I read many reviews for different cacao nib brands for almost a year before deciding to purchase Viva Naturals. These are the only cacao nibs I have tried, so I cannot describe their quality/flavor in comparison to others.

The Viva Naturals nibs had a peculiar smell (wine or vinegar?) when I opened the bag. I did as one reviewer had suggested - poured them into a large bowl to air out for a day then returned them to the bag. The result is less odor and perhaps better taste.

The flavor is strong, rather bitter, a touch wine-y, and definitely cocoa in nature. There is no sweetness.

I have found tiny pieces of hard nutshell-like material in the nibs. Having read reviews, I expected some of these and chewed carefully to avoid problems. The amount of very hard bits has been minimal so far. I think the size of the shell-like pieces is such that they would not be a problem in a blender for smoothies.

Please read the nutrition content. I was surprised to find the fat content so high, but being a chocolate junkie, I did not care. One 1lb bag may last several months.

The best reasons to eat Viva Naturals Cacao Nibs are the satisfying crunch (with care) and the dark cocoa flavor.

This was my first experience tasting cacao nibs. I actually like it. It does have a chocolate flavor, but without the sweetness. I like the crisp texture too. I haven't tried baking with it or adding it to another food, but I have read that people use it in place of chocolate chips in cookies. Just a reminder, it is NOT sweetened, so if you are looking for a chocolate treat, this probably is not what you are looking for. It is supposed to have many health benefits, but I don't know anything about that.

I rely on reviews myself when purchasing a new product. I enjoy these, but be warned, these are NOT sweet. They are like eating crunchy dark, dark chocolate. I've used them in smoothies, baking and when I'm feeling the need for a"Reese cup like" treat I mix a tablespoon of them directly into my almond butter and eat them with a spoon! These are not the sugar laden cacao nibs you get from a Trader Joe's at the check out. For me what expected and wanted.

Dangerous product- watch your teeth.
I don't usually leave reviews but I thought it was important in this case. I should start by saying that I LOVE Cacao nibs, and Viva's are tasty. Cacao nibs are delicious, and an excellent source of fiber. I add them to yogurt, ice cream, and soup, and I even snack on them plain when I'm in the mood for something chocolatey and crunchy but don't want the calories of chocolate bar.

I thought these viva Cacao nibs were of excellent quality, until I kept biting down on what felt like rocks or sand. These pieces were so hard that I was afraid I might've chipped my molars, and even The smaller hard pieces made chewing eating the cookout nibs really unpleasant. I'd say that every 5-10 bites or so, you get one of these stone-like bites and it's really distressing and dangerous.

Upon further investigation, I realized that these "stones" in Viva cacao nibs are actually tiny cacao nut stems and/or pieces of cacao nut shell. As it turns out, this company just does not do a careful job of de-stemming and de-shelling, so lots of Shell pieces and stems are allowed into the final product. These are the superhard bits that you crack down on if you're not extremely careful.

Last night I spent about a half hour manually checking and de-stemming the remaining half of the bag so I can eat the rest with confidence . I'd be willing to pay a little more to get a product that's more carefully produced, because it's not acceptable to include such a high concentration of dangerous items in the mix.

Viva needs to get its act together.

I've never tried cacao before, and while I knew it wouldn't be the mild, sweet chocolate flavor we're used to, it was still a lititle sirprising. I first made a batch of peanut butter oatmeal bars with these, and they taste great in there. I actually prefer these in baked goods now, because chocolate chips add a sugary taste, but these just add a cocoa like flavor without the sweetness.