If you know anything about me, you know that chocolate is one of my favorite things on earth. So when we visited Zurich last October, it was imperative that I find the best chocolate money could buy because who has time (or calories) to waste on bad chocolate? And with so many chocolatiers in Zurich, it can be tough to decide which one to spend time at. But fear not — I’ve got you covered. We've taken it upon ourselves to do the taste-testing and have ranked seven of the best chocolates in Zurich.

Our search for our favorite chocolate bar took us on a self-guided tour around the city on our last day. We basically followed a map, trying to hit at least 7 of the top 10 chocolate shops, and bought a dark chocolate bar from each place, aiming for a 70% bar to make a comparison more accurate.

We ended up going to, in alphabetical order, Bachmann, Honold, Läderach, Lindt (the museum, and the shop inside Bachmann), Max Chocolatier, Sprüngli, and Teuscher. Of the top 10, I wish we had also going to Vollenweider and maybe Vanini. But alas.

*From left to right: Lindt, Läderach, Bachmann, Teuscher, Max Chocolatier, Sprüngli, Honold, Teuscher (in increasing cocoa %)*

A few things to call out before we jump into the ratings and rankings:

Before our intentional chocolate tour, we visited the Lindt Chocolate Factory on a private tour, where we got an exclusive look into the rich history and chocolate-making process of the world-famous Lindt chocolates. We tasted so many of their chocolates and walked away with a few Lindor truffle samples, so didn’t bother buying a bar to compare. This was a little unfair, but we’ve tasted enough Lindt to know what it tastes like.
We took all the chocolate bars back to the USA before comparing because I wanted to make sure things were properly documented, and didn’t want to be forced to eat 6-7 chocolate bars while we were in Slovenia for a week. So the time between purchase and consuming was approximately 1 month, which may have affected some chocolate bars more than others because of their packaging.
This list is only comparing chocolate bars (minus Lindt’s). Each of these chocolate shops have lots of other chocolate options, from pralines to macarons to pastries, and some are famous for things outside of what we tasted (eg. Teuscher’s champagne truffles). You can read more about each of the shops and what they’re famous for in this blog post.

This is the list of what we actually compared, in order of most to least bitter, which is how we tasted, to ensure we didn’t confuse sugar with good flavor.

Teuscher Dark Chocolate 77%
Honold Plaque Republic of Dominicaine 74%
Sprüngli Baracoa Grand Cru 70% Cacao
Max Chocolatier Grand Cru Madagascar 68%
Teuscher Dark Chocolate 66%
Bachmann Milk Chocolate Classic Noir Grand Cru 65%
Läderach Grand Cru Noir 64% Madagascar
Lindt Extra Dark Chocolate LINDOR Truffles 60%

*Note: the Teuscher on the far right melted and re-solidified*

After extensive tasting, here are our rankings for the seven best chocolates in Zurich, Switzerland.

7// Bachmann Milk Chocolate Classic Noir Grand Cru 65%

By far the worst chocolate we tasted was Bachmann’s.

Janice: Mm… Very milky for a 65% bar. Lacking chocolate flavor, and feels like it’s clearly not pure cocoa or cocoa mass. 5/10

Michia: Um, no. This bar tastes like garbage, and has a slightly waxy texture that doesn’t help. 3/10

6.b // Teuscher Dark Chocolate 77%

Janice: While this chocolate from Teuscher is good, it didn't quite hit all the high notes I was expecting. It's a little flat and not as complex as I had hoped. Also not quite creamy enough. To be fair, this bar melted a bit and re-solidified, but still. 6/10

Michia: It’s ok. It lacks complexity and any major flavor notes. 5/10

6.a // Teuscher Dark Chocolate 66%

Janice: Also fine. For 66% cocoa, I’d say it’s way too sweet and has notes of marshmallow. 6/10

Michia: The unique flavor notes and hints of cinnamon in this are interesting, but it’s definitely held back by a waxy texture. 5/10

5 // Lindt Extra Dark Chocolate LINDOR Truffles 60%

Janice: It is a little hard to use these as a comparison because the inside is truffle and not solid chocolate, but these are a decent chocolate. 6/10

Michia: It’s rich and creamy, but no notes in particular jump out, so it’s not my favorite. 6/10

4 // Max Chocolatier Grand Cru Madagascar 68%

Janice: The bar itself is really thin, making it hard to get the full flavor of the chocolate—you really have to snap off a large piece, which is jagged and sharp in your mouth. I thought this would be one of my favorites, and while it was a good chocolate, it didn't stand out as much as I had hoped. 6.5/10

Michia: I also found this bar very good but hard to get much flavor from. It has light fruit notes. 7/10

3 // Sprüngli Baracoa Grand Cru 70% Cacao

Janice: Ooo this bar is interesting. I didn’t think I’d like it that much, but this bar has some earthy tones and hints of cranberry that are really quite nice. And it has a high-quality snap. 7/10

Michia: I found this bar to be deep and very rich. It’s not as sweet, but smooth, and overall good. 7/10

2 // Honold Plaque Republic of Dominicaine 74%

Janice: I can see why my friend highly recommended Honold. This bar had much more complex flavors and a creamier texture, with no waxiness. It had bright notes balanced with a touch of bitter or tobacco notes, adding to its complexity. Delicious. 8.5/10

Michia: This chocolate had distinct and unique notes of sweetness that immediately caught my attention. The texture was smooth and interesting, and the taste wore off quickly, leaving me craving more. 8.5/10

1 // Läderach Grand Cru Noir 64% Madagascar

Janice: Definitely my favorite. This bar just has such a complex and fruity flavor profile that makes it hard to beat. The way the bar was designed also makes it very easy to snap off just a little bit, when you just want that touch of chocolate but not a “whole bite.” 9/10

Michia: Definitely a standout, with a smooth and fruity taste that I found captivating. It was grittier than I remember it being, but still very good. 8.5/10

Other Notes

I was surprised by how important the bar shape is to the chocolate experience. The snap of each bar was quite different, speaking to both the tempering technique of the chocolatier, but also the packaging, and the individually snapped-off pieces affected the experience, from how much it melted in the hand to the mouth-feel when consumed.

I also realized that packaging can affect how much the chocolate degrades over time. For example, the Max Chocolatier bar was sealed in plastic, while the Honold was only wrapped in its cardboard paper packaging. The packaging also affected how easy it was to put back and store for another time when we didn’t finish the bar. I’m not sure if it ultimately affected the flavor that much (could do another test on this alone), but I’ve thought about designing chocolate bars as a side project, and had not previously taken this into consideration.

Final Thoughts

Honold and Läderach are runaway winners, but are very different bars, and both very worth trying. The Honold bar is circular and thicker, making it a little harder to snap of pieces, and is also double the price for an entry-level bar.

While I walked into the test with Läderach as my favorite, I found myself going back for both the Läderach and the Honold almost equally over the course of the week. You can tell in the gif above which ones we liked the most because those bars definitely disappeared fastest.

If you’re in Zurich, debating which chocolate shops have the best chocolate bars, I hope you found this helpful!

Rating the Best Chocolate in Zurich // Review