I HATE SUCRALOSE.
Honestly, I don't know how other people CAN'T taste it when it's in sweetened products. It's got this unpleasant fake flavor that I just can't ignore. I think any company that uses that junk should be required by law to indicate it on their box and all advertising.
That being said, it seems like this hot cocoa has less sucralose than the Cafe Escapes Hot Cocoa, and as such I have to give it higher marks than the competition.
Still, I can't believe this product AND its nearest competitor use sucralose but don't say they're a diet, lite, low-sugar, or otherwise unnaturally-sweetened product. It's frustrating. I can taste the stuff, and I really dislike it. I also don't like the chemical makeup of sucralose, but I won't go into that here (just believe me: natural sugar is way better for you in the long run).
There's one other choice out there for a hot cocoa in a K-Cup, and that's Swiss Miss. Unfortunately, the Swiss Miss K-Cups are ridiculously high priced and hard to find.
My opinion? It's probably better if you just get your favorite hot cocoa in packets, and use the hot water function of your Keurig. It's not worth the K-Cup convenience if you have to put up with artificial sweeteners or significantly higher prices. Spending more than seventy-five cents per cup of water-based hot cocoa is about the limit for me.
So, if you're into sucralose/Splenda, then by all means grab this and enjoy that weird aftertaste and decidedly not-sugar flavor. If you're like me, though, and can't stand that artificial stuff, then avoid this product and find another option.
Three stars for tasting decent despite the awful artificial sweetener. Minus two stars for being artificially sweetened and not mentioning it anywhere.
UPDATE: I just found out that the Swiss Miss K-Cups also use sucralose. So really, your only choice is to get packets and use your Keurig as a hot water dispenser. How disappointing.
UPDATE 02/12: After some research, I found that there is one K-Cup hot cocoa that doesn't have sucralose; However, it is loaded with fructose instead (not the greatest trade-off, since it tastes different from sugar/sucrose, in my opinion) and has no actual sugar/sucrose in it. That one is Green Mountain Coffee Hot Cocoa. Unfortunately, reviews of it say it has a strong coconut flavor (probably because the second ingredient is coconut oil) and is on the salty side, so I have avoided it. It's also more expensive per-cup, and unless you think a single cup of cocoa is worth over a dollar and twenty-five cents (as opposed to a box of 12 packets being around two dollars) then go ahead and try it. I will refrain at this point and stick to using packets.
I would also like to clarify again that despite what some comments say, the Cafe Escapes Hot Cocoa K-Cups, Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa K-Cups, and Grove Square Hot Cocoa K-Cups ALL use sucralose. Yes, there is sugar in some of those, but it is IN ADDITION TO sucralose/Splenda, and not by itself.
So your choices right now are pure sucralose, sucralose plus a sugar, or pure fructose. None of them is appetizing to me, and all of them make the cost per cup of cocoa quite unpleasant.
43 servings of sugar-sweetened cocoa in a canister will run you around six bucks, and it's no more complicated than a K-Cup if you know how to operate a spoon.
I feel like I've tried every hot cocoa there is in the k-cups. While I do think this is the best hot cocoa so far, it still isn't great. I'm not sure what it is, but all of the cocoa k-cups seem to have a weird taste to them. It's almost like there is artificial sweetener in them,, but I know there is not.
I set it on the smallest cup setting for cocoa. This has more body to it than others.
I'm still waiting and hoping that Dunkin' Donuts will put out their hot cocoa in a k-cup. There really is nothing better than that.
If you want a k-cup hot cocoa, I would def. recommend this over all the others.
Buy Grove Square Hot Cocoa, Single Serve Cup for Keurig K-Cup Brewers Now
Everyone in my family likes hot cocoa. I was running plain water through my k-cup maker and using hot cocoa from a canister but my kids didn't really get the right measurements and more often than not we would have overflow. So I decided to try this for my kids and it makes a perfect cup every time. No overflow. The taste is good, its creamy with enough cocoa to water ratio for my kids. I will be ordering this product from now on for my family.
In the interest of product comparison, we have ordered Timothy's white hot chocolate, and Green Mountain Hot cocoa, Timothy's was great, but pricy, and Green Mountain didn't really taste all that great to our family. It had a watered down taste to it.
Read Best Reviews of Grove Square Hot Cocoa, Single Serve Cup for Keurig K-Cup Brewers Here
These Grove Square Hot Cocoa flavors are by far the best tasting we have found for the Keurig. We took a chance on these due to the high review ratings and it was a pleasant surprise that all three flavors are really good.
Dark Chocolate My favorite, very good even on the "large" cup setting
Milk Chocolate Excellent on the "small" cup and good on the "large" cup setting
Peppermint Everyone likes this one, on either cup size setting
These do contain Sucralose in addition to sugar, I don't notice the taste but my wife does (but she still likes them).
Highly Recommended!
CFH
Want Grove Square Hot Cocoa, Single Serve Cup for Keurig K-Cup Brewers Discount?
Excellent product! A tip from the Keurig people: shake the K-cup before using it. This prevents the cocoa from clumping and results in more flavor.
I found these first at my local supermarket. I've been looking for a blend that I could use as my standard every-day cup of coffee and, finally, this was it. I've tried so many of the other blends and brands and they were either harsh and bitter (I know, some people think coffee *should* taste that way!) or too bland and weak. This is smooth but with a nice "coffee" presence you can actually taste. *Coffee* taste, not burned grounds!
