Now I can enjoy a full-flavored hot beverage without the "fringe benefits" of sugar, caffeine, or alcohol.

One tip: I found I can use a paper filter with my drip coffee maker as long as it's on the 1-4 cup setting and I keep an eye on the water level.

I received the sampler last week and have now tried them all. In case you want to know what each one is like, here it is: Double Chocolate tastes a bit artificial to me but may be just right for someone starting their cacao journey; Ghana Light is a very pleasant, light flavor, close to a light coffee roast; Venezuela Medium has a darker, more complex flavor; Ghana French tastes pretty close to coffee in mouth feel and roasting style; Uber Dark is just as it sounds, a very dark roast with a slightly burnt scent, mellowed out with the addition of a milk. All in all, I enjoyed them and will be ordering a couple of CrioBrus again.

I was slightly hesitant to try even though I adore very dark chocolate but decided to give it a try and it quickly became my new favorite hot drink.

So, what to expect? This is NOT like the sugary hot chocolate you've had, so get that out of your mind. Do you enjoy dark chocolate? 80%, 90%, 100%, the serious stuff? If so, you're in the right place! If you are trying to duplicate middling, milk and sugar filled candy bars, well this might not be for you.

In case you hadn't noticed, when you drink hot chocolate, you taste the milk and sugar on your tongue, bitter happens on the tongue too, but the chocolate explosion happens in your nose!

As you take a sip of this, it may taste a bit watery at first, you will get that same familiar bitterness you get from seriously dark chocolates and a few undertones, but as you exhale through your nose, BAM(!), the explosion of chocolate hits!

Me, I might add a little milk and about a half tablespoon of sugar to change things up, but I have also played with ginger, honey, chili, really anything you might find in quality dark chocolate.

BTW, what's left after brewing is edible and guess what it tastes like?

I want to start out by saying that I am not a coffee drinker or even a tea drinker. My go to hot drink is the occasional hot chocolate. I knew this would be nothing close to hot chocolate, but I was expecting it would at least taste like chocolate. The grounds smell delicious and chocolatey but no matter what I try, this tastes horribly bitter when brewed and there’s no chocolate flavor.

If you enjoy coffee this may taste great to you, but for a chocolate lover who does enjoy some good dark chocolate, I did not find this enjoyable.