E. Guittard Grand Cacao Drinking Chocolate

I'm so, so sorry for the very long hiatus as I've been quite overwhelmed with all the hot chocolate I have (yes, it is possible) but thank you, benefactor (you know who you are)!

Brand: E. Guittard

Name: Grand Cacao Drinking Chocolate

Tagline: Fine Dutched (Eh, is it a verb now?) cocoa with ground chocolate for hot chocolate and baking

Origin: USA

Servings: About 7

Weight: 10oz / 284g

Price: US$9

Availability: Amazon.com

Ingredients: Cocoa (Dutch processed with alkali), pure cane sugar, bittersweet chocolate (cacao beans, pure cane sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin), natural flavor

Nutritional information: Calories 150kcal; Total fat 7g; Dietary fiber 5g; Sugars 19g

Instructions:
For each serving, combine 4 tbsp hot cocoa with 1 cup milk in saucepan. Heat on medium-low with constant whisking until hot but not boiling.

Alternatively, combine 4 tbsp hot cocoa with 1 cup milk in microwave-safe mug. Heat on high for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes, stopping and stirring at 30-second intervals to dissolve hot chocolate. Heat to desired temperature.

Review:

 

Look at how dark it is

• Taste: I liked this a lot because it wasn't one of those sweet hot cocoa mixes but at the same time, wasn't bitter at all. In fact, dare I say it felt like eating a good bar of 54% dark chocolate (or 55%. I never know)? The instructions were quite vague but since it's American, I used a 250-ml cup. I didn't find it lacking in taste though, so I believed I made the right choice. Why not try making it with 200ml  milk for a richer, full-bodied taste? (Are we doing coffee reviews now?) 9/10


• Smoothness: It was slightly powdery but to be fair, I did use the microwave method. More often than not, the microwave method would produce a  more powdery drink compared to actually cooking the hot cocoa and milk mixture on the stove top. However, since E. Guittard did suggest the microwave method, it should have been a lot smoother. Moreover, it would have been nice to have a bit more froth. 3/5
  
  
• Meltiness: Most of it dissolved, especially the powder bit, but the ground chocolate needed a lot more stirring. What's more, the ground chocolate that didn't melt sank to the bottom of the cup and formed clumps. Major wastage. 2.5/5
  
  
• Thickness: The drink felt satisfying in the mouth and had a nice fullness to it. Shame the ground chocolate did not melt properly though, as it had the potential to be really, really good. 4/5
  
  
• Worthiness: Good value for money, if you are willing to fork out the shipping cost to Malaysia. 4/5
  
  
• Others: This should have been a "guest post" but I thought the hot chocolate needed sharing. Yes, this is not available in Malaysia and I was lucky enough to have received it but if you have always wondered which hot chocolate to get from USA, this should be one of it. The can has a recipe for hot chocolate brownies, which is always a plus point if you have too much hot chocolate at home. It would have been better though, if E. Guittard was more generous with the quantity as you would need 1 1/2 cups (240g) of hot cocoa to make the brownies! Boo! 3/5

Final score: 72.9% (ineligible for ranking as unavailable locally)


In a nutshell: Such a great tasting hot chocolate but lost major points due to the amount of wastage it produced and also its stinginess.