We Tried 12 Popular Hot Chocolate Mixes and the Winner Was a Total Surprise

The weather outside isn't quite frightful, but temps are dropping every day. If you want something delightful to help you keep warm, few things capture the cozy, magical spirit of the holidays like a steaming cup of hot chocolate. This beloved beverage has earned its spot as the quintessential holiday drink, and for good reason. With its rich, velvety texture and sweet, chocolatey flavor, hot chocolate feels like a warm hug in a mug—the best thing to get you through those long nights of frosty weather.

We drank hot chocolate on special occasions during the winter when I was growing up, and it will always hold a special place in my heart because of the sweetness it added to those childhood experiences. Whether you’re watching Christmas movies or admiring twinkling lights, hot chocolate makes every moment more magical, but with so many hot chocolate mixes out there, how do you choose?

To make sure your holidays are full of delicious mugs of hot chocolate, we bought all of the hot chocolate mixes we could find near us. After mixing and sipping and comparing, we created a list of 12 hot chocolate mixes, ranked from worst to best.

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How We Tested the Hot Chocolate Mixes

To find the best hot chocolate mix, I conducted a taste test featuring 12 different types of hot chocolate. To ensure fairness, my husband prepared each mix while I stayed out of the kitchen. This allowed for a completely blind tasting, where I could focus solely on the taste and texture of each hot chocolate without being influenced by the brand or packaging.

He followed the preparation instructions for each mix. Half of them were made with water, as recommended on the package, while the other half were prepared with milk, as their labels said to do. This approach helped me determine how the mixes performed when prepared as intended, but it should be noted that my hard rule with hot chocolate is that it should always be made with milk.

The results were intriguing! Some mixes were clear losers, lacking the depth or sweetness expected from a good cup of hot chocolate. Others were so similar in taste and texture that it was hard to tell them apart. In the end, the competition came down to two mixes that were nearly impossible to choose between, but I was eventually able to crown a winner.

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How We Ranked the Hot Chocolate Mixes

When ranking the hot chocolate mixes, I focused on the defining characteristics of a classic hot chocolate: a smooth, creamy texture; a rich chocolatey flavor and a comforting aroma that evokes all the nostalgia of holiday warmth. The ideal cup of hot chocolate should have a perfect balance of sweetness and depth, with no artificial aftertaste or thin consistency.

One thing I did note right away is that most of the mixes made with water needed extra stirring because they separated faster than the ones made with milk, which is another point in the make-your-hot-chocolate-with-milk column.

In cases where two mixes tied in flavor and texture, I awarded the higher rank to the cheaper option. This ensured that value played a role in the rankings as well, making the results more practical for those looking to enjoy an affordable yet delicious cup of hot chocolate.

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12 Popular Hot Chocolate Mixes, Ranked Worst to Best

Ready to get cozy? Let's dig into the ranking.

12. Giant Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix

My local grocery store is Giant, so I had to grab a box of the store-brand hot chocolate mix. This one was made with water and it tasted like chocolate-flavored water, even after being stirred. It was weak and the chocolate was not good. It was the clear loser in this taste test.

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11. Great Value Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix

The Great Value Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix was also made with water and it didn't rank much higher than the Giant brand mix. It had a weak chocolate flavor, but it didn't taste as watery as the Giant mix. It's not one I'd buy again.

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10. 365 By Whole Foods Market Organic Rich Hot Cocoa Mix

For some reason, organic drink mixes end up tasting like soy sauce to me and the 365 By Whole Foods Market Organic Rich Hot Cocoa Mix was no different. It had a weak chocolate flavor and then a sweet soy sauce aftertaste. I thought I was imagining it, so I asked my husband to taste it and he also got a soy sauce flavor from this mix. I ranked it a little higher than the previous two simply because the chocolate flavor was stronger and although the soy sauce taste was unexpected, it wasn't terrible. This mix was also made with water.

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9. Nestle Hot Cocoa Mix

Nestle Hot Cocoa Mix is a classic cocoa mix, and many people enjoy it but when tasted against the other cocoa mixes on this list, it was basic and didn't impress me. It tasted like something you'd get at a school Christmas play—cheap and easy to make, but nothing to celebrate. This was made with water, and I do think it could have ranked higher if it were made with milk.

