Like so many 20-somethings, I often feel like I’m not a girl, not yet a woman. I have my own job, apartment, and 401k, but I also still play video games, don’t know how to sew buttons back on my shirts, and am totally fine with appropriating Britney Spears lyrics to describe my existential circumstances.
I think my relationship with breakfast cereal is emblematic of this condition of emerging adulthood. I’ve finally realized that two cups of coffee don’t pass as breakfast for proper, health-minded adults, so I dutifully eat some Shredded Wheat or Kashi most mornings. But anytime I have ready access to children’s cereals, I’ll spend all day plotting my next foray into the break room for another bowl of sugary goodness.
(Last year, I lived across the street from my office, and if I ever saw Cinnamon Toast Crunch in the break room late in the week, I’d go into work on the weekends for breakfast. I once got into the elevator with a coworker on a Saturday morning, and I felt compelled to stick around for an hour pretending to have non-Cinnamon Toast Crunch-related business to handle so he wouldn’t think I was a huge weirdo like all of you do right now.)
All of this is a very roundabout way of asking: does Kellogg’s new Krave Chocolate Cereal pass muster as an adult cereal? Before actually eating any, I ran through the evidence:
Uh, it’s CHOCOLATE for breakfast. Not adult.
That being said, it’s actually not bad, health-wise – whole grains, no high fructose corn syrup, and less sugar than a lot of other cereals. Adult.
Kooky fonts on the box and krazy spelling in the name. Not adult.
Absence of an anthropomorphic animal mascot. Adult.
There’s a visual on the official website of an anthropomorphic piece of Krave cereal that, judging by the chocolate around its mouth and its “CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE YUM YUM” sign, may have recently committed an unspeakable act of cannibalism while serving on a picket line of some sort. Unclear, but kind of disturbing.
Based on my completely arbitrary set of criteria, there’s no definitive proof that Krave is an adult cereal. That also means there’s no definitive proof that it’s not an adult cereal, so I will proceed to the review with no qualms about setting back my slow march towards adulthood once again.
A very pleasant smell of chocolate wafted out as soon as I opened the bag. Each piece of cereal was a bit larger than a Chex, and many pieces either had flecks of chocolate on the outside or were somehow transparent enough for me to see the chocolate on the inside.
I started by eating a couple pieces dry. Krave is crunchy without being exceedingly so (think Chex or Lays potato chips rather than Cap’n Crunch or kettle chips), and the outer shell’s lightly crunchy texture and its lightly sweetened taste work well together. I was disappointed at first with the amount of the signature ingredient — when I bit pieces in half, I could see that there was relatively little chocolate within the shells, and the taste of chocolate in each individual piece was underwhelming, too.
However, when I added milk to a full bowl of Krave and ate whole spoonfuls, the chocolate flavor began to shine. Each bite tasted more chocolaty than the last, yet at no point did it ever get to be too chocolaty. (Sidenote: did you know Microsoft spellcheck will suggest “chocolatier” instead of “more chocolaty”? And then tell you that “chocolatier” is not actually a word?) I also detected a slight hint of hazelnut, though the list of ingredients actually makes no mention of that. The cereal retained its crunchiness fairly well in the milk, but I was irritated that none of the chocolate leaked out to provide me with a bowl of chocolate milk at the end.
Is Kellogg’s Krave an “adult” cereal? No. Would I pretend to have work to do on a Saturday morning just to eat a bowl? No. Still, I definitely enjoyed it and would recommend you grab a box. Krave doesn’t fit into my adult cereal rotation, nor is it really sweet enough to qualify as a childish indulgence, but Amazon would only sell me Krave in a pack of four. I guess I’ll have to take the adult path of not being wasteful and eat many, many more bowls of Krave in the near future.
(Nutrition Facts – 3/4 cup (cereal only) – 120 calories, 30 calories from fat, 3.5 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 1.5 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 1 gram of monounsaturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 100 milligrams of sodium, 70 milligrams of potassium, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 11 grams of sugar, 2 grams of protein, and a bunch of vitamin and minerals.)
Item: Kellogg’s Krave Chocolate Cereal
Price: $5.00 per box (4-pack for $20)
Size: 11.4 ounce box
Purchased at: Amazon
Rating: 7 out of 10
Pros: Nice chocolate smell. Appropriately crunchy. Lightly sweetened. Chocolate flavor builds as you eat more. Retains its crunchiness fairly well in milk. Has whole grains and no high fructose corn syrup. Eating chocolate for breakfast. Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Britney Spears’ first album.
