I haven’t had a single cup of coffee in 23 days…technically. For some CRAZY reason, I came up with the idea of giving up coffee for a while just to see how my body could adjust and function without it. My daily intake was getting crazy high and I was having trouble sleeping through the night.

But then, New Grounds Food Coffee Bars came into my life.

Coffee Bar is an all-natural bar infused with a full cup of fair trade coffee. It’s also 100% organic, vegan, gluten free, non-GMO and made in the US!

The company was started by two college students [in Boston!] looking to stay energized in a healthy (and DELICIOUS) way. They currently offer three flavors: Caramel Macchiato, Coconut Mocha and Mocha Latte.

I got my hands on each of the flavors and I gotta say, it’s hard to pick a favorite. Maybe the mocha latte…or the coconut mocha?? Arghh I can’t decide! The coffee taste is present but not overpowering, and the texture is just as you’d expect from a bar containing dates. In case you’ve never had a date bar…they’re GOOD.

You can feel the caffeine kick almost immediately. Woo hoo! I’ve been having these as an afternoon snack which serves as both a pick-me-up and a hold-me-over until dinner. I used to treat myself to a fancy coffee (I say ‘fancy’ but I only ever order black coffee. It’s considered fancy to me if someone else brews it haha) but I would choose one of the Coffee Bars any day over a cup of coffee. Probably because it’s coffee + a snack built in one. Instead of a coffee and a cookie…

PS: I totally needed these in college. They would have been a way better alternative to all the coffee, red bulls and pizza I was consuming during cram sessions. Oof.

In addition to the wonderful taste and nutritional stats, New Grounds Food has sourced coffee for their latest batch of bars from The Chain Collaborative, a non-profit that connects various branches of the coffee industry (includes NGO’s, farmers, coffee pickers, and communities affected by coffee trade).

Unfortunately, they are not available in Canada (yet??) but to all my American friends, keep an eye out for these! If you’re not a coffee person, they’d make a great gift for your coffee-loving friend. And if you’re thinking ‘but I don’t have a coffee loving friend,’ yes you do. It’s me. So you can send this poor Canadian resident some Coffee Bar goodness :):)

So I guess you could say I have had 3 cups of coffee in the last 23 days. 3 cups of coffee that kept me satisfied, tasted beyond delicious, and helped make a social impact.

Have you tried a Coffee Bar?

*EDITED TO ADD: the great people at New Grounds just sent me a discount code for readers to get 15% off their order. Use promo code ‘nutcase’ during checkout 🙂

On a sidenote: This isn’t a sponsored post or anything. I just really liked these bars and wanted to share them with you.