REVIEW: Coca-Cola with Coffee (Dark Blend and Vanilla)

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Coca Cola with Coffee U S Cans

Update 3/14/22: We also tried the Mocha version! Click here to read our review.

The cans of Coca-Cola with Coffee tell me they have great Coca-Cola taste blended with rich, luxurious coffee.

In less flashy terms, it is a coffee-flavored soda containing real coffee powder for a uniquely fizzy hybrid beverage. I’ll be reviewing the Dark Blend and Vanilla flavors, but there will also be a caramel one when these debut nationwide in early 2021.

I am a coffee lover and a soda lover, so I’m absolutely pumped to experience their love child months before the official release. Both have a nice fizz and the signature dark brown color of regular cola. Each one also starts off with a very familiar Coca-Cola taste.

Coca Cola with Coffee U S Vanilla

It’s interesting as the beginning just tastes like cola, but then each one transforms. The vanilla one brings in some creaminess towards the end, but I’m not sure where the coffee is. I can maybe taste it if I really think about it. This one pretty is much like Coca-Cola Vanilla. It’s good, but the coffee flavor is kind of lost amongst the cola and vanilla.

I was underwhelmed with the vanilla version, but boy oh boy does the Dark Blend make up for it. After trying it, I can confirm the coffee flavor is scarce in the Vanilla variety because this one contains such great coffee essence.

Coca Cola with Coffee U S Dark Blend

The beverage starts off cola-y and morphs into a fizzy roasted coffee drink. If you have ever had an imported Italian coffee soda, it actually tastes like a lighter, Coke-flavored version of those. The flavor was pretty intense upon first sip but then lessened a bit the more I guzzled down. This may not be the best drink to wash down a burger and fries because of the flavor mashup. But as a late morning/early afternoon drink or in the heat when cold brew is not an option, it would be absolutely phenomenal. YUM!

It also likely won’t 100% replace your favorite go-to soda or satisfy your coffee fix whenever you need it (it has 69 mg of caffeine, more than a regular cola but less than a cup of joe). But overall, it is a darn good drink to add to your rotation.

There is a pretty well-known saying of Everything Old is New Again. Well, here we are again, as this drink follows Coca-Cola Blak and Pepsi Kona from years past that failed to light the world on fire. So it is not a brand new idea by any means, but maybe 2020 can be the year when cola coffee finally becomes a drink staple. Not to mention that a version of this beverage has been making the rounds internationally for the past few years.

Coca Cola with Coffee U S Ingredients

One odd thing about this beverage is the sugar content. Not only is it a hybrid with flavors, but it is also a hybrid on the sweetener scale because it contains high fructose corn syrup, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium. I don’t think the taste is impacted as it doesn’t taste too heavy like a soda or too sweet/fake like a diet one. However, it does worry me that it may put off those that exclusively drink one or the other.

Ever wonder what a mixture of Coca-Cola and coffee would taste like? Or are you tired of the fruity-flavored colas and want to quench your thirst with something new? Come January 2021, you are in luck. But skip the Vanilla version and reach for the Dark Blend one for a deliciously unique coffola (It should have a fun name, like a celebrity couple) experience. Maybe we can make it stick around this time!

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of the product. (Thanks, Coke!) Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 12 fl oz cans
Purchased at: Received as part of the Coca-Cola Insiders Club
Rating: 5 out of 10 (Vanilla), 9 out of 10 (Dark Blend)
Nutrition Facts: (1 Can) Both flavors have identical nutrition facts – 70 calories, 0 grams of fat, 40 milligrams of sodium, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 18 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Limited Edition Mtn Dew Spark

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Limited Edition Mtn Dew Spark Bottle

What is Limited Edition Mtn Dew Spark?

It’s a Dew with a burst of raspberry lemonade flavor, and it’s an exclusive Speedway flavor. The label features a drawing of a crazed race car. It’s a fitting image for a convenience store named Speedway, which is what car racing tracks are called. I also imagine that a crazed race car with a mouth is also something someone who takes speed way too much would hallucinate.

How is it?

Its aroma reminds me of a pack of Starburst, and its flavor brings another Mtn Dew to mind — Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel Zero Charged Raspberry Lemonade. (And maybe Voltage?)

In my Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel Zero review, I wrote, “…for some reason, my taste buds and brain occasionally think they’re drinking a raspberry iced tea. Maybe it’s because the berry flavor reminds me of the Lipton Brisk Raspberry and the lemon flavor, which doesn’t really pop that much, makes me think of lemon iced tea.”

With Mtn Dew Spark, the berry part still reminds me of Lipton Brisk Raspberry Iced Tea, but the flavor and tang of the lemonade stand out much more. There’s also a little bit of an added non-lemonade citrus taste, but it didn’t confuse me into thinking this was anything other than raspberry lemonade-flavored. It’s tasty, but I’m a little disappointed it’s kind of a recycled flavor.

Anything else you need to know?

Limited Edition Mtn Dew Spark Bottle Label

Some of you might be wondering, “What’s a Speedway?” Well, **puts on reading glasses** it’s a chain of convenience stores with a few thousand locations mostly in the Midwest and East Coast. Just this month, it was purchased by the parent company that owns 7-Eleven. For more brick-and-mortar retail chain news, don’t depend on this site.

