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Hello fellow cereal enthusiasts!

As you may have noticed there has been a bit of a dry spell with new cereals recently. I have not been alerted to anything new and noteworthy so I thought I’d put out a call for advice, is there anything I should be eating? Anything I should be putting milk on?

Thankfully we’re entering prime new cereal territory with Halloween and Christmas on the horizon. Here’s hoping we can get our hands on some fresh new boxes by the end of the year.

In the meantime let me leave you with Dan Goubert’s recent review of the limited edition giant Pop Tart! Truly a sight to behold.

This is big. Very, literally, and very literally big. But it’s also one of a precious small number. Yes, this rectangular beast is one of on

#no cereal #the mountain goats lost follow up to no children

Today's mini-review is for Mash Gang's Unlucky Charms cereal milk pale ale!

(As a heads up to my fellow cereal enthusiasts, I'm not much of a drinker, and I'm not sure if I have the language to successfully review a beer but I will do my absolute best!)

Now, I'm no novice to milk and beer. A couple months ago my friend and I tried the White Gilgamesh! It was vile. If fault lies with the beer we used or the goat milk combo we'll never know but I could not suffer through even a tiny glass of it. This brush with hideous beer/milk mix meant I came into this pale ale extremely uneasily.

Detailed on the back of the can is a full explanation of the flavour, stated as an oat cream base and experimental hops that give it notes of fruits and berries. It also apparently contains creamy notes of banana and peach. Clearly, this is going for some sort of Froot Loops energy, and my initial sip did kind of pick up on that.

The beer manages to capture the aura of a bowl of cereal milk, but I wasn't really able to articulate why while drinking it. There was something there, underneath the taste of Pale Ale, lurking in the shallows was an aura of of milk left in the bottom of a bowl. Round of applause for Mash Gang on achieving this goal!

Now that their success has been acknowledged I must come out and say, I did not like this beer at all. Sometimes just because we can achieve something, might not necessarily mean we should. The beer wasn't particularly sweet, which was my worry going in, but in hindsight, it actually might have been better if it was. Something about the hoppy ale combined with an underlying savoury creamy fruitiness was incredibly confusing. It was like the two flavours existed at once, but not together. I put in my best effort but unfortunately, this can of beer was a DNF for me.

#Thank you Ash for gifting me this beer!#White Gilgamesh

Today's cereal is Off Limits Pancake and Marshmallow cereal!

Initial impressions: Some extremely kind friends brought this cereal box back for me from the States. Thank you friends!

I've enjoyed Off Limits before, especially their Dash cereal, which is the standard with which I judge all coffee flavorings in breakfast foods, so I'm so excited to crack into this one. This excitement is made especially poignant after last years tragic letdown, the IHOP Mini Pancake cereal which I sadly had to rank last in my 2023 cereal roundup. I can't wait to see what a competently handled pancake cereal could be!

Post-bowl thoughts: As I cracked into this bag, the potent smell of pancake wafted up and warmly embraced me like an old friend. Despite this good omen, I went in kind of skeptical because the coloring is an anemic flat white stretching from the milk to the marbits and cereal pieces themselves. When reflecting the sun, it is almost blinding. However, we know here at the Bowl Zone that sometimes looks can be deceiving and thankfully that was the case with this cereal masterpiece.

This cereal tastes exactly like pancakes! Though I think the flavoring might just be really high quality maple syrup? It's not a subtle or complex flavor but it clearly and distinctly rings out through every bite. The marbits feature a pleasant vanilla that pairs nicely, without getting lost in the maple, so you can clearly distinguish between a bite with a marbit and a bite without.

Textually these little chickpea shaped orbs are crunchy, don't sog in milk, and are small enough that you can fit a good amount on your spoon so each bite feels meaningful. The base grain doesn't contribute much flavor by itself and as a result it doesn't get in it's own way, allowing the warm maple to shine.

