Today's Review: Coco Pops Porridge

When is a Coco Pop no longer a Coco Pop? We all know what Coco Pops are, those classic chocolatey rice puffs. But there are so many variations now. Coco Rocks, Coco Copters, and now we have Coco Pops porridge. Can a porridge be a Coco Pop porridge if it doesn't pop? Well, apparently so. But enough philosophy, what's this all about?

Either the instant porridge market has evolved in the last year or so or I really wasn't paying attention before that. It used to be you'd buy bags of oats or wild boxes of Ready Brek, and have to throw caution to the wind and work out the serving sizes by yourself. But now they all come in convenient sachets, with milk lines, and this porridge is no exception. You get seven sachets of chocolatey oats, and all you have to do is pour in the milk, tip it into the bowl and blitz it for a minute and a half. It sounds easy, but this porridge seems to enjoy sticking to the packet, which forced me to open it up and scrape it off with my finger. But hey, I've only had one so far, maybe I wasn't doing it right.

When I took the bowl out of the microwave, I wasn't particularly impressed. There wasn't a lot there at all, although what was there smelled nice and chocolatey. It looked a little stodgy as well, but after a good mix and some time to cool down, I was pleasantly surprised when I tucked in. It's an overall smooth, chocolate experience. I certainly wouldn't say it's "super smooth", but it went down pretty nicely. The closest thing I could compare it to is chocolate Ready Brek, and it is very similar, so it's nothing particularly special in that regard. But hey, it's still tasty, and despite the pretty meagre serving size, it did keep me feeling full for a good few hours. This Coco Pops porridge is easy to prepare, and is a nice chocolatey breakfast treat that kids will probably enjoy. It's nice to see Kellogg's go for a different kind of porridge, and while it's not perfect, it's a good effort.

My rating: 4/5