Caramel is by far the most prominent flavor, which was a surprise, but not necessarily a bad one. Each subsequent sip got better and better— it’s got a great creaminess to it that is not overly thick or starchy feeling.
Milk 2 Go Chillin' Chocolate Reduced Sugar
Fairly bland, the stevia leaf taste kicks in post-swallow and mars an otherwise tasteless experience. As far as reduced sugar versions go, it's not bad— but compared with average chocolate milk, especially side-by-side, it can’t compete.
Milk 2 Go Chillin' Chocolate
A tad salty and a fair dose of malt as well- has a buttery quality to the finish which was a welcome surprise.
Natrel Chocolate Partly Skimmed Milk
Well balanced with a creamy and salty punch to accentuate the chocolate. Kept coming back to this one for a sip here and there despite having 10+ other chocolate milk options in the fridge— it’s exceptionally drinkable.
Natrel Lactose Free Chocolate Milk
Powdery and chalky but delivers a good malty flavor that finishes with a touch of sweetness and implores you to take the next sip.
Natrel Dark Chocolate Milk
Thinner, sweeter, and darker— but the chocolate tasted slightly less authentic to me than the Milk Chocolate version. Still, the fact that I didn’t have to chew it was a plus, giving it a slight edge over its lighter counterpart.
Natrel Milk Chocolate
Great look and strong cocoa flavor that is clearly the focus. The texture kills it though, for me— it’s very thick and has a starchy quality to it (as opposed to a cream-induced thickness).
Lucerne Chocolate Partly Skimmed Milk
Aside from sweetness, the only other taste I’m getting is a mild wheaty flavor. It’s pretty smooth, but not a very chocolaty experience.
Beatrice Chocolate Partly Skimmed Milk
Beautiful coffee-brown coloration and oddly an aged, coffee-esque flavor. I hope I’m not influenced by the look too much, but it has a bitter kick to it that is not unpleasant, it reminds me of sweetened coffee. Unique, I like it.
Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme Flavored Milk Shake
Tons of flavor, about as sweet as one could stomach, yet it still tastes pretty good. If you melted cookies ’n’ creme ice cream, strained out the solid bits, and thinned out the texture-- this is pretty much what you'd get. It’s not disappointing from that perspective.
Schroeder Chocolate Lowfat Milk
Pleasantly smooth, silky feel, and a medium-sweet, lightly malty flavor highlight the experience. It satisfies in a pinch, but the goal is not to find oneself in said pinch.
Kemps Select Chocolate Reduced Fat Milk
Satisfyingly creamy, malty, and chocolaty, and it does well to avoid over-sweetness. Much more enjoyable than the lowfat version.
Kemps Select Chocolate Lowfat Milk
Compositionally the same (?) as the Hy-Vee 1% Chocolate Lowfat Milk— and the same salty-and-not-much-else flavor. Sadly, I prefer the flavor of the Kemps Swiss Style Chocolate Lowfat Milk that had high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavor.
Hy-Vee Chocolate 1% Lowfat Milk
A bit too sweet, but paired with decent chocolate flavor and slightly thinner texture nudges it just above average for me.
Hy-Vee Chocolate Whole Milk
Strong flavors across the board, and the only drawback is a heavy, syrupy sweetness that you can feel in your throat post-swallow. A relatively minor gripe, but noticeable.
Hy-Vee 1% Chocolate Lowfat Milk
Salty at first taste, and not much else afterward. There’s not much sweetness, but what is there tastes artificial. Largely bland and unexciting.
Valley View Farms Chocolate Milk Shake
Incredibly thick— which is the only drawback I can find (albeit a big one). The flavor is sweet but not too lopsided, if it were much thinner, it would score a lot higher. Fans of the super-thick would enjoy. [Note: I’m pretty sure it’s not 68 calories per 100mL as the label suggests. I followed up with the company on 26-Jun-2017 and they replied that they are in the process of updating the label.]
Valley View Farms Chocolate Lowfat Milk
Texture feels unnatural and not entirely ‘milky.’ The flavor skews toward malty and is otherwise bland and uninteresting.
Lucerne Dairy Farms Extra Rich & Creamy Chocolate Fat Free Milk
A fat-free milk labelled ‘extra rich & creamy’ is strange, as a person would not select this item if they were looking for an indulgent experience. That said, it is pretty tasty for a skim chocolate milk— there’s perhaps a bit too much sweetness, but there’s salt in equal proportion that helps to balance it out. Lots more flavor that I expected.
Darigold Chocolate Lowfat Milk
Really nice creamy flavor, surprisingly prominent for a 1% fat product. Everything else is present and in good proportion— great tasting and feeling product from start to finish.