4 out of 5 stars.
I would like to thank Crio Brü Australia for sending me a free sample of their Mojito blend. I made an enquiry into this product and, besides the fast and friendly service I received, they also sent me the sample.
Before I get into my review, here are the usual basics.
Disclaimer:
Although sent a free sample, I am not being paid to make this review, nor am I deliberately singling this product or company out. I’m just trying to give an open and honest review on items I use in my household.
Please note: My review is based solely on Crio Brü ’s Mojito blend. This is not a review of Crio Brü themselves or any other products, services or business they may offer.
Okay, so let’s get to it!
So what exactly is Crio Brü Mojito all about? Well it is a flavour blend made by Crio Brü from cacao beans. It is a coffee substitute and made in a similar manner – cacao beans dried in the sun, then roasted, milled and packed either as is, or in the case of the Mojito – mixed with spearmint and lime zest. According to the packet Mojito blend is free of fat, gluten, sodium and sugar. Going on the ingredients I would also suggest it is dairy free and Vegan friendly.
There are other Crio Brü flavours and I do plan on buying them and making my way through them as I can. But this is all about the Mojito. If you would like to learn more about Crio Brü and what they do, please visit their site here.
My Review:
Now, I can’t drink coffee without getting migraine like headaches and heart palpitations. But I can drink cacao. Yes I can still get a buzz headache if I drink it too strong or too much in one go, but it doesn’t affect me anywhere near as much as coffee.
And so, when I learnt of Crio Brü I wanted to know what the big deal was. I mean cacao powder and ground cacao beans – there can’t be a heck of a lot of difference, can there? Hooo nelly I was wrong!
To give my Mojito blend the best chance to impress me as it could, I followed the instructions on the packet it came in. After borrowing a one cup coffee press from my folks, I heated my kettle water to ‘French Press’ temperature (yes, I have a kettle that does different temperatures as I am a tea snob too). I then added the stated amount (for one cup) into the press and added the water. Let it sit for the time given on the packet and then gently plunged it.
I tasted the straight water/ Crio Brü blend and was simply blown away by how like coffee it really was! Not at all like cacao powder in hot water! So much like coffee I expected the killer headache as soon as I sipped it – nada! Wow! Coffee that doesn’t kill me! Can it really be?
Yes, you can tell I was amazed by it as I started to go all silly with how best to describe it. So, to calm my silliness I then added my favourite sweetener and some coconut milk to make it more the sort of “coffee” I like. Wow again! Not like a hot chocolate at all! I really was stunned. It was like COFFEE!
Though I will add here I am not a coffee expert and had my last cup of Jo maybe ten years ago. So my palate for coffee is near non-existent and so regular coffee drinkers may think I’m bonkers and say it tastes more chocolatey than coffee.
But to me, Crio Brü is not a hot chocolate! Yes there is a sort of chocolate undertone to it… but I would have to say it is indeed more like coffee. And, to be honest, I didn’t really taste the lime and spearmint in the first cup. It was just the strong ‘I can’t believe this isn’t coffee’ impact.
Now, don’t think I am some fool who wouldn’t know her Tanzanian single origin 80% from her Brazil blend 60% hot chocolates as you would be so wrong. I am a dyed in the wool – know all local chocolatier café owners by their first names – chocolate snob! I know my chocolate and I am hard to fool with that brown muck most people associate with being chocolate when it is as close to being chocolate as I am to being a super model.
But, being the experimenter that I am, I attempted a second cup from the same grounds. I know this isn’t usually done and I did expect it to be weaker. It was… but you could then taste those lime and spearmint undertones better. I also heated my coconut milk before adding and feel that brought out the tones more.
I also let half my first cup go cold before I finished it as the Mojito does say on the front – ‘Brew Hot, serve cold’. And they are not wrong! It tasted like an iced coffee! Not chocolate milk, an iced coffee. Now I grew up in a part of the world where iced coffee was almost a cultural drink. We were a small city and, sadly, known for being – per capita – one of the highest beer drinkers in the world, second to Germany… Ice coffee was drunk more than beer. I kid you not. And so, I can say I know my iced coffee too!
I can honestly see myself brewing up a big batch of the Mojito blend come this summer and making iced coffee for my kids. I don’t tend to give them real iced coffee as it makes them go a little, shall we say, bat crap crazy. This I can see as being a good substitute, as they don’t like the chicory iced coffee I’ve been trying to fob off on them in recent years.
My next experiments will be to follow the suggestion on a pamphlet that came with my sample to pop it in my Thermomix and brew it that way. Then I have also had a suggestion to brew it slow on the stove… and I think I will – in just my coconut/rice milk.
I also then want to try it in a coffee and walnut cake, dairy free Tiramisu… Oh the possibilities are simply endless.
Would I recommend this product to others?
Yes I would. I loved it, loved its coffee like quality and do know others who have similar issues with coffee and feel they might like to give it a go too. Just remember, this is not a hot chocolate, it really does taste more like coffee!
Would I buy this product for myself?
Yes I would. As I said earlier in my review, I plan on working my way through some of the other Crio Brü flavours, but I can indeed see myself buying the Mojito blend again and having it as either a hot coffee wannabe or an iced coffee wannabe.
In summary: Not a hot chocolate, don’t be fooled by the cacao! It is indeed more like a coffee and great for those of us who can’t drink coffee. I highly recommend.
Until next time,
Janis.
Janis's Journal 