The first thing you notice is the wonderful, heady aroma of chocolate. Deep and haunting, the nose also detects hints of sweet milk and the most subtle undertones of vanilla. Next comes a soothingly warm sensation that fills your mouth as the aroma suddenly becomes taste. Ah, the rapture of hot cocoa.
On a cold, mid-winter day, those are the untold pleasures to be found in this most innocent of beverages. It`s nice to slow your pace down a few steps, wrap your hands around a mug of piping hot cocoa and bask in its warmth. It may not be the world`s most sophisticated beverage, but most people have fond recollections of those trying times that were soon dispelled when Mom suggested a cup of hot cocoa.
Homemade cocoa, made thick and rich with milk and cocoa and topped with a mountain of whipped cream, may be the thing that warming winter dreams are made of, but for convenience and instant gratification, homemade doesn`t hold a candle to the packaged hot cocoa mixes on the market.
By using a mix, you don`t really have to involve yourself in the business of making the cure, only of letting it do the healing for whatever it is that ails.
With that in mind, we gathered all the hot cocoa mixes we could find and got together a panel of judges. Our goal: to find out which instant cocoa mix would best soothe winter weary souls.
The products we looked at were limited to those brands that are readily available in supermarkets, made with water as opposed to milk, sweetened with sugar, not artificial sweeteners, and that are plain chocolate flavored. We found six to try, then added a homemade hot cocoa mix to see how it stacked up against the commercial products.
Among the store brands, we found a number of similarities, including price. Except for the generic product, the price per serving differed by less than two cents, from about 12 to 14 cents. At just over 12 cents a serving, the winning brand was not the most expensive. We were able to find most of the brands in large cannisters as well as boxes containing individual, pre-measured envelopes. Because price does not vary significantly between the two options, the convenience of the envelopes is appealing.
The mixes are surprisingly low in fat, ranging from 1 gram per serving to 4 grams, though all contain coconut oil, which is high in saturated fats. The big shocker was the large amount of salt contained in the mixes. At only 55 mg. of sodium per serving, Hills Bros. had by far the least amount. Ovaltine and Swiss Miss have over three times that amount, topping off with 170 mg., which is more salt than is contained in an order of McDonald`s french fries.
All of the brands use 1 ounce of the powdered mix with 6 ounces (3/4 cup) of hot water. The packages specify that hot water rather than boiling water should be used to mix the cocoa, and most brands included intructions for the microwave oven.
We asked the judges to consider the hot cocoa mixes on four fundamental criteria: appearance, aroma, texture (mouth feel) and taste. Each judge gave the drink a rating from 0 to 9. With nine judges, the highest possible score a product could receive was 81. As in a tasting of fine wines, we offered bottled water and crackers as palate cleansers, a welcome interlude between sips of the chocolatey brew. The judges then set about their task.
The winner, Nestle Hot Cocoa Mix, tallied only 45.25 points, just more than half way to the fabled point of perfection. (Maybe it just wasn`t cold enough on the day of the tasting for our judges to fully appreciate these winter warm-ups.) Jewel Generic Hot Cocoa Mix trailed the pack, finishing with a rather dismal 23 points.
Here`s what the judges had to say about the seven hot cocoa mixes we tried.
Nestle: On seeing this cocoa in their cups, several judges asked if this one was supposed to be so dark, looking almost like a scoop of Haagen Dazs chocolate ice cream. Apparently those deep, dark good looks translated to the best flavor as well because this was the winner. All of the judges commented on the dark color and thick consistency and many liked its intense chocolatey flavor. Though the package suggests that it can be made with either hot water or milk, we opted for water and can safely guess that milk would make it taste even richer. One comment on the instructions. They`re very vague and it takes a bit of sleuthing to figure out how much liquid to add. Told to empty the contents of the envelope into a cup and add hot liquid, you don`t learn that you`re supposed to add 6 ounces of liquid until you read the yield at the bottom of the box. Since most cups and mugs hold more than 6 ounces, there`s a good chance of adding too much liquid and ending up with a watery cocoa. This was also the only brand that did not include nutritional data, although it is easily obtained from a toll-free phone number given on the box. From the phone call, you`ll learn that luxury has its price, at least calorically. Nestle had the most fat and calories, but only by a bit.
Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate Flavor Hot Cocoa Mix: This brand was distinguished mostly by its aroma. Most of the judges liked the ”good whiff of chocolate” it gave off. Several thought it was too sweet and this was also the only one that received comments that it tasted salty. Indeed, with 150 mgs. of sodium, it was one of the saltiest.
Ovaltine Hot` N Rich Hot Cocoa Mix: If looks were everything, this may well have been the winner. ”Just right” was how one judge described it and almost all the others echoed similar sentiments on its appearance. On other points it didn`t do as well, giving it a third place finish. One taster thought it was awful, while others more diplomatically said it simply didn`t taste chocolatey enough.
Carnation Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix: This was the only one of the mixes to get a perfect score of 9 from one of the judges. To most, though, it was just average in taste and aroma. Most of the judges were disappointed in the texture, finding it to be thin and watery. The instructions suggested stirring the mixture as you add the water, a helpful tip which ensured no undissolved lumps or excessive sediment in the bottom of the cups.
Hills Bros. Rich Chocolate Flavor Hot Cocoa Mix: Interestingly, this low scoring brand has the lowest sodium content, about half that of most of the others, as well as the most vitamins and minerals. Nevertheless, it was rated as having little aroma and one judge suggested it smelled like cardboard. Texture was its strongest asset, with one judge likening it to a cream soup.
Homemade: This concoction, based on a recipe from Southern Living Magazine, was made up of cocoa powder, powdered sugar, nondairy creamer and instant nonfat milk powder. The most positive comments were that it had a
”fair-to-medium” appearance and a touch of creaminess. It was also the only one that had some separation after it had stood for a while, indicating, perhaps, that the commercial products have an additive to prevent that.
Jewel Generic Hot Cocoa Mix: The lowest priced product hit the bottom of the score card. It is the only one that was criticized for being grainy and several judges detected ”floating spots.” An unappealing grey color was also noted by several of the judges. One judge, clearly not a fan, wrote that the drink had a barnyard taste and smell. Not everyone nailed this one, though. For one judge, it tied for second place, with a respectable score of 7 points. Having recently watched Andy Rooney struggle to open recalcitrant packages on 60 Minutes, this brand elicited a knowing sigh. Even though it is just cardboard, this box was next to impossible to open. –
THE JUDGES
Judges in the Tribune`s hot cocoa mix tasting were:
Nathan Appleton, seventh grader at Chicago City Day School, an avid skier who likes to warm up with a cup of hot cocoa.
Sarah Appleton, second grader at Chicago City Day School, sister of Nathan and a big fan of her mother`s homemade Dutch hot cocoa.
Linda Calafiore, founder and president of the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago.
Alan Canfield, president of Canfield`s, makers of Chocolate Fudge Soda.
Carol Haddix, Chicago Tribune Food Guide editor.
William Rice, Chicago Tribune food and wine columnist.
Barbara Sullivan, Chicago Tribune features writer.
Patricia Tennison, Chicago Tribune Food Guide writer.
Owen Youngman, Chicago Tribune associate features editor. –