Also, there doesn’t appear to be a diet version. But if you want a beverage that tastes somewhat similar and with zero sugar, there’s Mtn Dew Amp Game Fuel Zero Charged Raspberry Lemonade.

Conclusion:

Mtn Dew Spark is another solid Dew offering. If you live near a Speedway store, it’s worth a purchase.

Purchased Price: More than anyone should pay
Size: 20 fl oz bottle
Purchased at: eBay
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 bottle) 290 calories, 0 grams of fat, 85 milligrams of sodium, 77 grams of carbohydrates, 77 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Post Dunkin’ Cereal

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Post Dunkin Cereal

Don’t even talk to me in the morning until I’ve had my Dunkin’ coffee…cereal?!

That’s right folks, Post and Dunkin’ have collaborated on a coffee-based cereal.

Why it’s taken this long is anyone’s guess. But it makes sense as both coffee and cereal (along with about seven other things) have long been part of “a complete breakfast,” according to commercials. Why not combine the two?

This isn’t Dunkin’s first cereal, but it’s the first time the brand has cerealized a beverage flavor. You can now try Dunkin’s famous Mocha Latte and Caramel Macchiato in a bowl instead of a cup. I mean, you can probably use a cup if you want. You do you.

Post Dunkin Cereal Marshmallows

The cereals consist of Cocoa Puffs-style pieces with flavored marshmallows that look like little foam swirled lattes, and feature real Dunkin’ coffee, so you can add an additional, but negligible amount of caffeine to your morning. Sounds good to me.

Post Dunkin Mocha Latte Cereal Bowl

Mocha Latte hit me with a huge waft of coffee smell, which is both pleasant and mildly strange coming from a cereal. As far as taste, the cereal pieces aren’t that far off from the Cocoa Puffs they resemble. They’re chocolate heavy, with a generic coffee flavor accompaniment. The marshmallows burst with the titular coffee drink’s flavor. They taste exactly like sugary coffee foam and syrup.

If I had to narrow down a description, I’d say this is Count Chocula if you swapped coffee for milk (more on that later). Imagine a cereal called “Count Coffula” or “Café Chocula” or “Count Chock Full o’ Nutsula,” OR, don’t imagine anything. You do you.

Post Dunkin Caramel Macchiato Cereal Bowl

Caramel Macchiato smells like, and forgive me for crossing company lines, a Caramel Frappuccino. Think of any caramel centric cereal you’ve had, but with a kicker – you get a nice little coffee flavor infusion.

Imagine one of those gourmet popcorn companies making a “caramel coffee” flavor. That’s the flavor profile I keep coming back to. To use this example again, think of when you get to the bottom of your caramel Frap and its mostly ice, whipped cream, and caramel drizzle. It tastes like that.

I could have gone for even more coffee flavor, but I guess they have to appeal to kids. The cereal piece shapes are a bit uninspired, but the marshmallows are cute, and they’re the star of the show for me.

As far as the cereal milk flavor, Imagine the drinks the cereal is based on, but swap the coffee to dairy ratio. They each tasted like a coffee drink that is 75% milk or whatever your preferred dairy is.

Oh, and just out of sheer curiosity, I tried this: both cereals with coffee instead of milk.

Look out, we got a wild man here!

Post Dunkin Cereal Mixed

Why not? I had some coffee left over, threw in my splash of half and half and mixed equal parts of each cereal in. It was a half and half and half and half. I kinda loved it. The coffee sopped into the cereal pieces and gave it that extra oomph I wanted, and the mocha and caramel flavors pushed through. If you’re feeling bold, give this a shot, but obviously, use cold coffee.

So yeah, these are ultimately a winner for me. There’s just enough coffee flavor to get your fix while also not scaring off the kids. I’m probably just gonna mix the two bags together at this point. I may even isolate a bag of the marshmallows and use them as ingredients in some kind of snack mix. Feel free to leave some suggestions on what I should add.

I’m hoping this leads to more coffee cereals. You have to imagine Starbucks will put something out if these do well. Hit us with a line of Frap cereals. As for Dunkin’, I’m not sure which coffees they can mimic next, but how about a Munchkin Cereal that features ALL the Munchkin flavors in one box?

DISCLOSURE: I received free samples of the product. Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 11 oz boxes
Purchased at: Received from Post Cereals
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Mocha Latte), 8 out of 10 (Caramel Macchiato)
Nutrition Facts: (1 1/3 cup) Mocha Latte – 150 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 18 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein. Caramel Macchiato – 150 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 135 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of fiber, 19 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein.

REVIEW: Kellogg’s Minecraft Creeper Crunch Cereal

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Kellogg s Minecraft Creeper Crunch Cereal Box

Kellogg’s Minecraft Creeper Crunch Cereal is a cinnamon-flavored cereal with marshmallows. Oh, I’m sorry, not just any marshmallows, but something called Creeper Bit Marshmallows.

