Hot Cocoa Roundup – Seven Varieties Reviewed

Friday, January 11, 2008 - by Amber

It’s winter and what Candy Addict doesn’t love some liquid chocolate? I am a hot cocoa fanatic. I hate the cold, but the only ray of sunshine in an otherwise dismal winter is the prospect of hot cocoa. It must be served in the winter. There’s something so soothing about drinking warm chocolate when you’re wrapped up in a blanket on a cold night.

I chose seven types of hot chocolate for this tasting. They are, in the order I tasted them, Hershey’s Special Dark Hot Cocoa, Cacao Reserve by Hershey’s Mayan Blend Drinking Cocoa Premium Mix, Land O’Lakes Butterscotch Hot Cocoa, Land of Lakes Mint Hot Cocoa, Swiss Miss French Vanilla Hot Cocoa, Swiss Miss Dark Chocolate Sensation Hot Cocoa, and Godiva Hot Cocoa.

The first obstacle in tasting all these cocoas was the water vs. milk debate. Some of the hot cocoas direct you to use water specifically, others say to use milk instead, and still others have water in the directions but say, “for a richer creamier treat, replace water with heated milk.” At first, I decided to follow their strict instructions, but ended up winging it a little. I always choose milk over water, but for the purposes of the review, I used water when it was called for, in most instances. On to the reviews. . .

They suggested water in their directions but optionally suggested milk for a richer, creamier treat. I’m all for richer and creamier so I used 6 ounces of 2% milk. I heated it in the microwave in a measuring cup and poured it over the cocoa in a mug. I had trouble getting all the cocoa to dissolve. I wish I had a small whisk for such a time. It was a bitter cup of hot cocoa with a sweet aftertaste that lingered. Personally, I love dark chocolate, but this was too bitter, even for me. I guess I like my hot chocolate sweeter than I like my candy bar chocolate. It did have a nice creamy foam that enhanced the experience. Afterwards, I felt like I needed to brush my teeth.

They suggested 6 ounces of hot water to make this hot cocoa and didn’t mention milk anywhere. In fact, there was some comment about the original cocoa drinkers mixing it with water, so I think they wanted you to use water, so I did. It was a very dark cocoa, maybe even darker than the “Special Dark” I had just tried. It had a weird flavor that I couldn’t really place. At first I thought it was a little nutty, although the ingredients do not mention any nuts. Then I thought it tasted kind of burnt. I did notice that tiny granules of the cocoa were visible when splashed against the side of the cup, like it didn’t dissolve or something. It really wasn’t chocolatey; that, or it just didn’t taste like any chocolate I was used to. It was smooth though, and I think it was better than the Special Dark.

As soon as I opened the package, this wonderful Butterscotch aroma came wafting towards me. It really made me eager to try it. It called for 6 ounces of water and, again, no mention of milk as an option, so I used water (against my better judgment). The powder was a pretty caramel color. When I mixed in the hot water, it was a pretty light chocolate color and had a good froth to it. It definitely had a buttery flavor. I wish I had bought two so that I could try one with milk. I think it would have been much better with milk. The froth was very tasty; it reminds me of a specialty coffee for some reason. It’s got a lingering sweetness about it. I liked it more than the others so far.

Breaktime
At this point in the tasting process, I was starting to feel a little sick. Granted, I wasn’t drinking the full cup of each type of cocoa, but still, all the sweetness was getting to me. I decided to eat a few grapes (I’ve heard they cleanse the palette), drink some water, and push on. Oh, the sacrifices we make as Candy Addicts.

This cocoa suggested water as well, but since I regretted not using milk with the Butterscotch Land O’Lakes, I went ahead and used 6 ounces of milk with the mint flavor. When I opened the package, there wasn’t a very strong mint smell to it. I had to stick my nose right up to the cup to smell any mint at all. As the milk heated in the microwave, I kept sniffing it to place the kind of mint that I smelled. In the end, I decided it smelled kind of medicinal, maybe even like that stuff you rub on your chest when you’re sick (Vap-O-Rub?), but much less strong. I poured it in the cup and poured the hot water over it and stirred well. It wasn’t very dark and the cocoa dissolved quickly and fully, no globs of cocoa. The mint flavor was very light, just kind of a light aftertaste. It was sweet though. It was rich and creamy, probably due mostly to the milk I used. It wasn’t as good as the butterscotch, that’s for sure, and I sure couldn’t drink a whole cup of it because it was so sweet. It was too sweet and not nearly minty enough.

This cocoa called for hot water, not milk, so I used water as it suggested. It created a very frothy hot cocoa and the cocoa mixed well with the hot water, no lumps. It smelled very vaguely of vanilla. When I tasted it, I was very pleased. It was delicious! It was sweet, but not too sweet. I imagine it would be very good with mini marshmallows. I didn’t use any marshmallows in my reviews, thinking that it would cover up the true cocoa flavor I was reviewing. I do love mini marshmallows though. I used to drink French Vanilla Cappuccino in college to stay awake late at night, but I never really liked coffee. This is exactly like those French Vanilla Cappuccino drinks but without the coffee. It’s perfect! This was so good that I didn’t want to pour out the rest of the mug to go on to my next cocoa tasting. The only consolation I had was that there were seven more packets in the Swiss Miss box to look forward to drinking another evening. This cocoa was cheap, lower in calories and delicious!

This cocoa called for hot water as well, so I went ahead and used it. The Swiss Miss packages say that the cocoa mix contains milk; perhaps that’s why they still taste good when you use water instead of milk. The powder was very dark. It didn’t have a very good smell to it but you could see the sugar crystals mixed in with the cocoa. It looked like it would make a very dark cocoa. When I mixed the water and cocoa, there wasn’t any froth at all. It had a rich, chocolatey taste, but not too bitter like the Hershey’s Dark I had tried earlier. It wasn’t too sweet so I could definitely drink the whole cup. It is a very indulgent cocoa, but also very good. It was like eating a candy bar. I would definitely recommend the Swiss Miss Dark. I initially rated this a 5 star hot cocoa, but after tasting the next and last cocoa, I bumped it down to 4 stars.

These directions called for 8 ounces of milk. I used 2% milk and was happy to see a hot cocoa made for milk. I love creamy hot chocolate. The cocoa melted quickly in the hot milk and smelled delicious, and oh so chocolatey. There was no white froth, just some bubbles. It was rich and creamy, like you’re drinking melted chocolate. It was the best, by far. I was glad I tasted this one last, so that I could drink the entire cup. If you can get some Godiva Hot Cocoa, please do. I found it on sale for $3.00 but it’s normally $5.00. I should have stocked up!

The Godiva is definitely better than the Swiss Miss Chocolate Sensation (even though the Swiss Miss is very good) and the Godiva has fewer calories too! If you can’t afford the $1.25 for a cup of Godiva hot cocoa, Swiss Miss Dark Chocolate Sensation is a great choice. Swiss Miss really makes some good, inexpensive cocoas – both of the Swiss Miss flavors I tried were really great. Swiss Miss makes lots of flavors and I look forward to trying them all. I think I’ll save the Godiva Hot Chocolate for special occasions.

• Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa
• Godiva Hot Cocoa
• Land O’Lakes Hot Cocoa
• Hershey’s Hot Cocoa

Buy Hot Cocoa mixes online:

• at Amazon

chocolate, cocoa, beverages, Hershey, Godiva