When I first heard we were receiving Jocolat bars from Larabar, I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I read a little blurb about them that mentioned they were… drum roll please… healthy. Good-for-you chocolate?? The horrors! Larabar describes them thusly:
JÅŽCALAT is Fair Trade Certifiedâ„¢ chocolate in its purest form. Harmonizing with fruits and nuts, each flavor contains no more than seven simple ingredients. Deliciously rich. All Organic. No added sugars. Free of dairy, soy and gluten. A healthy indulgence you can feel good about eating.
The box I received had all four flavors Larabar makes: chocolate, chocolate mint, chocolate orange, and chocolate coffee. I decided to start with the mint flavor, and was pleasantly surprised by the flavor. The mint was very nice, not too strong, and fused nicely with the chocolate. The other parts that make the bar healthy, namely finely ground nuts and fruit, are barely discernible. Normally, I’m not a fan of nuts, but in this case they’re ground so fine that you can hardly taste them at all.
When I opened the chocolate orange, I was initially put off by the smell, which reminded me strongly of some sort of cleaning solution. However, I got past the smell and found I enjoyed the taste. The chocolate flavor was almost completely buried in this selection, but the orange wasn’t unpleasant.
The texture of these bars is interesting. I’d have to call it something between a brownie and fudge; it isn’t thick enough to be exactly like fudge, but it’s definitely more dense than a brownie. The ingredients are all well blended, but the ground nuts do add a bit of texture to the bar.
Overall, I would have to say that, if my chocolate has to be good for me, these aren’t a bad choice. I would still prefer a Three Musketeers, but I certainly wouldn’t turn down one of these. Plus, the potential health benefits are nothing to sneeze at.
They also make a bunch of other non-chocolate flavors like Pecan Pie, Lemon Bar, Ginger Snap, Cherry Pie, and my personal favorite – Cinnamon Roll. All have the same brownie/fudgey texture, are made with fruit and nuts, and are very good!
Buy Larabar/Jocalat online:
I was wondering about these new bars. I liked the old Maya bar (which I guess was the old name for these) but didn’t love them. I see these use cocao mass instead of ground up nibs — wondering how much of a difference that makes. And I’m a huge fan of the cashew cookie Larabar — yum!
February 23rd, 2007 at 1:39 pmThose look great, free-trade too!
What are they sweetened with if not with sugar?
February 26th, 2007 at 2:21 pmI believe the included fruit provides all of the sweetness.
February 26th, 2007 at 3:44 pmBe Warned! Jocalat s NOT really chocolate as Larabar misleadingly promotes it as!
Maannn, Larabar has horrendous customer service. They may have decent fruit/nut bars but when they call them “Jocalat”? That is just cheap. Had I known, I would not have shelled out 3 bucks for a BRICK OF SOUR DATES.
I commented on their blog with this message a 2 days ago, it has mysteriously vanished:
So I sent this comment thru Larabar’s site last SUMMER, I never got a reply….
Hi Larabar,
Wow! With the influence of the West Coast and just choosing a healthier lifestyle I am familiar with your brand but did not have any of your bars until recently, and I regret to say that I was so disappointed with your product! I really expected Larabar, being pricey and with all its healthy, natural, fair trade propaganda, to actually taste good and deliver to its reputation. Well, I guess I am like all the other suckers. I bought your “Chocolate Jocalat”, took a bite and became seriously confused. I had a few more bites of this “chocolate” bar but could not taste any chocolate! Looking at the wrapper I realized that the first ingredient of the “Chocolate Jocalat” bar was DATES?! What a scam. I am sure I am not the first to be duped by this awful mislabelling. How can you call this a chocolate bar when all you taste is dates and some sort of crunchy fruit leather texture? I admit I should have looked more carefully before purchasing but still this is questionable advertising! Could you please get back to me and explain this hugely misleading claim you make about your product?! Honestly, I don’t mind date/nut bars that much- in fact I love them- however when I make a purchase of a product labelled “Chocolate Jocalat” I have chocolatey expectations.
Disappointed,
Crystal
As you can see, it was already the second time I tried to reach them about customer satisfaction…
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:29 pmand yet on their website it states, “Everyone at Larabar fully respects and supports blogging as means for people to express themselves”. Selective expression, perhaps?
Why is it so difficult for them to address my very simple concerns about their product?