Qi’a?
You mean like that car company? Or are you talking about those cute ceramic pets that grow plants on their backs? Oh, wait, you must be thinking of “iQi’a,” the popular Swedish furniture and meatball emporium.
Forgive me for the bad puns, but those were the things that came to my mind as I tried pronouncing the name of Qi’a Cocoa Coconut aloud in the cereal aisle. I’m still not sure I’m saying it right, and since it took me 3 months just to wrap my tongue around the correct pronunciation of quinoa, I might just quite while I’m ahead.
Nature’s Path Organic’s current Qi’a line of power bars and oatmeal also includes three new Superflakes cereals (the other two are Coconut Chia and Honey Chia). They’re expensive, so I had to be selective in my choice. I figured Cocoa Coconut would make for the most unique cereal, since chocolate and coconut is rarely seen in cereal ever since my doctor told me that “eating fudge-dipped macaroons in milk isn’t part of this complete breakfast.”
I guess he skipped the med school lesson on “how to diagnose a good time.”
For a superfood superflake cereal, it sure does come in a super small bag that’s super hard to open. These flakes better be super tasty or else I’ll be super mad and demand a super refund and just eat some soup or a salad instead.
I take my first bite, and wow: these taste just like caramel-free Samoa Girl Scout Cookies!
…for about half a second. There really is a flavor burst of sweetened coconut pleasantly coated in slightly salty and creamy chocolate, but it’s gone faster than a ninja can say “ki-yah!” Once this pop of warm-baked cookie love simmers, I’m forced to taste the actual base of the cereal, and I’m not over-exaggerating when I say it kind of ruins everything.
See, Qi’a Cocoa Coconut is a certified organic, non-GMO, and gluten-free cereal. Gluten-free cereals tend to come in two forms: the kind that replaces the flour with a nearly identical tasting gluten-free flour (like Cheerios), and this kind. This kind of gluten-free cereal tries replacing the flour with an experimental “flour alternative,” and here the experiment blows up like a science fair baking soda & vinegar volcano strapped to a firecracker.
The flakes are made with a blend of black bean flour and brown rice flour. While using bean flour works uniquely well for Love Grown Foods’ line of cereals, the rice ‘n’ bean (not to be confused with Heisenberg’s ricin beans) combo here leads to a tooth-bustingly crunchy flake that becomes uncomfortably gummy when chewed. As for the taste, the mildly bitter bean flavor is made even bitterer by the flakes’ very lightly sweetened cocoa powder bite.
I had hope that the papery wisps of coconut would make things better, but the sheet ghost shavings only manage to worsen this cereal madness. Like any baker’s coconut, these coconut bits are cloyingly sweet. Because of this, munching a full handful of Qi’a Cocoa Coconut cereal is a painfully crunchy mess of super-sweet highs and super-bitter lows that go up and down more often than an indecisive Sherpa.
If you insist on trying this cereal, I must insist that you eat it with milk. The mellow sweetness of creamy milk is able to somewhat unite the two flavor extremes. Milk doesn’t help the texture, but if you squint your taste buds real tight, Qi’a Cocoa Coconut starts to taste like a bowl full of milk-soaked, chocolate-dipped bean macaroons.
But when I look at Qi’a Cocoa Coconut holistically instead of whole milk-istically, the few Samoa moments I experienced weren’t worth the cost or serving size. And since “bean macaroons” is the highest praise I am able to give this cereal, there’s no way I can give it more than a 4 out of 10.
After all, that’s one point for every dollar I spent on it.
The Bowl: Qi’a Superfood Cocoa Coconut Superflakes Cereal
The Breakdown: A kiss of cocoa-coco Girl Scout cookie is the best you’ll get from this overly fancy, gummy and bittersweet flop. Just keep drowning it in milk until you can’t see the flakes any more.
The Bottom Line: 4 million-dollar ideas for “Tagalongs Cereal” out of 10
(Quick Nutrition Facts: 240 calories, 6 grams of fiber, 6 grams of sugar, and 6 grams of protein per 1 cup serving)
I am not a cereal eater, but was looking for a healthy snack a few years ago, and cocoa-coconut appealed to me. I’m addicted now, but have trouble finding it in the stores. The ONLY thing I can agree on w/Dan G. is the cost of the product, but relative to the price that people pay for the junk cereals, ‘we get what we pay for’. I completely disagree w/every other comment Dan made. Best cereal EVER…for those not living in junkfood land.
