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This delicious, 100% natural superfood blend is made from rich Criollo cacao powder, sacha inchi protein powder and naturally sweetened with pure low GI coconut sugar and lucuma. With no additives, preservatives or cane sugar, Superchoc is the perfect low sugar chocolate drink the whole family can enjoy.
250g bag contains 20 serves.
Product reviews...
100% Natural, Made in New Zealand and Gluten Free! I was excited to review this! The packaging is simple, re-sealable and informative. The picture on the packet looked divine and I was keen to try this right away! I decided I would try it first as a hot Chocolate, the dark chocolate/ cocoa taste was what I expected, it was quite bitter, I added sugar but left the kids as is. The coconut leaves quite an odd texture that neither me or the kids liked very much which was sad as the taste itself is quite delicious!
I then decided I would try the Super Choc powder in an Iced Chocolate, adding Ice, Ice cream and milk blending it and adding whipped cream. This was divine! The coconut texture was not as noticeable having the drink this way. This is the perfect affordable way for me to treat myself at home! The kids were also eager to try this as usually when we are out I say no so they too get to enjoy a scrumptious treat!
I have since tried the Super Choc powder as an alternative to Cocoa and found this to be very successful. So although my family was not to fussed on this as a Hot Chocolate we are enjoying it in other ways!
A chocolate drink full of all the great stuff is got to be great for the family. When I first received this item I was pleased to see that it was made in New Zealand and all ingredients were organic and gluten free. I am always keen to add superfoods to my families diet and I thought that it would be great through a drink when they the kids were in their -I don't want to eat mood.
I decided that I would first try this drink as both a cold and hot chocolate. My children like a hot/cold chocolate at times and am reluctant to give it to them as they normally have too much sugar for my liking. The flavour was great. I loved how it had a dark chocolate taste with very little sweetness. This is how I would prefer my hot chocolates. The coconut fibre did give this drink an unusual texture - one that I did not mind however the kids were not fussed on it.
I normally make my boys a banana smoothie each day (banana and milk) and thought that I would change this a little by adding some superchoc. With a smoothie already having a lumpy texture I found that the coconut fibres just blended in and the chocolate flavour came through nicely. By having the banana in it meant that it was slightly sweeter than when just a hot chocolate. Personally I have loved using this product to add nutrition to the smoothies I make for myself and my boys. I have already gone out and purchased another bag and was pleased to see that they are definitely lower in price in the supermarket.
As a non coffee or tea drinker, I like to try alternatives such as hot chocolate when I feel like a warm drink. However the usual problem with hot chocolate is that it's often a high sugar/high calorie drink which is the last thing that I'd want on a regular basis just before bed. Therefore this product appealed to me to try, and as I'm enjoying cacao and coconut products a bit lately, it definitely appealed on that basis.
First up I used this just as intended - as a hot chocolate drink made just to the recipe with milk, I found straight away that the strength was OK, but I did decide to add a bit more powder to make it a bit stronger which was more to my taste. I am acquiring more of a taste for dark chocolate these days but even so I was a bit worried it would be too bitter for me, but it wasn't at all. I personally found it a nice balance as a step up from milk chocolate, but not being too much of a dark chocolate taste either.
I did find it wasn't sweet enough for my usual acquired tastes, so I added a bit of coconut sugar to keep in theme of the drink and it was lovely. In fact I've continued to make myself daily hot chocolates and am still really enjoying them. It says it does 20 servings, but even by making them stronger, I can tell this is going to go a long way which makes it great value for money. Just over $1 per drink is not at all unreasonable when you compare to other sachet quality drinks.
I don't really see this as something I'd necessarily give to kids, but Miss 7 wanted to try some and she happily drank a small one (no added sugar, but with a marshmallow on top) so it was nice to know it went down well with her too. Just a point to note, there are coconut fibres in this drink and they are definitely noticeable as little bits in your mouth so be aware of this if you are not a coconut fan!
Today I made Annabel Langbein's 'choconut bites' (a healthy recipe widely available on the net) and I used this in place of the cacao powder and it worked really well. Cacao isn't cheap and it's not something everyone keeps on hand, so it's nice to know a product like this can be used instead as having a multi-use product is always a bonus. I've also used it to make icing and I can see it being a great addition to smoothies too. I rate this highly as it suits my needs well and I can see it being a great multi-use products.
Ok, I am sorry to say it, but I don't think trying this stuff was a good idea. Coconut has never really been one of my favourite foodstuffs, I mean the stuff they use to coat desserts like Lamingtons are really nice, but for the most part I am not a fan of the flavour. The main reason I tried this drink powder was because I wanted to try something new, but that can often go a bit in the wrong direction, as proven here.
I added about a teaspoon of this stuff to some milk, sugar and boiling water, the same way I would with any other drink powder, but this stuff behaved a little more different than usual. It was a bit more granular, it didn't mix with the fluids very well, although on second that that could be due to me adding a bit too much milk, but even in general it was different.
The taste of the drink was what really put me off, it was very bitter. I had added a bit more sugar than usual, but even with that present I found this stuff simply too bitter. The coconut was only half of it, the chocolate part was also a contributing factor, I think it may have been dark chocolate that was added. I am actually fond of dark chocolate, it isn't as pleasant as milk chocolate, but it is still quite nice. When combined with the bitterness of coconut, however, it was just too much.
