Have you ever stood staring at a shelf in a grocery store for an unreasonable amount of time trying to decide which hot chocolate is going to taste the best after an intense snowball fight? I have.
I’ve tried many a different hot chocolate mix in my *not very* long life, but it’s difficult to decide which is the best one when you are drinking them days apart – or in my case, hours apart. I’ve always wanted to do a taste testing scenario with different brands, but I could never justify buying that many hot chocolate packages. However, with a chilly winter in Ottawa well on its way, I’m sure they will be put to good use.
My friend Abby and I got together and made a girl’s night out of taste testing four different hot chocolate kinds. We both tried all the mixes and gave them a rating out of 5. The score that you see, is the average between us. Price was not taken into consideration because they were all under $5. Each cup was made according to the instructions given on the package.
Nesquik Chocolate Milk Mix – 33% less sugar – 2 tbsp of mix into one cup hot milk
Before we mixed this one with milk, I tried it with hot water first. However, it tasted completely wrong due to it being a chocolate milk mix not a hot chocolate mix. It had a nice creamy taste and wasn’t too sweet. It’s also convenient that it can be made with cold milk as well. We gave it a 3.5/5.
Nestle Rolo Hot Chocolate Mix – 2 tbsp of mix into ¾ cup hot water
This one was more chocolatey and was sweeter than Nesquik but not overly so. It didn’t taste a lot like Rolo, but it would be good for a ‘pick me up’ on a rough day. It wasn’t very creamy but, when I asked Abby what she thought, she told me she needed to take another taste, it was that good. We gave it a 4.4/5.
No Name Hot Chocolate Mix – 2 tbsp of mix into ¾ cup hot water or hot milk (we made it with hot water)
This hot chocolate was sweeter than Nesquik but less so than Rolo. It was a lot more chocolatey and creamier than both previous ones. It had a stronger taste to it, but the after taste was still good. It didn’t mix entirely into the water, although that’s not necessarily a bad thing if you like little chocolate chunks to dissolve in your mouth. We scored it 4.6/5.
Nestle Carnation Hot Chocolate Mix – Rich and Creamy – 3 tbsp, ¾ cup hot water or hot milk (we did hot water)
This one was by far the sweetest and definitely did not live up to its name of being creamy – it was probably the least creamy. It tasted a bit like the Rolo one which makes sense considering they both are from Nestle. It also didn’t have a great aftertaste. We gave it a 2.75/5.
Overall, our favourite one was the No Name mix, with Nestle Rolo coming a close second. Hot chocolate has always been a staple in my life and I’ve just now realized I have been buying the wrong brand this whole time! Hopefully, this helps all you hot chocolate lovers with future drinks and is a good place to start for anyone new to the wonderful world of hot chocolate.