Note: There is also a comparison review of all healthy chocolates that I've reviewed and that are sold through network marketing (aka MLM). Keep in mind, you can enjoy any of these chocolates without having to engage in the "income opportunity" aspect, but they do give you that option.
Xocai(TM) Review
Summary:
Cacao is said to be cold pressed. They do not claim that their final products are raw.
Not Organic. May not be an issue, depending on where and how it’s grown, but documentation is needed to know that it’s not an issue.
Not Fair Trade. Beans from the Ivory Coast, where child labor and slavery run rampant in the chocolate industry.
Uses raw cane juice as an unrefined, lower-glycemic sweetener.
Blueberry and acai powders added for additional antioxidant effect.
PROLOGUE: I am spending too much energy on complaints from Xocai distributors, so let me try to summarize what I think I'm saying on this page and on the Xocai scam page. And yes ... long AFTER writing this review, I have joined a chocolate business selling ChocoNat. Please take that bias into consideration.
First, I'm using the keywords "Xocai review" and "Xocai scam" because I know that people who are looking into products before investing use these keywords. I'm trying to get them to a site that's really looking at the value of the product. Most other sites people find will be from Xocai distributors who use these same keywords to attract people, only to say, "Xocai is the greatest thing on earth."
I do NOT think Xocai is a scam. I hope I have stated this plainly enough for Xocai distributors. I think it tastes good and may be a healthy chocolate compared to many others. And I appreciate that Xocai has invested in a clinical study to help objectify some of its benefits. I think objective trials are the future of health supplements.
I also think that, among the MLM chocolates, this one is well marketed. So if selling chocolate through MLM is your thing, then this may be a very good option. [Obviously, I now vastly prefer ChocoNat.]
However, I think this chocolate is overhyped as a health supplement, as if eating more than $100 a month in chocolate is more important than other high-end health supplements. As with many MLM products in the marketplace, distributors seem to think it is the cure for all ills. Chocolate tastes great, and the closer it is to its natural state, the better it will do for you. But it doesn't cover all the basics needed by the human body.
I am concerned with the ingredients in many Xocai products, though the basic chocolates seem good. They use a nicer type of sugar. It's not organic, though the company assures that this isn't an issue. (They say it's grown in a pristine area; I just don't have a way to verify this.) And they do not claim that this is a raw chocolate.
So overall ... it may be a better chocolate than others. But I think it involves too great a monthly investment (unless someone really wants to spend that much every month on chocolate, which certainly TASTES better than most supplements); and I believe there are better options for those with serious health issues. This is my opinion, which I hope I'm allowed to share without creating anger among others.
Now, what follows is what was originally on this page, which I think says the same thing.
* * * * *
[2011: Long after writing this review, I have joined an organic, raw chocolate business. Please take this bias into consideration.]
This review refers to Xocai Nuggets and Xocai Power Squares, because while I find those products "acceptable," I would recommend (from a health perspective) avoiding all the other products from Xocai, based on their ingredients.
To keep my reviews consistent for "apples to apples" comparisons, I use the same overall structure for each.
Cacao Content:
Xocai Nuggets seem to consist of 70% cacao content. Keep in mind, we don't know how much of this is made of cocoa butter (the healthy "fat" portion of chocolate) and how much is made of cocoa solids (the part with the antioxidants and other nutritious elements). Based on fat content, ORAC score, and serving size (see all below), I would suggest that the percentage of cocoa solids is relatively low.
However, in Xocai Power Squares, the ORAC score per gram of chocolate goes up substantially, and I expect this is because they've increased the ratio of chocolate solids to chocolate butter (when compared to their nuggets).
Organic:
Xocai does not use organic ingredients, which is disappointing to me in a product that claims to be "healthy chocolate." I find this highly important, since consumers are spending a good deal of money purchasing these chocolates as "healthy." I believe non-organic ingredients COULD compromise the value of any ORAC score, as some of the antioxidants may be used to "fight" the results of toxic residue from pesticides, etc.
