The Worst Vegan Chocolate Bar On The Market Is A Shark Tank Product Gone Wrong
Whether you're vegan or just allergic to dairy like me, you know what a struggle it can be to get your hands on some good vegan chocolate. We have some killer recipes for vegan chocolate cakes and chocolate mousses, but what do you do when you're just craving a simple, easy chocolate bar? A quick jaunt out into the chocolate aisle will make it obvious just how few options you have to ponder over. We at Tasting Table found 16 brands of vegan chocolate to try on your behalf, and we've done the work of ranking them from worst to best so you'll know which to swerve and which to grab the next time you hit your local grocery store. Though there were some real gems on the list, the worst vegan chocolate bar on our list ended up being Gatsby Sea Salt Extra Dark Chocolate.
Gatsby is a chocolate company featured on Shark Tank back in 2023, marketing itself as a health-conscious treat with a low calorie and sugar count and high-quality ingredients. Though the brothers who founded the company eventually struck a deal, they sure weren't getting a lot of nibbles at first. Unfortunately, take one bite out of this chocolate bar, and you'll understand the hesitance.
Where does Gatsby Sea Salt Extra Dark Chocolate miss the mark?
The big issues here is that this bar only offers notes of stale, burnt coffee, compared to the rich and decadent chocolate notes that other extra dark bars provide. There's a bitterness here that's pretty unpalatable. One Reddit user pointed out how highly processed the ingredient list is, making it difficult to even call Gatsby chocolate bars pure and true chocolate. When I sampled a piece, I also wasn't a fan of the salt crystals. I usually like a big salt flake, but with the dull and bitter taste of the chocolate itself, the pops of salty goodness actually enhanced the staleness and made the whole thing taste worse.
The bar itself has a sort of oily, greasy residue, too, which our taster noted as soon as they took the bar out of the package. When I tried my bar, I found the texture crumbly, and the bar didn't melt in my mouth like I personally enjoy. In recent years, Redditors also reported an increase in price that makes this bar almost painful to buy. Between the taste being a flop, the texture leaving you wanting for more, and a price tag that hits you in the wallet, this Gatsby bar gets a definite pass from us. Vegans and dairy allergen sufferers alike? You can do better.