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Hot ChocolateYou are here: Kitchen >> Hot ChocolateUpdated March 2008Hot chocolate and hot cocoa: What's the difference?Most people -- and some manufacturers -- use the terms "hot chocolate" and "hot cocoa" interchangeably, but these terms actually describe two different beverages. We can't state the difference any better than Wikipedia: "Hot cocoa is made from a powdered mix of cocoa, sugar and thickeners, without cocoa butter. Hot chocolate is made directly from bar chocolate, which already contains cocoa, sugar and cocoa butter. Thus the major difference between the two is the cocoa butter, which makes hot cocoa significantly lower in fat than chocolate, while still preserving all the intrinsic health-giving properties of chocolate." As you can infer from the above paragraph, a cupful of a rich, dark, imported hot chocolate like Schokinag or Jacques Torres is the equivalent of eating a candy bar, while mixes labeled "hot cocoa" are a bit more forgiving in terms of their fat (but not sugar) content. That said, either hot cocoa or hot chocolate can be prepared with milk or water, depending on the mix. Supermarket hot chocolateWhen most people (especially people with kids) think of hot chocolate, they think of relatively inexpensive supermarket brands sold in boxes of individual packets like Swiss Miss or Hershey's. Although many reviewers (especially those of a foodie bent) concentrate on more expensive imported hot chocolates, a surprising number of sources include supermarket brands in their taste tests. And of these supermarket brands, none are top-picked more often than Swiss Miss (*est. $2 for 10 servings) . The four top reviewers in our All Reviews chart -- Cook's Illustrated, Good Housekeeping, Real Simple and Consumer Reports -- all include Swiss Miss as one of their top picks, the only supermarket brand to earn this honor. (Hershey's and Land O' Lakes generate a couple of choices apiece, but none sweep the board like Swiss Miss.) Good Housekeeping calls Swiss Miss (which is meant to be prepared with water) a "bargain" and says it tastes "sweet but not too sweet," a judgment seconded by Real Simple. Even foodie sites have a soft spot for Swiss Miss: In its roundup, Serious Eats praises this brand's "sweet, smooth taste and rich texture," but says it can't compete flavor-wise with more expensive gourmet hot chocolate mixes. Other supermarket brands aren't quite as cheap as Swiss Miss, but they still garner good reviews. Real Simple calls Land O' Lakes Cocoa Classics Supreme (*est. $8 for 12 servings) "surprisingly creamy" and "smooth and milk-chocolaty," even though it's made with water rather than milk, while Cook's Illustrated references this brand's "creamy sweetness." Based on Land O' Lakes’ higher price and lesser number of top picks, though, we've stuck with Swiss Miss as the ConsumerSearch Fast Answer for best supermarket brand. Of the two names most associated with chocolate in the U.S. -- Hershey's and Nestlé -- only Hershey's approaches Swiss Miss for total number of top picks; however, these picks are split between standard Hershey's mixes and the decaffeinated Hershey's Goodnight Kisses (*est. $2 for 4 servings) . Based on the groundswell of enthusiasm for this 99.9% caffeine-free mix, which is recommended by Cook's Illustrated, Cookie magazine and Boston.com, we decided to include Goodnight Kisses in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers as a good choice for adults or kids who like to sip hot cocoa before bedtime and want to avoid the naturally occurring caffeine in most other hot cocoa and hot chocolate mixes. There is, however, one significant drawback to Hershey's Goodnight Kisses. For some inexplicable reason, this hot cocoa appears to only be available in an extremely small (and inconvenient) box of four servings. We hope Hershey's will soon reintroduce Goodnight Kisses in an economy-sized box with 25 or 50 servings, along the lines of Swiss Miss. Gourmet hot chocolateAs mentioned above, most of the hot chocolate taste tests we found tend to concentrate on more expensive brands, either domestic or imported. Prices for fancier varieties reach $15 or more for a 12-ounce can (or roughly $2 per serving), so choosing the right mix has a direct impact on one's wallet. These hot chocolates can be roughly divided into two categories: lower priced domestic or imported brands that are (sometimes) available in supermarkets, and expensive imported brands that are only stocked in specialty food shops (or have to be ordered online). Gourmet hot chocolate mixes are generally made from bar chocolate, which means they contain cocoa butter, and hence a higher fat content, than hot cocoa mixes from the supermarket. One less expensive gourmet brand that's praised by both Cook's Illustrated and Good Housekeeping (but doesn't pop up in any other roundups) is Lake Champlain hot chocolate. Cook's likes the "dark chocolate" flavor and "rich and sweet" taste of Lake Champlain All-Natural Traditional Hot Chocolate (*est. $8 for 21 servings) , while Good Housekeeping's pick is the more expensive Lake Champlain Old World Drinking Chocolate (*est. $12 for 5 servings) for its "big, thick texture." The traditional mix is sold as a powder, while the Old World drink is sold as chocolate shavings. Serious Eats also praises Lake Champlain's