Trappist Mango Bars

World of Snacks is on a quest to locate the very best snacks in the world.  Starting in 2014 we will offer cookies, chips, chocolates, and sweets from around the world for sale with shipping to everywhere!  Our first country to be featured will be England with a new country added to our online snack store each month.   As we continue our search for inventory we will still be reviewing snacks on our blog.  Our foreign snack under review today is from the Philippines. 

Our Filipino treat comes from a company labeled Trappist Monastic Food Products and is manufactured by Our Lady of the Philippines Trappist Abbey.   The Abbey is located on the island of Gurmaras and has a long tradition of hospitality and excellence.  For over 1500 years these monk have prayed and worked in common and lived by the labor of their hands.  Apparently this snack from the Philippines is one of these labors.  In addition to our snack, Trappist Mango Bars, these monks make several other treat and sweets.  Let’s get on to the review!

From the box of these Mango Bars we were not sure what to expect.  The packaging is bland but intriguing.  Their logo includes a monk stirring a caldron, which in the US is highly unusual to see on a snack box (or at all).  Our sample weighs in at 220g and comes with 10 individual wrapped bars.  A graphic in the corner read Guimaras’ Finest, so that’s reassuring.  After careful inspection we ripped the box open and began our taste test. 

Trappist Mango Bars are pleasant.  They taste like a coffee cake with the flavoring of a biscotti (a hard cookie used to dip in coffee).   The mango is dried but has remained plump.  This Filipino cake is topped with Cashew Nuts, which add a little crunchy texture but does not over power the main attraction. The treat is sweet and has a tinge of butterscotch to bring it all together.  If packaged differently, we’d assume this is a high-end snack.   Our taste test panel consisted of 3 reviewers and everyone enjoyed Trappist Mango Bars and mentioned they’d consume it if it were stocked in their homes.

...tinge of butterscotch to bring it all together.

Will World of Snacks include Trappist Mango Bars in the inventory for our international snack store?  The answer is a clear maybe.  We really like the snack, so much so that even if we don’t stock it we may purchase it for our own consumption.  The only reason we are unsure is the snack is literary made by monks in a far off land.  A friend returning from the Philippines brought these Mango Bars to us and we are not sure if the monks have yet mastered global distribution.  All that means is, a little more research is needed.   To stay up to date with our progress and to receive a special coupon to the launch of our international snack store, be sure to leave your details to the right.  Keep on snacking!

Our international snacks blog is authored byRichard Olivarez. Please contact for article suggestions.