Xocai associates have told me that this chocolate is sourced from pristine locations where pesticides are not used. I don't have a way to verify this.
Sweetener:
I believe Xocai uses raw cane juice, which is unrefined and low-glycemic (around 23). (They say "crystalline fructose.")
Xocai Nuggets are about 25% sugar, while Xocai Power Squares are about 39% sugar. I do NOT know how they have managed to pack in a much higher ORAC score per gram of chocolate in the Power Squares when also packing in all this extra sugar, but this is what their labels tell us anyway.
Proprietary Formulas:
In order to separate themselves from being "just another chocolate," most healthy chocolates sold through network marketing (MLM) add something extra to their chocolate to help market it. Xocai is no exception. They added acai and blueberry powders to add to their antioxidant value.
I find this to mostly be a marketing scheme, as the percentage of product is almost entirely sugar and chocolate; and cacao has a higher antioxidant value than either acai or blueberries. BUT, adding a variety of antioxidants -- however small -- may be of some benefit, and certainly these botanicals provide their own unique health benefits. These will be minimal in these amounts, however.
Taste:
I've only tried Xocai Nuggets, but they have a very nice, traditional dark chocolate taste. Anyone who likes a relatively sweetened dark chocolate will probably like Xocai. Most of the people I've talked to that have tried Xocai did like the flavor.
Magnesium:
Any quality dark chocolate should represent a good source of magnesium, so this isn't a KEY item to consider, but it's worth noting because magnesium plays so many important roles in our health, and most people only get 50% of the recommended amount.
At 20 mg (5% of the recommended daily value) of magnesium, Xocai Nuggets have less magnesium than either Tru Chocolate or IsaDelight. I cannot determine from the packaging how much magnesium Xocai Power Squares have. [I cannot be sure about Tru Chocolate, which no longer sells via MLM anyway. Tru Chocolate has a labeling problem on their magnesium.]
ORAC Scores:
If you've read my page on ORAC scores, you know that this topic can be misleading. Experts recommend that we get up to 5000 ORAC units in a day, and that anything more may be redundant. Those promoting ORAC scores will probably argue against this.
At just over 3000 ORAC units, a serving of Tru Chocolate and Xocai Nuggets are just about identical, though the Nuggets accomplish this by providing a 50% larger serving; IsaDelight contains closer to 6000 units; and Xocai Power Squares contain over 10,000 per serving. (The extra ORAC units may be beneficial since these chocolates are not organic, as mentioned above.)
Gram for gram, however, the numbers are quite different. By the gram, ORAC comparisons are as follows:
Tru Chocolate: 380
Xocai Nuggets: 260
Xocai Power Squares: 600
IsaDelight: 530
[ChocoNat: 500+]
Fat, Calories, and Sugar:
Xocai chocolates have more fat overall and more saturated fat than either Tru Chocolate or IsaDelight. The Nuggets have 4.5 grams of fat (3 saturated) and the Power Squares have 6 grams of fat (5 saturated). As a result, they also have the most calories -- the Nuggets pack in 70 and the Power Squares pack in 100.
As mentioned above, the Nuggets are about 25% sugar and the Power Squares about 39% sugar.
BOTTOM LINE
Mainly I don't recommend Xocai because I think its health claims are over-hyped and, frankly, that it represents too much of a monthly investment. I think there are better ways to invest that money in your health.
Having said that, it probably provides the most cacao nutrients of any MLM chocolate because of its relatively unprocessed nature. [I am unsure about how "unprocessed" it is, and now believe that ChocoNat is the most natural option.] Xocai also has a very promising clinical study backing up the value of their chocolate, though I think that any really healthy chocolate could provide similar results if they could pony up for the cost of a clinical study.
As for the business opportunity, I DO think it will attract the most people and represents the best way to build an MLM chocolate business. [I said that because it is well marketed. I now think ChocoNat a far superior business model.] But as with most MLMs, I think the product doesn't provide the value of the price, so you're really selling an opportunity. I think there are better opportunities available with more serious, more affordable products.
