Options choc Mint Madness

Price free – it was a gift
Serving: 11g (bottle has 20 servings)
Calories: 40.4
Fat: 1.1g – 1g saturated / 0g trans
Sodium: 0.1g
Carbs: 6.2g
Fibre: 1g
Protein: 1.3g

The Score: 4 out of 5

Having a roommate who goes home to the UK means I get to try some products that we don’t here in Canada. What I find interesting is that they use different ingredients in some of their versions of the products we have here. Some of their candy products (I think she mentioned Skittles) don’t use gelatin. Also their chocolate bars, although similar portion in size, had fewer calories. Anyway, my roommate herself is hooked on Options choc drinks and brought me a canister of the mint flavored one.

It comes in different sizes: large, small, and individual serving packets. There are also plenty of flavors: chocolate, chocolate mint, hazlenut, chocolate orange, toffee, Turkish delight, mocha, Caribbean coconut, cinnamon, banana, white chocolate, and vanilla.

Whey power (from milk) is the first ingredient – which probably helps in the calorie reduction. It’s flavored with natural mint flavor. However, it is partially sweetened with aspartame. It’s gluten free and contains a source for phenylalanine.

The Look: Looks a little lighter than usual cocoa mix. To me it looks like a cross between cocoa mix and whey protein powder – in terms of consistency. It’s chocolate brown with lighter cream colored flecks. You have to really stir; it doesn’t dissolve as easily as cocoa does. I get residual lumps.

The Smell: A distinctive minty smell greets me. It’s not too strong, but I smell that more than I smell chocolate.

The Taste: It’s sweet. You can taste the mint but the nicest part is that refreshing rush in your mouth. The chocolate taste is very light, but it underlines the mint. There is a bit of that aspartame aftertaste. I made it using water – I’ll try milk next time (we don’t have any in the fridge at the moment) and see if it makes it creamier.

The Verdict: The mint is great and any chocolate-mint fan would probably enjoy this a lot. However, it’s noticeably not as rich as normal cocoa. But at only 40 calories a cup (and it’s a regular mug size), and with it definitely being chocolaty and light, I’d say it’s a great substitution that I wish were available in Canada.