Cons: Amount of chocolate may be disappointing if you’re only eating a small serving. Doesn’t leave behind chocolate milk. Kind of pricey, now that I think about it. Amazon not allowing me to buy a single box. Cereal cannibalism. Not living across the street from the office.
I see Krave every time I go to Walmart. They have another flavor too. Always been curious about it. I might get some when I run out of the cereal I have.
The double chocolate krave is probably the best thing I’ve ever eaten cereal-wise, tbh.
Jan. 2019 Krave Double Chocolate Cereal by Kellogg’s USED TO BE MY FAVORITE CEREAL. They have changed the cereal. The cereal has almost NO CHOCOLATE FLAVOR now . What DOUBLE CHOCOLATE? Right when you pour your first bowl you will see the color difference. I thought they were out of date or old. They are PALE in color from the box picture. This cereal TASTES HORRIBLE now.
“Chocolatier” is a real word — it’s a person who makes chocolate confections. That being said, The Fat Guy Food Blog just gave a rave review to the double-chocolate Krave so I’m definately going to pick some up the next time I’m at Sprawl-Mart.
I just love that you ordered cereal on amazon
I think I feel in love during that whole work/Cinnamon Toast Crunch anecdote.
No chocolate milk remnants = deal breaker, haha 🙂
There is a cat food called “Crave” which I believe is still available (maybe just the treats, but it was an 80s thing, commercials can be seen on YouTube) and for a split second, I thought this was a cat food review. I know times are tough, but never thought I’d see the day…when I realized it was for cereal. Kellogg’s really should have thought more about the name for this stuff.
I was just about to make the same comment regarding cat food. I saw the cereal in Walmart and all I could think about was feeding my childhood cat back in the 80’s.
I bought these and mixed them half & half with Peanut Butter Cheerios…!
After further testing and reflection… aren’t these just redressed Kellogs SMOREZ cereal? Wish I had a box to do a side by side.
Given that you “detected a slight hint of hazelnut”, I wonder if they secretly filled them with Nutella.
Mmmm…. yummy I thought it maybe could be a bit crunchier but that did not stop me from eating about half a box in one sitting good stuff 🙂
I’m one of those people that doesn’t eat cereal as a breakfast food. I eat it (in small quantities) as a treat or snack food. My only complaint with the cereal (I tried the all chocolate flavor) was that it got a bit gritty at times (sort of a sugar-grit). Maybe its a kink they’ll work out later, or maybe a problem you don’t encounter at all if you add milk. I don’t know. It wasn’t a major complaint really. Good snack.
Lol, awesome, funny review.
Unfortunately I live in Canada, so I won’t be able to get my hands on the cereal less it’s on my trip to the States this May. I’ve read two different reviews on this cereal, for two different flavors and it seems to meet all my checklist ideals for a great breakfast cereal. I might pick it up when I go to Orlando.
I tried the regular Krave today with milk (not Double Chocolate), but I added fresh raspberries. Not enough chocolate to accommodate the raspberries, but it’s not bad.
Just picked up a box of the double chocolate today at Target. Two boxes for $5.00! A little concerned to see BHT and red#40 in the ingredient list, but eager to try it.
Mmmmm finally opened the box last night, delish! Chocolate is creamy, not hard, in cold milk.
So so so so soooo good!!! My new fav cereal =}
I’m from Spain, and one of the major grocery chains there carries something very similar to this. They’re called Jumblies, and they’ve existed for over a decade. It’s a french grocery chain, so I’d say it’s existed in France for at least that long too. When I go back to Spain every summer to visit my family, this cereal is one of the things I look forward to, and funny enough, I saw it at Walmart yesterday and couldn’t believe my eyes! I grabbed 3 boxes for $1 each (are they not doing that well or what?) with the intention to go back for many more if I liked them. Today, I got to try them, and while the amount of chocolate inside and perhaps even the quality of the chocolate is not as generous, they’re pretty delicious! In fact, the more I eat, the more chocolaty they taste! I’m definitely going back to Walmart and you should all do the same and buy more of this cereal. We can’t let it disappear after it finally made it here!! 🙂
I just tried half a cup, dry, while procrastinating in my home office tonight. I got the light colored one since double chocolate seemed like overkill to me as a non-chocoholic. I bit into one to look inside and saw how little chocolate it had (just a thickish coating inside the kibble, so the kibble was mainly an empty shell, more disillusionment with tv commercials that made it seem overflowing with the stuff as a liquid center), so it was really surprising how chocolatey it actually tasted when eaten whole. Definitely more chocolate would have been too much. Don’t know about what happens when it is drowned in milk (gag), and can’t imagine sending a kid off to school or an adult off to work in the morning with this stuff inside them. But then I feel that way about sweet cereal in general since my own sweet tooth wakes up after dark and I’d rather have pizza or lasagna or soup or a sandwich for breakfast. Really. Today’s breakfast was a banana, a few mixed nuts, and a slice of cold pizza. It would have been hot pizza, but I was busy. And hungry. No, I did not put banana slices on the pizza.
