Cappuccino with a chocolate pleasure? (Nescafe Cappuccino)

Member Name: helen23

Product:	Nescafe Cappuccino
Date:	15/09/05 (550 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to make, not too strong or overly sweet.

Disadvantages: A bit pricey and aftertaste

I am not usually a lover of Cappuccino’s but I've seen these advertised quite a bit recently and so having the added option of a chocolate flavour coffee, I decided to give them a try. So picture me in tesco's with my 3 year old trying to get round and out as quick as possible when my eye stopped on:-

Nescafe - Mocha.

This particular packet also has a competition on the box which I am sure you will agree is very appealing - Win a £10,000 spending spree with support from Trinny and Susannah. More about this later.

*****Cost*****

There is 8 sachets in the box, each a 22 gram serving. The cost in tesco was £2.18, which I think is perhaps a little pricey now having checked out the competition as below:-

On Tesco’s home shopping site, I noticed that Kenco have BOGOF (until 20th September 2005 so be quick ) on their Cappuccino 8 sachets and the cost is only £1.98. I wish I had seen these when I was shopping in store, I think I would of got these instead but anyway that is a different matter.

*****Packaging*****

The front of the box shows a very appealing looking Cappuccino with lots of creamy froth. It also grabs my attention by means of the chance of winning £10,000.

The sides are showing basic instructions and nutritional information, which I will cover more in depth more later. I need a coffee first!

The back of the box gives me all the info about the competition and also shows me two other Cappuccino flavours that are available :- Hazlenut and Vanilla. I believe they are also in just a Cappuccino, Latte, Caramel and Double Choca Mocha.

The bottom of the box shows a little symbol that shows me that the box is re-cycleable. I hope that is spelt right, it sure doesn’t look right but who cares.

The top of the box where there is a groove under which I slide my finger to open informs me that Mocha ‘makes a rich, deliciously chocolately coffee.
Well I hope so! So here goes.

The individual sachet is a paper sachet with picture instructions, the best before date with was 11 months away and on the front, lots of different languages showing
Al Cacao
Café Viennois
Mocha
Café Viennes
Wiener Melange
Cafe de Viena

*****The Cappuccino****

Great at last I hear you say. The contents of the sachet, approximately one tablespoon, look like a mix of Marvel, very instant ground coffee and very finely grated bits of chocolate. It doesn’t smell too much of coffee but it is there. The first smell I noticed was of chocolate which is great for me but not if you are a stronger coffee drinker.

The instructions are very simple, place in a cup and add 200ml of hot but not boiling water, stirring all the time. Even I can do that.

It mixes very easily with no lumpy bits or bits seemingly stuck on the bottom of the cup. The froth appears almost straight away, but I have to say, it is by no means as frothy looking as the Cappuccino pictured on the box. I did exactly as informed and added the correct amount of water and not boiling. But anyway……The picture I added is taken no more than 1 minute after making so you will see what I mean! One point off here I think.

The Cappuccino now smells more of coffee but I can still smell chocolate but it somehow doesn’t smell like a really sweet chocolate.

As these are already sweetened, I didn’t add extra sugar like normal coffee’s. At first, the taste was a bit un-sweetened for me, but as I got further into my Cappuccino, I was finding that it was actually sweet enough. The froth is still there on top, looking as it did when I first began drinking.
It’s hard to describe, but the froth tastes quite chocolatey whilst the coffee underneath is definitely more like a coffee taste. There is a bit of aftertaste which is again predominantly coffee, which I’m sorry Nescafe, but another point taken away for this.

Overall I have enjoyed my first experience of home-made Cappuccino’s and would try them again.

*****My opinion*****

I am pleased that I did decide to give them a try, I am pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable they were when actually drinking them. It wasn’t overly strong coffee which is perfect for me, but I do feel that more ‘seasoned’ coffee or indeed ‘Cappuccino’ lovers would prefer a bit stronger coffee taste. I wouldn’t necessarily agree completely that they are a ‘rich, deliciously chocolately coffee, they were very nice but not really that rich at all. Shame about the aftertaste.

The price is reasonable enough for me, at under 28p a sachet, they aren’t bad value for a treat but not something I could afford to buy a week’s supply of. I don’t drink vast amounts of coffee, perhaps 2 or 3 cups a day at most, but that would work out to nearly 3 boxes of this a week at a cost of over £6 which I think is a bit unrealistic.

I would probably try a different brand next time which appears to be cheaper anyway, so sorry Nescafe, but I probably won’t be getting them again after all.

****Nutritional Info****

The side of the box informs me that basically they are made from – Instant Coffee with Whitener, Sugar and Cocoa.
Each 22 gm serving provides:-
92 kcal and 2.9 gms of fat.

***www.nescafe.co.uk****

If you care to check out the Nescafe website, there is a whole host of information about Nescafe and their products. Information is also included about the competition to win a £10,000 spending spree, a full intinery and terms and conditions and to be found there.

There is also the following information:-
About Nescafe
Coffee People
Coffee World
Events and Promotions
Our products
Contact Us
There is also a link that can take you to other worldwide Nescafe sites, a interesting site if you’re into things like that.

The only downside is that Nescafe is made by the dreaded Nestle and I am sure that this is going to once again open up a whole load of politics about whether to boycott their products or not.
Personally, I don’t necessarily agree with their policies but do feel that I am not in any position to be able to change a damn thing. So I will continue to purchase their products as I choose. In an ideal world, yes, boycotting would be an answer but I feel it doesn’t make any difference either way. Ouch, difficult subject.

*****The competition*****

There is one of ten £10,000 spending sprees with support from Trinny & Susannah to be given away. Plus 25,000 vouchers for £5 off gorgeous new lingerie.

All you have to do is text ‘Café Style’ with your full name, flat/house number or building name and postcode to 07797 800008.
You’ll receive a reply within two working days to tell you if you’ve won or not. It does state that return messages are free of charge.
The small print informs me that it is open to Uk residents aged 18 or over,
No purchase necessary, but only two entries allowed per person, per brand.
Closing date is 28/02.06.
As I said, more details can be found by checking out the website as mentioned above.

Thanks for taking the time to read this far, now I need another cuppa!

Summary: A treat of a coffee and easy to make!