It's been quite a while since we've reviewed any granola on this blog, though at one point, it was a very regular occurrence. I thought "cranberry chocolate" sounded kind of tasty, so I picked up this bag on my last Target run.
The base is the same style of granola we've seen in other Archer Farms and Simply Balanced products, but this particular flavor offers...you guessed it: chocolate and cranberries. It's fairly generous in the chocolate department, but extraordinarily stingy when it comes to the berries.
That's by far my biggest complaint about this product: a decided lack of cranberries. In fact, just look at the picture above. There's not a single cranberry in there. And I promise I didn't pick through the granola and remove the cranberries to prove my point. That picture is exactly the way the cereal poured into the bowl. There might be one or two bits of crantastic goodness hiding near the bottom, but that still isn't enough.
I've had two full bowls of the stuff and have only come across three dried cranberry halves in all that granola. I must admit that those three bites that contained cranberry were exceptional, but they're way too far and few between to enhance the cereal the way they should. Simply Balanced should either find a way to pack more cranberries into this product, or they should end the charade altogether and simply call this "chocolate flax granola."
All the many bites that don't contain cranberry are just fine, in fact, I'd consider this an above-average granola selection. But it's the principle of the thing. It's almost like a "bait and switch" tactic. They get you all pumped up for cranberries and chocolate and then make you settle for chocolate alone.
I'm torn between 6 and 7 stars. I guess I'll go with 7 since this product really is good with or without cranberries—and the bites that do contain cranberries...I'd give those a solid 8.
Bottom line: 7 out of 10.
