Joseph Erdos, AOL

After finding the best milk chocolates in one of KitchenDaily's most popular taste tests, our editors thought it only fair to find the best dark chocolates on the market. Tasting brands that ranged in price from $1.79 to $7.99, we were pleasantly surprised when two of the top five chocolates came from a surprisingly affordable source -- Trader Joe's!

Though dark chocolate is officially defined as having at least 35 percent cocoa solids, we tested a range between 50 and 85 percent in our quest for chocolatey perfection. We tested only solid dark chocolate bars -- that means no nuts, no fillings, and no added flavors.

Over the course of two days, our intrepid editors blind-tasted 56 different brands. Check out the slideshow below to discover the top 20 performers (and see below for a complete list of all brands that were tested). Where does your favorite rank?

As always, this taste test was in no way sponsored or influenced by the brands included.

The Best Dark Chocolates

Dark Chocolate Taste Test



The rest of the contenders, in no particular order:

Russell Stover Dark Chocolate: Sugar Free, sweetened with Splenda
Guylian 54% cocoa, no sugar added
Dove Silky Smooth Dark Chocolate
Cadbury Royal Dark
Hershey's Extra Dark Pure Dark Chocolate, 60% cacao
Valor Dark Chocolate, 70% cocoa
Theo Organic Dark Chocolate, 70% cacao
Valhrona Le Noir Amer 71% cacao
Dagoba Dark Chocolate, 59% cacao
Dagoba New Moon 74% cacao
Dagoba Eclipse 87% cacao
Endangered Species Organic Dark Chocolate, 70% cocoa
Endangered Species Chocolate All-Natural Supreme Dark Chocolate, 72% cocoa
Vivani 100% Organic Dark Chocolate, 72% cocoa content
Lindt 50% cocoa, Mild Dark
Lindt 85% cocoa, Extra Dark
Food Emporium Dark Belgian Chocolate $1.99
Food Emporium 72% Dark Belgian Chocolate
Green & Black's Dark Chocolate, 85%
Simply Lite Dark Chocolate, Sugar Free, 50% cacao
Scharffen Berger Semisweet Fine Artisan Dark Chocolate, 62% cacao
Scharffen Berger Extra Dark 82% cacao
Hershey's Special Dark
Ghiradelli Intense Dark Evening Dream, 60% cacao
Ghiradelli Intense Dark Midnight Reverie, 86% cacao
Ghiradelli Intense Dark Twilight Delight, 72% cacao
Simon Coll 70% cacao chocolate
Simon Coll 50% Cacao Chocolate
Simon Coll 54% Cacao Chocolate
Venchi Without Sugar, 75%
Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate
Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate 73% super dark
Trader Joe's The Dark Chocolate Lover's Chocolate Bar, 85% cacao
Sirius Pure Icelandic Chocolate, 56% bittersweet
Hachez 88% cocoa
Cote d'Or 86% Noir Brut Belgian Dark Chocolate Confection
Emergency Chocolate 55% cocoa