Carob Chips - Sugar Sweetened - 1 Lb

I was a teenager when I started having allergic reactions to chocolate. Being a chocoholic made it unbearable. I ate chocolate all the time and thrived on it. Trying to get away with eating just a nibble and ending up with bad reactions was hard. My last allergic reaction made me afraid of chocolate for years. Then, one day, I found out there was a chocolate substitute. I found some in my local health food store and bought it. When I tried it, I immediately felt a pang of fear and stopped eating it, calling the health food store to double check (even those the candy bulk bin had the ingredients list on it). I couldn't believe it was just carob. After I grew out of being afraid of the taste, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even my old chocoholic drive came back. When my health food store announced it was going to stop selling it, my mom surprised me and bought the last of what they had: $60 worth! That lasted me 4 months, but when it was all gone, I felt that same empty feeling again I had when I didn't have chocolate or carob. After a little while, they started selling carob chips in bulk. It tasted okay, but something was missing. More sweetness, perhaps. After a while, they stopped selling that, and I despaired they'd never have carob again. I requested it, so they said they'd see if they could get it back but weren't sure. However, I waited for several months. Then I found this product. It sounded promising. The health food store's carob chips were sweetened with barley syrup, so I thought I'd try this to see the difference.It was a huge difference. I have a sweet tooth the size of my head, so others may say it is too sweet (Don't worry. The sweetness caught me by surprise, too. It overwhelmed me for a moment, but I think it was just because I was expecting less sweetness.), but it was just right for me.These chips are sweet enough to be in a candy bar. My mom got me the first bag, and when I emptied it, I bought another. They are addicting. I recently bought a candy bar mold, so I plan on melting the next bag I buy and see if I can make something like Kit-Kat bars and truffles out of them.As far as how much you get, you get quite a bit. The chips are smaller than common chocolate chips, but their sweetness makes up for it. They don't melt very fast, so I can hold several in my hand without a sticky mess in my hand, which I especially appreciate. I did try to melt several in a cup in the microwave for my ice cream, and they did not melt at first, so I added a tiny bit of water and put it in the microwave again. It mostly worked. I probably just didn't put it in long enough the first time because I was afraid of burning them. They're worth their weight in gold to me.

As someone who's avoided caffeine (and theobromine, the part of chocolate that's bad for dogs) for a couple years, I sure missed chocolate. These carob chips weren't just adequate when I first tried them -- they were wonderful! They are mildly sweet (somewhere between milk chocolate and dark chocolate?) and have a soft, smooth, and just-barely-chewy texture.Granted, I haven't had chocolate in a couple years, but to me they taste like chocolate. I gave them to a friend and didn't tell him what they were. He said, "Oh, chocolate?", and then, "Hmm, these are good, but they're not chocolate." So one could tell the difference, especially for people who eat a lot of chocolate. But the difference is small I think. The texture, especially, sells it.I ate my 1 lb. bag in less than a week. They're extremely delicious. Note they do have saturated fat (about 18% of your daily value per tablespoon) and sugar (rinse/brush your teeth!), so you wouldn't want to eat these in huge quantities.As for the stimulant contents: I did research on carob products. There are several websites which say carob powder contains no caffeine or theobromine. This isn't quite accurate. It's closer to the truth to say it does have trace amounts of theobromine. But it is quite small. One site I found said 100 grams of chocolate contains over 2,000 mg of theobromine. 100 grams of carob product contains 3 mg. It's as close to none as you can get. I'm happy to report I felt no stimulant effect (caffeine buzz, whatever you want to call it) from eating these carob chips, even when eating a couple handfuls relatively quickly. There's not even much of a "sugar high" since there's enough fat in them to slow down digestion of the sugar.One reviewer wrote, "extremely sweet and leave a chalky, almost greasy feeling in your mouth". I don't agree with this at all. The product -- like many dessert foods -- is fatty and has oil in it. That's part of what makes the texture work. It hits two of three innate human desires in foods (sweet, creamy/fatty, salty). There's a pleasant, brief after-taste, probably because the oil is coating your mouth, but I wouldn't describe it as chalky or greasy; maybe the reviewer got a bad batch or has a peculiar palate.

These carob chips are the perfect sweet, vegan addition my nut trail mix needed!

These are by far the best carob chips I have tried. They have a good flavor, matched with just enough sweetness, unlike the other brands I tried. These others used so much sugar that the sugar was the predominant taste.They are a bit pricey, but I am willing to pay the price for a quality item such as these.Also, the seller was great about communicating when my order would arrive.

tasty carob chips and lots of them.

Carob is a healthy product as opposed to chocolate.

My other affordable carob chip source dried up so I was glad to find these!Shipped in summer to Florida.This company went above and beyond making sure they didn't melt. Shipped inside sealed insulated bag with an ice pack.Will definitely buy again and I highly recommend this company. Chips are delicious and not too big or too small. Perfect size for baking.

I've eaten carob all my life. This tasted only a hint of carob along with too much sugar and whatever other additives.