Cascadian Farm® Organic Crunchy Oats & Cocoa Granola Bar

Cascadian Farm is a real place.

It was started by Gene Kahn 40 years ago. According to their website, “Gene wanted to go back to the land and farm in a way that would not harm the natural beauty of the earth or her inhabitants. So he set out to farm organically on a little stretch of land next to the Skagit River in the Cascade Mountains of Washington.”

What intrigued me about this granola bar is that instead of containing chocolate chips, it has “cracked cacao”!

Cracked cacao are broken bits of cacao or cocoa nibs, the cocoa bean minus its thin shell. Ground nibs, when heated, become a thick liquid often called unsweetened baking chocolate, chocolate liquor, or cacao mass.

Nibs are bitter, but deep in rich, strong, chocolate flavor. They are usually roasted for a crunchy nut-like texture.

The nibs in the Cascadian Farm Oats & Cocoa Granola Bar are just as crunchy as the bar itself so the texture fits nicely together. The chocolate impact from the nibs stands out among the sweetened granola. The sweetness of the bar is not overly sweet - always a good thing in my opinion.

I see that cocoa powder is also listed as an ingredient, but the flavor is lost among the sweetness and crunchiness. It’s difficult to pick out any subtle cocoa flavors because of this. I do, however, detect a nice chocolate aroma, which I suspect is due to the cocoa powder.

I like this granola bar. The oats are pleasantly nutty, and the nibs are delightfully chocolaty (but I must add here that there’s not nearly enough cracked cacao in the bar for my tastes 🙂 ).

Tip of the day: This granola bar pairs well with a strong cup of black coffee!

The official web page for this product is here. If you are looking to purchase, compare with the bulk Amazon listing, and your local grocery store.

Bryn Kirk

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