Best Cocoa for cold chocolate milk / Best Cocoa Powders

BEST COCOA POWDER 
(for cold chocolate milk):

(also see our site, "Best Hot Chocolate")

- Make it yourself with the following brands!
- From 2 years of testing dozens of brands, side by side 

Rev. 19-20 Mar, 7 May 2022. Finished main test 29 June 2018 with more in Feb, Nov and Dec 2019. The Top 15 below were re-tested 13, 19 March 2022 (except Hotel and Ohio brands, tested in 2019), and the top 6 again on 7 May 22.

INTRODUCTION

Most of these brands are on Amazon (chosen in fact because they were the best sellers when we ordered them in 2017) or can be ordered elsewhere on the internet. Many are sold in grocery and health food stores with national distribution.

THE RECIPE - UPDATED 18 Oct 2020!
All taste best with 1 T (tablespoon) cocoa powder plus 2 tsp (teaspoons) sugar (or sugar-equivalent of allulose, which is 3 teaspoons allulose (not diluted with erithritol, but with monkfruit is OK!) (Before December 2019, 100% PURE stevia powder was the best we had found, rarely seen in stores as it's nearly always diluted with erithritol, but can be found on the internet), using 2 mini-scoops of 1/32 teaspoons each). 

The few exceptions for using 1 T of cocoa are indicated below. (We also did an entire side-by-side test of these powders with 1 T of sugar before redoing them with 2 tsp later.)

ADDING SUGAR
All cocoas on this list come without sugar except where indicated as SUGAR.

Table sugar was added to all those that do not come sweetened. (A couple dozen were also tested with stevia, with the same results as sugar, in the same order.)

Note that for a healthier version, you can substitute sugar for our favorite natural sugar substitute -- allulose. (Best tasting is a blend with monkfruit from Diabetic Kitchen.)

RAW VS. ALCALIZED

The vast majority of the best-tasting cocoas are raw cocoa! A few, very good-tasting cocoas below are processed with alcali or potassium carbonate, but they are exceptions. Processing seems to ruin the flavor (and also destroy most of the amazing health benefits of cocoa by destroying the polyphenols). So raw cocoa is king.

If the cocoa is processed, you will see the the term ALCALIZED or POTASSIUM CARBONATE below. Only in the U.S. does the law require on the package if the cocoa powder is Dutch processed (alcalized). However, even if the cocoa comes from another country, they are rather easy to determine: raw cocoa is lighter tan in color. (However, a French one below, Les Confitures 'a l' Ancienne, falls in the middle of the color/shade spectrum but is likely alcalized.)

For sugar-free, a top brand that comes already sweetened (with allulose and monk fruit and stevia), is from Diabetics Kitchen, which uses Bensdorp dutch cocoa. (Bensdorp is one of the great non-raw cocoas, and is what Ben & Jerry's used to make their ice cream with till the early 2000s perhaps,  switching to something much lower in flavor.)

For LOW-CARB, sugar-free, don't use milk. Instead use 1 cup water with cocoa powders below and blend 60 seconds. Then add 1 tablespoon cream and blend 6 seconds. Using milk tastes better, but for low carb this is MUCH better than using nut milks. As editor of this site, I've experimented with all the nut milks and nut milk combinations. My fave is half coconut milk and half almond milk; but this cream-with-water combo is much better, in my opinon. 

A
1. Better Body (imported by them in Lindon, Utah, sold at Walmart at times, and online.) Not only great tasting, it's the best bang for the buck - the least expensive for high quality.

A-

2. Cadbury Bourne (UK brand, sold in U.S. on Amazon) regular Cadbury rates lower down the list)

3. Saco Conscious Kitchen (very mild)

4. Super Vital (from Guatamala, imported by Super Vital in Pleasant Grove, Utah, and sold from time to time on Amazon and always at Redmond Farms stores in the state of Utah). Find it on their website.

5. Cacao Provisions (Vietnam), sold at Tony Caputos, SLC, Utah

6. Imlakesh Organics (sold at Sprouts and on Amazon, in a jar)

7. Hotel Chocolat (in the UK), their raw cocoa (tested 2020; not tested with top 6 above in 2022, but in 2020 it rated just above Provisions Marou and Saco Conscous Kitchen, which are above.

B+++ (2 of these 3 tested in 2022)

8. Pure Natural Miracles brand, on Amazon

9. Viva

10. Ojio (tested 2020)

B++

11. Trader Joes pure cocoa, not their one mixed with sugar (further below)

12. Fortunato #4 Javier's mix BEST MIX WITH SUGAR AND ALCALIZED COCOA: (with ½ milk and ½ water, boiled then cooled). (Better than only water or only milk.) SUGAR, ALCALIZED 

13. Freedom

14. Voluptia

15. Healthworks

16. Sprouts

17. Nuts.com (batch tested was from about 2014 and tested 2017 - 2019. If they sell from the same source still, it's very good cocoa.)

