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Hot Cocoa HottiesSee which hot cocoas stand up to our taste test |
Aficionados of drinking chocolate point out that, strictly speaking, hot cocoa contains no chocolate, only cocoa powder, thickeners (like powdered milk) and a sweetener of some sort. Hot chocolate, on the other hand, is chocolate, powdered or grated and ready to melt into milk or water. However, most products call themselves “hot chocolate” regardless of ingredients.
Scharffen Berger co-founder Robert Steinberg was the first to reveal to us an important bit of chocolate information: the truth about “Dutch Process” cocoa. Some packages make it sound ike a good thing, but it usually isn’t. It means the cocoa has been alkalinized, or treated with an alkali to make it less acidic. Alkalinized cocoa has an appealing dark reddish-brown color, but the dutching process not only adds a chemical tang, it also strips out some of the more complex flavors and high notes typical of fine chocolate. Below, some favorites (the more stars, the more we like it).
Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Hot Chocolate Rating: 2 Stars. The dutch-process cocoa gives it a mild, slightly chalky flavor. It’s simple and too sweet, just like the cocoa we grew up with. Points for nostalgia, not for flavor.
Dagoba Authentic Hot Chocolate Rating: 1 Star. An acidic tang and harsh aftertaste. Credit only for using organic ingredients and fair-trade cocoa powder.
Scharffen Berger Drinking Chocolate Rating: 5 Stars. Dark, decadent, and somewhat bitter, it’s a grown-up drink and one of our favorites.
Cacao Filipina Rating: 4 Stars. Thrown into our tasting to confound the know-it-alls, Cacao Filipina turned out to be one of our favorites, and not just because it looks like brown golf balls in a burlap sack.
Ibarra Authentic Mexican Chocolate Drink Mix Rating: 3 Stars. Pale and frothy Ibarra has a nice creamy consistency and the subtle cinnamon flavor characteristic of Mexican hot chocolates, but we prefer a more chocolatey taste.
Vosges Haut-Chocolat La Parisienne Cocoa Rating: 5 Stars. This had better be good, considering all the steeping, stirring, whisking, frothing, and garnishing described in the instructions. It is. Deep, rich, almost overwhelming.
when the website gets opened to the public it would be nice to have an 'email this article to..' link. :)
bltsang, in Firefox, you can always go to the File menu, then choose "Send link." It's better than letting the site do it, because it doesn't let the site harvest your friends' email addresses.
Try the Jacques Torres mix in a can. It blows away the competition! It's available in regular, and spicy chili flavored.
can the links open into a new window?
It would be great if you listed the items by rating order (i.e., your favorites at the top, least favorites further down).
I second the Jacques Torres also
I third Jacques Torres.
It would be haelpful to know wherer some of these rather obscure brands can be purchased.
Big second to opening links in new windows.
how about information on where you can find the top tasters
what about chocololate sensation Swiss Miss-not a bad taste?
If memory serves me (and I'll now have to go and dig up the issue), Robert Steinberg's information about Dutch Process cocoa is at odds with Cook's Illustrated's information. I do recall that, after reading Cook's article, I went around specifically looking for a Dutch Process cocoa. If I find the article I'll post back.
bltsang --- The "email to" link is at the top of the page (next to a prominent envelope).
Summerfield - yes, Cook's Illustrated tasters ranked the dutch processed cocoas as better, consistently rating the dutched cocoas as having a strong chocolate flavor. Their explanation was that the acidity and bitterness in the cocoa distracted from the chocolate flavors, and that since the dutching process got rid of those elements, it enabled the tasters to taste more of the chocolate flavors.
Note that this is for cocoas, so it wouldn't apply to melting chocolate.