Full disclosure: Because I’m only allowed to use boring word processing and image editing apps on my computer, I’ve never played Minecraft. I did play Minesweeper…once. Apparently, they aren’t the same. So I don’t know what a creeper is.

I assume it’s a bad guy in the game who secretly takes photos of other characters in unflattering positions or steals their underwear. Again, I haven’t played Minecraft, so I don’t know. I’m only speaking about creepers from experie…um, experiments I’ve read about creepers in real life.

Kellogg s Minecraft Creeper Crunch Cereal Closeup

The multigrain cereal pieces have a pleasant and heavy cinnamon aroma, which isn’t surprising since the spice is listed as an ingredient. But when I first opened the box, the cereal’s shape bothered me. However, I couldn’t put my finger on why. I’m sure the pieces represent something in the game I don’t play, but after eating three-fourths of the box, I realized they remind me of dry cat food.

Like the box, the marbits are green, and although they look like they could glow, they do not, as you can see in the photo below.

Kellogg s Minecraft Creeper Crunch Cereal No Glow

So I have an online record of making fun of cereals with movie tie-ins because it seems 95 percent of the time they’re just sweetened oat or corn pieces with marshmallows. And I was ready to pounce on this cereal + marshmallow combo, but much like the cinnamon spice warmed my taste buds, it also warmed my heart enough to like this. Also, the marshmallows helped by enhancing the cereal’s sweetness. I mean, it’s not even close to being in the same universe as Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but I found it decent tasting.

Although I should add that it’s less decent when eaten dry, it smells better than it tastes, and it dissolves in my mouth in an odd way that I’ve never experienced before with a cereal.

Since many folks play Minecraft, I should mention every box unlocks a special in-game clothing item for your character. The code is inside the box, and since I don’t play Minecraft, here’s my box’s code — W73C2-K36QK-V6PRJ-YYFHD-PK2CZ (I hope that’s correct because some of the print was difficult to read).

You’re welcome, the first person to type in the code correctly. And, I’m sorry to everyone else after that person. But if you want your own code, go buy Kellogg’s Minecraft Creeper Crunch Cereal. Just remember to eat it with milk.

DISCLOSURE: I received a free sample of the product. (Thanks Kellogg’s!) Doing so did not influence my review.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 8 oz box
Purchased at: Received from Kellogg’s
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 1/3 cup without milk) 140 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0 grams of saturated fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 130 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 3 grams of protein.

REVIEW: Smartfood Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries Popcorn Mix

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Smartfood Cap n Crunch s Crunch Berries Popcorn Mix Bag

When I first heard about Smartfood’s Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries Popcorn Mix, I thought, “Why isn’t there a Cap’n Crunch Kettle Corn Mix?”

But after putting more thought than anyone should about the idea, I realized, “Do I REALLY want popcorn kernel hulls lodged into whatever scratches are made by the Cap’n Crunch cereal?”

Nope.

This less hurtful snack combines Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries from Quaker, owned by PepsiCo, with berry-flavored popcorn from Smartfood, also owned by PepsiCo. Because of the added kernel seasoning, it would be difficult to recreate this combo after its limited time is up with merely a bag of plain microwave popcorn and box of Oops All Berries.

But this is tasty enough that it should come back, or be a permanent addition to the Smartfood lineup.

Smartfood Cap n Crunch s Crunch Berries Popcorn Mix Bag Closeup

Sadly, the popcorn itself isn’t colored like rainbow popcorn. Instead, at a quick glance, they look like plain popcorn. But there is a seasoning layer that makes the popped kernels look like they spent some time suntanning on the deck of the S.S. Guppy. That coating provides a noticeable amount of berry flavor and light saltiness. But it’s not enough to make the popcorn alone a satisfying snack or a product that should be added to the Smartfood lineup.

The Crunch Berries amp up the berry flavor to a level you’d get if you were, well, eating Crunch Berries cereal. I know. It’s a little anticlimactic. Maybe if I rephrase it with ship-speak? The cereal’s flavor hits the bow, stem, port, and starboard sides of my tongue full steam ahead with berry. It’s berry good.

While I find this snack to be wonderful, there is a minor, but correctable issue. When I first started eating it by blindly grabbing some from its bag, I’d feel for the cereal pieces and then feel for some popcorn before pulling out my hand. But almost every time, my fingers would pull out only popcorn. I guess the cereal piece I felt for slipped away somehow. Or I might have the worst luck or useless fingers. But being able to see the cereal pieces, pick one up, and then grab some popcorn helped tremendously.

While Smartfood Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries Popcorn Mix tastes pretty much like Crunch Berries, I did love having the two crunchy textures of popcorn and cereal at the same time in my mouth. Yes, this does seem like an odd combination, but I’m happy to report it works well.

DISCLOSURE: I received free samples of the product. (Thanks, PepsiCo!) Doing so did not influence my review, although it totally seems like it. But I assure you it did not.

Purchased Price: FREE
Size: 6 1/4 oz bag
Purchased at: Received from PepsiCo
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: (1 3/4 cups) 140 calories, 6 grams of fat, 1 gram of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 0 milligrams of cholesterol, 110 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, and 2 grams of protein.

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