Six years ago, we featured a taste test of dark chocolate bars, and one reader commented: “The best dark chocolate is milk chocolate.” A hot take, and one with which I happen to agree! So, we thought it was time for another experiment…

We couldn’t have asked for a better panel of judges: five seventh graders, with sweet teeth and strong opinions. Anton’s friends came over after school, and we challenged them to rate 11 popular milk chocolate brands in a blind taste test.

The Contenders:
Only plain milk chocolate varieties were included (no nuts, fillings, or flavors).

The Methodology:
Following Jenny’s finely tuned protocol, I served as master of ceremonies, with Joanna joining as my hype woman. I set up the samples ahead of time, “blinding” the brands as much as possible (those engraved with logos were turned upside down), along with sparkling water and unsalted crackers for cleansing the palate between samples. Each sample was numbered, and only I had the key to the corresponding brands.

I instructed the testers — Nick, Anton, Sienna, Juliet, and Ella — to taste each sample at the same time and weigh in on attributes like sweetness, bite, creaminess, and flavor. Then I asked them to privately rank each sample on a scale of 1-5 (5 being the best). I also asked them to refrain from making guesses on the chocolate brands, to avoid influencing each other. Did they follow these last two instructions? No, not even for a second. (Future scientists, take note: middle schoolers cannot not talk to each other). But did they take the task of scrutinizing and ranking these chocolates extremely seriously? Yes, 100%.

When testing was complete, I gathered their score sheets and averaged the rankings of each sample. In retrospect, I also should have instructed them to round their decimals, so as to avoid rankings like 4.12595982484636456467. But again, this was a flaw in my own procedure, and I cannot fault the children for being precise.

In the end, it didn’t matter anyway. After running the numbers and reviewing their observations, the results were very clear. Here are our findings — and scroll down to the bottom for the overall winner:

The Creamiest
Lindt Classic Recipe & Cadbury Dairy Milk: 4.8
These two scored high across the board (our only samples with tied scores), and both were noted for their exceptionally smooth, creamy texture. One tester described the Cadbury as having a “pure milk” flavor, and several agreed it was the “milkiest” milk chocolate. Everyone also liked the thin-but-not-too-thin shape of the Lindt bar.

Best Flavor
MilkBoy: 4.44
Chocolove: 4.3468
These two were also overall crowdpleasers (and the least recognizable by taste — no one had any idea what brand they might be). MilkBoy elicited the biggest response, flavor-wise, and testers said they tasted notes of raspberry, almond, and even mint. Chocolove was noted for its fruity sweetness — pleasant, but not overpowering. And everyone REALLY liked the domed shape of the squares.

Best Shape & Texture
Dove: 4.5
Ritter Sport Fine Milk Chocolate: 4.38
Whole Foods 365: 4.182
One definite takeaway from this taste test? Shape matters. Like Chocolove, the Dove bar is portioned into small, domed squares. That alone nudged its score up, and it was one of the surprise favorites (though some found it a little too sweet). Another surprise was the Whole Foods 365 bar, which was praised for its texture. One described it as “waxy and SO good.” (I have to agree, the “waxiness” yields a satisfying bite.) Ritter Sport, with its chunky squares, also got high marks on shape, texture, and its pleasant dissolve. And it’s worth noting that, although the official testers weren’t blown away, Ritter Sport was the grown-up favorite by far (Joanna and I tried them before the kids arrived, and kept our lips zipped during testing).

The Outliers
Trader Joe’s: 4.2682
Endangered Species: 3.84
One tester declared the Trader Joe’s sample a 5/5, right off the bat — no notes, loved everything about it. The rest of the testers responded with a resounding meh. A similar thing happened with Endangered Species, which many testers thought was an accidental dark-chocolate addition (it has a higher cocoa content and definitely could be confused for dark). One tester LOVED it, while everyone else (myself included) found it too hard, too bitter, and just too intense. No one wanted a second bite.

The Least Favorite
Hershey’s Symphony Bar: 3.8
Ouch! Remember when Symphony Bars were the fancy chocolate? Times have changed. These kids were NOT impressed. “It just tastes like a s’more.”

The Big Winner
Tony’s Chocolonely: 4.98
It wasn’t even close, y’all. Tony’s was the winner, beloved by all. While it wasn’t deemed the most anything — not the creamiest, sweetest, etc. — I actually think that worked in its favor. The balance was just right. Another big plus was size and shape: Tony’s is a decidedly chonky bar of chocolate, and it breaks apart into a bunch of uneven hunks, which is oddly satisfying. The brand recognition was definitely a factor here (“I got the lucky part!” one tester said, taking the little coin-shaped piece in the center), but I suspect this would have been the winner either way. Tony’s is both good chocolate and fun chocolate. And, really, what more can you ask for?

A big thanks to our wonderful judges, Anton, Nick, Juliet, Ella, and Sienna! Any other milk chocolate fans out there? Do you have a favorite?

P.S. More taste tests, including the best vanilla ice cream and our favorite pasta sauce.