Review: Sencha Naturals

Hello, blogosphere!

I realize my schedule is a bit mixed up this weekend (blame it on the golf, it’s all golf’s fault), but since we didn’t really have an exciting Sunday brunch this weekend, I figured I would give you a new review today instead Ready, set, ok!

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Adela from Sencha Naturals, a company that makes vegan, gluten-free bars and mints that are infused with green tea. She was nice enough to send me a package with samples of each flavor to review for the blog!

Over the course of a week at work, I made my way through each of the Green Tea Bars and gave the Green Tea Mints a try, too. Thanks again to Adela, and without further ado – my review!

Note: The quoted material is from the Sencha Naturals site!

Sencha Naturals Green Tea Bars

From the reading material I was given on these bars, I’ve found some pretty outstanding facts about their nutritional value. Each whole grain bar has “the equivalent of three cups of green tea in terms of polyphenol content.” AND, each bar is also:

• 100% natural and vegan
• 80% organic
• Wheat and gluten-free
• Fair-trade certified
• Decaffeinated

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Original

Description:

“An exquisite blend of lightly roasted organic brown rice complimented with a medley of antioxidant rich goji berries, nuts and seeds. A perfect pairing of whole food nutrition infused by its green tea counterpart.”

Ingredients:

Almonds, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Dates and Dried Plums, Organic Brown Rice, Goji Berries, Matcha Tea and Green Tea Extract, Concentrated Soy Protein, Rice Flour, Natural Flavors, Spices, Sea Salt, and Lo Han Guo. Contains Soy, Almonds and Pistachios.

Review:

I was amazed by just how much this bar smells like green tea! When I pulled it out of the packaging, it was as if I was holding green tea in solid form. As you can see from the picture, this bar is made up of several different nuts and fruits packed together. It was definitely more of a nutty texture and taste than sweet, and the green tea taste permeated throughout the bar. My favorite parts of the bar were those pumpkin seeds and it definitely kept me full for at least 2 hours. If you are a person who loves green tea, I would highly recommend this bar because that taste is definitely present.

Nutrition:

• 220 calories
• 9g fat
• 29g carbohydrates
• 3g fiber
• 12g sugar
• 9g protein

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Delicate Pear

Description:

“A sweet medley of ripe pears, dates, and prunes accented with hints of ginger and green tea. A succulent blend that provides sweet overtones balanced with whole grain nutrition.”

Ingredients:

Organic Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Roasted Soybeans, Almonds, and Sesame Seeds, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Dates and Dried Plums, Glacéd Pears, Organic Brown Rice, Concentrated Soy Protein, Rice Flour, Matcha Tea and Green Tea Extract, Natural Flavors, Spices, Sea Salt and Lo Han Guo. Contains Soy, Almonds and Pistachios.

Review:

Again upon opening the package, the smell of green tea couldn’t be mistaken. This time, however, there was also a slight smell of pear – which would make sense, of course 😉 In terms of taste, this bar wasn’t all that different from the original. The only real difference in the ingredient list is the pears, so it’s not surprising that there wasn’t much difference in taste. Of course, the pumpkin seeds were still my favorite part of the bar and the green tea taste was present throughout again!

Nutrition:

• 220 calories
• 8g fat
• 30g carbohydrates
• 3g fiber
• 12g sugar
• 9g protein

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Lively Lemongrass

Description:

“A sophisticated sensation of fresh cut lemongrass mingled with ginger, green tea and lemon peel. An ecletic fusion of flavors that will enliven your palate one tingle at a time.”

Ingredients:

Organic Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Roasted Soybeans, Black Sesame Seeds and Flax Seeds, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Dates and Dried Plums, Organic Brown Rice, Glacéd Lemon Peel and Crystallized Ginger, Concentrated Soy Protein, Rice Flour, Matcha Tea and Green Tea Extract,Natural Flavors, Spices, Sea Salt and Lo Han Guo. Contains Soy, Almonds and Pistachios.

Review:

The lemongrass version was by far my favorite of these bars. The addition of the lemon flavor was much more present than the pear version, which provided a nice contrast and an extra boost of good taste compared to the others. Again, this bar is definitely for someone who already likes the taste of green tea. Overall, I’d say these bars are a relatively light treat, and the ingredient list is very promising because most – if not all – of them are beneficial to your health!

Nutrition:

• 220 calories
• 8g fat
• 29g carbohydrates
• 3g fiber
• 12g sugar
• 9g protein

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Green Tea Mints

The mints also boast a slew of health benefits in that they are 100% natural, vegan, wheat/gluten/sugar-free and contain decaffeinated Fair Trade Green Tea.

Delicate Pear

Description:

“An exquisite medley of fresh pear extracts artfully blended with green tea exudes sweet overtones with a subtle tea essence. A perfect blend of yin and yang.”

Ingredients:

Organic Green Tea Extract, Pear Extract, Sweet Fennel, Natural Flavors, Turmeric (color), Lo Han Guo, Sorbitol, Xylitol, and Calcium Stearate.

Review:

These mints are very different from the typical burst of cool, minty flavor you’d find with Tic-Tacs or Ice Breakers. Instead, they use the light taste of pear and the powerful taste of – you guessed it! – green tea to give your mouth a breather 😉 They also aren’t very chewy, so keep that in mind. Personally, I’m the girl who bites into something right away instead of letting it dissolve in my mouth, but maybe these mints will help me slow down and absorb all the flavors there are to offer? No matter what, they are very unique and certainly a welcome change from the usual minty blasts.

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I hope this review will prove helpful to some of you! I haven’t seen these bars in any grocery stores but I checked the online locator at the Sencha Naturals site and it turns out they’re at World Market near me. If you’re interested, check it out 🙂