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. Each of these also has its own review page, as do those dark chocolates sold in stores that I think surpass the "health value" of both Xocai(TM) and IsaDelight(TM) ... and are cheaper.

Xocai(TM) Review

Overall Rating: B-

(Rating based on objective health and value factors and not on flavor, which is subjective.)

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 will 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.

Xylitol vs. Sugar:

As with all other MLM chocolates (besides Tru Chocolate) on the market that I know of, Xocai uses sugar to sweeten its chocolate. It makes the distinction that it uses raw sugar cane, which is fructose rather than sucrose. This IS a step in the right direction, as sucrose spikes blood sugar about 3 times more than fructose. This makes fructose safer for diabetics and dieters.

But it's still sugar and still spikes blood sugar levels more than 3 times as much as xylitol, and about twice as much as agave nectar. It also contributes to problems in health, rather than providing health benefits as xylitol does.

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.

Xylitol and agave nectar are both healthy, natural alternatives to sugar.

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. Those who like a more bitter dark chocolate may find this too sweet.

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.

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

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

For all the reasons above, I do not recommend Xocai chocolate, although I do think it superior to IsaDelight. If it replaced the sugar with xylitol or agave nectar and used organic ingredients, I'd be in favor of it. I simply don't see how you can charge so much money for a healthy chocolate without addressing either of these issues, and meanwhile promote it for weight loss and diabetics.

I think there are chocolates that can be bought much more cheaply in stores (such as Lindt's 85% cocoa content chocolate) that are perhaps even healthier than Xocai and IsaDelight.