Unlike the cereal pieces, the marbits are kind of eroded by the milk. This is from the inside out, as the crunchy marshmallow disintegrates into a hard shell with a gungy sweet inside that has been one of the true pleasures of my life to eat. It lacks the nails-on-a-chalk-board sensation I sometimes get on my teeth when eating other cereal marbits and instead provides actual taste and texture complexity to each bite it's featured in.

Off Limits has done it again, they have taken a relatively simple flavor palette and done such a fantastic job with it that it becomes the new cereal standard for that category. It was all finished off with a wonderfully sweet milk that contained a generous reminder of the joy that had just come to pass in the now finished bowl. This may be my favorite cereal of the year so far!

#pancakes done right #this cereal makes me want a to drink the jug of maple syrup they give you when you order french toast

What are your thoughts on cereal combinations? My family likes to do a half sweet, half unsweet mix. My preference is shreddies with crunchy nut cornflakes. My wife prefers branflakes with something chocolatey, usually craze.

Do you ever mix cereals?

Oh man, this is such a great question! I don't typically mix cereals, though that's only because I have myself on a pretty strict one cereal box at a time rule. Without it, my cereal purchasing quickly spirals out of control! Having said that, I'm incredibly curious about the potential mix of flavors and textures a half and half bowl can offer, I can only imaging it's sublime. This might be a powerful enough allure to break the single box rule!

I'll report back with my findings when I get a chance to try it out, and thanks so much for telling me about this! I love to hear about new cereal innovations.

#half and half #cereal creativity at it's finest

Today's cereal is Special K Crunchy Golden Clusters!

Initial impressions: some dedicated Bowl Zone readers might know this already, but I am actually quite intolerant to gluten. So, of course when I saw potentially the most gluten forward cereal box I've ever seen, I had to pick it up. I bought this box a couple weeks ago and have just kind of been looking at it, building up the courage to eat it. Special K is also not a cereal I've ever given much consideration to. I'm curious to see if these new clusters evoke a Special K passion within.

Post bowl thoughts: well, this cereal looks like eco-friendly cat litter. It doesn't have much of a smell. I saw all this and went in as a hater, but little did I know, this is a fantastic cereal. There is golden syrup in the mix here but the main flavor is really the grain itself which is deeply unusual in today's landscape of corn-based cereals. It feels savory and fulfilling with that sweetness cutting through to make it a really moreish bowl. The texture is somewhat grainy but ultimately reminds me of a really sturdy bread. There is a deep crunchiness here, a texture I can't really describe as anything other than a cronch. The pieces kept their sturdiness in the milk and provided such a toothsome eating experience that this small bowl of cereal felt like a full meal. Talk about a breakfast to start your day off right. The only downside to this cereal is that it is simply too nice, I cannot be trusted to make sensible choices with it under my roof. It will have to be passed along to a friend while I sit and yearn for what could have been.

#this is the one year anniversary of this blog!#Thank you everyone for sticking around this long and listening to me say silly things about cereal!

Hi! You inspire me to broaden my cereal horizons. There’s this dark chocolate and sea salt super foods granola from simply nature that I’m trying with milk today. It has this slight salty taste that I think goes well with the chocolate and sugar, but I’m kinda an amateur at cereal consumption so that’s just what I believe! Maybe you can try it out and give us your opinion sometime.

Oh man, inspiring someone to broaden their cereal horizons is honestly the biggest complement I've ever received!

That sounds like a great granola, I can see dark chocolate going really well with a salted undercurrent like that. I hadn't actually heard of Simply Nature before this, so thank you for making me aware. I've got a trip coming up to the States at the end of this year and I plan on taking a separate cereal suitcase with me, this granola is at the top of my shopping list! Once I get my hands on it, a review will be imminent. If there are any other cereals I should try please let me know!

Todays cereal is Crunchy Nut Salted Caramel!

