This is Page 6 of a 10-page review of hot chocolate and cocoa brands. Click on the black links below to visit other pages.
Hot Cocoa Brands O To Z
Here’s our final group of hot cocoa mixes, before proceed to the hot chocolate brands:
Omanhene Hot Cocoa Mix. Very minimal chocolate flavor, but sweetness level is balanced, not overwhelming. First ingredient: sugar. Entire ingredient list: sugar, natural cocoa powder. Sodium content: 5 mg/serving. Light chocolate in color with a pleasant chocolate aroma. Price: $6.50 for 12 ounces. Read our review of Omahene Chocolate.
Perfect Cup Premium Instant Cocoa Mix (purchased in supermarket; no website found, but label indicates product is manufactured for American Natural & Specialty Brands in St. Augustine, FL). Traditional milky brown cocoa color, with barely detectable chocolate aroma. Sweet, with hardly any chocolate flavor. First ingredient: sucrose. Also contains partially hydrogenated soybean oil, guar gum, sodium caseinate, sodium citrate, artificial flavor, dipotassium phosphate, mono- and diglycerides, and sodium silicoaluminate, in addition to other ingredients. Sodium content: 230 mg/serving. Sold at supermarkets; not available in our area so we could not obtain a per-box price. However, it is sold in bulk on Amazon.com.
Slitti Miscela di Cacao (per cioccolata in tazza) [translation: cocoa powder for drinking chocolate]. This was a surprise. I’ve tried Slitti chocolates before and found them very pleasant, but this beverage (of a dark milk chocolate color with a moderate chocolate aroma) had a flat, unappealing, modestly chocolate taste with no hint of sweetness. First ingredient: bitter cocoa. Entire ingredient list: bitter cocoa, starch, sugar, natural flavors. Sodium content: not listed. (EDITOR’S NOTE: We’re surprised too: we adore Slitti chocolate. We didn’t taste this batch, but we’re tempted to try another.) Price: $13.95 for 8.8 ounces.
Swiss Miss Rich & Creamy Hot Cocoa Mix. Medium to dark chocolate color with a decent chocolate aroma. More stirring than usual required to dissolve powder; some remained undissolved and floated to top of liquid. Sweet, with little chocolate flavor. First ingredient: sugar. Also contains corn syrup, whey protein concentrate, hydrogenated coconut oil, calcium carbonate, dipotassium phosphate, cellulose gum, artificial flavor, carrageenan, and mono- and diglycerides, in addition to other ingredients. Sodium content: 170 mg/serving. $2.99 for 10 ounces. No e-commerce; available in most supermarkets.
Valor Chocolates Cao (available at Chocosphere.com). A dark chocolate beverage with a great, true chocolate aroma. Moderately chocolatey, not-too-sweet cup of cocoa that seems very rich because it’s slightly thickened with wheat powder. Nutrition information given is for 7 tablespoons of mix, but package instructions specifically for the U.S. call for 4 tablespoons of mix. First ingredient: sugar. Entire ingredient list: sugar, fat reduced cocoa powder (19%), wheat flour, lecithin, “aroma.” Sodium content: 0 mg/serving. (EDITOR’S NOTE: There’s also a sugar-free version sweetened with Maltitol and Ace-K). Price: $7.95 for 17.5 ounces.
Vosges Haut-Chocolat Couture Cocoa La Parisienne (dark chocolate and 
vanilla bean). Not too sweet, with a nice dairy and deep chocolate taste. Long, lingering aftertaste. First ingredient: dark chocolate. Entire ingredient list: dark chocolate, cocoa, sugar, vanilla beans. Sodium content: not listed. Preparation instructions very complicated, more for professional than home use. Price: $25.00 for 16 ounces. Read our full review of Vosges Chocolates.
Wegmans Extra-Rich Chocolate Flavor Instant Hot Cocoa Mix (purchased at a Wegmans supermarket, not found on website). Dark chocolate color with barely noticeable chocolate aroma. Off taste, combining salty, sweet, and vaguely chocolate flavors simultaneously. First ingredient: sugar. Also contains partially hydrogenated soybean and/or canola oil, corn syrup solids, sodium caseinate, dipotassium phosphate, mono- and diglycerides, and natural and artificial flavors, in addition to other ingredients. Sodium content: 150 mg/serving. $.99 cents for 10 ounces. No e-commerce.
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European-style hot chocolate means melting shavings, beads or disks of actual chocolate and adding boiling water or milk. That’s what you do with Recchiuti Dark Hot Chocolate Pure Chocolate Pistoles, one of the favorites you’ll read about.