Caotina Surfin Swiss Premium Chocolate Drink

Brand: Caotina Surfin

Name: Swiss Premium Chocolate Drink

Tagline: The cocoa drink made with real Swiss chocolate

Origin: Switzerland

Servings: 10

Weight: 10 x 15g (also available in canisters)

Price: RM19.90

Availability: Village Grocer, Cold Storage, etc...

Ingredients: Sugar, fat reduced cocoa 19% (with emulsifier soy lecithine), glucose, chocolate 7% (sugar, cocoa, cocoa butter, fat reduced cocoa, cocoa mass, flavouring vanillin), calcium phosphate, flavouring vanillin, salt, 7 vitamins, (B1, B2, B5, B12, folic acid, niacin, pantothenic acid)

Nutritional information: Calories 57kcal; Fat 0.5g; Carbohydrate 12.3g; Calcium 34mg

Instructions: Mix content in a cup of warm or cold milk

Review:

• Taste: I've made this 10 times (yes, I finished the whole box before actually writing this review). The first few times, I made it with 250ml milk (vague instructions) but it was too thin for my liking. I then lessen the amount of milk by 50ml and it was much better. It is sweet but not tooth-achingly sweet. However, you might find the cocoa taste lacking if you're used to chomping the dark variety. 7/10


• Smoothness: Not surprisingly, it is very smooth. And I do mean very. The dead giveaway is the fact that it can be made with cold milk (which I forgot to try *slaps forehead*). 5/5


• Meltiness: Easy to dissolve. Again no surprises here. Does leave a teensy bit of residue at the bottom, though. 4/5


• Thickness: This is the only thing stopping you from seeing the Swiss Alps when sipping the hot chocolate as it's not thick at all. Come to think of it, gulping the hot chocolate might be the correct term instead. 2/5 


• Worthiness: It works out to RM2 per cup (excluding milk), which is good value for money. 4/5


• Others: Vague instructions is always a major turn-off as you would have to experiment numerous times before discovering the perfect way to make the hot chocolate. I'm not sure whether it's absolving responsibility (well, you made it so it's your fault), laziness, or giving power to the consumers (*ehem ehem*) on the manufacturers' part but I honestly believe we consumers would prefer if they'd just take our hands when it comes to instructions 'cause it defeats the purpose of convenience to do otherwise. Then again, they might be daring us to create better hot chocolates than them. Hmmm... 3/5

Final score: 71.4%


In a nutshell: Delicious and good value for money, if you know how much milk to use.

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.

Ghirardelli Premium Hot Cocoa Double Chocolate

Brand: Ghirardelli Chocolate

Name: Premium Hot Cocoa Double Chocolate

Tagline: Made with real chocolate!

Origin: USA

Servings: 12

Weight: 16oz / 454g

Price: RM25

Availability: Cold Storage

Ingredients: Sweet ground chocolate & cocoa (sugar, cocoa - processed with alkali, unsweetened chocolate, soy lecithin - an emulsifier, vanilla)

Nutritional information: Calories 140kcal; total fat 1.5g; fiber 2g; sugars 2g; protein 2g

Instructions: 4 tablespoons of hot cocoa + 8oz hot (not boiling) milk

Review:

• Taste: I've made this numerous times, but always by pouring the milk into the cocoa mix. Usually, I would pour half the milk, stir, and pour the other half. This morning, I made a paste first then poured the remainder of the hot milk. Somehow, the second method released flavours I didn't detect before. This is a sweet hot cocoa, no doubt about that, but with the second method, it had a sort of deep-fried taste (although, not that weird). I initially thought there was oil in the mix but a check on the ingredients revealed none. In addition, it tasted chemical-ly (both methods). The cocoa mix itself smells really chocolatey and actually tastes wonderful on its own. 6.5/10
  


• Smoothness: As I've mentioned above, I've made this several times and the paste method, in my opinion, is the better method. The former creates a sud-like (think shower gel) foam, which is bordering worrisome, whilst the latter would produce a good hot cocoa foam which feels full in the mouth. The overall texture is however still powdery, sandy even. I'm in a pickle over this one. 3/5
  

• Meltiness: Easy to dissolve. Very minimal residue. 4/5
  


• Thickness: Does feel full in the mouth and has a pleasant thickness. 4/5
  


• Worthiness: Affordable. In fact, it's not that far off from the American retail price. Kudos! However, do read my other thoughts below. 4/5
  


• Other thoughts: Through my Googling, I discovered that this is is exactly the same as Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate & Cocoa! I think it's also sold in Cold Storage but I can't recall the price. Am I outraged? I'm not very sure but I'll need to reserve my comments until I've tried the twin. This might have been processed differently so for now, I'll give this the benefit of the doubt. It does have 2g of fibre, though, without resorting to any weird (read: unsuitable for hot cocoa) ingredients. On a quite different note, I find 'double chocolate' or 'triple chocolate' claims superfluous, unless it's double or triple dosage. They should name it '2-chocolate' or '3-chocolate' instead. 3/5
  

Final score: 70.0%



In a nutshell: One of the better ones on the market and easily available, if you happen to live near a Cold Storage.

Swiss Milk Indulgent Collection Dark Chocolate Sensation

Brand: Swiss Miss

Name: Indulgent Collection Dark Chocolate Sensation (my, what a mouthful!)