Initial impressions: It’s wild that with salted caramel being such an otherwise ubiquitous flavor, this is the first cereal I’ve seen attempt it. Perhaps this is due to salty cereal not sounding particularly appetizing, but I’m interested to see what the Crunchy Nut artisans can make with this new ‘flavor twist’.

Post bowl thoughts: I think it’s safe to say that salted caramel cereal has still not yet been attempted. There is no discernible salt in this. Nothing. With the promise of salted caramel you expect to be able to taste it from the offset but I spent much of my time crunching through this bowl desperately trying to pick up on any salted component. Maybe I missed it? Surely something stating itself to be salted caramel so ardently wouldn’t fail at the first hurdle like this? The missed opportunity for new cereal innovation really rubs salt in the wound of this disappointment... The stated premise of the cereal aside, what we’re left with is actually quite a pleasant bowl of Crunchy Nut! The caramel flavor is mild, but it’s got a depth to it that’s appreciated. It tastes almost pleasantly burnt, and it doesn't suffer from being sickly sweet like other caramel flavorings. Perhaps this restraint is meant to stand in for salt? Either way, the subtle and mature flavor combined with the classic Crunchy Nut flakes and some amazing milk leftover in the bowl make this a strong cereal, just not the one I was expecting.

#apologies for that salt in the wound comment #there was no other option

Todays cereal is Chocolate Corn Flakes!

Initial impressions: A couple years ago I tried (and greatly enjoyed) a box of chocolate Frosties, so when I came across these Chocolate Corn Flakes in my local corner shop I knew I needed them. The humble Corn Flake hits the spot like only the best cereals can, something about the slightly soggy slightly crunchy spoonability a good serving of Corn Flakes brings to the table makes them an S-tier cereal. Let’s see what chocolate can add to the mix of this classic flake!

Post bowl thoughts: I was wrong to assume these would just be chocolate Frosties, which had the sweetness one expects of a frosted cereal and beyond that were relatively one-dimensional.

This bowl of Corn Flakes is doing what all cereals that say they are for adults should be doing. It’s taking that slightly too sweet, one-note child’s food and elevating it to an adults palate.

The Corn Flakes are the same cereal pieces we all know and love so I won’t discuss texture, instead the important part is the chocolate.

These flakes are not overly sweet, keeping them true to the core identity of the Corn Flake. Instead what you get is a rich, deep chocolate that doesn’t cross into sickly or too much. These are both a breakfast and a dessert flake, with the perfect chocolate for all occasions. The chocolaty milk at the end was the cherry on top of this thrilling new bowl. This is one of the best chocolate cereals I’ve ever had.

#if cornflakes have a million fans I’m one of them #also starting a petition for Kellogg’s to spell cornflakes as one word #corn flake being the official spelling is just wrong

Back with another mini-review today as fellow cereal enthusiast @butcheredtongue recently left me an incredibly intriguing ask suggesting substituting the milk in a bowl of previously reviewed Crunchy Nut Bites for almond cold brew. Besides my past dalliance with Milk Squash, I haven't really experimented with alternative liquids in cereal before. I stick pretty firmly to lactose free cow milk and surprisingly the thought of making a change to another option hadn't crossed my mind before. I've previously written a whole review bemoaning the lack of coffee cereals, so this struck me as a perfect way to add that much desired coffee flavor to places where it's lacking.

The almond cold brew I used in this bowl of Crunchy Nut Bites was mocha flavored, which I was initially concerned about. Would the chocolate get in the way or over complicate the bowl? I needn't have worried, as no one could have predicted, adding chocolate to something that's already sweet and nutty only improves it exponentially. The coffee itself was an incredible pairing, the slight bitterness alongside the Crunchy Nut Bites hazelnut paste filling transforms this into a much more nuanced and complex bowl. It was a cereal for my adult taste buds, while still being deliciously sweet. It made for a fantastic and decadent breakfast. I might start trying some more milk substitutions as a result of this, so if anyone has further ideas let me know! As long as it's not orange juice, we all have our limits and I think that might be mine.

