Light and clean feel, but somewhat bland flavor. The texture is its best attribute, and the taste doesn’t drag it down much, just leaves you wishing for more punch.
Vitalac ChocoVit
Thin and slightly wheaty, with a good sweetness level that leaves you wanting more— more cocoa, more salt, and more cream.
Delhaize 365 Semi-Skimmed Cocoa Milk
Nice dash of cocoa flavor, paired with ample cream, sweetness, and a salty kick at the end. Plenty to like about this budget-friendly chocolate milk.
Milcobel Choco! Choco! Magere Chocolademelk
Chocolate flavor that is stripped down and fleeting— it lacks a salty presence to help establish the supporting cast, and ultimately treads into the brackish water between ‘chocolate’ and ‘candy’.
Biorganica Bio Schoko-Milch
Excellent look and texture, amply creamy considering the thinness, and definitely has a grassy note that I've not noticed in other chocolate milks. It's not earthy, and not overly chocolaty, but a tasty, unique drinking experience overall.
Lilac Chocolademelk
Flat experience that is reminiscent of melted, unsalted butter (except not as good as that would be). It's milky and mildly sweet, but the product is actually less interesting than the (seemingly uninteresting) box that it’s in.
Tuffi Frische Schoko Milch
So nastily fruity that I concluded that it HAD to be fermented. It wasn’t like vinegar, just a sickening, searing sweetness that scurried down my throat like it had done something wrong.
Inex Chocolademelk
Pleasant to sip, adequately sweet, salty, and creamy— just the chocolate element ventures into candy land, albeit not egregiously so.
Optimel Drink Chocolade
Musty, wet-cardboard flavor can’t be intentional, but it’s common enough in chocolate milk that I’m no longer surprised by it. This drink admittedly doesn’t have much to work with, given the nutritional profile, but perhaps just aiming for ‘bland’ should be the goal of certain producers.
Chocomel (1L glass)
Smoother and slightly more of a creamy taste than the original, but still carries the punchy flavor I associate with Chocomel (this version has locust bean gum as an additional stabilizer-- the only difference I could find on the label). As it’s a pop-top bottle and can't be resealed, looks like I’ll be forced to consume the full 1L now ;)
Chocomel Vers Mager
Doesn't carry the signature Chocomel flavor. Instead, it’s unbalanced toward the sweet side and also has a more watery base (it’s lower fat & lower cal, so not a surprise). The taste sacrifice here is not worth the caloric difference.
Chocomel Vers
Fresh version of Chocomel definitely has a smoother, more milky feel than the standard UHT type, but it lacks some of the strength in flavor. It's not bland by any means, just slightly less punch than its shelf-stable sibling.
Chocomel Dark
Excellently satisfying dark cocoa taste that is neither bitter nor muddled with any other flavors competing for attention. It tastes as good as it looks; I just wish this were more common throughout Europe.
Happy Chocolate Milk
Salty, sweet, and chocolaty, it’s hard not to enjoy this. There’s a noticeable chalk to it, but when it delivers authentic-feeling cocoa flavor, it doesn’t register as obtrusive in the least. Flat out delicious!
Albert Heijn Basic Skimmed Choco Milk
Gives off a strange sensation that I’ve not felt much before— the first sip hits you as a hollow sweetness, and then, in your mouth, the swallow and aftertaste just get progressively sweeter. I’m not sure how/why this works, but it’s unpleasant. The sweetness feels unnatural as well, and the chocolate flavor is not at all worth the trouble.
Tony's Chocolonely
Intoxicating brown color, and a unique but enjoyable drinking experience. The sweetness decidedly has a ‘honey’ characteristic to it, but the cocoa is strong and the drink on the whole is rather substantial and filling. Lots of chalk, but the flavor delivers. You will want to brush your teeth afterward.
Chocomel Koud
Reminds me of Cacaolat, it’s very flavorful and leaves an aftertaste as well as a bit of a film in the mouth. The texture is pretty grainy, but it’s for a reason— there’s a lot of taste going on here. It’s easy to want more.
Jumbo Biologisch & Fairtrade Chocolade Melk
Very similar to Dutch organic ‘Happy Chocolate’ in many ways— the only difference was that this seemed just a bit less salty— and I can’t decide which I prefer— they’re both outstanding.
OK€ Choco Drink
Pleasant but average flavors and levels across the board, however it’s much less viscous than most chocolate milks. Easy to put down the entire 4-pack— and adding a straw option is a nice touch.
Inex Choco
Super sweet and not much else— I’m almost surprised that ‘milk’ is the first ingredient because it feels like one of those water-based ‘chocolate drink’ gimmicks that would come in the big plastic gallon jug. Kids might likes this because it looks like chocolate and tastes sweet, but it’s up to you do do what’s right.