I think Krave makes an excellent snack and would certainly satisfy any transient chocolate cravings just as well as any candy. Actually more satisfying than candy, since it has more substance due to the grains but makes you feel it’s loaded with sugar and chocolate. Not very high calorie if you worry about that – half a cup is just 80 calories for a snack, and that’s a lot of food. Not messy, so it’s an excellent office/computer food. Nice big pieces, so it’s easy to keep in a small cup on the desk and eat piece by piece, fast or slow.
Kellog’s did a fantastic job with the Chocolate Cereal and the name that they applied to it is most deserving: “KRAVE.” When I got home I opened the box up to take a sample and give me an idea of what type of cereal I was purchasing. One sample led to another and another and another…….. It wans’t too long that I had eaten everything? I hadn’t planned on it but before I knew it it was all gone and left me craving to go out and buy some more.
Just tried a bowl of Double Chocolate Krave in a bowl of milk. Don’t know if it’s my tastebuds currently or what, but it taste really bland to me. I bought it on sale, with a coupon, so I didn’t spend more than $1 for the box. Glad of it if it’s always this taste. I like cereals like this one as a snack at night. Unfortunately, this didn’t cut it. I wish I had Cocoa Krispies instead!! I’d have good flavored milk left afterwards, too!! LOL
Maybe the regular Chocolate Krave is better at putting out the chocolate flavor??
Or maybe I’m such a chocoholic that I need alot of chocolate flavor??? Another possibility!! LOL
Hazelnut?? That would probably need to be declared if there is any due to people having nut allergies. (Protect themselves and the consumer.)
You might be right about the double chocolate masking the chocolate taste, so might be worth trying the plain chocolate one. The chocolate used in the inside would probably be different from the one used in the shell (more likely just cocoa?), so the shell chocolate may be overwhelming the stuff inside and maybe it’s not as tasty. Less is more, so to speak. You could always mix either version of Krave with cocoa krispies… 🙂 Well, that’s one way to get rid of it!
Or just give it a try dry and forget about it as a bowl cereal. It’s really candy pretending to be nutritious anyway.
Jwoolman, to describe the taste of the Double Chocolate shell, I’d say.. chocolate flavored cardboard… ??? Not that I’ve actually eaten THAT before, though. LOL But the smell of cardboard comes to mind, also!!
And you’re right about less is more for most things!! And this just may be one of those.
Thanks for your suggestions, I’ll give it a try as a dry snack or mixing both for my night snack. Not going to give up trying the regular based upon the Double. The box has a coupon on it, so I’ll carefully cut it and use towards a regular box. 🙂
It’s certainly not going to go to waste! As a typical chocoholic, ANYTHING chocolate is better than NOTHING!! LOL
Thanks!
I have been eating Kellogg’s cereals since 1944; Kellogg’s PEP was my favorite as a kid…maybe it was because of collecting all the comic book and funny paper character pins that I used to wear on my sailor hat! (I wish had those pins now; could be worth a fortune!) Anyway, I tried both the Chocolate and Double Chocolate Krave cereals. I was NOT impressed! They just had no taste or flavor or anything with milk in the bowl! HOWEVER, I discovered a good use for both cereals. I took one bowl from each package to eat as a breakfast cereal and took the rest of the packages, put them in a large ziplock bag and added a lot of powdered sugar and mixed it all up! I discovered a new taste sensation! It is similar to “people chow” or “puppy chow” as some call it. I will continue to buy Krave, add in the powered sugar, and enjoy!
I cracked into my first bowl of Krave this morning, and was disappointed. The amount of filling is underwhelming, and spooning it up out of a bowl of milk fills my mouth with a distinctly non-chocolate flavored corn paste. It retains crunchiness while eating it, but in the flavor department, it’s absolutely lacking.