#experimental liquids #mocha almond cold brew

Todays cereal is Black Milk Pistachio Cream & White Chocolate Granola!

Initial impressions: I have a trip to Manchester coming up and, like any normal person would do, I googled 'Manchester cereal' to see if there were any fun cereal-based experiences that had popped up since I was last there. This is how I found Black Milk, a Northern Quarter based cafe that produces their own spreads and granola. This pistachio granola jumped out at me instantly and had to be ordered. We don't often cover granola here on the Bowl Zone, so it's a delightful change of pace. Containing oats, pistachios, white chocolate and Black Milk's 'signature' pistachio cream baked into chunks, it's got a lot to live up to!

Post bowl thoughts: This is quite a dusty and fine granola, reminiscent of a Nature Valley bar that has been left at the bottom of a backpack for three months and then consumed in a moment of desperation. As a result it congeals into a not all together unpleasant oat cement at the bottom of the bowl quite quickly. It's not bad textually, as it still maintains an element of crunch, but it is definitely a heavy bowl to eat as a result. The flavor however is spectacular. I think I was expecting more of an artificial taste but the pistachio that shines through is rich and clearly comes from the inclusion of the nuts themselves. The baked pistachio cream has an almost burnt taste to it, adding a slightly bitter note that is beautifully complemented by the sweetness of the white chocolate. It's a mature and sophisticated bowl of granola that manages to still be sweet and delicious. This richness of taste and heavy texture meant I found it hard to eat a whole bowl, but I savored every moment I had with it and can't wait to demolish the rest of the box.

#granola!#pistachios

Todays post is not a review but instead an important piece of cereal news! Scrolling through the cereal world of EBay looking for accessories and collectibles I came across the ultimate cereal purchase. A flake of Honey Bunches of Oats in the shape of the USA. Found in 2009 and stored ever after in a ziplock bag, this patriotic and frankly inspiring piece of cereal history can be yours for either $1,776.00 or £1,392.89 (plus £40 postage) depending on where you live.

I would love to eat, and subsequently review this remarkable flake but alas I’m not at a place in my cereal reviewing career where I can drop a cool £1,392.89 (plus £40 postage) on one singular and presumably very stale flake. Instead, I share it with you, my fellow cereal enthusiasts, enjoy!

#I pledge allegiance to the Honey Bunches of Oats USA flake and to the republic on which it stands #not a review

Today's cereal is Vanilla Spice Cheerios!

Initial impressions: We're kicking off the new year here at the Bowl Zone with a hotly anticipated Cheerio creation. I have no idea what vanilla spice is meant to be, is it just vanilla and cinnamon as the box implies? Certainly from the cinnamony scent wafting from the inside plastic bag it seems that might be the case, but I can't wait to find out.

Post-bowl thoughts: These are not the classic whole-oat hoops that Cheerios are renowned for, with some inclusion of corn in the base grain the texture is different then I have come to expect of the classic Os. While the specifically oaty feel on the tongue has remained, it features some of the hollow crunch that has come to be associated with corn-based cereals. In this bowl however, it works quite well to add more of a snap to the bite than usual. Not bad, just not the classic Cheerio experience I'm perhaps unhealthily emotionally attached to after a childhood of intensive Cheerio consumption. As for the flavor, Cheerios once again do a fantastic job of balancing the strength of flavoring perfectly, it's neither too mild or too strong, complementing the base of the cereal nicely and forming an incredibly easy to eat bowl. However, it is literally just cinnamon. If I had to guess, including the word 'spice' on the box was a way to capitalize on the popularity of other spice based flavorings. I can't even really taste vanilla in here, though that's not unsurprising as vanilla is widely the most unsuccessful cereal flavoring. If anyone has any suggestions for good vanilla cereals let me know because I have just never seen it done well. Overall this is a great bowl of Cheerios that doesn't quite live up to the best Cheerios out there on the cereal market. The milk was a delightful finisher to this bowl, and I'll no doubt polish off the box in the rest of the week but I don't think it will leave much of a lasting memory behind once gone.

