Dark Chocolate in Singapore: 7 Local Makers' Bars Compared

Janice Wong's bean-to-bar range includes 70% single-origin dark bars from Davao del Sur in the Philippines, Chumphon in Thailand and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia, the Thai and Colombian bars made vegan. The plain bars list cocoa mass, organic cane sugar and cocoa butter. Each is 40 g at S$12, which is S$30 per 100 g, and none goes darker than 70%. The Colombian bar was sold out when we looked. JWO Holdings Pte Ltd makes them at a licensed factory on MacTaggart Road. With AnjaliChocolat, it has the clearest written replacement promise here: a damaged or wrong delivery is replaced 1 for 1, at no charge.

AnjaliChocolat is a Singapore chocolatier at Loewen Road in Dempsey, run by Anjali Chocolat Pte Ltd, which was registered on ACRA in March 2014 to make fine chocolate and holds an SFA licence for the shop. Its dark bars are 50 g at S$8.50, or S$17 per 100 g: a 70% with sea salt and a 70% with toasted almonds and sea salt were in stock when we looked, while a 71% Ecuador single origin and an 80% Extra Dark were sold out. Its bars page says they are made with Belgian dark chocolate couverture, so these are not bean-to-bar. It promises in writing to replace an incorrect or damaged order. Its Google listing shows 4.1 from 27 reviews.

Mr. Bucket makes chocolate from the bean at its Dempsey factory and sells two plain single-estate dark bars, both S$16: an 82% from the Anaimalai Hills in Tamil Nadu, India, and a 75% from the Calinan district of Davao City in the Philippines. Each lists just cacao nibs, unrefined cane sugar and cocoa butter. The bar pages print no weight, so we have not worked out a price per 100 g. Its other bars are mostly milk, white or flavoured. Cacao Social Pte Ltd runs the business, and its Dempsey listing shows 4.8 from 2,252 Google reviews. Delivered orders cannot be exchanged or returned, and any refund is store credit at its discretion.

Fossa makes its dark bars from the bean at its licensed factory in Gambas Crescent, and lists eight plain single-origin bars, all 50 g. They run from 72% to 100% cacao and name the region on every one: Davao in the Philippines, Cotopaxi and Esmeraldas in Ecuador, Bundibugyo in Uganda, Pahang in Malaysia, and the Kilombero Valley in Tanzania. Most list only two ingredients, cacao beans and cane sugar, and the 100% Kokoa Kamili bar is made with no added sugar. Prices are S$10.90 or S$13.08, which is S$21.80 to S$26.16 per 100 g. Google reviewers rate its factory 4.8, from 80 reviews. It publishes no refund or replacement policy.

Laurent Bernard lists more dark bar origins than anyone else here: from a 66% Haiti bar to an 80% Ghana bar, with São Tomé, Peru, Ecuador, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Jamaica, Bali and the Dominican Republic in between, plus a 100% cacao paste bar at S$20. Most origin bars are 50 g at S$15 or S$16, which is S$30 to S$32 per 100 g, while its Gourmet Dark 72% gives 100 g for S$16. The product pages say the bars are handmade in Singapore by Chef Laurent Bernard's team, though not that they are made from the bean. The Chocolate Factory Pte Ltd holds the SFA licences for its factories. A damaged item can be exchanged with the driver at the door.

Lemuel describes itself as a bean-to-bar chocolate maker and sells four single-origin dark bars: 70% bars from Tanzania, Honduras and Mexico at S$16.35, and an 85% Sierra Leone bar at S$17.40. When we looked, the Sierra Leone and Honduras bars were sold out. The bar pages print no weight, though its Passport gift box describes its single-origin bars as 60 g. Lemuel Chocolate Bean-To-Bar Pte Ltd runs a licensed factory cafe at The Star Vista, where you can try its chocolate before buying a bar. Its Google listing shows 4.4 from 378 reviews. It publishes no refund or replacement policy for damaged orders.