New Product Review:

Cocoa Beach Granola

Reviewed by Mr Breakfast on 6/25/2008

This product is good, but it's expensive.

I bought two new granolas from Kashi this week: Cocoa Beach Granola and Summer Berry Granola. I'm a chocolate lover, so I expected that I'd like the cocoa variety best. I was wrong.

More and more, these sort of up-scale granolas are appearing in the cereal isle. Usually made by smaller, independent companies, these granola and muesli cereals are the hot new breed of old-fashioned, natural cereals. They come in smaller packages than other cereals and their price tags are almost alway exponentially higher. They usually feature clear plastic packaging or a window into the box so you can see the actual product. It's as if you have to pay more for the company's honesty - real proof that what you see is what you get.

I have to admit... if I didn't review cereals, I would not buy this product or others of it's kind. Paying nearly $5.00 for a box of cereal that's half the size and double the price of other cereals just isn't in my working class blood. It actually makes me a little angry when I think how inexpensive it is to make homemade granola.

This granola is good, not great.

The cocoa flavor is a little on the dull side. It doesn't taste chocolaty. It tastes more cocoa-powdery... like chocolate with 1/3 of the fun. Ample amounts of coconut slivers add a little more life to the cereal. There aren't as many almond pieces as the spoon on the box would have you believe, but when you get some, it adds a little flare.

I liked the size of granola clusters. The largest are the size of tiny grapes. That's hard to achieve when you're making homemade cereal. I also appreciated the subtle cocoa flavor that's picked up by milk when you add it. It should also be noted that this cereal is very dense and a smaller portion will fill you up.

This cereal did remind me homemade granola. If I'd made a recipe and it turned out like this, I'd be fairly pleased with myself. But I think I would also try again. I'd say, "This cereal has a lot of sweetness, but the sweetness and the cocoa almost seem separate... how can I bring them together. How can I create harmony?"

But I wonder... even if this was the prefect harmonious blend of cocoa, coconut and almond, would it be worth $5.00 a box... I wonder...

Click here to read the review for the far-superior Summer Berry variety.

The price we paid: $4.59