All tagged 5.5
Significant 'cooked milk' taste that peaks early but pervades throughout the sip, atop a light, malty cocoa flavor and competent but unremarkable 2% body. Not bad for what you can get out of a UHT box, but quite average within the full spectrum of chocolate milks.
A paint-by-numbers lowfat chocolate milk with just enough saltiness to add a façade of dimensionality, before it hastily washes away. Average in most respects, just downslope of the bell curve peak, surely gazing down at what might have been were you born somewhere else.
Slightly less sweet than expected, which affords the (very average) cocoa flavor to sparkle just a second longer than it otherwise would. It's fairly balanced, fairly boring, and overall, a gnat's ass on the good side of fair.
Smooth and agreeable on the palate, with an appropriate sweetness and medium-to-malty cocoa flavor that feels unique (when it shouldn't). Not bad for a hotel breakfast bar-- modestly above standard but still worlds apart from a whole, creamline chocolate milk.
Uniquely under-sweet for the genre, and seriously devoid of any cocoa flavor. It drinks like a subtle mint milk with a pleasant, cooling undertone-- not offensive by any means, but feels slightly unfulfilling for a limited-time, festive concoction.
Average two-percent build with nice aesthetics and a lighter cocoa flavor than the attractive medium brown color suggests. The sweet/salty balance feels right, and it's pleasantly bland-- this won't offend anyone save those looking for a cocoa buzz.
Nicely smooth with a sharp upfront sweetness that trails off to a decently strong cocoa flavor, leaving you in a more favorable and satisfying position than its inauspiciously oversweet kickoff would suggest. That's a lot of language for a modestly above-par lowfat chocolate milk; more than happy to reserve my brevity for some thing more remarkable (good or bad).
Predictably sweet throughout, with an early-peaking cookies & cream flavor that recedes in time for the sweetness to finish out the latter half of the sip. The base feels substantial without chalky residue, though it lacks the soul and staying power of its more sophisticated creamline peers. In short, pick it up if you love cookies & cream, or if you have a demanding sweet tooth that needs to be put in its place.
The rare, non-homogenous 2% body is by far its strongest attribute, and, well-- perhaps its only distinguishable attribute. While I appreciate the thin, creamier-than-it-should-be milky base, it could shoulder a ton more flavor than it is tasked with. Minnesota is known for relatively bland palates, and aside from a light stationery flavor (think licking a greeting card-- kinda satisfying, I know)-- it's difficult to locate much of a cocoa flavor at all. I want it to be there. I want to like this more than I do. I want to like myself more than I do. I identify with this chocolate milk: only modestly above average on its best day.
Very smooth and drinkable reduced fat chocolate milk with a sweet cocoa flavor that is not quite 'fruity' but a bit hard to put my finger on. It's mildly distracting, and I'm still attempting to reconcile the gap between what I like in a cocoa flavor, and what we've got here.
Upfront blast of sweetness followed by a cooked milk flavor that carries through to the aftertaste. The high degree of sweetness overpowers the rest of the experience and ultimately feels a bit hollow. On the positive side, its reduced fat base feels substantial and is certainly preferable to a lowfat or nonfat alternative.
Nicely built with good aesthetics, though the flavor has more of an indirect cocoa flavor that steers almost 'hazelnutty' to me. This may be more of a feature than a bug for some, I find it more distracting than off-putting.
Predictable sourish cocoa flavor with a noticeable cooked milk flavor-- pretty standard fare for a mass-produced low fat, organic, shelf-stable chocolate milk. It doesn't offend, but both calories and attention are better spent elsewhere.
Somewhat salty upfront pop, with a sweet, almost malty flavor in the latter half. There's something novel going on here, and not in a way that hits me in the right way. It's under-chocolaty for sure, and the primary 'flavor' is hard to pin down, and I'm not sure it's worth the search. Texture-wise, it's full and smooth for a whole chocolate milk-- it drinks nicely, and the base is its most favorable feature in my opinion.
Sweet to a nigh-painful extent-- and fortunately paired with an accurate chocolate-brownie that can nearly match its intensity. Strongly recommend diluting this with whole milk in order to bring the flavors closer to the middle of the sensory bell curve, where you can appreciate them in reasonable proportion. Drinkable brownie batter is an ambitious undertaking, and they've done well to capture both the sentiment and the potential health perils that lie in wait.
Smoothly subtle flavor that starts mildly malty and ends with a coconutty cameo which fades in gracefully and fades out before you're ready for the exit. It's a very unique flavor combination, and pulled off fairly deftly, though it leaves you wanting a bit more punch. Texture-wise, it finishes with a drying, astringent quality easily remedied by taking another sip...that is, until there's no more left.
Shockingly sweet upon first draw, aided in part by the thin viscosity-- which delivers a quick sugary rush with later-developing cocoa presence and moderately-drying chalky footprint. For an organic, shelf-stable, lactose free chocolate milk, it gets the job done and would add a crowning touch to the bog-standard bagged lunch.
Immediately sweet, and aside from a fleeting hit of cocoa, there's not much else to the experience. Hold that thought-- there's a bit of a syrupy sting to the uvula a few seconds after the swallow.
Make 'em laugh, make 'em cry… but make 'em feel…something. This looks gray, and tastes, well, gray as well. There's not much to report from a flavor standpoint, it's effectively drinkable ennui. It feels pretty good, though, and is not over sweet or funky in any way whatsoever. It's just...there. I think I broke the record for ellipses in this review, so it's at least memorable for that reason...
More creamy and chocolaty than sweet-- a pleasant ratio in that regard. Texture-wise, there's a drying, chalky finish with significant legs that outlasts the prematurely-exiting cream, leaving the overall score teetering on the very edge of mediocrity.
