Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I'm a confirmed hot chocolate snob and yes, I admit I only really wanted a Keurig to make a really quick, banging cup of hot chocolate (and maybe not be on a first name basis with every employee at Dunkin Donuts). In fact, I don't even drink coffee, so the quest for the perfect hot chocolate for the Keurig is not one I take lightly.
Of the brands of hot chocolate I've tried that are made specifically for the Keurig, this one is the best.
I tried a couple of brews before I reviewed this... So here's the conclusion that I've come to:
I have a Keurig Special Edition B60 brewer, and the first brew I did as was suggested by the maker (shake the K-Cup before brewing, brew on 8oz setting). Of course my brewer doesn't have 8oz, so I brewed at 7.25oz, the "middle button." The result was a watery cup of hot chocolate with a fair amount of chocolate flavor, but still a little too watered down for me. The color was really good, rich, dark, and even had some of that nice foamy goodness on the top. I was *very* happy to see when I looked at the empty K-Cup after brewing that there was almost no powder or residue left in the K-Cup, a problem that the other hot chocolate K-Cups really suffer from no matter how hard you shake them and there was almost no thick chocolate gunk at the bottom of the mug when finished. Awesome. So overall, when brewed as suggested, it was the best hot chocolate I've tried for the K-Cup when prepared as-is, but not the best cup of homemade hot chocolate possible.
The next brew I did I shook the K-Cup and brewed on the small cup setting, the 5.25oz brew. The result was a hot chocolate that was a little thicker, beautiful color, lots of that spectacular white foam on top, something that looked like a REAL hot chocolate. The flavor was much more defined, a lot more chocolaty, and very smooth and tasty. Though I did notice that slightly Splenda-like aftertaste which kind of surprised me since I'm largely desensitized to that taste (thank you Fruit2O) and honestly it was ever-so-slightly just too sweet. But wow was it good. Still not the best hot chocolate to make at home, but really good.
Third brew I did I did again on the 5.25oz brew, put a splash of half-and-half in the cup, then brewed. Holy cow in a hat... That was awesome. Finally a substitute for my Dunkin Donuts trips. So, so, so good. No aftertaste, right amount of sweetness and creamy texture. Great, rich color that looks like a melted Hershey Bar. Right up there with the best hot chocolate one can make at home for sure. For sure a taste that competes with hot chocolate I've tried from Dunkin Donuts.
So rating this for me was hard... When made, straight up as suggested, it's OK and even when it's made with less water it's pretty good. Since I think the Keurig is designed for speedy ease-of-use, I think a lot of people are looking for and expecting that great cup of hot chocolate right out of the box. In that way, it delivers an OK product, the best K-Cup hot chocolate available now, but not an overall great cup of hot chocolate. But if you're willing to put two seconds worth of time into making it positively delicious, you will be very richly rewarded with fantastic hot chocolate.
I fluctuated between rating 3 stars because, out of the box, it's only OK, and 4 stars because when adjusted it's amazing... I ended up going 4 star with the assumption that there are a lot of people out there with a Keurig who do coffee or tea where they add creamer and/or sugar to adjust it to their taste, and I see doing this as much the same sort of thing.
Hopefully Keurig will put out a hot chocolate soon that's amazing right out of the box. If we could get them to talk to the Land O Lakes folks (Cocoa Classics Hot Cocoa Drink Mix 7 Variety Pack), there would never be a reason to leave the house for hot chocolate again...
Click Here to see more reviews about: Cafe Escapes Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa KCups, K-Cups for Keurig Brewers, 16 pack
Cafe Escapes Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa are rich and creamy K-Cups for your daily enjoyment. The box contains 16 K-Cups.
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