#cheerios #nebulously vague 'spice'#Surprise cat

Before the year draws to a close I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the best (and worst) cereals of 2023. I appreciate you all coming on this cereal ride with me this year, and can't wait to see what cereals 2024 has in store!

Top three cereals of 2023: 1. Frosted Lemon Cheerios - How tragic it is that these Cheerios were a limited time offer, such was their creativity and deliciousness. As it is, I picked them up on a trip to the States in April and had to be satisfied with one singular box of delight. Here's hoping that the summer of 2024 sees Frosted Lemon Cheerios return with a citrussy flourish.

2. Crunchy Nut Bites - An unexpected light in the darkness of these winter months, this has become a staple of my cereal shelf ever since that first box of them in November. Although a small and slightly expensive, it's hard to rival Crunchy Nut Bites for texture and joy. A welcome bowl of this cereal is a fine way to kick off the first morning of 2024.

3. South Korean Oreo O's - My white whale of cereal was finally acquired this year and lo and behind, I able to confirm what the online cereal community had previously stated. This is the best form of Oreo O's available. Rich, chocolaty and indulgent there is no improvement that can be had for this triumph of the form.

Honorable mention - Although I don't post anything personal on this blog it seems remiss to reflect on the year as such without including the best part of it. My adopted son Mr. Garlic, who is a big fan of sniffing all the cereal I try.

Now, for sadly the worst cereal of 2023...

IHOP Mini Pancake Cereal - The crushing domination of corn as a cheap base for cereal strikes again with this 'blueberry pancake' experience, included here in quotes for it was certainly not the flavor I experienced. A bad cereal is one thing, but a disappointing bad cereal is another and although I tried in my review to find a redeeming aspect of it, with the power of hindsight I spiritually banish this box of cereal to where it belongs... the trash.

#happy new year #who doesn't love a list #sorry for shoehorning my cat in here...

Today's cereal is Tim Hortons Apple Fritter cereal!

We're going to break from standard review format for this one and do more of a mini-review, a spoonzone instead of a full bowlzone if you will. I tried this Apple Fritter cereal at the beginning of the month and have felt unusually uninspired to write about it. It's not bad but it's also not very good which is disappointing coming from Post, my favorite cereal manufacturer.

A couple years ago Post put out some Dunkin' Mocha and Caramel Macchiato cereals which were truly fantastic but, so far, their partnership with Tim Hortons has not managed to create the same creative and delicious output.

This Fritter cereal is perfectly serviceable, it kind of tastes like apple and cinnamon and has an autumnal apple cider scent that wafts pleasantly from the box. The texture is fine, with the base grain of corn being mixed with just enough oat to remove that unappealing hollow chewing sensation that a lot of corn based cereals suffer from. I think this is why I found this bowl so boring, there wasn't anything to lift this cereal out of the realm of the mediocre. The specific corn/oat blend they use gives the pieces an oddly grainy texture and the taste is unpleasantly artificial without being particularly strong. All in all it makes for a confusing bowl that I didn't have any strong feelings about either way. Tragic.

#tim hortons #apple fritter #there is nothing worse than a boring cereal

Dear bowlzone Mod,

I wanted to write to you in heartfelt thanks for your recommendation of Crunchy Nut Bites. I, spurred on by your review, made the perilous journey to my nearest Waitrose (the only supermarket that stocket them) to acquire the Bites, and can honestly say that I have never put £3.39 to a better cause. These are as close to the perfect cereal as I've had (even as someone who, like you, is not fond of Kravelikes on the whole), and my flatmate and I will probably have gotten through the box by tomorrow. I would also like to report on an experimental application of the cereal which proved rewarding: we tried our first bowl with milk, then, hunched over the living room table like mad scientists, added iced coffee (califia farms brand almond cold brew, to be precise), creating what I believe to be the ideal breakfast, even as a former hardline dairy milk purist. If you like & can have almond milk coffee, I strongly recommend the combo.