8. Ghirardelli Chocolate Premium Indulgence Hot Cocoa Mix

I can't believe I ranked this as low as I did because I love Ghirardelli Chocolate. The cocoa mix had that same great chocolate flavor, but it didn't have the creaminess that I was expecting from a hot chocolate. This was made with water, though, and if it had been made with milk it may have had a creamier texture and flavor. When it was made per the instructions on the label, though, it didn't have all the characteristics I'm looking for in a top-ranking hot chocolate. It also separated quickly and I had to keep stirring it in order to avoid clumps.

7. Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa

Swiss Miss is another classic hot chocolate mix and it's a holiday staple for many people. It does have a great creamy, chocolatey flavor (because it's made with milk) and this is not a bad mix, overall. It works really well when you need to make a lot of hot chocolate for a crowd without spending too much time or money, but when compared to other hot cocoa mixes, it wasn't anything to get excited about.

6. Good & Gather Double Chocolate Flavored Hot Cocoa Mix

The Good & Gather Double Chocolate Flavored Hot Cocoa Mix is from Target and it's made with milk, so it was really smooth. I think it ranked the same as Swiss Miss as far as creaminess and thickness, but I did put it a little higher because it had a deeper chocolate flavor. I can see this being a great, inexpensive mix to dress up with peppermint coffee creamer, a splash of bourbon (which the label actually suggests- for adult drinkers, of course) or even adding it to egg nog (with or without the booze).

5. Silly Cow Farms Hot Chocolate Mix

The Silly Cow Farms Hot Chocolate Mix was made with milk and I ordered it from Amazon. It was rich, creamy and sweet and it reminded me of the hot chocolate you can get at food stands during winter festivals—better than Swiss Miss, but still basic enough to please a crowd of people. I really enjoyed this hot chocolate and I am using the rest of it to make hot chocolate jars for Christmas gifts.

4. Starbucks Classic Hot Cocoa

Starbucks Classic Hot Cocoa is a popular hot chocolate mix that has a deep, rich chocolatey flavor and a smooth finish, probably because it was made with milk. I really enjoyed it because it's not overly sweet and it had a slight coffee flavor. It's not too expensive and it has a high-end flavor, so I plan to buy more for co-worker gifts.

3. Lake Champlain Traditional Organic Hot Chocolate

When I sipped the Lake Champlain Traditional Organic Hot Chocolate mix, I immediately said "This is delicious! It's like biting into a fancy chocolate." This didn't have that soy sauce aftertaste, even though it's organic. That may be because this one was made with milk, so it ended up with a creamier taste than the previous organic mix. It's sweet enough for my kids to like it, but not too sweet that it overpowers the deep chocolate flavor. I'm keeping this one for myself!

2. Tim Horton's Hot Cocoa Mix

I had never had anything from Tim Horton's (the Canadian coffee house and restaurant chain) until I tried this hot chocolate mix and it was really hard to decide between this mix and the winner. Tim Horton's Hot Chocolate Mix can be made with water or milk, so I chose to make it with milk and I am glad I did! The description on the box calls this "a rich, velvety, and creamy hot cocoa mix" and that's exactly what I got from it. For me, the chocolate was so creamy the drink tasted like it was made with half-and-half, not just milk, and I wanted to drink the whole cup, but my husband finished it for me because he enjoyed it just as much as I did.

1. Land o' Lakes Cocoa Classics Chocolate Supreme Instant Hot Cocoa

I went to Aldi looking for a store-brand hot chocolate to try and I found the Land o' Lakes Cocoa Classics Chocolate Supreme Instant Hot Cocoa instead. My best friend swears by this hot chocolate mix, so I had to try it and I am so glad I did!

The online description says this is "the ultimate hot cocoa, richer in chocolate flavor than a regular chocolate hot cocoa" and that description is completely accurate. It tasted just like a candy bar and had a strong, rich chocolate flavor.

The most surprising thing to me was that this was made with water! It was so smooth I would have thought it was made with milk. I drank the whole cup (after letting my husband taste it). We went back and forth about this mix and the Tim Horton's mix, but in the end, this one won because it was easy to find and cheaper than Tim Horton's, but as far as flavor, we couldn't decide which was better. I will be buying more of this right away!

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