I only tried this stuff once, I was too put off by the first try for me to want a second go, but if I had held on to it, I think that this stuff would have been useful for things other than drinking. I think that this would have made an interesting substitute for cocoa powder in a chocolate cake, of perhaps cookies. Overall I found this stuff unpleasant, but if I widen my mind a little, I don't think that this was a total failure.
I'm not sure how highly I would recommend this product, so I will simply say this: IF you are okay with the taste of coconut, and don't mind the more bitter foodstuffs, then I think you would enjoy this product. Otherwise, I don't think it's a good idea. Well, that's all I have to say about this product, so yeah, whether or not you wish to buy this product is totally up to you but you have been warned....
When I first requested this product I was very unsure as to what it was going to be like. I have tried a lot of paleo and sugar free foods recently which I have actually quite liked, but the drinking chocolates that I'm used to having normally have a very sweet, strong chocolaty taste. However the drink on the front of the packaging was appealing so I was keen to give it a go, I also loved the fact that it was more nutritional than most hot chocolates on the market and that it was made from really high quality ingredients.
My 3 year old has a bit of a sweet tooth and loves having hot chocolates at home either with breakfast or dinner, so being made with Cacao rather than cocoa I wasn't sure how this was going to go down with her, for her first taste I decided to add some sprinkles and marshmallows to the top to help entice her to try it (not the healthiest I know, but it seemed to do the trick and she quickly guzzled the whole lot down, when I asked her what she thought of it her reply was "mmmm yummy, I want some more", so I made her another small amount this time without the added goodies on top and she happily drank it. I have to say that my partner and I did not share her enthusiasm for this Super Choc drink as it was much too bitter for us as a hot drink. However throughout the week I have added this to my breakfast smoothies and find it goes perfectly when combined with fruits and yoghurts, which add a bit of sweetness.
I decided to experiment with the Super Choc powder even more as I knew there must be a way in which I could put it to good use. The other day at work I was baking a cake with the children at work and it just so happened that we had run out of cocoa to use in our icing, luckily I work with a fellow KIWIreviewer who I knew had her Super Choc powder at work, so I decided to use this in place of the cocoa. I found I needed a couple of tablespoons of powder to get a nice chocolate coloring, I was bit concerned that the bitter flavour might come through in the icing, however the flavour was actually amazing and to be honest I liked it a lot better than that of cocoa in this instance, the only thing I did notice was that the texture was a little gritty. The children gobbled it down without any complaints.
As another experiment of the Super Choc powder I decided to try it out in a healthier food choice by making some Chocolate Banana Frozen Yoghurt Bark, which is kind of like a healthy ice cream alternative, which both Miss 3 and myself really enjoyed.The ingredients used included Greek yoghurt, honey, bananas and the Super Choc powder. Again the Super Choc Powder didn't seem to affect the taste of this bark - it didn't give it a sharp bitter taste as the other ingredients provided a lot of natural sugars which work well with the powder.
This product is such a great healthy alternative to cocoa, and although it didn't suit me for it's intended use, I think it works really well in other products and that it is a great way to lower your sugar levels in baking for instance. I find the pack is of a really good size and I love the resealable packaging. The price is obviously steeper than that of cocoa but it is a much higher quality product and so in saying that I don't mind paying more for quality. This is something I would consider buying again, especially if Miss 3 is going to want it as it's good to know she's getting something other than sugar into her body. If you enjoy the taste of dark, dark chocolate then this is something I think you'd probably enjoy.
Let me start this review by saying, I'm not gluten intolerant or vegan, but I fully support the broadening range of products that are being labelled for my friends who do fall into those categories. It's really neat to see. Matakana Superfoods is one such company, coming up with items for that market and for those of us who want healthier options. That said, this product was perhaps not the right choice for my family.
We go through hot chocolate powder pretty regularly with two children and one adult who will not drink coffee after 3pm. I added Superchoc into the mix for my family for one evening hot drink. Neither of my children enjoyed the taste. To be fair, that was to be expected. It is quite a different taste to your average hot chocolate powder. It has a reduced sweetness due to the coconut sugar and the cacao is on the bitter side. I also found that the coconut fibre seemed to absorb the liquid, leaving a thick paste in the bottom of our cups.
Over the fortnight, I have been trying this powder in all sorts of ways to see whether I could come up with some way I would enjoy it. For me, it didn't work as a hot drink. However, I have had some success with smoothies. My first smoothie was for a fruit yoghurt and some milk. I know this isn't exactly vegan, but I didn't have the ingredients to make a vegan smoothie. I found that the drink was okay, but the bitterness of the cacao was a cancelling factor on any sweetness from the yoghurt. My best smoothie with this powder included a mashed banana. It would probably work really well with fruit and ice and some juice as well, if you wanted something vegan.
Ultimately, I think that this powder would be best in the hands of someone who likes a bitter chocolate flavour. So if you were someone who eats 70% or more cacao chocolate and enjoy it, this drink powder may suit you. If you tend to have a lot of smoothies, this could be an excellent addition to your smoothie ingredients, since it includes fibre and protein as well. The price point is pretty high and would be outside of some budgets. However, you are paying for quality ingredients here.
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