bottom of the heap.

In a separate test of milk chocolate, Tesco also came top. Its Finest Fairtrade Organic milk chocolate was the only one with the right amount of sweetness. In almost all cases the high sugar in the milk bars overwhelmed the cocoa and a reversal of fortunes saw Waitrose’s Fairtrade and Lidl’s Fairglobe milk chocolate bars receive the worst scores.

The chocolates were assessed for appearance, aroma, taste, mouth feel and melt, aftertaste, and appearance and snap - the crisp sound when a bar is broken.

Peter Vicary-Smith, Chief Executive, Which?, says:“Our expert panel taste test of Fairtrade and organic chocolate has been a sweet victory for Tesco. Their bars have outperformed well-known brands and chocolate-lovers can enjoy the mouth-watering flavours with a clearer conscience.”

For a copy of the report, further information, images or an interview, please contact Nicole Gross on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 0207 770 7564.

*Which? ran two separate blind tastings with a panel of three chocolate experts for dark organic and/or Fairtrade chocolate bars and milk organic and/or Fairtrade chocolate bars. The bars tested were sold by the major supermarkets and three well-known, widely available brands.
Experts scored each bar for appearance / snap, aroma, taste, mouth feel/ melt and aftertaste. Which? combined the scores to give a % score.
The results are not directly comparable between dark and milk chocolate.
**The Fairtrade Foundation is asking the nation to take part in The Big Swap during Fairtrade Fortnight (22 February – 7 March).

Fairtrade and organic chocolate bars taste test – dark chocolate
BrandPriceScore
Tesco Finest Fairtrade Organic Dominican Republic 70% Plain Chocolate£1.3275%
Waitrose Fairtrade Swiss Dark Chocolate£1.6974%
Green & Black’s Organic Dark 70% Chocolate£1.9570%
Co-op Truly Irresistible Fairtrade£1.4065%
Lidl Fairglobe£0.9964%
Seeds of Change Organic Dark Bar£1.9463%
Asda Extra Special Organic£1.2859%
M&S Organic Fairtrade£1.6559%
Divine 70% Dark£1.4958%
Morrisons Organic Fairtrade£1.2653%
Sainsbury’s Organic Fairtrade£1.2951%
Table notesAll of the bars were 100g 

 

Fairtrade and organic chocolate bars taste test – milk chocolate
BrandPriceScore
Tesco Finest Fairtrade Organic Ecuadorian 39% Milk£1.3259%
Green & Black’s Organic Milk Chocolate£1.9556%
Morrisons Organic Milk Chocolate Fairtrade£1.2655%
Asda Extra Special Organic£1.2852%
Sainsbury’s Organic Fairtrade£1.2952%
Co-op Fairtrade£1.2949%
M&S Organic Fairtrade£1.6546%
Divine Milk£1.4942%
Waitrose Fairtrade Swiss£1.6938%
Lidl Fairglobe£0.9937%

Table notesAll of the bars were 100g, except for the Co-op Fairtrade bar which was 150g 

Source: http://www.which.co.uk/about-which/press/product-press-releases/which-magazine/2010/02/supermarket-sweet.jsp

Last Updated on Wednesday, 03 March 2010 01:28