Maybe this would be different if that hot “pepper” spice actually had a complex flavor. Sure, this may be the most authentic Cinnamon Toast Crunch has been about its namesake ingredient, but the sharp cinnamon flavor here does not juxtapose the spiciness in any pleasant or meaningful way, instead only amplifying the pain and Spartan ordeal of the experience. By which I mean I am absolutely caustically repulsed by it! What’s wrong with it? Where to begin…įirst off, I never thought I’d say this about a Toast Crunch product, but where’s the sweetness? Despite the bag’s claim of a spicy-sweet balance, they really just doubled down on the spice, pairing the hot spice with an overwhelmingly literal cinnamon spice. Honestly though, I was barely paying attention to the spice, because I couldn’t get over the taste of CinnaFuego Toast Crunch. That is to say, it certainly tingled my tongue, and the heat definitely builds to an infernal crescendo the more you eat, but there’s no way this cereal is going to seriously challenge veteran habanero-seasoned palates. On a scale of Cool Ranch to Flamin’ Hot Dorito, this is a high-Spicy Nacho. With all that said, my first bite of CinnaFuego Toast Crunch-which looks just like normal CTC-wasn’t that spicy. But I still order Thai food with no-to-low spice, and a stint on Hot Ones would undoubtedly not only kill me but also somehow erase all record of me from this earth, melting my blog, journals, and others’ memories of me into a thin red gruel. Granted, I’m not a total baby, having slowly worked my way up from not being able to tolerate even a drop of sriracha ketchup to enjoying a casual line of the real stuff mixed into dips, soups. Let me go over my qualifications real quick: I am not a spicy food savant by any means. But before we get to the flavor, I”ll answer the question I know you’re really here for: is it spicy? Preceding my taste test like a sinister aura, CinnaFuego Toast Crunch gives off a potent odor that more or less gives away what it’s going to taste like.

Here goes nothing: one giant leap for Dan-kind. On the precipice of hitherto untouched territory, gripping the first-ever spicy cereal with quivering mitts, like I’m Neo about to take my own personal red pill (y’know, before that term was irretrievably tarnished).īut will this precipice be a mere waypoint preceding cereal innovation’s newest pinnacle? Or the edge of a steep cliff that drops off into the fiery pits of Hell?Īllow me to find out, as your sacrificial scout.

Cinnamon toast crunch