Best Hot Chocolate

BEST HOT CHOCOLATE 
- Make it yourself with the following 78+ brands!
- 2 years of testing all these brands, side by side 

main test finished 22 April 2018
revised 26 October, 17 November, 15 Dec 2019, March 2022

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 OCTOBER 2020, March 2022!
All taste best with 2 T (tablespoons) cocoa powder plus 1.5 T sugar (or the sugar-equivalent of allulose (try 2 - 2 1/3 T), especially the one sold by Diabetic Kitchen (not connected with us), or use 100% PURE stevia (allulose is better), with 4.5 micro-spoons of 1/32 tsp each).

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.

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 next to it. Only in the U.S. does the law require notification on the package if the cocoa powder is Dutch processed (alcalized). However, even if the cocoa comes from another country, in which there is no such label, it is 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. Imlakesh Organics, available at Sprouts in a glass jar

2. Provisions Marou (Vietnam), sold at Tony Caputos 

A-/A (earthy:)

3. Volupta (sold at Costco as of Dec 2019) (not tested with Hotel Chocolat, but with the others) 

4.  Better Body Liv Fit (imported to Lindon, Utah, sold at BetterBody.com) 

A- 

 
5. 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). Their old batch that sold out and their current batch come in at the same spot on this list. Kudos to them for having the most consistency, as well as a top 2 ranking for hot cocoa!

6. Hotel (not tested in 2022 with above, but in 2020 when order was different:) Hotel Chocolat raw cocoa, from the UK and their chocolate shops 

7. Healthworks. This batch that expires 31 March 2020 improved in flavor from the previous batch that expired October 2018, which was 4 spots further down, but was still an A-.

8. Javier's (with sugar, alcalized) 

9. Cadbury Bourne (from UK, higher than regular Cadbury below on list)

10. Saco Conscious Kitchen 

B-

11. Viva (batch expiring 5 June 2019 ranks here, while their batch expiring 28 Feb 2018 ranked higher, just below Super Vital, above)

12. Sunfood

13. Freedom

14. Pure Natural Miracles 

15. Trader Joes (raw cocoa version)

16. Sprouts (their own brand). This batch that expires 19 August 2019 ranks here, while their batch that expired April 2018 was even better. 

2020 TEST, Continued with other flavors

The grades below (tested in 2020) start at B+++++, but really should be B-, per where the above 2022 test leaves off! Thus, all below should be B- and lower.

B+++++

Navitas, the "new batch," we call it, with expiration date of January 2019. A previous batch of theirs we tested in 2017 was #2 in taste of all hot cocoa!

Nuts.com. (The batch we tried was from about 2014 and tested in 2017 - 2019.  If they sell from the same source still, it's excellent cocoa.)

B++++
Cocoa Metro Belgian Cocoa Powder (raw cocoa, different than their drinking chocolate below)

B+++
Ojio

B++
THE NEXT TWO ARE THE HIGHEST RATED COCOA POWDERS THAT ARE NOT RAW:

Williams Sonoma Hot Chocolate Classic, made by Guittard Co. especially for them. Use 5 T, not the the standard 2 T we recommend, which works best for most other cocoa powders on this list. (Includes butter oil, soy lecithin) SUGAR. POTASSIUM CARBONATE

Starbucks Double Chocolate (NOT their cocoa mix that has stuff in it like hydrogenated oil, milk powder, and other ingredients. This one, btw, is sold in boxes at Walmart and elsewhere.) Use 3 T (a whole packet), not the standard 2 T we recommend, per cup of milk. SUGAR. ALCALIZED

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

KIVA

Tera Soul

TCHO Drinking Chocolate Crumbles. (Different than their raw cocoa above), Use 4 T per cup of milk, not the standard 2 T we recommend for most. (Contains soy lecithin) SUGAR. ALCALIZED

B+
Damori Apurimac

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

Bellagio Unsweetened,  2014. ALCALIZED

Trader Joes Sipping Chocolate. (Use 3 T of cocoa powder.) SUGAR. ALCALIZED

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

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

True Vibe

Natierra

Rapunzal

Askinoski

B/B+
Cacao di Pernigotti. ALCALIZED

Ghiradelli 100% Raw Cocoa

Bellagio Sipping Beverage Mix, Expires August 2015, so although it was past expiration, it held up well in tests with likely little difference between it and new batches. SUGAR. ALCALIZED

Cadbury

Nestles

Hershey's 100% cocoa powder "Dark" B

Joy Fuel

Big Tree

Western Family

B-/B
Trader Joes cocoa powder (pure cocoa)

Scharfenberger Sweetened. (Note that their older batch from May 2015 fits right underneath this one, which proves consistency and longevity.) SUGAR

Allegro Coffee Company Drinking Chocolate, Costa Rican 64. SUGAR

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

Great Value (Walmart's brand)

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

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

Chatfield;s

Guittard Grand Cacao. (Includes vanilla beans) SUGAR. ALCALIZED

Scharfenberger Unsweetened, expiration 2019 (For cold cocoa it ranks one spot higher than their batch dated for expiration in 2015, which was not tested here for hot.)

C+

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


EARLIER TEST, IN 2013:
TESTED ALONE IN SEPARATE TEST ARE THE FOLLOWING 12, the highest graded of which, at a B++, would now garner a C+, since it tied with Ghiradelli Double Chocolate, which now rates a C+, but in 2013 was given a B++.

Ghiradelli Sweet Ground Chocolate (B++)

Allegro Dominican Republic 54, grade at that time: B

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Co., grade at that time: B 

Ghiradelli Premium Hot Cocoa mix, grade at that time: B+

E. Guittard 61% Sunrise #3610 (couverture chocolate pieces - 20 per cup of milk), grade at that time: B - -

E. Guittard 72% Sunset #3720 (couvertteure chocolate pieces - 20 per cup of milk), grade at that time: B - -

Kroger, grade at that time: C++

Hershey's Cacao Reserve (with junky hydrogenatred oil ) in packets, grade at that time: C++

Green & Black, grade at that time: C

Silly Cow Farms All Natural, grade at that time: C-

Rocky Mountain Chocolate col. "Milk", grade at that time: D+

Ovaltine Rich, grade at that time: D+

END OF 2013 TEST. 

2018, CONTINUED: 

365 (Whole Food Market's brand). ALCALIZED

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

Dagoba Raw Cacao (Hershey's organic brand)

Saco. blend of raw plus ALCALIZED


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

E. Guittard Cocoa Rouge. ALCALIZED

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

C-
Allegro Purvian 68 TESTED WITH ONLY DROSTE, BELOW)

Droste. (batch expires 28 Je 2019) SUGAR. ALCALIZED

Valrona. ALCALIZED

THESE NEXT 2 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)

ABOUT HERE: King Koko (Hawaiian block of cocoa, with sugar added and melted

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

D
Lavenko. Sweetened with natural sugars.