Cricket Protein Bar Taste Test - CoastProtein.com

Coast Protein of New Westminster, British Columbia Canada has two cricket protein bar products available.

​It was months ago when I first approached Coast Protein in New Westminster, British Columbia. They had launched a Kickstarter campaign related to their cricket protein bar products. I was originally tipped off about it by a friend on the West Coast who had tried their protein bar and pointed the product out to me.
 
While I have been keeping my eyes open for any kind of cricket protein bar in the health food stores I frequent (which is rather infrequent since the nearest one to me is over an hour away) I have had no luck. That was what prompted me to just go ahead and contact Coast Protein. I explained a bit about my eBook (see below) and that I have posted a video and review already on this website for a cricket pasta product.
 
I explained I was keen on trying my first cricket protein bar and was hoping it would be one of theirs. They offered to send a sample and I left it at that. A package arrived a few weeks ago (March 2017) and I decided to hold off until Earth Day (April 22) to conduct the actual taste test. Oddly enough, it was exactly a year ago to the day when we tried cricket pasta for the first time.
 
When I opened the package I was pleased to discover that Coast Protein had sent a sample of two protein bars. One was identified as Dark Chocolate Raisin and the other was named Peanut Butter. I liked the basic packaging of the pair in a plain brown wrapper with a decal on the front with the company logo and name of the item. The back had a decal with all the nutritional information, an ingredient list and related details.
 
So, I tore into them.
 
Appearance
 
The two bars looked a lot alike in that they were flat with squared edges. Both were thick in size and felt hefty which indicated that they were densely packed giving me the feeling they would prove to be satisfying as a quick snack or pick-me-up during a day or between workouts. The only real noticeable difference between the two cricket protein bars in appearance was that the Dark Chocolate Raisin one was a deep, dark brownish/black. The Peanut Butter one was the creamy light brown of your favourite peanut spread.
 
Taste
 
I chose to try the Dark Chocolate Raisin bar first. I had to bite into it to break a piece off, but it was not difficult. I liked that the bar was not crumbly, and it broke up nicely when chewed. The first thing I tasted was the dark chocolate and the raisins. My wife, Brenda tried it the following morning and described it as having “a heavy raisin taste” which scored high with both of us. The dark chocolate blended well with the raisins. I could pick up a hint of the honey and sunflower seeds. In all, a very tasty protein bar that I snacked on throughout the following day, enjoying each bite.
 
The Peanut Butter bar was as solid as the first one. Not crumbly at all, and broke up nicely when chewed. I noticed instantly that it was drier than the first bar. That would have been because of the peanut content and lack of raisins. However, after tasting peanuts I picked up on the apples and pears which added a hint of a fruity after taste. Again, this was also another great tasting protein bar that I munched on throughout the following day.
 
What About The Crickets?
 
Ah, yes. They are cricket protein bars. The cricket content in these comes in the form of cricket flour. Each bar listed the protein content as 20%. The ingredient list on both gives a hint at the amount of cricket flour there is in each as that is listed as the third item in the Dark Chocolate Raisin bar and sixth in the Peanut Butter bar. As ingredients are typically listed in order of amount starting with the most and going down from there, I’m guessing there is not a lot of cricket flour in either. But, it is in there somewhere.
 
Nutritional Facts
 
Each Coast Protein bar weighs 58 grams. The Dark Chocolate Raisin (DCR) one has 282 calories versus 275 with the Peanut Butter (PB) bar. Here is a breakdown of the rest of the contents: Fat (15 grams each with DCR having 12% saturated to 11% for PB. Both show 0% trans fats), both bars have no cholesterol, with sodium at 152mg (DCR) and 127mg (PB). Carbs show up as 26g (DCR) and 25g (PB) with that broken down further to show 4.21g of fiber and 16g sugars (DCR) to 3.79g fiber and 18g sugars (PB). As already stated, both bars have 20% or 10g of protein. Neither record any Vitamin A, with DCR showing 1% Vitamin C (0% PB) and 3% calcium (2% PB). The only real difference in numbers comes from the amount of iron in each bar. PB has just 3% where DCR has 8%.
 
Ratings
 
If I had to pick one from the pair in a head-to-head contest the Dark Chocolate Raisin variety would get my vote. That’s only because they had me at dark chocolate. If the choices were say, Peanut Butter versus something like Apple Pear (I’m making this up as an example) the Peanut Butter would win simply because of it being peanut butter which happens to be my daily breakfast companion and go-to comfort treat.
 
But let’s look at each of them individually. On a scale of 1 to 5 I would rate the Dark Chocolate Raisin a 5 (taste, texture, flavour) and the Peanut Butter a 4.9 only because it was a little drier than the Dark Chocolate Raisin. Would I recommend either of these to you? Most definitely I would! Coast Protein has an incredible product with their cricket protein bars and I thank them for allowing me to do this with them.
 
For More Information
 
For further information on Coast Protein, visit their website at www.CoastProtein.com. To find out more about cricket farming, download my eBook titled “The Foodie Guide To Farming Insects For Protein.” The eBook details the materials required to properly breed crickets or mealworms. It also includes some easy recipes to allow you to enjoy your harvest. The eBook is available at Amazon for $3.99 USD.