I haven't tried other brands yet. These are good, and you owe it to yourself to try raw cacao beans at least once. Imagine the darkest chocolate, with no added sweetener but surprisingly not bitter either. One or two of these satisfy my chocolate cravings very well. One star off for being a smaller package than I imagined.

2-3 Tbsp of these with honey, lemon and lime juice for flavoring, topped off with filtered water to the 20-oz mark kept me focused and alert all three days of my seminar that started so early I didn't have time for breakfast. This is my new favorite brainfood/energy drink. The seeds only gel out to a certain point and then stop. They are mild, with little taste of their own. I don't mind the soaked texture at all; with the lemon and lime juice, they remind me of a liquid fruit, more like a drinkable dragon fruit or kiwi or something like that.

The honey has a noticeably medicinal note (like tea tree oil) but it is palatable. When I need to, I take the recommended tsp of Manuka honey on toast, combined with raw honey of another type. I haven't tried other brands of manuka honey, so can't comment on that comparison. Will make a terrific 1st aid topical ointment.

Softer and more hydrated, as promised. I do like them better than the hard drier varieties I've had. Gou Qi Zi is still a bit of an acquired taste, IMO. If you're making a tea with them, the softer berries aren't necessary. If snacking on them, these are superior to the hard dry versions, which can be a little bit of work to chew.

Mine doesn't leak at all. I make sure the lid and the pop-top are both secure before I shake it. One star off for being noisy when I shook it during the multi-day seminar I was attending.