Which Hot Chocolate Tastes the Best?

Hershey VS Swiss Miss VS Nestl?

The season when hot chocolate tastes best: winter. When the phrase "Oh, it's cold!" slips out unconsciously, it means the perfect time to enjoy hot chocolate has arrived. It's time to bring that very drink into your cupboard?the one that makes biting cold winds and creeping colds less daunting.

As winter deepens, it's only natural to drink hot chocolate... but which one should you choose to be known for having enjoyed it well? For those who want to pick a delicious product, we compared cup hot chocolate products from Hershey's, Swiss Miss, and Nestl?. Refer to the editor's honest and objective review to enjoy a sweet and tasty winter.

Today's cup hot chocolate products to taste. From left to right: Hershey's Original Hot Cocoa, Swiss Miss Marshmallow, Nestl? Hot Cocoa Original.

Before tasting the products, we first examined their contents. Each plastic takeout cup contained one packet of hot cocoa powder along with a stirrer?either a straw or a paper spoon. The cup size was smallest for Nestl?, which holds about 100ml to 120ml of water, compared to Hershey's (135ml) and Swiss Miss (180ml). The weight of the hot cocoa powder was in the order of Hershey's (30g), Swiss Miss (28g), and Nestl? (24g).

Hot Cocoa Powder Comparison

We poured the hot cocoa powder into the cups. The colors were similar, but the aroma and appearance were distinctly different. Hershey's gave off a rich chocolate scent as soon as the packet was opened, while Swiss Miss, containing several small marshmallows, had a stronger marshmallow aroma than chocolate. Nestl?, on the other hand, emitted a slightly bitter scent.

When water was added, Hershey's and Nestl? produced foam, but Swiss Miss created almost none. The marshmallows, perhaps due to their small size, melted quickly in the hot water, forming an opaque white layer on the surface made by the melted marshmallows. Despite these differences, all three products dissolved well in hot water without clumping.

Taste

Hershey's had a rich flavor as if real chocolate had been melted. It was the quintessential taste of hot chocolate, with a strong chocolate flavor. It was moderately heavy, reminiscent of a drink ordered at a caf?. Among the three, the foam lasted the longest and was very smooth, almost like milk foam on top.

Swiss Miss had the lightest texture and taste among the three. Rather than the heaviness of chocolate, the light sweetness of marshmallows dominated, giving it a somewhat bland feeling for a hot chocolate. It tasted like mild chocolate with melted marshmallows, which made it a bit cloying to finish. This product seems better suited for when you want sweet milk with plenty of vanilla powder rather than hot chocolate.

Nestl?, which had a slightly bitter aroma, reminded one of the vending machine hot chocolate from childhood. The chocolate flavor itself was neither deep nor intense, but a slight bitterness and appropriate sweetness blended harmoniously. The aroma lingered for a long time, much like coffee, and the texture was relatively smooth.