I first tried Krave about 5 years ago when I was living in Italy. Except there it was called Tesori (treasures). They were exactly the same, maybe slightly larger in size, but the same. My 3 year old at the time didn’t like them because they were “TOO chocolatey”. They have recently changed the name to Krave there too. I tried them again here in the USA, and I agree that they are very sweet and not necessarily an “adult” cereal. BUT they are still good in small amounts. 🙂
I have tried both Chocolate and Double Chocolate and I love both as a snack at night while watching TV. I find them both very chocolate tasting.
I have not tried them in milk and don’t plan to. Right now I have one unopened box and just finished a box. Very good!
What is wrong with eating kids cereals… I do it all the time. I realllllly don’t see the shame in it
fucking hilarious review, top notch! I have tried the double chocolate krave and thought it was pretty good but being canadian and having an extreem chocolate cereal addiction ill take my fix where ever i can get it, anyways after reading this review im on my way to get 2 boxes and save a dollar fifty thanks but am considering two of the regular chocolate
First off, what is this American obsession with pouring milk on cereal? Besides the fact that milk is for babies, why ruin the taste of the cereal by drowning it in a chalky tasting liquid? YUCK! I just tried Krave, the DC variety and love it. It gives you a good chocolate fix while adding a bit of nutrition. Who says it’s for breakfast. I eat it as a snack or in place of a Kit Kat bar.
What kind of milk are you drinking!? I don’t know what milk is like in your region, but in the USA milk doesn’t taste chalky! Also, most Americans use milk in their cereal. To us, this is how it is meant to be. Most cereal boxes disply the cereal in milk in the design. Ice cold milk makes cereal a beautifully refreshing breakfast/snack
For the ages later response, yeah Milk here isn’t chalky at all. However, this cereal is nasty. I like chocolate cereals. The taste is just tremendously awful.
this is the best freakin cereal in the whole world!!!
I bought a box of the double chocolate krave cereal. Its a good cereal, but I think I can only tolerate one bowl in a sitting. I’m a 29 year old male. I like chocolate, but I don’t love it. If you love chocolate then this is the cereal for you! If kellogg’s were to come up with a fruity version of krave….like blueberry, strawberry, or something of the like(minus the chocolate) I think it would work out well. A fruit filled cereal as opposed to a chocolate filled cereal would fit my liking and i’m sure a lot of others’ liking as well. But all in all, I think this is the most chocolaty cereal I have EVER tasted. I’ve had coco pebbles, coco puffs, coco krispies, count chockula(sp?), etc. If you don’t mind trying new cereal I suggest you try this one!
Chocolate not for adults?! Nonsense. Just don’t load it up with sugar. The cacao bean is incredibly healthy if you know how to use it. Throw some nibs and Valhrona powder into my oatmeal any day of week — I’m still a grownup!
😛
(Nice review, by the way…)
What the hell, I’ll just ask it. Why do you buy your cereal on Amazon?
When this cereal first came out it was hard to find so in order to be able to write the review the writer decided to purchase it on Amazon.
Ha ha it’s like the other person said. It was hard to find so they purchased it online. But that doesn’t mean they purchase all their cereal on amazon. People like you are funny because you’re making a broad assumption based on one post.
I couldn’t get over the fact that the OP went to work on a weekend JUST to eat breakfast…and not just any breakfast. Cereal?! Wth? Why not just buy your own box. Is it that embarrassing to be seen buying “kid’s” cereal?
I am addicted to Krave cereal……..I havent tried the double chocolate yet, but I just like the original. I just found out I have Celiac Disease………Can you make Gluten free Krave?? I will be the happiest person on earth…..I am not a child , and I buy kids cereals all the time……….You like it? thats all that matters…..
is the author 20 something or 12?
You mention canabalism in krave commercials. But Cinnamon Toast Crunch also eat each other in the commercials. They even have faces. So how does Cinnamon Toast Crunch qualify as an “adult cereal”. And who cares! I am 20 something abd shamlessly eat Froot loops, frosted flakes, etc.
By FAR the best chocolate cereal I have EVER eaten. It has just the perfect t amount of chocolate. 2 HUGE thumbs up????????????????
Gross cereal. The type of chocolate they use has a weird taste. The cereal part isn’t that good either. Also their TV ads are annoying.
Kellogs choco fills packet has lots of incests just as head lice. Pathetic!!