If you’re craving caramels, then I suggest considering Cocomels by JJ’s Sweets. These chewy candies come in several varieties, including one sweetened with coconut sugar. But unlike your average caramels, these are naturally dairy-fee, soy-fee, and vegan. They’re made with coconut milk, instead of butter, for an equally rich finish.
Cocomels Coconut Milk Caramels in Five Sweetly Dairy-Free Flavors
I’ve included some of our notes with a few of the flavors below, but please do leave your own rating and review once you’ve bought and tried Cocomels.
Original
I detected definite hints of coconut cream in the flavor, but thought this classic had a wonderfully mellow taste overall that could rival any artisan caramel. Our youngest taster couldn’t taste the coconut notes, and my husband proclaimed this is favorite flavor.
Ingredients: organic coconut milk (organic coconut, water), organic brown rice syrup, organic dried cane syrup, sea salt, xanthan gum. contains tree nuts (coconut). manufactured on equipment used to process dairy, peanut, tree nuts and soy protein.
Nutrition (per 6 pieces): 120 calories, 4g fat, 21g carbs, 0g fiber, 16g sugars, 1g protein.*
Sea Salt
This was my hand down favorite. The pinches of salt heightened the overall sweetness while providing a hint of contrast for an amazing taste. This is easily the most flavorful of the bunch.
Ingredients: organic coconut milk (organic coconut, water), organic brown rice syrup, organic dried cane syrup, sea salt, xanthan gum. contains tree nuts (coconut). manufactured on equipment used to process dairy, peanut, tree nuts and soy protein.
Nutrition (per 6 pieces): 120 calories, 3.5g fat, 21g carbs, 0g fiber, 16g sugars, 1g protein.*
Vanilla
The Vanilla had a well-rounded flavor profile, offering a more cohesive indulgence and even masking those traces of coconut. Our youngest taster chose this as her favorite and began hording the bag. But she wouldn’t even try the Sea Salt (it sounded to weird to her).
Ingredients: organic coconut milk (organic coconut, water), organic brown rice syrup, organic dried cane syrup, organic vanilla extract (water, organic ethyl alcohol, organic vanilla bean extractives), sea salt, xanthan gum. contains tree nuts (coconut). manufactured on equipment used to process dairy, peanut, tree nuts and soy protein.
Nutrition (per 6 pieces): 120 calories, 4g fat, 21g carbs, 0g fiber, 16g sugars, 1g protein.*
Espresso
I’m not a coffee fan, so this obviously wasn’t my favorite. But both of my resident coffee fans said the espresso and caramel flavors didn’t quite meld well. But they still finished them off …
Ingredients: organic coconut milk (organic coconut, water), organic brown rice syrup, organic dried cane syrup, organic brewed espresso coffee (water, organic coffee), organic roasted coffee beans, sea salt, xanthan gum. contains tree nuts (coconut). manufactured on equipment used to process dairy, peanut, tree nuts and soy protein.
Nutrition (per 6 pieces): 120 calories, 4g fat, 21g carbs, 0g fiber, 16g sugars, 1g protein.*
Coconut Sugar
We haven’t tried this flavor yet, but I imagine it has hints of rich, warm coconut in the flavor.
Ingredients: organic coconut milk (organic coconut, water), organic tapioca syrup, organic coconut sugar, sea salt, xanthan gum. contains tree nuts (coconut). manufactured on equipment used to process dairy, peanut, tree nuts and soy protein.
Nutrition (per 6 pieces): 120 calories, 4g fat, 21g carbs, 0g fiber, 16g sugars, 1g protein.*
More Facts on Cocomels
Price: $4.99 per 3-ounce package
Availability: Cocomels are sold at Whole Foods, Sprouts, Kroger stores, and other grocers in the U.S. You can also order them online from Amazon.
Certifications: Cocomels are Certified Organic, Non-GMO Verified, and Certified Kosher DE (for dairy equipment, not ingredients; see our Understanding Kosher Guide).
Dietary Notes: By ingredients, Cocomels are dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, peanut-free, soy-free, tree nut-free, vegan, and vegetarian.*
For More Product Information: Visit the JJs Sweets website at jjssweets.com.
*Always read the ingredient and nutrition statement prior to consumption. Ingredients, processes, and labeling are subject to change at any time for any company or product. Contact the company to discuss their manufacturing processes if potential allergen cross-contamination is an issue for you. No food product can be guaranteed “safe” for every individual’s needs. You should never rely on ingredient and allergen statements alone if dealing with a severe food allergy.
No Flavor
Good idea bad in reality. This was a good concept to make a healthy organic candy unfortunately it has no flavor.
Luxurious, soft, chewy caramels
Luxurious, soft, chewy caramels without a drop of dairy. We each had a favorite: my husband enjoyed the pure caramel vibe of the Original, my niece predictably loved the Vanilla, and I proclaimed the Sea Salt to be the best caramel I’d ever tasted.
6 Comments
I think that the “facility” and “may contain” warnings are frustrating. I think that manufacturers are frustrated with the warnings and also in avoiding cross-contamination. When I looked at their website, it says that they have a strict cleaning protocol. Hmmm. It seems that some research needs to be done on how to really avoid the cross-contamination, so that the manufacturers can really know what to do to be helpful. This one does seem well meaning.
Hi Stephanie, there are strict allergen cleaning protocol that are standard among manufacturers. Like many consumers, I used to falsely believe that there was this black and white “safe” allergen capability in manufacturing. That is until I heard one of the pillars of allergen-safe manufacturing speak and say “there is no such thing as allergen-free”. He clarified that the idea that a food could be free of every last trace of an allergen all the time simply isn’t possible in our manufacturing world today. It’s all about making it as minimal as possible and batch testing. This is why it is the labeling that is the problem, not the processes. Putting labels of “may contain” actually creates confusion for consumers. Those who have issues with trace amounts of an allergen should always contact the manufacturer to discuss processes as any food could contain trace amounts – it’s more about their level of testing and scrutiny. This is something that can’t easily fit onto a label!
Thanks. My husband is with me on the ambiguity of the labels. It frustrates us. We don’t know what is safe or not. I don’t know how much I can really take. I don’t want to feel yucky even if my allergy isn’t life threatening. Some people say that they never have allergic reactions from products with these warnings, but I am hearing other stories.
It is usually the bigger labels and certain companies that will include a statement about testing. Sometimes the size of the facility and how big the batches might also make a difference.
My son had an allergic reaction to the Cocomel sea salt caramels due to dairy. The package states: processed in a facility .Upon calling and taking to customer service I was told that the company that supplies the chocolate processes on equiptment,. This explains the allergic reaction. We do not use products that are processed on dairy lines as it is not safe. Cocomels allergy statement is not honest. That is like saying we do not use dairy in our product but our suppliers do !!!
I’m so sorry to hear that this happened to your son! Thank you for letting us know. You might also want to report this for an allergen alert.
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