Mezcla Plant Based Protein Bars

I have tried a *lot* of bars in my time.  No, no, I'm not talking about the places where crowds of humans used to gather, drink, and be merry, I'm talking about bars the food products.  Generally trying to be quasi-healthy, often boasting high protein, usually non-GMO, gluten-free, etc, etc.  They started life as simple granola bars (like Quaker), and have evolved from there (like Nature Valley or Kind bars).  Available in every country (like Nakd bars, Alpen light, and Perkier bars in the UK or Go Natural, Be Natural, and SuniBrite in Australia).  Sometimes sold as meal replacements (like Quest), other times as breakfast items (like Bobo's oat bars, which I actually do like!), sometimes for sports recovery (like LUNA bars and LÄRABAR) ... you know the type.  They frequently have great sounding flavors, and most often, never even remotely live up to the names (why *did* I believe "Cinnamon bun white chocolate" by Think Thin would be good?).  Sometimes they try to do good for others, or the planet, like This Bar Saves Lives.  Or they go totally roque, like the meat and veggie bars by Wild Zora.  Or they just *sound* appealing, like Awesome Bars.

Yet still I try them.  I try them all (ok, all except those with whey protein isolate in them, because, alas, I've learned the very hard way that my body does not like whey protein).  And yes, most I try, I review, and I never get again.

Enter Mezcla.

"We are a delicious vegan bar that brings you the flavors of the world in a healthy and crunchy snack. With 10G of Protein, 170 calories, and a Pea Crisp base coated in vegan chocolate, Mezcla bars are bringing innovation and personality to the protein bar space."

I read the tag lines.  The bars are vegan, gluten-free, etc.  Yup, yup, I know the type (e.g. Raw Rev vegan bars).  Looking closer though, I was thrilled to see that the protein content comes from pea crisps (made from pea protein and rice starch), along with chickpeas, sunflower seed, and crispy quinoa.  No isolates, no soy, and best of all for me, no whey protein (my body hates it!).  

The flavors, although few, are unique, and are actually ones I'm interested in.  Not just because they *sound* good, but, because they are things I actually enjoy.  Matcha.  Cocoa peanut butter.  

There was a lot of promise here.  But still, protein bars?  Tasty?

It turns out, yes, yes they do exist.  Finally, I found a bar that delivered.  I highly, highly recommend these bars.

Even just opening the package of the first bar I could tell these were different.  They don't look funny, they look like, well, candy bars?  And turns out, they taste like them too ...

Mexican Chipotle Hot Chocolate.

"Have you ever had a warm cup of Mexican hot chocolate? If you have, you know the delicious sweetness it packs along with a little extra kick. If you haven’t, try this bar and find out what you’ve been missing. "

I opened my first bar one morning post workout when I was really really craving chocolate.  I expected to pick this flavor last, as I adore matcha and chocolate-peanut butter (the other flavors I had on hand), but, I  wanted just chocolate that morning.  Stat.  This bar sounded like just the thing.

I was quite pleased when I opened it.  It really did look appealing.  A well sized bar, full of crispies (made from pea crisps, sunflower seeds, chickpeas, and quinoa), and, yes, actually coated in chocolate.  Coated on one side, drizzled on the other.

I eagerly bit in.  So so many of these bars go wrong from that first bite, before you even get to taste, as they often have a strange texture.  I was overjoyed to find this one didn't have an odd texture in any way.  It was crispy.  

And the flavor?  It was good!  Basically, I felt like I was eating a crispy candy bar (but hey, the crispy was pea crisps, sunflower seeds, chickpeas, and quinoa!).  There was plenty of chocolate, both in the bar itself and in the generous coating.  Mezcla does not skimp on the coating.  Sure, there was mostly healthy things lurking in here, besides the chocolate, I was literally eating chickpeas, sunflower seeds, pea protein, and chicory root fiber ... but it sure didn't feel that way.  The hint of chili pepper gave it a touch of a kick, and the cinnamon came through on the finish, completing the "Mexican Chipotle" aspect of it.

I liked it.  Mexican Chipotle isn't *really* my thing, and actually I'd probably like this more just as a chocolate variety, no chipotle, but, it did make a fairly interesting flavor.  I enjoyed my crispy, chewy, decadent tasting bar, and was rather thrilled that I got 10g of protein (170 cal, 6g fat) in such a fun way. 

***+.  I couldn't wait to try the next flavor.

Peruvian Cocoa Peanut Butter.

"For those of you who aren’t quite ready to totally abandon the classic protein bar flavors you love, we took the already delicious chocolate peanut butter combo and made it even better. "

Next, I grabbed the Peruvian cocoa peanut butter.

I think I was really in the mood for this at the time.  I loved it. 

I again liked the crispy bits (pea crisps, quinoa, amaranth) that make up the base, and really loved the bits of peanut in it for crunch and pops of peanut intensity.  Besides the bits of peanut, there was not a super strong "peanut butter" flavor, but the peanut was present enough.  

And of course, it had an excellent chocolate coating, made with Peruvian cocoa.  A hit of pink sea salt amped up the flavor even more.

Just, truly a joy to eat.  I had it for breakfast alongside a cup of coffee and felt like a rebel, but I imagine it being a great snack bar, post workout, or even a dessert.

Again, like eating a candy bar ...  Can't wait get my hands on more of these.

****+.

Matcha Vanilla.

"Satisfy your matcha cravings with this deliciously smooth, earthy protein bar. This unique pairing perfectly satisfies that worldly sweet tooth you didn’t even know you had."

I saved the matcha vanilla for last, expecting, actually, to like it the most, as I usually love matcha, and am generally more into matcha than chocolate.

It turned out to be my least favorite.

It wasn't bad at all, same crispy base (pea crisps, quinoa, amaranth, sunflower and pumpkin seeds), this time with a vanilla coating.  And of course, matcha powder.  Like the others, it ate very much like a candy bar.  Very sweet.

But the matcha flavor was not very strong.  In fact, honestly, I barely tasted matcha.  The crunchy bits were all the same great texture, but they too didn't have as much flavor, at least, compared to the awesome peanuts in the Peruvian Cocoa Peanut Butter or the zing in the Mexican Chipotle Hot Chocolate.

So, overall, a sweet candy bar, with no dominant flavor.  Still fun to eat, and certainly still a very tasty way to get 10g protein, but I greatly preferred the others.

***.