Lucho Dillitos Bocadillos Energy Bar

The Lucho Dillitos Bocadillos are the most delicious energy bars I have used. They don't provide the same kind of energy as others on the market, and the natural packaging can be a little frustrating at times, but for what's inside it's worth it.

Most energy bars today look like they were made in a lab. The packaging also tends to focus on the amount of carbs, sugars or other magical ingredient that will give you the slight edge. The Lucho Dillitos Bocadillos buck this trend, giving little detail of scientific benefits, and the packaging is just a dried leaf.

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The 40g bars – or blocks – come in a pack of 12 in a balsa wood box held together with twine, and each block is wrapped in a dried leaf. They are as far away from traditional energy bars as you can get.

In nutritional terms the Bocadillo bars don't pack the same kind of punch as more complex 'traditional' energy bars. Compare it with a 40g SiS GO Energy Bar banana fudge flavour bar, for instance, and the Bocadillo has 368kj compared with 587kj, and 22.5g of carbs against the SiS's 26. That said, I found that I still got more than enough energy boost from a bar, and didn't come close to bonking when using them. It is perhaps worth noting that the labelling on the packet is incorrect – it says 189kj and 11g of carbs, but according to the founder of the company this is due to the wrong information being conveyed to him; subsequent tests and more recent packaging reflect the more accurate nutritional value.

I much prefer these to normal bars, and though on longer rides I would also take a regular bar, I would still take a couple of these. The reason I am such a fan is that these are, hands down, the best energy bars I have ever tasted. They have a fruity, sugary taste that reminded me of a fruit pastille or jelly baby, but without the artificial tinge; they taste natural, and have no artificial ingredients, something I like when eating normally, so it was nice to have on the bike too.

Using the bars is easy enough, but I would like to see a more robust wrapping. I found that when they came out of my jersey pocket the leaf wrapping would be a bit tatty and by the end of the ride the used wrappers would be totally broken up, leaving bits of leaf in my pocket. Given that they are leaves, you'd be fine throwing them to the side of the road, but, I dunno, it just didn't feel right.

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A box of 12 will set you back £16.99, equating to around £1.42 per bar. That's cheaper than some – Etixx Sports Energy Bars, also 40g, are £1.99 each – but more than others: a box of 30x40g SiS Go Energy bars is £32.99, so £1.10 each.

Overall I really liked these energy bars. They have some flaws, such as lower nutritional amounts and the leaf packaging, but given how good they taste I still loved using them. Reviews aren't always about tech and numbers – sometimes not even about performance – and if you are after the 'best' in terms of performance then 'better' products are on the market. But I actually looked forward to feeds on rides while using these – which I don't normally – which is saying something.

Verdict

Amazing tasting bars, though the packaging could be more robust