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(More customer reviews)Like a lot of other products by Barry Farms, I was first introduced to carob powder way back during my sons scouting days. Camping trips during the fall and winter months always resulted in the evening ending with a traditional "jawin" session around the fire, complete of course with hot cocoa and marshmallows, among other treats. In the beginning, real hot chocolate was used for it was easy to locate, and of course what the boys wanted and expected. The biggest problem we had with the real thing was the obvious caffeine high it used to give the boys late at night when we least wanted it. (As any of you with youngin's in your household can imagine, most kids don't need the bountiful effects of caffeine at any time, but especially late at night). After the traditional session around the campfire ended, a not so well liked and substandard other tradition would unfortunately follow. Trying to get the well wired boys to settle down and let the old men and ladies on the trip get some much needed rest.
Enter carob powder. Carob is a tropical pod that contains a sweet dark pulp that is very similar in taste and texture to cocoa. The pulp is dried and then ground into a powder that both appears and tastes similar to chocolate. It used to be something only available in health food stores. But now with the advent of the internet, it is widely available here and other places online. Despite carob powder being very similar to chocolate in calories and fats, it is nonetheless a healthier alternative. It contains three times the calcium found in chocolate, and more importantly to me, unlike chocolate it contains no caffeine. This was the true benefit we had in mind in substituting it for the cocoa at trails end each night. Make no mistake about it, carob is a little sweeter, but definitely not as flavorful as real chocolate ounce for ounce. Anyone expecting hot chocolate will be disappointed by a straight mug of carob. It's not only not as tasty, but it remains a little grittier as well when dissolved. Surprisingly however, my experience back in my sons scouting days proved that the boys got used to the carob powder very quickly, and actually enjoyed its little grittier texture. As for its flavor, straight carob brewed hot reminded a lot of the scouts of Yoo Hoo drink. Anyone familiar with the taste of Yoo Hoo can easily imagine carobs flavor. Even if we decided to spike the carob powder with a little real chocolate, we were still giving the boys a healthier drink, and of course a lot less caffeine. We went through quite a few pounds of it in my sons younger days. With very few complaints or disappointment.
In conclusion, I highly recommend carob powder for anyone that prefers a little healthier alternative drink to real hot chocolate, and without any of the caffeine. Or, if you just happen to be one of those poor unfortunates that is allergic to chocolate. I still today buy it from Barry Farms and take it along on my own hikes here for I am so used too, and have taken a liking to its flavor over the years. If you decide to give it a try, I recommend buying two or more pounds at a time to make the shipping a better deal. The Barry Farms carob is a very good quality product, and has been around for many years.
PS: By the way, like some of the other reviewers here, I recommend the regular or light carob powder over the dark brewed blend also available on Amazon. Carob is not like chocolate in that it gets sweeter and stronger when roasted a bit longer. In my opinion and that of others here, it just gets more bitter and less pleasant by the lengthier process...
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Carob Powder, 1 lb.
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