This is a WOW tasting Superfood cereal.. I’m sure it’s not for everyone but it certainly is for me. It has the BEST Coco taste and the coconut is not stiff but very fresh and delicious! I will make it my breakfast food..Love It!!!❤
I bought this cereal for the first time, and when I tried it, wow, I loved it. I used unsweetened Vanilla Ripple milk, (it’s a plant-based milk), I also added blackberries and raspberries to the cereal which gave it a delicious twist. I would definitely recommend this cereal‼️
Interesting review, sorry you weren’t sold on it. Wow, I just bought my first box this morning and am in love with it 🙂 It is definitely pricey, but worth it to me because it seems like the healthiest packaged cereal out there with no added sugar. I eat dry cereal and am literally sitting here pounding the box, it reminds me of Coco Puffs. I didn’t even notice the bean flour and the delicious cocoa taste held out for me, I wonder if they’ve changed the recipe since 2016….?
I just tried this for the first time and I loved it. I am not much of a dairy person so I eat it as a snack and I love the crunch. I am not sure how much it costs as my husband found it and brought it home for me. It does not have an after taste to me and I would recommend trying it.
Don’t believe the negative reviews! Try for yourself!! I bought the cocoa and coconut on sale and really liked it!!
I like this cereal. It tastes good IMO and does win for nutritional value but it is really pricey. It’s good sprinkled on other cereals to boost the fullness/energy factor. I live in BC Canada and have only found it in London Drugs. When it goes on sale I splurge and buy 3 boxes at a time. I wish they made a bulk size bag of it!
I thought this cereal was amazing! The texture is great and not beany at all. I also love huge chunks of coconut! Low sugar, sprouted grains which are super digestible. I don’t normally buy cereal because they’re generally not healthy but this ones a winner!
I really like the chocolate coconut cereal. Although I don’t like the price for the tiny bit you get. Sometimes I mix it with rice Chex to stretch it.
I really love them. I eat them with soy or almond milk and let them soak in there for a lil bit. Once they are softer and the milk gets the chocolate flavor I can eat a whole box 😁
This cereal is so good!
Highly recommended for anyone seeking a good quality, gluten free cereal. I love the crunch and cocoa flavor.
Had my first taste of cocoa coconut superflakes while sampling at Natural grocers, had to go back for thirds. Not a fan of cereal but I love this stuff. I eat it as a snack ..love the crunch and it’s delish in vanilla yogurt. All the goodness keeps my energy level up in the morning.
I believe that Super flakes cocoa coconut cereal is a healthy cereal. But it is a very hard cereal. I have to allow it to soak in milk for five minutes in order to soften it before I can eat it.I made the mistake of buying five boxes of the cereal before I tried them.
I’ve tried all 3 flavors and found the Coacoa Coconut to be pretty good although i didn’t buy the cereal because I thought is was going to be very tasty. I read the ingredients and saw that most of the cereal was made from sprouted grains or sprouted beans, used a low glycemic sweetener,coconut palm sugar, and had a good amount of soluble and insoluble fibers. The other ingredients were wholesome and straight forward. It has low sodium content and the long steady energy I get feels good and makes it easier for me to focus at work. It’s also organic, that means there’s no frankenstein gmo’s in it.
If you are interested in a food to help you feel good aside from the time you are consuming it and providing your body with maximum nutritional density per calorie, this is by far the best cereal on the mainstream market that I have come across by far.
I did get it on sale though for $2.99. Any cereal over the $3.99 threshold is pretty hard for me to stomach.
Thanks for your reviews! Your humors helps the sad news!
Hm what a letdown. After I first saw them in a post on impulsive buy, I had really high hopes for them. Especially cause I still want to try cereal with the unique use of bean Flour and the fact the love grown version work so well with bean in it. And cause I liked their unique shape xD
And though the cocoa coconut ones wouldn’t be my pic for the review I’m sure the other two cereal won’t be that much better. Thanks for reviewing!
One last thing: hell what is that for a small amount of cereal you get for your money? Oo
Was really shocked how much or better less was really in the box oO
Ps: yes phone again, that’s why I won’t how my picture next to my post but yeah it’s me ^^
I guess black beans can make a surprisingly good brownie but not a surprisingly good cereal!
Honestly first thought the word was an abbreviation for quinoa.
As a purely dry cereal eater, I would never have passed up a new cereal with chocolate and coconut. In that case, thanks for saving me some cash on this clear debacle.
Yep, you’re much better off tossing some baker’s coconut into your Cocoa Puffs.