"Raw" Sweet Dark Chocolate Cherry Snack

I am so used to getting a huge quality of any product when I get something to test and review that I was shocked that there was simply one 2 ounce packet of Rawmio Chocolate Covered Sweet Cherries via the Amazon Vine program. It has been years since The Chocolate Cult received chocolate covered fruit to put through our procedures and write about, so I've been looking forward to this. Let's finish with the legal matters before getting to my experiences with this product. While this product was free with the expectation that I'd write a review on Amazon about it, not other form of compensation was received for sharing my honest experiences in that review. This blog article is an unexpected bonus for the brand. Now on to the product itself.

Unlike other chocolate covered fruits we've revealed on this blog in the past, you'll notice that these have a dusted look and not the shiny coating you are probably used to seeing. When I first opened the resealable bag, there was a strong scent of cocoa that faded over a couple of minutes; I didn't get a cherry fragrance at all. As you can see in this photo the size of the cherries varies a lot. I tried a small one first and it has an intense cocoa flavor that lingered with a sour aftertaste; there wasn't much of the cherry to taste that first time. I tried one of the largest pieces by biting it in half. The cherry was firm but not hard or sticky, the flavor was somewhat sweet but not as sweet as other cherries that I've tried.The cocoa flavor was still the lingering one and it was still sour at the end. The entire bag is jut 260 calories or you can follow the serving size guidelines and just eat half and save the rest.

The sour aftertaste was a big turnoff with this treat. I couldn't eat more than three pieces for this testing and I honestly don't want more of them. The larger pieces have more sweetness to them, but I think it is really the flavor of the "raw" cocoa powder that is causing that unpleasant flavor. If you like sour flavors, this might be something for you to check out, but I will warn you that these are not inexpensive at all.

Final Notes:

I think I've commented enough on the concept of "raw" when it comes to chocolate that I don't need to repeat much, but I'm going to hit the highlights in case this is the first post you've read on this blog. Chocolate must be processed from cacao beans or it will not become anything other than the beans; you do not want to eat those beans because they are beyond baking chocolate and cocoa level of bitterness. When you see such "raw" claims about chocolate realize that what they mean is that the roasting and cooking temperatures are lower than tradition production methods. Some folks are cautious about that because a lot nasty bacteria can be found on those same beans if you aren't careful. I've tested over half a dozen "raw" chocolate products for this blog and I have not noticed a problem. I am not going to claim that you should or should not use these products yourself.