I few months ago I was sent this very generous delivery of Conscious raw chocolate to review:
Conscious are a small business that hand make their raw chocolates. Here’s a quick bit of info from their website:
‘Conscious Chocolates are handmade raw bars that are free from pesticides, dairy, gluten, soya and refined sugars. The cacao beans we use are fermented at low temperatures and sun-dried, they are never roasted so our bars remain packed full of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, flavonoids and theobromine that make chocolate so good for you. When cacao beans are roasted, or have sugar and milk added to them, the benefits are enormously impaired. Our chocolate is raw so you get all the health benefits and all the taste. The knowledge that chocolate can be good for you may come as a revelation.
Conscious Chocolate is only sweetened with blue agave nectar (cactus syrup). Agave nectar is suitable for diabetics as it is 85% fructose and has a low glycemic index and glycemic load (GI & GL) so it doesn’t imbalance the natural blood sugar levels.’
The chocolates come in a variety of different flavours such as mint, orange, goji and coconut etc as well as particular health blends such as the ‘healthy heart’
Each bar is around 220 calories (this is based on the plain bar so varieties with dried fruit and nuts are likely to be more)
Taste and texture
These taste absolutely gorgeous!
They have a wonderful texture unlike any other raw chocolate I’ve came across. They remind me of truffles! The only varieties that are firmer are the Plain 80% Cacao Dark and the Lucuma Gold.
My personal favourite varieties included the mint, orange, goji and coconut and the fruit fantasy. I also shared some of the bars with friends and family who all agreed these taste amazing!
There were some flavours I wasn’t as bothered about such as the Yummy Mummy and the Lucuma Gold but overall, most varieties just taste divine.
I enjoyed half a bar as a lovely sweet dessert alongside some fruit most of the time. What I really loved about these is that I could enjoy them while I was ‘detoxing’ after Christmas with them being raw and naturally sweetened. The fact that they aren’t loaded with sugar is really good for me as I suffer from sugar highs and lows, this would also make these great for people with diabetes or metabolic syndrome.
Cost and availability
I feel like a bit of a broken record whenever I do reviews as most healthy products seem to be very expensive, which these are. They retail on their website and on Goodness Direct for £3.00. Bearing in mind that these are small bars that is very pricey, however the quality of the ingredients alongside the fact that they are organic and the bars are handmade by a small business are obviously reflected in the price. Do I think the price is worth it? I have to say for the Mint and Orange flavours, yes. I will be looking to buy these again as treats every now and again as I am a huge fan of raw chocolate and love the texture of these.
Have you tried Conscious Chocolate before? What did you think? Are you a raw chocolate fan? There are a number of companies offering raw chocolate in the UK of which I am very lucky to have been able to sample. I feel that each companies offerings have their own unique taste and texture which I love! Which is your favourite?
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m so glad you’ve reviewed these as I was thinking about trying them some time. I am not so sure I will do because although they sound lovely, like you, I think the price is a bit much.
A few months ago I did an online order with The Raw Chocolate shop and I bought a few bits & pieces from them. I got Mulu Silk, Mulu Dark with nibs, Ombar Probiotic Coconut and Booja Booja Raspberry Ecuadorian Truffles. I did enjoy them all (they lasted ages) but for taste, texture and just beautiful flavour, the Booja Booja won hands down, with Ombar Coconut coming a close second. I did like the Mulu but it didn’t have that punchy cacao hit the I really love.
I’ve been wanting to try these for a really long time, but I haven’t got round to ordering any yet (I’m sure the cost has something to do with that). I’m so hungry after reading your review!
I don’t think I’d pay £3 but it would be nice now and again for a treat. I think it’s one of those things that you wouldn’t buy for yourself but would be nice if someone bought it for you. All the different varieties do look great tho!
£3…thud…(cyber faint)
x
£3 seems super expensive when compared to a bar of dairy milk etc but I think I’m going to give these a go. The flavours seem really lovely and I think it’s worth paying extra for some tasty raw goodies.
I’ve tried the plain and the mint ones both of which I really liked. The mint one is very minty! I like the texture and thought of truffles as well when I first tried them.
Now I’ve tried them I probably would get them occasionally for a treat. To be honest the only reason I tried them in the first place was because it took me to the free postage spend on a goodness direct order. A £6 chocolate experiment is better than £6 postage.
I’ve tried the chilli flavour and loved it! I really want to work my way through all of the flavours, but the pricing is a bit of an issue. If I spot some in the shop again I might treat myself. I haven’t tried any other raw chocolate, I’d be interested to compare!
The Lucama bar looks sooo good, wah I wish I could get these here!
You UK-ers are so lucky! I cannot find raw chocolate bars in the US anywhere!
Those chocolates look great! I like raw cocoa beans, which I put into my oatmeal, but raw chocolate is something that is hard to find in my country…Those Conscious chocolates´flavours sounds tasty, I bet I would like all of them :)
Is anyone else wanting the Lucuma Gold bar to taste like Caramac? I’m betting it doesn’t…
Laura – I do love the booja booja ones as well, they are insanely good!
Sarah – I think you’d like these!
Hayley – yes they would be lovely as a gift, but I’m the kind of person that gives myself gifts!
Fattolean – yes, but then I think of when you go out and spend over £3 on a drink in a bar, I know which I’d rather have!
Becky – I completely agree – all you’d need to do is compare the ingredients lists, I’d happily pay more!
Angela – ha, a good way to get them for ‘free’!
ffion – it is really interesting how different they all are, you should try another brand to compare!
Leashie loo – its a shame you can’t get them in the states!
myveganstory – I’ll swap your US range of nut butters for our raw chocolate! ;-)
Lenna – I think you would. I love the taste of pure cacao too.
Laura – haha, I can assure you it doesn’t! I think it just wasn’t quite sweet enough for me, you could really feel the coconut oil texture too, nice but not lush if you know what I mean :-)
I treated myself to a bar of the Plain 80% and the Lucuma Gold when I was in my local organic supermarket the other week – I loved the Plain, but wasn’t sold on the texture of the Lucuma. However (and yes, I’m sure this defeats the purpose of buying raw chocolate) if you microwave a chunk of Lucuma with a spoonful of crunchy peanut butter it makes a fantastic dip for some sliced apple!
I realy like conscious chocolate! Lots of the flavours are more like truffles though, but still yummy, of course (:
I can’t work out what I think if the lucuma gold! I liked it the first time I had it, but found it too hard last time, and not as good as the other varieties…hmm.
Hahaha, and I am definitely a raw chocolate fan!!
Fantastic review x
I’m not sure what flavour I had but it contained rose oil and tasted like turkish delight. It was lovely!
Have you tried Alara porridge? I found a box of their chocolate porridge in a deli in town. It’s delicious! I recommend it if you haven’t already tried it.
Amazing! I love these especially that i’m lactose intolerant i can actually enjoy chocolate again. found some which i think are the australian version
Aside from the fact that UK has raw chocolates, UK is also known for it’s resources of Gold Bars. Maybe this is the reason why this country is very rich.