Hot Chocolate: Reviews

Updated February 2008

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Top supermarket hot cocoa mix

*Est. $2 for 10 servings Compare Prices

A top finisher in taste tests by Good Housekeeping, Cook's Illustrated and a major national consumer magazine, varieties of Swiss Miss hot chocolate are praised for smooth texture and sweet (but not too sweet) flavor.… Among supermarket brands like Hershey's and Nestle, Swiss Miss is easily the favorite, but aficionados say it can't compare to more expensive brands like Lake Champlain or Schokinag. Most Swiss Miss varieties have about 120 calories and 2.5 grams of fat per serving.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

Cook's Illustrated Magazine: Editors at Cook's Illustrated taste eight brands of hot cocoas, some of which are prepared with milk and others that are prepared ...

ConsumerReports.org: In its roundup, Consumer Reports editors taste and rank 10 mainstream hot chocolate brands, including Swiss Miss.

San Francisco Chronicle: The San Francisco Chronicle asks a panel of five food professionals to taste 14 non-organic hot chocolates, plus one cocoa that ...

Good Housekeeping: Good Housekeeping discusses only the top three of the 19 hot chocolates tasted. Swiss Miss ties with Godiva Milk Chocolate Hot ...

Cookie Magazine: An unspecified number of tasters try "dozens" of hot chocolates, picking winners in three categories. Swiss Miss Chocolate ...

The Boston Globe: Eight Boston Globe staffers taste five hot cocoas, with Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate getting mixed reviews. Some like the taste; to ...

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Amazon Marketplace

for $16.96

Mid-range hot cocoa mix

Lake Champlain Traditional Hot Chocolate

*Est. $8 for 21 servings Compare Prices

If you want to scale up your palate from budget brands like Swiss Miss, but aren't ready to spring for more expensive imported brands like Schokinag, experts point to Lake Champlain -- a top pick of both Cook's… Illustrated and Good Housekeeping. Cook's praises the "dark chocolate" flavor of the Traditional blend, while Good Housekeeping likes the "big, thick texture" of the more expensive Old World blend (*est. $12 for 5 servings). The Traditional mix also has only .5 grams of fat and 70 calories per serving -- less than most.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

Cook's Illustrated Magazine: Editors at Cook's Illustrated taste eight brands of hot cocoas, some of which are prepared with milk and others that are prepared ...

San Francisco Chronicle: This newspaper asks a panel of five food professionals to taste 14 non-organic hot chocolates, plus the winner of a previous ...

SeriousEats.com: Food commentator Ed Levine asks his staff to join him in a blind taste test of five hot chocolates, picking the most expensive ...

About.com: Professional chef Brett Moore is the gourmet food guide for About.com. This is not a formal taste test but a list of Moore's ...

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Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

for $8.95

Lake Champlain Chocolates

for $80.00

Best gourmet hot chocolate

Schokinag European Drinking Chocolate

*Est. $13 for eight servings Compare Prices

Imported hot chocolate is a very competitive field, which is why we were impressed that German-brand Schokinag is top-picked more often in taste tests than any other gourmet brand. Real Simple praises the "intense flavor"… of Schokinag Extreme Dark, comparing it to "a melted chocolate bar," while StarChefs likes the "good chocolate flavor and hazelnut overtones" of Schokinag European Drinking Chocolate. On the downside, some reviewers say Schokinag can be a bit thin in texture compared to other gourmet hot chocolate. Since Schokinag is made from bar chocolate, it contains far more fat and calories than mainstream hot cocoa mixes -- 241 calories and 18 grams of fat per serving for the Extreme Dark flavor.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

StarChefs.com: Chocolate columnist Stephanie Zonis gathers together eight friends to taste 13 gourmet hot chocolate mixes, giving "recommended" ...

Real Simple: This magazine says it tried more than 40 hot cocoas but identifies only the six winners, two in each price range. Schokinag ...

San Francisco Chronicle: This newspaper has a panel of five food professionals taste 14 non-organic hot chocolates, plus the winner of a previous organic ...

TheNibble.com: This site reviews more than five dozen hot chocolates. Schokinag Triple Chocolate European Drinking Chocolate is described as ...

About.com: Professional chef Brett Moore is the About.com guide to gourmet food. Schokinag Extreme Dark European Drinking Chocolate is ...

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Amazon Marketplace

for $56.97

Decaffeinated cocoa mix

Hersheys Goodnight Kisses

*Est. $2 for 4 servings Compare Prices

Hershey's hot chocolate mixes (both traditional and decaffeinated) rank second only to Swiss Miss in overall picks by reviewers. Sources are especially fond of Goodnight Kisses, citing its "milky creaminess" and smooth… texture. This is a good choice if you or your kids are sensitive to caffeine (most cocoa mixes contain naturally occurring caffeine from chocolate), but like a steaming cup of hot chocolate before bedtime. This mix is 99.9% caffeine-free and contains 140 calories and 3 grams of fat per serving.

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Expert & User Review Sources:

Cook's Illustrated Magazine: Editors at Cook's Illustrated taste eight brands of hot cocoas, some of which are prepared with milk and others that are prepared ...

ConsumerReports.org: Hershey's Goodnight Kisses is among the hot chocolates included in Consumer Reports' most recent roundup. A ratings chart details ...

CookieMag.com: An unspecified number of tasters try "dozens" of hot chocolates, making picks in three categories. Hershey's Goodnight Kisses is ...

The Boston Globe: Boston Globe staffers taste five hot cocoas; Hershey's Goodnight Kisses receives high scores from three of the eight judges. Some ...

Backpacker Magazine: Backpacker's staff tries 16 hot chocolates, choosing four as the best, including Hershey's Goodnight Kisses.

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Amazon Marketplace

for $23.70