Tasted blind in one sitting, a standard in the wine and beer world, we learnt one lesson: you can’t taste hot chocolate like wine. A sip turns into a gulp, then another sip and so on. There’s no spitting hot chocolate. Around 1.5 litres was consumed in just a few hours and your correspondent may well be taking a break from the brown stuff for quite a while. Products are available in supermarkets and good grocery stores, bought not samples, and were prepared as per the instructions with the same brand and type of milk. So, here they are in order of tasting, with a few surprises.
It’s all about the sugar. I’m not adverse to a sweet hit but this is too much. The taste of cheapness, but then at $0.75 per 100g it was the lowest priced, the highest being around $7 per 100g for Grounded Pleasures’ Noir. The old adage of you pay for quality rings true. Score: 5/10.
An off-putting saltiness gives me a jolt. I love salt with chocolate, but this is like gargling saltwater for a scratchy throat. Bad connotations. A look at the label after tasting reveals that ingredients include not just salt but also mineral salts 341, 340, 451, 452. They’re commonly used in processed foods as anticaking agents, emulsifiers, and as a preservative. Whether they add saltiness I don’t know but it does raise the question of what’s in your hot chocolate? Score: 5/10.
There’s strange comfort in the smell of this one beyond the others tasted so far. I pick it as the Vittoria, knowing what’s in the lineup but not which order. It’s perhaps the clumps of powder floating, the direction being to sprinkle on top of the finished drink. A less than notable taste to back up the aroma. Score: 6.5/10.
Initial thoughts were that there was good maltiness, a pleasant hint of marshmallow and a pleasing level of medium sweetness. On the nose (if that’s not too pretentious) my notes read, “smells of childhood chocolate bars.” I’m told that as the Aero was prepared bubbles formed. Very on brand. Score: 7/10.
“Smells like mashed potato, no it smells like warm milk, nope mashed potato,” went the conversation on this one. Suspecting a sensory malfunction this was given a second run and, thankfully, it was less like mash potato. There’s a creaminess to it, which invokes very light milk chocolate or even white choc. Unlike the others which are powdered this is in flakes. I wonder whether they’re repurposed scraps and seconds. Actually, better eaten solid from the tin. Score: 7/10.
There’s a perceptible difference here: sweet but not as over the top as #2. Reinforces the thought that sugar requires fine balance with hot chocolate, in fact chocolate products in general. We may think sugar is what we want but like, say, coffee, there’s so many elements to a good chocolate experience, whether it’s bitterness, acidity, aroma, texture, and yes sweetness. Score: 7/10.
An appearance of strong milky tea and the thinnest mouthfeel so far. Perhaps it’s being five cups in, but that thinness is pleasing. I’d have previously said hot chocolate should be thick but I’m wondering if there’s different hot chocolates for different occasions and times of day? More forward on the milk and less prominent on the chocolate and sweetness I mark this one high. I’m genuinely surprised when it’s revealed later as Nesquik. As a side note it was apparently almost an instant cup as well: very little stirring, no clumping. An extra tick for ease? Score: 8/10.
Unmistakeable. Malty, that hint of cocoa and subtle sweetness. Strictly speaking this is probably a malt drink but it’s in the arena. There’s really no getting past the comfort of Milo. This feels like where I want to end, just to be able to sit by the fire and enjoy, but continue we must. Score: 8/10.
Immediately pulls ahead of the field, my first note is “premium.” Coming back to the question of ingredients, Pana contains only organic cacao and panela sugar, or what is sometimes called rapadura, an unrefined whole cane sugar. Less is more. It’s rich, has a more obvious hit of cacao, and a velvety, luxurious mouthfeel. Score: 8.5/10.
Immediately pleasing, it’s milky, savoury and sweet in varying degrees. Harmonious. A faint chalkiness that makes me think of high cocoa content, which is my thing. And hey, no big hits of mashed potato or salt. A joint winner quality again prevails. Score: 8.5/10.
Picked straight off, it’s Dutch process cocoa rather than natural (a discussion for another time), and not a straight drinking chocolate. This is my preferred way to make hot chocolate. It’s got substance and of course you’re able to build it as you want, using an amount and type of sugar you prefer, maybe a pinch of salt, but hey, no mash potato vibes. Score: 8.5/10.
