Hot Chocolate

UPDATE COMING SOON - MORE PRODUCTS, PHOTOS, ETC!

Test Date: October 15, 2009

Tester: Michele

All products for this test purchased at Fred Meyer, a Kroger store banner.

Note: The following products were all made according to package directions, by adding 6oz of hot water.

MICHELE'S OPINION: I find it amazing that the Swiss Miss No Sugar product, a clear loser in this test, is the most expensive! I would go with the Nestle if you have a few more pennies to spend, or the Fred Meyer, which is a fine alternative. Read on for more details on price, nutrition, and taste:

PRICE COMPARISON FOR 7-8OZ HOT CHOCOLATE:
$4.60 Swiss Miss No Sugar Added
$2.63 Nestle
$1.89 Fred Meyer Dutch Hot Cocoa
$1.88 Swiss Miss

1. Fred Meyer Dutch Hot Cocoa Mix:  This hot chocolate is the darkest in color of the four tested, and has a rich and creamy taste with a mild chocolate flavor.

2. Nestle Rich Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix:  This product smells the most like real chocolate, and also has a rich and creamy taste with extreme real chocolate flavor.

3. Swiss Miss Sensible Sweets No Sugar Added:  This hot chocolate has a creamy body to it, however it tastes like plastic and fake ingredients.

4. Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate:  This product has a thinner consistency than the others and a weak chocolate flavor. I also tasted a bit of paper, like it had been sitting in its packaging for too long.


NUTRITIONAL NOTES: The Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate pouches have 7 more grams of powder than either the Fred Meyer or Nestle brands, so its nutritional content is a bit higher in everything, as you'd imagine. Gram for gram, all the products tested, including the sugar-free version, have an equal amount of calories (about 4 calories per gram). Nestle has the most fat grams at 3 per 20 grams of product (probably why it is so tasty). Swiss Miss has the least fat per gram, at 2 per 28 grams of product. Not surprisingly, the Swiss Miss No Sugar Added wins for most sodium, with 10.6 grams per gram of product, while Swiss Miss with sugar has the least sodium, with 5.7 grams per gram of product. All three sugar products have similar processed ingredients and artificial flavors, with the first ingredient being sugar. The sugar-free product ingredient list starts with modified whey. However, the sugar-free product has the least carbohydrates per gram, with 10 grams per packet and by contrast the Swiss Miss sugar product has 23 grams per packet.

TASTE WINNER: Nestle, hands down, no question.