If you know me in real life, you’ll know that I’m a chocolate fiend. Chocolate to me is how coffee is to many people. A daily necessity. Religiously I have a little piece of dark chocolate after lunch, and I need that cacao boost to the extent that I’ll carry a bar of the dark stuff with me when travelling, for fear I won’t be able to get my fix!
I’ve talked about the Nutribox on here before, and my first taste of Ombar Raw chocolate was via my monthly snack box. It was love at first taste and since I’ve been trialing a new option with the Nutribox to have more say in which products you receive, I’ve been requesting Ombars! I’d only tried the Coconut 60% and the Cranberry & Mandarin so jumped at the opportunity to try the whole range of flavours.
Before I tell you what I thought of the individual flavours I thought I’d talk a little about raw chocolate for those of you unfamiliar with it. You might be wondering “What’s the difference between raw chocolate and ‘normal’ chocolate?” or “What’s better about raw chocolate?”
Well, there are 2 main aspects: the first is low temperature. To make standard chocolate the ingredients are heated to high temperatures, 2, 3 or more times in the bean to bar process, destroying nutrients. Raw chocolate, on the other hand, is made from unroasted cacao beans and any heating that takes place is done at low temperatures preserving the flavanols responsible for its antioxidant properties. The 2nd aspect is that there’s no added junk. Raw chocolate doesn’t contain any of the junk generally added to conventional chocolate- no dairy, refined sugars, added fats or fillers.
Ombar raw chocolate bars only use high quality ingredients: raw cacao, coconut sugar, fruit and bio live cultures (probiotics!), all of which are organic and sustainably sourced. You’ve probably heard about the darker side of chocolate production, with workers on huge plantations around the world being poorly treated and receiving far below acceptable wages, but Ombar explicitly state that they work with independent farmers and pay them a significant premium over market price to ensure that they are fairly compensated for their hard work. This does mean that Ombar raw chocolate is a bit more expensive than the chocolate you might be used to buying, but, in my opinion, it’s worth it!
Coconut 60% – This bar was what first got me excited about Ombar. It’s very creamy and has a really smooth texture due to the coconut cream in the ingredients. The coconut flavour is quite pronounced, which I love, but it isn’t overpowering.
Açai & Blueberry – This one is darker in colour with a fruity fragrance. The fruit flavour didn’t come through as much as I would have liked though.
Dark 72% - I’m typically a fan of dark, dark chocolate, 90% being my favourite, so that might be affecting my judgment on this one. It just wasn’t chocolatey enough for a plain bar for my tastes. You could tell it had a higher cacao percentage than the others though, with its darker colour and firmer texture.
Strawberries & Cream – YUM! I really loved this one. Like the coconut bar it has coconut cream in the mix so it has the same super smooth, melt-in-the-mouth texture. The strawberry flavour is pleasant too. Perfect for this “Coconut and Berries” girl
Coco Mylk – If I thought the previous bars I tried were creamy, this one was even more so. It’s very reminiscent of milk chocolate from what I can remember- sweet and milky. I’m sure if you’re a milk chocolate fan but are avoiding dairy then you’ll love this one. it was just a little too sweet for me.
Cranberry & Mandarin – This was another of my favourites. It has a darker chocolate base (no coconut cream) and a lovely zinginess from the fruit which balances out the sweetness nicely. The cranberry and mandarin is a great flavour pairing too.
Green Tea & Lemon – I liked this one, but didn’t love it. It’s a unique taste certainly and I was surprised that the lemon complemented the chocolate so well. I couldn’t really taste the green tea in this chocolate, but it is rich in antioxidants so at least I was getting a health boost!
Goji Berry – I was surprised that this was another one of my top picks. Goji berries are not something I eat by the handful, although I do like them occasionally mixed with other fruits and nuts in trail mix. Unlike the açai berry & blueberry bar this one had whole pieces of berry in, as well as fruit powder, which added a nice texture and infused the whole bar with fruity fragrance.
I’m really impressed with Ombar raw chocolate. I’ve tried a few other raw chocolate brands and none of them have compared. The texture has either been a little grainy, or they’ve been too “buttery” with not enough chocolatey flavour for me. I’m really pleased to see that Ombars are certified Vegan too. This is chocolate you can feel good about eating!
Ombar raw chocolate is available in various independent health food stores and larger stores such as Wholefoods, as well as online retailers including The Raw Chocolate Company and Planet Organic. (EUROPE only at the moment)
Have you tried Ombar or other raw chocolate before? What did you think?
Note: These products were sent to me for review purposes, but the opinions expressed are my own.
Interesting! I haven’t tried raw chocolates yet, but the Strawberry n Cream sounds good.
Try and get your hands on some Ombar chocolate if you’re keen to try raw choc. It’s heaps better than the other brands I’ve tried.
I just realized that you’re based in the UK! Are they widely available in the U.S.?
Sorry! I don’t think they are available stateside yet. They are across Europe though so maybe keep a lookout on your travels
Excellent review - I think we have similar tastes, as I’ve tried a few flavours of Ombar and agree that they’re streets ahead of most other brands of raw chocolate. I loved the coconut variety the most, along with the goji berry (and I have a love/hate relationship with those berries…), but I agree that the Blueberry bar doesn’t really have a distinctive flavour to it, which is a shame.
I haven’t tried any of the others though - I’ll have to keep an eye out for them.
xxx
Glad you approve. I think maybe the berry one could be better with actual pieces of dried blueberry, like the goji one? I definitely haven’t found a brand of raw chocolate to rival them.
Oh I love Ombars I think they are probably my fave raw chocolate at the moment. The milky one and the 72% dark are my favourites
You have different flavour tastes to me :S Ombar is definitely my favourite of the raw chocolate brands I’ve tried.
It must have felt like Christmas when that box arrived! They are so pretty and your pics are absolutely stunning! I absolutely adore raw choc too and rarely a day goes by when I haven’t eaten any. I love making my own (all the raw choc making ingredients are for sale in Harvest 😉 ) but love the professionally-made bars too. There’s so much pleasure to be had from unwrapping the foils.
I haven’t tried any of the Ombars yet but they look and sound amazing! I’ll have to seek them out!
I bet you’ll love them. I haven’t made my own raw chocolate yet using cacao butter as I’ve never seen it in stores, only online. I’d like to give it a go though and maybe make some truffles…
I made the same experience about raw chocolates taisting grainy before. Great to hear these bars are different! And wow, so many varieties!
I gather Ombar is available in Germany too so be on the lookout for it!
Yeah! My health food store has it right next to the cash register. And duh, I never realized that.
Awesome! If you try it let me know what you think.
I like the coconut mylk the best, but I am a milk chocolate girl at heart
I haven’t seen Om Bars yet, but I’ll be on the lookout. They sound too good to be true!! What a thorough review. Thanks, Emma!
I’ve just updated the post, they’re only available in Europe just at the moment. Sorry to get your hopes up! They are amazing
Sounds incredible! I hadn’t heard of this company before, so I’m glad you’ve introduced them to me. I can only imagine how delicious these must taste, but I’m determined to find out for myself, ASAP. I love the philosophy behind the bars, too. That’s just the cherry on top.
Hey Hannah, I should have specified (I’ll update the post), they’re just in Europe at the moment I think. Sorry to get your hopes up!
I love all the original flavors in these! They sound awesome!
Could do with these in Australia. I love coconut dark chocolate. Strawberries and Cream also sounds yummy.
Maybe they’ll get big enough to start selling worldwide! Let’s hope so. It really is fantastic chocolate.