Lady Smarts: We taste-tested 3 fancy chocolate bars—here's what you need to know

Do your research before you buy.

Some small-batch bars can cost double the price of grocery store chocolate, but do they taste better? Chef Marco Canora, founder of restaurant Hearth in New York City (which offers chocolate tastings), did a blind test.

COMMERCIAL

Lindt 70% Cocoa Excellence Bar: "It's creamy and sweet and has vanilla notes, qualities often found in mass bars."

PREMIUM

Valrhona 71% Cacao Le Noir Amer Bar: "The most bitter of these, with tobacco notes. It's not overly smooth but not grainy."

ARTISANAL

Amano Macoris 70% Dark Chocolate Bar: "This was the fruitiest, with notes of cooked cherries. It's grittier with a waxy feel."

BOTTOM LINE

For a truer chocolate with a complex cacao, the more bitter, the better. Mass bars typically are diluted with sugar —but as Canora points out, most people don't love chocolate, they love sugar.

This article originally appeared in the October 2017 issue of Women's Health. For more great advice, pick up a copy of the issue on newsstands now!

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