ViBERi Cacao product reviews

I could honestly write this review in about five words - GO AND BUY THESE NOW, however, since KIWIreviews and Viberi like just a wee bit more - I am happy to share with you about these delectable wee morsels! I was lucky enough to receive the Cacao, Noir and Ruby Viberi treats to try, and my word - where have they been all my life! Now, anything with chocolate pretty much is a win in my life, it is definitely my treat of choice - and combining chocolate with tart blackcurrants - I was thinking a certain purple juice goodness here - well - yum.

The three kids wanted to try these straight away, so I decided that we would add them to their "dessert" (yoghurt), that way, if they did not like them - I could easily snaffle them from the top. Alas, that was SO not the case. Kids are the toughest and most honest critics, and the fact that Miss 8 and Miss nearly 6 went and added these to the shopping list straight away says it all.

Looking at the packet - the pictures on the front are very enticing - blackcurrants and chocolate, in a crispy shell - mmmmmm. The actual product looks exactly like the picture, which is great. One suggestion is that Viberi possibly colour on each of the different varieties is different, as it would be easy to pick up the wrong one - in my mind not a bad thing - means you try a different one! All the nutritional information and details are on the back - and delightfully - these contain two things - dark organic chocolate and nz blackcurrants - LOVE!

I would buy these again, but as they are a pricey treat, they would have to be that - a treat to savour, rather than an "add to cereal in the morning" kind of thing. The crispy outer shell and the cacao dusting really compliments the tart blackcurrant nicely - two things that I probably would not have thought to put together. Husband and I ate the entire bag in one sitting - opps - and the kids were very disappointed in the morning to discover the empty packet there.

Thank you Viberi for a moreish, tasty, and not too naughty treat - these are A+ in our house!

This product caught my eye on the items available to review list as it was something new which I had never seen before. The packaging of this product is quite simply stunning and stands out nicely. I was impressed with the ingredients list and knowing there was no nasty's in the mix is a definite bonus which would make me more likely to buy this product again and again. I don't often see blackcurrant products for sale so was looking forward to exploring this product and the strong taste I was hopeful it would have. I have to say that I am not at all disappointed with this product and will be buying it again; a very versatile, yummy treat that I'm super thankful for the opportunity to try.

Belgian chocolate is known for its superior quality and this product is one that also fits into this category. When first sampling these morsels of goodness, the bitterness of the cocao was a little strong but then its been a while since I've eaten anything with it, once my taste buds adjusted/remembered I was quickly reaching into the packet for more! The crunch of the berry and tart yet sweet mix went really well with the chocolate and cocao making this a real treat for the taste buds and senses.

I experimented with these a little and put them into some pancake mix which I then baked in the oven to turn into mini pancake bites. I also used the ViBERi blackcurrant powder with these and I must say that the outcome was utterly delicious. Both my children (aged 3 and 1) have been enjoying these in their lunchboxes as treats while my husband and I have also been enjoying the treat. I did notice that these lost a little bit of the bitterness but still retained the overall flavour and crunch even though they had been baked!

A delicious product that I will be purchasing again, I fully recommend you add it to your shopping list today! I am positive that you wont at all be disappointed, this product is one of a kind and something you just have to try for yourself

I absolutely love berries and blackcurrants in particular are one of my favourites, while a lot of berries are easily accessible in supermarkets I can't say I have seen blackcurrants often or ever if I am honest so I was so excited to try these!! I love cacao as I am dairy free I no longer get to have a lot of chocolate but seem to be okay with cacao and regularly use it in bliss balls as a sweet treat. I love the bitterness of cacao and against the crisp tang of the blackcurrants it was a sure match made in heaven.

I did everything I could not to sit and eat the bag in one sitting the way some people would with a bag of m&m's because being mostly dairy and sugar free these are a real sweet candy like treat for me. I loved the texture of the freeze dried blackcurrant as you got a crunch with the flavour of the blackcurrant and the cacao balanced it out with a hint of bitterness. They are definitely very moreish. Being made out of the actual blackcurrant makes them all the better as you are still getting all the goodness from the berry but the freeze dried texture makes them even better somehow.

I generally start the day with a gluten free muesli lately I have been using Cec's gluten free muesli with no added fruit so adding these in to the mix make it even better, the cacao settles into the almond milk giving extra flavour to the muesli itself and then the blackcurrants just add a different flavour and texture so I have really enjoyed adding these in over the last couple of days. I will admit I didn't have many left to add to muesli after my late night snacking but I would buy them again for this purpose as they are very tasty.

Personally I prefer dark chocolate to milk varieties. While I can eat kilos of milk chocolate in a sitting, I don't get the enjoyment that I get from a small amount of rich, decadent, dark chocolate. So I like the fact that these use 70% dark belgian chocolate. The richness is on a smaller scale compared to the 'Noir' variety, as the drying process differs; The 'Cacao' variety are freeze-dried, which keeps the shape of the blackcurrant berry, as opposed to the soft-dried berries in the 'Noir' product, that are shriveled up like raisins. This difference means that to get the round shape displayed on the packets, the 'Noir' variety requires more dark chocolate, compared to the 'Cacao'.

