Dang Foods
Cardamom Chai
TL:DR
In 2 Sentences
A vegan, keto-friendly bar flavored with real chai spices and black tea, lightly sweetened with stevia instead of syrups or sugar alcohols. It’s more a spice-kissed, nut-and-seed bar than a sticky protein slab.
When to choose Dang Foods Cardamom Chai
Choose it if you want a not-too-sweet, dairy- and soy-free snack that pairs beautifully with coffee or tea and delivers slow-burn energy. Less ideal if you’re chasing 20g of protein in one go.
What's in the Dang Foods bar?
Dang Foods’ Cardamom Chai Protein Bar is a plant-powered, chai-spiced snack where pea protein does the lifting and a nut-and-seed blend carries the flavor. The signature profile comes from real chai spices—cardamom, ginger, and clove—plus a hint of black tea, all woven into a base of almonds, coconut, sunflower, and chia.
The macro story tilts toward fat over protein: 9 grams of plant protein sits below most protein bars, while 15 grams of fat (from whole-food sources and a touch of cocoa butter) takes center stage for staying power.
Carbs are kept modest by using chicory root fiber and stevia in place of syrups, with just a bit of rice flour tucked into the pea-protein crisps. If you want chai warmth and slow-burn energy without dairy or soy, this build makes a lot of sense.
- Protein
- 9 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Carbohydrates
- 11 g
- Sugar
- 3 g
- Calories
- 210
Protein
915LOWProtein here comes primarily from pea protein and the bar’s crunchy pea-protein crisps (pea protein bound with a little rice flour and calcium carbonate), with smaller contributions from almonds, sunflower, and chia. Pea protein is a refined plant isolate with good digestibility and no dairy or soy, which suits many eaters, though people with legume or peanut allergies should use caution. The relatively low 9 grams places more of the staying power on fats.
Fat
159HIGHThe 15 grams of fat come from almonds, sunflower seeds, coconut, chia, and a touch of cocoa butter. That mix leans unsaturated (almonds/sunflower, plus plant omega-3s from chia) with a notable saturated slice from coconut and cocoa butter—great for satiety and texture, but something to watch if you’re limiting saturated fat. It’s a whole-food fat profile rather than processed seed oils.
Carbs
1120LOWThose 11 grams of carbs are weighted toward chicory root fiber—a purified prebiotic that gives body and mild sweetness—so much of the carbohydrate is non-digestible. A small amount of refined rice flour shows up inside the protein crisps, with the rest coming from whole nuts and coconut; together, this should feel steadier than a syrup-bound bar, though inulin (a FODMAP) can bother sensitive stomachs. Net effect: more slow burn than sugar rush.
Sugar
34MIDSugar lands at 3 grams, largely inherent to ingredients like coconut and nuts—there’s no syrup or cane sugar on the label. Sweetness instead comes from stevia extract, a highly refined, zero-calorie sweetener made from stevia leaves, used here in tiny amounts. That keeps sugars low without sugar alcohols, though some people notice a slight stevia aftertaste.
Calories
210210MIDAt 210 calories, this bar sits near the middle of the pack, but most of those calories come from fats rather than protein or digestible carbs. That design, driven by nuts, seeds, coconut, and cocoa butter, favors slow, sustained energy over a quick carb hit. If you snack between meals, this macro balance is built to keep you satisfied longer.
Vitamins & Minerals
No big vitamin callouts here—label values don’t cross 10% DV. You do get a small bump of iron (about 6% DV) from pea protein and seeds, and almonds and sunflower seeds naturally bring vitamin E, with mixed tocopherols added mostly to protect the oils. Think of any micronutrients as a bonus rather than the headline.
Additives
Beyond the nuts and spices, you’ll find a few purposeful, more-processed helpers: chicory root fiber for body and prebiotic fiber, sunflower lecithin to keep fats and solids mixing smoothly, stevia for sweetness, and mixed tocopherols to keep the oils fresh. The protein itself is a refined pea isolate, and the crisps include a little rice flour and calcium carbonate for structure. Overall, a moderate additive load, leaning functional rather than flashy.
Ingredient List
Almond tree seeds
Chicory root
Cocoa beans
Yellow pea seeds
Rice grain (Oryza sativa)
Limestone and chalk
Sunflower plant seeds
Coconut palm fruit flesh
Chia plant seeds (Salvia hispanica)
Seeds from cardamom pods
What are people saying?
Sources
Range
“Dang bars are delicious keto and vegan I love the lemon matcha and the peanut butter”
“The peanut butter Dang bars are AWESOME. The other flavors are good too but the PB one that came out recently is by far the best of the bunch.”
“Dang! bars are far better than any others imo.”
Main Praise
Dang’s fans show up for two things: flavor and how it feels. The Cardamom Chai profile reads like a mini cup of masala chai—fragrant, gently spiced, and not clobbered with sweetness—so it doesn’t taste like dessert cosplay.
Several reviewers say it keeps them satisfied for hours, especially as a morning snack with coffee, which tracks with the nut-and-seed fat base.
Publications from Women’s Health to Men’s Health place Dang on their keto short lists, and a number of Amazon reviewers echo that these bars aren’t gooey or cloying, just solid, clean-tasting, and easy to stash in a gym bag.
The plant-based build earns points from vegan keto folks on Reddit who call the line “delicious” and “far better than others” when the flavor hits. In short: spice complexity, steadier energy, and a real-food vibe.
Main Criticism
The flip side is texture. A contingent of reviewers find Dang bars dry to the point of crumbly, with one Redditor calling the experience “a stick of chalk with flax seeds.
” Others say some flavors sing while others miss entirely, which makes the line feel inconsistent. Price is another sore spot—several buyers describe the bars as small for the cost.
And if your gut is sensitive to chicory root fiber (inulin), the prebiotic backbone here can cause bloat for some. Stevia’s faint aftertaste also shows up in a minority of comments.
The Middle Ground
So who’s right: the chai lovers or the chalk callers? Both, depending on what you expect a “protein bar” to be.
The Cardamom Chai bar is engineered for keto-ish, plant-based steadiness—15g of fat, 9g of protein, very little sugar—and that means no sticky syrups gluing everything together. Without those binders, the nuts-and-fiber matrix can read crumbly; if you want a chewy candy-bar stand‑in, you’ll side with Reddit’s “gravel” verdict.
If you prefer less sweetness, real spice, and a bar that doesn’t melt in your bag, you’ll probably land with the fans like the Amazon reviewer who eats one with coffee and cruises until lunch.
The 9g protein count is also the tell: this is a snack for slow fuel, not a 25-gram post‑lift slam. My advice mirrors a Reddit commenter’s try‑before‑you‑commit note—grab a single bar, ideally with a hot drink, and you’ll know quickly which camp you’re in.
What's the bottom line?
Think of Dang Foods’ Cardamom Chai as a spiced, plant-based energy bar with some protein, not a protein powerhouse. It’s vegan, gluten free, and keto-friendly, uses stevia for light sweetness, and leans on almonds, sunflower, coconut, and chia for satiety. The warm, tea-shop flavor is the hook; the steadier energy is the payoff.
It won’t convert fans of soft, syrupy bars, and chicory root fiber can be a deal breaker for sensitive stomachs. But if you love chai, avoid dairy and soy, and want a not‑too‑sweet snack that plays nicely with your coffee routine, this is a distinctive option. Watch the price, note the tree‑nut and coconut allergens, and consider the 9g protein a bonus rather than the headline.