Is Hu chocolate actually vegan?

Yes. Hu's entire dark chocolate bar range is vegan. Their core ingredients are organic cacao, organic unrefined coconut sugar, and organic cocoa butter — all plant-derived. They use no dairy, no milk solids, no whey, and no casein. The coconut sugar they use is also never processed through bone char, which is a concern with conventional cane sugar. Hu does not produce dairy chocolate in the same manufacturing facility as their vegan products. Their bars are certified Paleo, certified organic, and Non-GMO Project Verified.

Why does Hu chocolate not use soy lecithin?

Soy lecithin is used in most chocolate as an emulsifier — it improves texture and flow during production, reducing manufacturing cost. Hu's brand philosophy is to remove all ingredients they consider 'questionable stuff,' which includes emulsifiers of any kind, including sunflower lecithin used by many 'cleaner' competitors. Without lecithin, the chocolate relies entirely on proper tempering and high cocoa butter content for its texture. This is harder to produce consistently but results in a cleaner label. Hu argues the emulsifier's main benefit is to the manufacturer, not the consumer.

What sweetener does Hu chocolate use and is it healthy?

Hu uses organic unrefined coconut sugar as their sweetener. Coconut sugar retains trace minerals (iron, zinc, potassium) that refined cane sugar doesn't, and has a lower glycemic index — around 35 versus 65 for cane sugar. It also avoids the bone char filtration process used in refining conventional cane sugar, which is important for strict vegans. The taste is slightly caramel-like with less of the sharp sweetness of refined sugar. That said, coconut sugar is still sugar — moderate consumption is still the right approach. It's a better choice than refined sugar, not a health food.

Is Hu chocolate worth the price?

Hu bars retail for roughly $3 to $4 for a 2.1 oz bar — about $1.50 per ounce. That's 2 to 3 times the cost of standard dark chocolate. Whether it's worth it depends on what you're paying for: if you want the shortest possible ingredient list, no emulsifiers, organic certification, and coconut sugar instead of bone-char-processed cane sugar, Hu delivers on all counts and tastes genuinely good. If you eat a lot of chocolate and the ingredient differences don't matter much to you, there are cheaper well-made vegan dark chocolates available.

Which Hu chocolate bar is best?

For purists, the Simple Dark Chocolate bar showcases the quality of Hu's base ingredients most clearly — three ingredients, excellent texture, balanced flavor. For the best eating experience, the Almond Butter + Puffed Quinoa bar is hard to beat: the puffed quinoa adds a satisfying crunch, the almond butter provides creaminess, and the dark chocolate base ties it together in a way that makes most other chocolate bars feel underdeveloped. If you've never tried Hu, that bar is the one to start with.

Is Hu chocolate good for baking?

Hu makes baking chips (Simple Truth dark chocolate chips) that use the same clean formulation as their bars. For baking with bars, the Simple Dark Chocolate melts well due to its high cocoa butter content and absence of emulsifiers. However, because it has no lecithin, it can be slightly more temperamental in recipes that rely on precise melting behavior. For ganache, dipping, and drizzling, it performs excellently. For recipes requiring very precise tempering — like chocolate-dipped strawberries or chocolate bark — the lack of lecithin means you need to temper carefully.

Does Hu chocolate have any allergens?

Hu chocolate is certified gluten-free and is free from dairy, soy, and refined grain ingredients. Many bars are also tree nut-free, though flavors containing almond butter, hazelnut butter, or cashew butter obviously contain tree nuts. Their manufacturing facility and cross-contamination policies should be checked on the current label if you have severe nut allergies, as facility practices can change. The Simple Dark bar and Salty Dark bar are among the most allergen-free options in their lineup — cacao, coconut sugar, cocoa butter, and sea salt with no nut processing.

Where can I buy Hu chocolate?

In the United States, Hu chocolate is widely available at Whole Foods Market, Target, Sprouts, Costco (in multipacks), and online through Amazon, Thrive Market, and Hu's own website. Thrive Market typically offers the best regular price, and Hu's website runs periodic sales. In the UK and Europe, availability is more limited — look for it on Amazon UK or specialty health food retailers. Hu ships internationally from their website though shipping costs can make individual orders expensive. For international buyers, checking iHerb is often the most cost-effective option.

Hu Chocolate Review: Is It Actually the Cleanest Vegan Bar?

The Hu chocolate bar has built a reputation as the cleanest chocolate on the market. No refined sugar, no dairy, no emulsifiers, no soy lecithin, no cane sugar alternatives that just swap one problem for another. The pitch is simple: chocolate the way it was before the food industry got involved. But does the ingredient list actually hold up, and is the taste good enough to justify the premium price? This review breaks it all down.

What Is Hu Chocolate?

Hu Kitchen launched in New York City as a restaurant before pivoting to packaged foods. Their chocolate bars hit retail shelves around 2013 and have since expanded to Whole Foods, Target, Costco, and major online retailers. The brand's entire identity is built on removing ingredients they call 'the questionable stuff' — a list that includes refined sugar, emulsifiers, sugar alcohols, and anything that sounds like it was made in a lab rather than grown in a field.

