Have you ever wondered what the difference is between hot cocoa mixes? Is that store brand just as good as that Nestle’s stuff? Here’s a little unscientific research that may help you.
My sister, Marylee, and I compared 10 brands of hot cocoa in a blind taste test. Each cocoa had to be prepared according to its package directions. If it called for milk, we used 2% milk. All cocoa mixes had to be equivalent, meaning they could not be flavored or contain marshmallows. We tried to test recipes as well as commercially prepared powdered mixes. We included a store brand as well as more expensive single serving cocoas. Conspicuously absent here are more gourmet cocoas like Cocoa Amore and my singular favorite, Hershey’s Dutch Chocolate Hot Cocoa. Perhaps, a Round 2 may be in order for next year!
I admit that I had a few assumptions when I went into this but my sister and I had a few surprises along the way. All of our scores are purely subjective and are only our opinions of these products. Conduct your own research to discover which brands you prefer. But as a note of caution, make sure the cocoa is not steaming hot when you try to taste it. We both burned our tongues on the first cup! But I still think we maintained our taste buds enough to judge. We tested the ten products listed below.
1. Nestle Double Chocolate Meltdown
2. Nestle Rich Chocolate
3. Food Club Milk Chocolate (P&C; Store brand)
4. Hershey’s Good Nite Kisses Milk Chocolate
5. Land O’Lakes Supreme chocolate
6. Hershey’s Syrup (recipe on container)
7. NesQuik Powder (Not the single pack of hot cocoa)
8. Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate
9. Hershey’s Cocoa Powder (recipe on container)
10. Carnation Sugar Free Hot cocoa
On a scale of 1 to 10, we rated each for chocolate flavor, creaminess, sweetness, and overall taste. We noted if there was any aftertaste then stated any brief comments about the product. We tried to take a guess at which cocoa we were drinking. As we prepared the cocoas, we also tried to score the “ease of preparation” though most were super easy as they were a prepared mix. The overall score was an average taken from both of our “overall taste” scores.
Nestle’s Rich:
Overall: 7.5
We both scored this brand very high. It had a good chocolate flavor and seemed creamy. We both guessed that this was Swiss Miss but were wrong. Marylee was very surprised that she liked this one as much as she did. She had the notion that Nestle was a mix she didn’t like.
Land O’Lakes:
Overall: 3
This brand scored very low on everything but creaminess. It tasted like it was made with milk but the mix calls for water. Marylee wrote “Hate!” as a comment and I agree. It had an odd flavor to it, almost that of sour milk. This mix was not worth the money…a single packet for 99 cents. Yuck!
Swiss Miss:
Overall: 4.5
This mix had mixed reviews. I didn’t think it was anything to brag about. It was sweet but not much else. Marylee thought it was creamy and tasted okay. Generally, we both scored it in the middle. So a good mix for the money.
NesQuik:
Overall: 4.5
Again mixed reviews. I found this not to have a great chocolate flavor but Marylee did. Because it is made with milk, it couldn’t help but be creamy. It could have been a bit sweeter for both of us.
Hershey’s Cocoa:
Overall: 6 (Marylee didn’t score)
This was prepared using the instructions on the canister for microwave single serving. This is the same cocoa powder you use in baking…bitter. This scored very high on the chocolate flavor. I thought it was very creamy as well, but Marylee couldn’t get past the bitter aftertaste. As prepared, it definitely needed more sugar. It was an extreme hot cocoa and if that’s what you crave, it’s worth the difficult preparation.
Carnation Sugar-Free:
Overall: 1 (Yuck!)
We both knew going in that we wouldn’t like this one, and we were right. Some of the lowest scores to be had were with this one. It was so bad that Marylee forgot to write down her scores on it. And my comment was, “Smells like cardboard and tastes like it, too.” I should point out that neither of us is used to artificial sweeteners and do not drink diet sodas. If you’re used to that, this might not be quite as bad to you. If you’re not, avoid this mix.
Hershey’s Syrup:
Overall: 3
Hot cocoa is just warm chocolate milk, right? Wrong! If you follow the directions on the Hershey’s Syrup bottle, you get crap. It’s made with milk so creaminess is a given, but it didn’t have much else. I found barely a chocolate flavor and Marylee disliked it. We both agreed that it needed more syrup. The directions call for 2 tablespoonfuls per 8 ounces of milk. For someone who makes her chocolate milk with a quarter of the bottle of syrup, this is hardly an adequate proportion.
Nestle Double Chocolate Meltdown:
Overall: 7
I really wanted to see what the difference was between this and the regular Nestle Rich. I discovered that the Rich was creamier and this one had better chocolate flavor. We both thought this mix was a great cocoa. It could use a little creaminess, maybe some marshmallows or a dollop of cool whip. But for the money it is truly a great value.
Hershey’s GoodNite Kisses Milk Chocolate:
Overall: 1.5
We were both very disappointed in this product. With a name like Hershey’s attached to it, you figured it’d be good. But neither of us really liked it. Marylee ranked it extremely low. She felt it had a bad aftertaste and no chocolate flavor. We both agreed it tasted like warm milk. I tasted a little more chocolate but I didn’t like the flavor of the chocolate. My comment, “It tastes like a chocolate marshmallow drowned.”
This mix was made with water, not milk and was not worth the money; only 5 packages in the box for 1.49.
Food Club:
Overall: 5.5
This is a store brand and will probably be similar to most generic brands of cocoa. We both rated this one pretty high. It could have been a little more chocolately for me and a little less sweet but it was comparable to the Swiss Miss even a little better. Marylee thought it was pretty good and we both agreed that for cheap cocoa, this was good. We were pleasantly surprised.
Overall scores were an average of our overall taste scores, but these were not the only determining factors of our top ten lists.
What we Agreed On:
1. Sugar Free cocoa was disgusting.
2. In some cases, you just can’t trust the package directions. Hershey’s Cocoa needs more sugar and Hershey’s Syrup needs more syrup.
3. Cool whip and marshmallows really can’t help the bottom of the list cocoas and only enhance the top. Generally, the bottom of the list cocoas were pretty creamy to start.
4. Making mixes with milk instead of water wouldn’t have made much of a difference. Those that were creamy needed chocolate not milk and those that weren’t so bad, milk wouldn’t have helped.
5. Be sure to prepare the packages with the correct amount of water. Marylee thinks this is where she’s gone wrong all these years. She has tried to put too much water in the little mixes. She used to put 8 ounces or more in a mix that calls for 6 ounces.
6. Sometimes cheap is the way to go!
Marylee thought sweetness was the most important attribute of a good cocoa. It toned down the chocolate flavor which she doesn’t like in the extreme. She didn’t prefer a creamy cocoa either. She was surprised by the top of her list. Both Nestle products that she felt sure she didn’t like.
1. Nestle Double Choc. Meltdown
2. Nestle Rich
3. Food Club
4. Swiss Miss
5. NesQuik
6. Hershey’s cocoa powder
7. Hershey’s syrup
8. Sugar Free (again Marylee forgot to score this one when she tasted it)
9. Land O’Lakes
10. Hershey’s GoodNite Kisses
Angela preferred chocolate flavor to creaminess. Sweetness was also important. I didn’t like Swiss Miss as much as I had believed. I was surprised that Land O’Lakes was very creamy for a water based mix…too bad I didn’t like the taste. And I still have yet to find a cocoa that compares to Hershey’s Dutch Chocolate. The GoodNite Kisses was an extreme let down.
