The recent snowfall gave me the opportunity to conduct a blind taste test of hot chocolate mixes. We had a variety of hot chocolate and cocoa mixes, including a few recently received Christmas gifts. We rated the mixtures from best to worst in both taste and appearance. Finding tasters was easy. My house was filled with eager children happy to volunteer their opinions about hot chocolate between sled runs. But first things first: one mix we tested used cocoa, but was called “Hot Chocolate.”
Are the terms hot cocoa and hot chocolate interchangeable? Both chocolate and cocoa powder come from cocoa beans. After the cocoa beans are removed from their pods, they are sun dried, then shipped to a factory. At the chocolate factory, beans are roasted for an hour at low to moderate temperatures. During this process the beans split open and the outer covering is discarded. The inner nib, or kernel, is the essence of chocolate. The nibs are then ground. Some cocoa butter is extracted from the mixture, which becomes a dark brown sticky paste called chocolate liquor, the basis of all chocolate. Further cocoa butter may be extracted from the liquor. What remains is a powder called unsweetened cocoa powder. Cocoa does not dissolve in hot water, milk, or cream. Rather it goes into suspension. As the liquid cools, the particles drop to the bottom of the cup, forming that sweet residue in the bottom of a mug.
There is, however, a difference between cocoas. Dutch cocoa is produced from another process performed on unsweetened cocoa powder. An alkali is used to neutralize the cocoa’s natural acidity. Dutch cocoa, as this is called, is darker than non-treated cocoa. Unprocessed cocoa has a deep chocolate flavor while Dutch processed cocoa is mellow.
Our taste test was conducted on the following five selections: Nestle Carnation Mini Marshmallows with Rich Chocolate Flavor Hot Cocoa Mix; Swiss Miss Marshmallow Lovers Hot Cocoa Mix with Marshmallows; Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate Double Chocolate; Williams-Sonoma Peppermint Hot Chocolate with dark chocolate shavings infused with peppermint oil; and Favorite Hot Cocoa, not a mix, but the recipe on the side of Hershey’s Unsweetened Cocoa. All except the Williams-Sonoma mix were made from cocoa. The Williams-Sonoma mix used shaved chocolate.
First up and the least favorite of the children was the very watery Nestle Mini Marshmallow hot cocoa. The mini marshmallows were extremely small and most had melted into the liquid within 10 minutes. The directions state “add 6 to 8 fluid ounces hot water.” The first time I added 7 ounces. The second I tried 6 ounces, but the result was still a very watery hot cocoa which was pale in color. The cocoa used in this mix is alkali treated and the calories per serving were 120 with 3 grams of fat.
Next in the taste trial was Swiss Miss, a favorite with campers and Boy Scouts for its ease of use. One taster noted that the Swiss Miss, a lass who looks like the classic Heidi character, is no longer on the box. The Swiss Miss mixture comes in two packages. One contains the cocoa mix while the other contains the marshmallows. Only one taster, the youngest of the group, rated this as the second best choice. He said the prolific amount of marshmallows swayed his decision, yet he prefers fresh marshmallows to dried ones. Swiss Miss also uses alkali treated cocoa and had a calorie count of 140 with 2.5 grams of fat per serving.
Next we tasted the Williams-Sonoma mix which was laden with dark Callebaut chocolate and heady with peppermint oils. The inside walls of the mugs were coated with the dense mixture. This selection was a favorite with adults, but not with the kids, who did not find the peppermint appealing. This mix had 160 calories per 8 ounces and was made with fresh homogenized milk.
The best looking mug of chocolate was made with the Ghirardelli mix. The cocoa used is cocoa processed with alkali and the mix included vanilla. The Ghirardelli hot chocolate received “Best Choice” by half of the tasters and was everyone’s first choice in appearance. This mix also had fewer calories, 90 per serving, than the Swiss Miss and the Nestle mixes, and yet used fresh milk.
The favorite among children and adults alike was hot cocoa made from Hershey’s cocoa and used the Favorite Hot Cocoa recipe on the side of the box. Although this drink required the most prep time, the time spent seemed worth it.
I also made another batch of hot cocoa with Hershey’s cocoa, but using a different recipe. This recipe surpassed all the mixes in taste preference. The recipe (included here) was Laura Bush’s luxurious hot chocolate made with both milk and cream and has a nose of cinnamon and orange.
Of course hot chocolate can produce additional heat if an ounce or two of a liqueor is added. Good choices are Amaretto, Chambord, Kahlua, or Peppermint Schnapps. A Bananas Barbados is a mixture of dark rum with creme de banana and hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Although the Swiss Miss and the Nestle were the fastest to make, these drinks were not in the same league as the other selections. Hands down, the favorite was a steaming mug of old fashioned, homemade hot cocoa made with fresh marshmallows, a warm thought to keep in mind the next time cold weather settles in Charlotte.
This article appears in Jan 19-25, 2002.