Hu's core ingredient philosophy: organic cacao, unrefined coconut sugar, and organic cocoa butter. That's the base of virtually every bar they make. Everything else — sea salt, nuts, dried fruit — is an addition, not a workaround.

Hu Chocolate Ingredients: What's Actually In It?

Here's the full ingredients list for their classic Simple Dark Chocolate bar:

Organic cacao, organic unrefined coconut sugar, organic cocoa butter.

Three ingredients. That's it. No vanilla extract, no soy lecithin (used in most chocolate as an emulsifier to improve texture and reduce production cost), no added flavors. The minimalism is intentional and unusual. Most 'clean' dark chocolates still contain soy lecithin or sunflower lecithin — Hu uses neither.

How Does Hu Chocolate Taste?

The Simple Dark (70% cacao) has an intense, slightly bitter cocoa flavor with a clean sweetness from coconut sugar that doesn't taste artificial or overly sweet. The texture is snappy — it breaks cleanly, which is a sign of proper tempering and good cocoa butter content. It melts evenly in the mouth without a waxy finish.

Coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index than cane sugar and a subtle caramel undertone that works well with dark chocolate. You don't taste coconut — you taste chocolate with a richer, more complex sweetness than refined sugar delivers.

The Almond Butter + Puffed Quinoa bar is arguably their best seller and for good reason: the crunch from puffed quinoa, the creaminess of almond butter, and the bitterness of the dark chocolate create a genuinely satisfying combination that most chocolate bars at any price point don't match.

Hu Chocolate Bar Lineup: Which Flavors Are Vegan?

All Hu bars in their core dark chocolate range are vegan. Here's the main lineup:

Simple Dark Chocolate — 70% cacao, 3 ingredients, fully vegan
Almond Butter + Puffed Quinoa — vegan, Paleo, no dairy
Hazelnut Butter — vegan, Paleo, no dairy
Cashew Butter + Vanilla Bean — vegan, Paleo, no dairy
Salty Dark Chocolate — vegan, 70% cacao + sea salt
Crispy Mint — vegan, uses peppermint oil
Wild Blueberry + Lemon — vegan, uses dried fruit

Hu also makes a White Chocolate bar — check the current label carefully. White chocolate formulations can vary, and some use dairy-derived ingredients. Hu's white chocolate has historically used cashew milk, making it vegan, but verify on the current label for your market.

Is It Vegan?

Yes — Hu's entire dark chocolate range is vegan. The ingredients are free from dairy, milk solids, whey, and casein. The bars are certified Paleo and certified Gluten-Free. They're also Non-GMO Project Verified and USDA Organic. Hu does not use bone char in their sugar processing — they use unrefined coconut sugar, which is never processed through bone char filters (a common issue with conventional cane sugar).

The absence of soy lecithin also means no concern about soy-based cross-processing. Hu's manufacturing is dedicated — they don't produce dairy chocolate in the same facilities. If you're uncertain about any ingredient in your chocolate, check it through our vegan ingredient checker before buying.

Hu vs Other Premium Vegan Dark Chocolates

Brand	Cacao %	Sweetener	Emulsifier	Certified Organic	Price per oz
Hu Simple Dark	70%	Coconut sugar	None	Yes	~$1.50
Alter Eco Deep Dark	85%	Cane sugar	Sunflower lecithin	Yes	~$1.20
Endangered Species 72%	72%	Cane sugar	Sunflower lecithin	Yes	~$0.90
Lindt 70% Excellence	70%	Cane sugar	Soy lecithin	No	~$0.60
Theo 70% Dark	70%	Cane sugar	Sunflower lecithin	Yes	~$1.10

What Does Hu Get Right?

No emulsifiers at all — most competitors still use sunflower lecithin
Coconut sugar avoids the bone char issue inherent to refined cane sugar
Genuinely short ingredient lists across the whole range
Good tempering — proper snap and melt, not a waxy or crumbly texture
Paleo certified means no grains, legumes, or refined ingredients

What Are the Downsides?

Price: A 2.1 oz bar retails for $3–$4, making it one of the most expensive mainstream dark chocolates per ounce.
Sweetness level: Coconut sugar is sweeter-tasting than you'd expect from a 70% bar compared to cane sugar at the same percentage. If you prefer very bitter dark chocolate, go up to 85%.
Availability: Widely available in the US — Whole Foods, Target, Amazon. Less consistent in UK and EU markets.

Final Verdict

Hu chocolate is legitimately the cleanest mainstream vegan chocolate bar available in the US. No emulsifiers, no refined sugar, certified organic, certified Paleo, and fully vegan across the dark chocolate range. The taste is excellent — the texture is properly tempered, the coconut sugar sweetness is balanced, and the filled bar varieties (almond butter, hazelnut) outperform most competitors at significantly higher price points. The premium is real — about $1.50 per ounce vs $0.60 for standard dark chocolate — but you're paying for genuinely short ingredients and a company that doesn't hide additives behind the 'natural flavors' catch-all. Worth every penny if clean ingredients matter to you. Worth switching from for everyday snacking if the budget is tight.