Thank you again for your review (& for your blog, which is one of my favourites), and I hope you have a lovely day :)

Thank you so much for your kind feedback about the blog, and I'm so glad you enjoyed the Crunchy Nut Bites! I can't believe I have never thought to put coffee in cereal before, this sounds like the perfect combination. I know Gabe from Cereal Time also swears by almond milk in cereal, so with your recommendation stacked on top of that it is definitely time for me to try it out.

When I get my hands on some almond cold brew I'll report back with my thoughts!

Today's cereal is Kelloggs Crunchy Nut Bites!

Initial impressions: As some avid readers of this blog will know, I'm ambivalent about the genre of cereal I am going to call Kravelikes. They rarely do it for me in the way a classic hoop or flake do. To me, Crunchy Nut is so much about the texture that I'm curious to see how these represent that Crunchy Nut essence within their little packages.

Post bowl thoughts: For the first time in Bowl Zone history I am writing these particular post bowl thoughts about two weeks after initially trying the cereal. A busy fortnight meant I never got to finish off the review in a timely manner, however I have managed to finish off three whole boxes of Crunchy Nut Bites. This cereal is simply phenomenal. The Krave style exterior remains largely uninteresting, with the appeal of this cereal being the creamy hazelnut and honey filling. Unlike the unsatisfying pastes and hard fillings of other Kravelikes, these Crunchy Nut Bites are filled with a silky smooth nut butter that melts on the tongue. The flavor is simple but offers a nice clean sweetness that is infinitely edible without becoming cloying. Pairing this textured filling with milk forms one of the most texturally sublime bites of cereal I've ever had. On top of this milk soaked perfection, reaching into the box and pulling out a raw handful of these dry is a perfect snack. My one major complaint with Crunchy Nut Bites is tied to how much I enjoy it. The box is absurdly small. It claims 12 servings but I think they must be basing that on serving sizes for Borrowers. I wish I could freely eat this cereal without having to ration my servings, knowing that I can only find these specific boxes at the least convenient supermarket for me to get to. If you can get a hold of these I would strongly recommend giving them a go, and as for this review, I think I'm going to have to leave it here so I can pour myself another bowl.

#crunchy nut bites #I am literally eating crunchy nut bites as I type this

Discovered your blog today and realized that you might be the correct person to answer this question. My local Star Market was inundated with Icee branded mixed-berry cereal, which claims to “cool the mouth”. A lot of them ended up in the discount section because nobody wanted them, I guess. But I’m a morbidly curious man. By any chance, did these make their way to the UK, and if so (or if they can be easily and cheaply imported), could you tell me how the hell they go about this whole “mouth-cooling” business without being more minty than berrylike?

Hi there, you have indeed come to the right place! I've not been able to get my hands on that Icee cereal but I know exactly what you are talking about. I first heard about the Icee cereal on episode 89 of the podcast The Empty Bowl, you can find it here. The Icee discussion starts around the 12 minute mark. They do indeed note that the sensation of eating this cereal is vaguely minty, even numbing. They liken it to 'chewing a fun time menthol cigarette for kids', which honestly makes me want to try it. I have absolutely no clue what is causing that cooling sensation, but man does it sound like an experience. If you are interested in a full write up of this cereal you can find Dan Goubert's review here! They have done 'cooling' cereals before (I get the impression they might be trying to make this into a bit of a trend) with Elf On the Shelf's Snow Creme Cereal last Christmas. Why they haven't just tried it with a minty flavor is beyond me, as that's the only setting I personally can see it working in. We shall see as the new Christmas cereals start to come out if something slimier hits the shelves. If you end up trying it, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

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