Gorgeous aesthetics when poured out of the box (which might be the most generic-looking packaging I’ve yet seen!), but nothing more than a lightly sweet, mildly flavored, recognizably cocoa beverage. Simple from first look to first taste.
Cecemel Demi-Ecreme
Not much of a downgrade from the standard version— the strong flavors are all still preset and the 11 calorie (per 100mL) difference seems negligible from a taste standpoint. The grain seemed a bit larger and more noticeable in this version.
Boni Choco Lait
Feels like average chocolate milk that’s been watered down just a little. It spends little time in your mouth, and never really gets a chance to establish much of a taste. It’s not offensive, but certainly not indulgent.
Pur Natur Organic Cocoa Milk
Generous amount of salt brings out the cream and malt— providing a refreshingly unique flavor that isn’t heavy-handed with cocoa. It’s remarkably drinkable, thanks to the sharpness of flavor and thin viscosity (yet still a creamy taste).
Carrefour Chocomelk Halfvol
More of a milky feel than the Carrefour Choco Halfvol, and a different (mildly sour) cocoa flavor that does not set itself apart in any meaningful way from the legions of other chocolate milks mingling atop the bell curve.
Inex Choco Melk
Sports a mustardy earthiness that is unique but unwelcome. To make matters worse, there’s a starchy texture that continues to dry the mouth long after each lamentable swallow.
Carrefour Choco Halfvol
Thin yet carries a grain that you will feel on your tongue and in your throat after swallowing. Very middle-of-the-road in the flavor categories, perhaps slightly weaker than average chocolate flavor. Far from offensive, but worth your time looking for something more memorable.
Dilea Choco
There's a pleasant caramel quality to it that isn’t hampered by an aftertaste or any other type of phoniness that you often get with that. It’s very thin, decently sweet, and goes down like a champ. Great option for the lactose averse.
Delhaize Choco Melk Halfvol
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.