traditional blend, but tasters say they got the best results by doubling the amount of powder for each serving. Another brand that has wide circulation is Ghirardelli Double Chocolate (*est. $7 for 20 servings) . Some reviewers love this mix -- it's the top choice of one major national consumer magazine, and is selected by Food & Wine taste testers -- but other sources don't like it as much. For example, Cook's Illustrated ranks Ghirardelli dead last in its roundup: "Almost all tasters thought this cocoa was too sugary -- one called it 'candy-like,' while another declared it 'undrinkable.'" Godiva Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa (*est. $10 for 12 servings) is another American brand that doesn't quite make the cut. Although this is a top pick in the Good Housekeeping taste test, where its called it "silky" and "like liquid chocolate pudding," and at CandyAddict.com, which says it's "like drinking melted chocolate," we gather from these comments that Godiva might be a bit heavy (and a bit expensive) for most tastes. For that reason, we chose to include Lake Champlain in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers over both Ghirardelli and Godiva hot chocolate mixes. Once you get past the mid-priced brands like Lake Champlain, the real action in the hot chocolate world is in imported mixes, which foodies, bloggers and professional reviewers sample with the intense focus oenophiles give to fine wines. Most of these hot chocolates -- from companies like Enric Rovera, Callebaut and E. Guittard -- are as expensive as you'd expect, costing $2 per serving and up. Because imported hot chocolate is such a competitive field, we were impressed that Schokinag is top-picked more often by the sources in our All Reviews chart than any other gourmet brand. Real Simple praises the "intense flavor" of (*est. $13 for 8 servings) , comparing it to "a melted chocolate bar;" an opinion seconded by the Gourmet Food guide at About.com, while StarChefs.com likes the "good chocolate flavor and hazelnut overtones" of (*est. $13 for 8 servings) . On the downside, however, some reviewers say Schokinag can be a bit thin in texture compared to other gourmet brands. Other gourmet hot chocolates have their fans as well, most notably Jacques Torres, MarieBelle Aztec and Scharffen Berger. Jacques Torres Wicked (*est. $18 for 9 servings) , which includes ground-up ancho and chipotle peppers, is a big hit with Real Simple, as is the MarieBelle Aztec (*est. $18 for 8 servings) , described as "not too sweet and not too bitter." MarieBelle Aztec, made with single-origin Columbian cacao, has also been touted by Oprah as one of her "favorite things," and is a top ten pick of About.com's gourmet foods guide. Jacques Torres is also a top pick of Cookie magazine, which (echoing Real Simple's blurb about MarieBelle) describes it as "not too sweet or too bitter." On the whole, reviewers have only good things to say about Jacques Torres and MarieBelle Aztec -- just not enough good things to supplant Schokinag the top gourmet pick in ConsumerSearch Fast Answers. Scharffen Berger (*est. $9.50 for 7 servings) is another story; this imported hot chocolate has its fans, including Food & Wine testers, which describe it as "dark, with depth," and TastingMenu.com, which rates it well above Schokinag. In its February 2008 taste test, however, the San Francisco Chronicle places Scharffen Berger next to last, right above Safeway's house brand. (Unfortunately, the writer doesn't say why the tasting panel panned Scharffen Berger, or any of the other downgraded brands.) Important Features: Hot chocolateReviewers say the following about shopping for a hot chocolate or hot cocoa:
Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
* Also see our Comparison Chart.
Various formulations of Swiss Miss are top-picked by more reviewers than any other hot chocolate. Picks for Hershey's are divided between regular Hershey's mixes and Hershey's Goodnight Kisses, one of the only decaffeinated hot cocoa mixes.
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For many people, the whole point of a cup of hot chocolate or hot cocoa is its invigorating dose of sugar and fat. However, sugar-free and fat-free mixes are widely available, especially of low-priced supermarket brands like Swiss Miss or Nestle. A thread on the foodie site Chowhound.com about the best sugar-free hot chocolate mix yields a variety of suggestions, ranging from Swiss Miss to Cadbury's Highlights. On the whole, though, reviewers tend to be dismissive of sugar-free mixes, saying they're not "real" hot chocolate. Considering the prices of gourmet hot chocolate mixes, you may be inspired to whip up your own concoctions in the kitchen. The Coffee/Tea Guide at About.com lists ten top hot chocolate recipes. You can easily find additional recipes by searching on Google. A history of hot chocolate and hot cocoa called "Rediscover True Hot Chocolate – History of Hot Chocolate" can be found on Linda Stradley's What's Cooking America website. Another article on the history and processing of Cocoa can be found on Wikipedia. Manufacturers' websites: Advertisement
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* Pricing information is approximate as of the time this report was written and is based on observed market selling prices and/or list prices. Actual selling prices may differ.
