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I tried the Dagoba nibs. They are okay but not the same as chocolate. Very chewy, slightly bitter with a mild hint of chocolate flavor. It is obviously a matter of taste.
I googled on "roasted cacao nibs" and got a lot of hits. If you can't find them locally you can mail order them. I don't think I'll be getting more. I ate about half the package I had and then gave them to someone who had more enthusiasm for them than I did.
You could also get pure powdered coco and try various sweetners. Dagoba and Sharffen Berger are just two companies offering a range of organic cacoa and coco products.
The Scharffenberger nibs are the best ones I've ever had, by far.
It also helps their flavor, even if they are pre-roasted when you buy them, to gently toast them again in a dry skillet over medium heat.
But I agree that they are no substitute for a good dark chocolate bar.
You might also look for a brand called Plantation. They use an Ecuadorian heirloom cacao variety called "Arriba", and they have a wide range of "octane levels", including a 90% and 100% bar. (they don't use any vanilla)
I really love the 90% chocolate a lot, especially alongside a bowl of raspberries or strawberries.
Lastly, if you can find the sugar free chocolate from an Italian company called "Venchi", it is sweetened with maltitol which is used in many candies for diabetics. They use great quality cacao and I can't tell the difference between the sugar free and the regular chocolate. They have lots of different kinds.
Both are available online from various sources.
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