18. TCHO (pronounced "cho" for the first syllable of "chocolate." This is their raw cocoa; they also have a cocoa mix below)

B+
THREE NEXT HIGHEST RATED COCOA POWDERS (after Fortunato #4 Javier's) THAT ARE NOT RAW AND THAT INCLUDE SUGAR, IN ORDER:

Williams Sonoma Hot Chocolate Classic, made by Guittard Co. especially for them. 3 T needed per cup of milk, not the 5 T written under "directions" on the can. Also, be careful not to use the standard 1 T we recommend, which works best for most other cocoa powders on this list. (Includes butter oil, soy lecithin) SUGAR. POTASSIUM CARBONATE

Starbucks Classic (This higher quality packet is sold in boxes at Walmart and elsewhere.) Use 2 T, not the full packet which is 2.5 T.) SUGAR, ALCALIZED 

Starbucks Double Chocolate (This one is also sold in boxes at Walmart and elsewhere.) Use 2 T, not the full packet which is 2.5 T. (It's too strong with the whole packet.) SUGAR. ALCALIZED

B/B+

Great Value (Walmart's brand)

B
TCHO Drinking Chocolate Crumbles (different than their raw cocoa above), 3 T per cup of milk. (contains soy lecithin) SUGAR. ALCALIZED

B-/B
Pralis raw cocoa (not to be confused with their "Pralis Show," further below)

(Note: Starbucks Double Chocolate (listed above) ranks here, using just 1 T of mix, rather than 2 T, per above, for each cup of milk.)

Damori Apurimac

Askinoski

Coco Metro: Belgian Drinking Chocolate (Separate from their raw version below that comes without sugar). (Includes soy lecitin and chocolate chunks. This is the only company that provides a cocoa  mix - with sugar - that is better than their raw cocoa powder.) SUGAR

B-
Sunfood

Navitas, the "new batch," we call it, with expiration date of January 2019. A previous batch of theirs we tested in 2017 was #1 in taste of all cocoa powders!

Williams Sonoma Hot Chocolate Double Dark, made by Guittard, is not as good as their "Classic" version above. (Contains butter, emulsifier, etc.) SUGAR. POTASSIUM CARBONATE

Rapunzo

Bensdorp, ALCALIZED, fits somewhere below here. . . . 

Cadbury (their Cadbury Bourne is MUCH higher on this list)

Cocoa Metro Belgian Cocoa Powder (raw cocoa, different than their drinking chocolate above)

Trader Joes powder (pure cocoa)

Nestles

Trader Joes Sipping Chocolate. SUGAR. ALCALIZED

Tera Soul

Kiva

Hershey's

Western Family

Chatfield

Scharfenberger Unsweetened, expiration 2019, ranks one spot higher than their batch dated for expiration in 2015.

Blanxart: "Traditional Spanish Hot Chocolate Blanxart Powder." SUGAR

Ghiradelli 100% Raw Cocoa

C+
Ghiradelli Double Chocolate. (Includes cocoa and unsweetened chocolate, soy lecithin and vanilla) SUGAR. ALCALIZED

Scharfenberger sweetened. SUGAR

Droste (Batch expires 28 June 2019 SUGAR. ALCALIZED

Allegro Coffee Company Drinking Chocolate, Costa Rican 64. SUGAR

Organic (contains powdered milk, maltodextrin, salt, emulsifiers, plus natural flavor). SUGAR. ALCALIZED

Guittard Grand Cacao. SUGAR. ALCALIZED

C
Big Tree

Natierra

True Vibe

Joy Fuel

Dagoba Authentic ("cocoa powder with bits of pure, dark chocolate & cane sugar"). SUGAR

C-
Cafe D' Amore Chocolate Truffle. (Includes non-dairy creamer, soy lecithin, coffee, salt, stabalizer, anti-caking agent, hydrolyzed soy protein, etc.) SUGAR. ALCALIZED

Cacao di Pernigotti. ALCALIZED

Dagoba Raw Cacao (Hershey's organic brand)

365 (Whole Food Market's brand). ALCALIZED

Valrona. ALCALIZED

Saco. blend of raw plus ALCALIZED

Cafe D'Amore Sipping Chocolate (Includes natural flavor.). SUGAR. ALCALIZED

E. Guittard Cocoa Rouge. ALCALIZED

Les Confitures 'a l' Ancienne. (Contains brown sugar and vanilla extract) SUGAR. PROBABLY ALCALIZED

Bellagio Unsweetened,  2014. ALCALIZED

Pralis Cacao Show (different than their raw chocolate higher on the list). SUGAR. ALCALIZED

THESE NEXT 3 WERE PERHAPS STALE, WHICH MAY HAVE AFFECTED THE FLAVOR. HOWEVER, SOME OF THE ABOVE WERE PAST EXPIRATION DATE AS WELL AND TASTED THE SAME OR VERY SIMILAR TO NEW PRODUCT:

Bellagio Epicurean Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa Mix (Includes powdered milk). (Expiration date Dec 2015) SUGAR. ALCALIZED

ABOUT HERE: Private Selection (Smith's/Kroger's brand) Double Cocoa with Belgian Chocolate (in packets).

Bellagio Sipping Beverage Mix, 2015. (Despite the age, it tested much higher as a hot cocoa.) SUGAR. ALCALIZED

D
Lavenko. Sweetened with natural sugars.