So this 'Cacao' variety has a finer shell of chocolate as the berry takes up more of the volume, and it gives a greater focus on the blackcurrant berry. Being freeze-dried, the berries are crispy and crunchy, and has a texture not dissimilar to a malteser. The flavour is of course different to that of a malteser, as instead of a crispy malt centre, the 'Cacao' has a crisp blackcurrant. The flavour is more subtle that the 'Noir' but has a sharp tangy hit. this is contrasted by the cacao powder that coats the outside of these little bites.

I like the flavour. It has a great bitterness, while also having enough sweet and tanginess to send a shiver down the spine when you eat them. The coating is a little bit messier than the 'Ruby' variety, but still much cleaner than other "dusted" or "powdered" products. But the biggest selling point for me is the fact that I haven't eaten the entire packet yet. It is a flavour that is more-ish, but also satisfying. So while I always want more, I want more later instead of right now. So it is much easier on my waistline.

Of all the products in this range, this one caused the most comments! I tested it on three different occasions with a total of nine people (including me) in order to get a cross-section of opinions, and it was interesting to hear the range of reactions. Most were positive while some were even quirky!

My first testers were two elderly woman, both self-confessed chocoholics. One said they were just the thing to put in her home-made muesli because she liked the contrast of the highly flavoured chocolate outer with the crisp currant inside. She found that they had a clean taste but she might be tempted to over-indulge if she ate the contents straight from the packet. Her friend, however, found them too strong. There again, she normally chooses milk chocolate and these blackcurrants are certainly intended more for those with a preference for a darker product.

Next day, I took them to a cinema where I was meeting two friends, a couple in their thirties. He likes chocolate of all kinds; she prefers dark chocolate, so I thought they would be good subjects to test them out. Because we would be sitting in the dark while we watched the movie, I put a few currants into two separate ziplock bags and gave them one each to eat. I did not tell them what was in the bags, only that I would like their comments after the movie was over.

Both of them gave the product the thumbs up. She thought they were delicious and wanted to know what they were and where she could get some. However, she could not explain why she liked them - she just did! His comments were more useful. He liked the contrast between the bittersweet flavour of the chocolate and the fresh sharp taste of the currants, and was intrigued by the way you got a crunchy bit right in the middle.

My last test group was a family with ages ranging from four to 47. Each person was given three to try. Mr 47 ate one and said it was sour, then he ate a second and said it was sweet! Intrigued, we took a few more from the packet and cut them in half. The currants inside were different colours! Some were quite dark and others were almost yellow, so we concluded that some of the berries had been riper than others when they were processed. He was the only person to notice this. Not that it mattered - he liked them all equally.

Mrs 36 did not like them at all. She said they were too strong; the combination of the strong chocolate and the equally strong berries resulted in a flavour overload. However, she did like the crispness of the fruit and said she would probably enjoy them if the chocolate were not quite so bitter.

Their children, to my surprise, enjoyed them despite the "adult" taste. Miss Four sucked all the chocolate off before eating the berry and pronouncing it yummy! Mr Nine devoured his and asked how many more he could have! It shows that you cannot always predict what children will enjoy.

And my own impression? I loved them! For me, the darker and more bitter the chocolate the better, so these were tailor-made for me to enjoy. I tried them on their own, in a fruit salad (added at the last minute), and as decorations on top of a mandarin dessert. This is a painless way to eat healthy in the winter months. And as a bonus the packet is full to overflowing so there is plenty for everyone to share.

I like my chocolate on the darker side, that tart bitterness offsetting the sweetness of the added sugar, so these freeze-dried blackcurrants - with their natural sweetness and tartness - coated in dark chocolate and dusted with cacao powder... well, they sounded delightful to me.

I offered some to a friend who also likes dark chocolate but they found them to be a bit too bitter for their tastes, and rejected them quite strenuously, however I found them to be quite tasty on the whole, though I will admit it did take eating a few before I got used to the flavour. Considering how solid the dark cacao taste is, I thought using them in something that I normally find quite sweet might be a good way to balance them out, so I whipped up a batch of breakfast pancakes, and added these in to the batter. The smaller berries went in as-in, however some were quite large so I attempted to cut them down a bit. This proved a spectacular failure, as they are so crisp they shattered rather than cut. So... a handful of small berries and a handful of "wreckage" went into the batter, and it didn't matter a jot in the end!

The results - 3 good sized "flapjacks" full of dark chocolate and blackcurrant flavour - ended up stacked on my plate with a knob of butter and a generous drizzle of maple syrup. The proof of the pudding - or breakfast in this case - is in the tasting, and they tasted pretty good indeed - better than my last batch of choc-chip pancakes did actually, and though I am not usually a big fan of berries of any variety, the blackcurrant fruitiness complemented the meal quite nicely.

Overall, these are quite a stunning little treat... and that is exactly what they are. These won't be an everyday-food with this price-tag, but they are certain to jazz up any occasion you serve them at. Done in the pancakes will make a fancy breakfast even fancier, and I can easily imagine this on a menu at some posh restaurant for $15-$20 a serving. If you like really dark chocolate, and you want to do something different, then I strongly recommend you give these a try.