Tagline: Made with PREMIUM COCOA & fresh milk and Create the moment

Origin: USA

Servings: 8

Weight: 8 x 1.25oz (35g) envelope

Price: RM15

Availability: Cold Storage

Ingredients: Sugar, Corn Syrup, Cocoa (Processed With Alkali), Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Nonfat Dry Milk, Less Than 2% Of: Natural Flavor, Carrageenan, Salt, Dipotassium Phosphate, Mono- And Diglycerides. Contains Milk.

Nutritional information: Calories 150kcal; Fat 3.5g; Total Carbohydrate 28g (Fibre 2g; Sugars 19g)

Instructions: Empty contents of envelope into a cup. Gradually stir 6oz (3/4 cup) hot (not boiling) milk or water.

Review:

• Taste: As usual, I made this 3 times - milk, milk+water and water. I found milk the most cloying and water a bit bland but I could actually taste hints of dark chocolate when made with a combination of milk and water. I would have preferred the dark chocolate flavour to be more pronounced, though. On a side note, I'm slightly worried with Swiss Milk normal line of hot cocoa because if the Indulgent Collection tagline is to be believed, the normal line is not made with real milk. Erk! 6.5/10
  


• Smoothness: Powdery, which was not surprising as it was hard to melt (refer below). Good foam. 2.5/5
  


• Meltiness: Hard to dissolve, even when stirred graaaduallllyyy. Cocoa specks were clearly visible on top. 1/5
  
  
  


• Thickness: Surprisingly feels full in the mouth, thanks to carrageenan (a thickening agent). Would have been better if the cocoa made it thick, though. 3.5/5
  


• Worthiness: Comes up to about RM1.90 per cup, if made with water. For the convenience, I suppose it's fair. 3.5/5


• Others: When you think of convenience, you think of Miss Swiss. It's also a good source of fibre, which is a pleasant surprise, as you wouldn't normally associate hot chocolate with fibre. Ingredients could be less scary, though. 3.5/5
  

Final score: 58.6%

In a nutshell: Buy it for the convenience. Then again, if that's the sole reason you're buying it, you're probably better off with the normal line of Swiss Miss hot cocoa. Or Cadbury.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Warm Winter Cocoas Set: Special Dutch Chocolate Powder

Brand: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Name: Special Dutch Chocolate Powder

Tagline: Makes hot chocolate, cafe mocha, the original ice blended drink (Yes, not exactly a tagline per se but it is written on the can)

Origin: USA

Servings: 4, if following instructions; 6, if adjusted.

Weight: 8oz/227g

Price: RM85 (for a set of 3. Works out to RM28/can)

Availability: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Cafe

Ingredients: Sugar, nonfat dairy milk, non-dairy creamer [coconut oil, corn syrup solids, sodium caseinate (a milk derivative), sodium citrate, mono- and diglycerides, salt, sodium aluminosilicate], cocoa processed with alkali, maltodextrin, salt, natural vanilla flavor, guar gum, propylene glycol alginate, silicon dioxide (to prevent caking), vanillin (an artificial flavor), xanthan gum

Nutritional information: Calories 230kcal; Total fat 5g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 270mg; Total carbohydrate 43g (Sugars 36g); Protein 5g

Instructions: Add 1/3 cup of powder to a 12oz mug. Fill cup with steamed milk or hot water and enjoy!

Review: This is part of the Warm Winter Cocoas set and as such, a seasonal item. So it may, or may not, be available in stores.

I've actually made this 3 times, once with half-milk, half-water combo, once with all-milk and lastly with all-water. I recommend using half-milk, half-water combo (or better still, low fat?). All-milk can be cloying whilst all-water tastes like water with sweetened cocoa powder. Some milk is needed to enhance the chocolate flavour. I've also scaled it down to 8oz instead of 12oz cause honestly, who drinks that much at home?  For reference, I used 8oz/250ml liquid to 3 1/2 tablespoons of cocoa powder.

Opening the can takes a lot of skills and using your nails just wont cut it. The inside cover has holes so you can use it as a shaker (and prettify your hot cocoa or coffee) but it's almost impossible to 'shake' hot cocoa into a measuring spoon without making a mess in your kitchen. Hence, prying is required and a table knife should do the trick. Don't say I didn't warn you.

• Taste: I literally screamed 'oh, my god! It's soooo sweet!' when I first tasted it (using all-milk). After the initial shock, I thought I was drinking Sustagen Chocolate milk and realised why it smelled so familiar after opening the can (a hassle, as I've mentioned earlier). Then again, I could be wrong about the Sustagen reference cause I haven't been a 6 year-old for two decades (and counting). After the second shock, I was able to recall memories of sipping TCB&TL hot cocoa whilst people watching. So, I suppose that's a good thing. 6/10


• Smoothness: A very smooth hot cocoa with no hints of powderness (is that even a word? No matter, I'll be using 'powderness' from now onwards) Good foam too. 4.5/5


• Meltiness: Easily whisked. Yes, the whisk is not 'for show only'. Using a whisk is honestly quite fun so bonus points for including it. Some residue left, though, 4/5


• Thickness: Water-thin consistency but very creamy. It's almost like drinking melted milk chocolate. Well, almost. 4/5


• Worthiness: It's only the price of 2 cups of TCB&TL's hot cocoa but unfortunately, you can't make that many cups with this mix either (4, according to the can). The amount they give is disappointing 'cause 1/3 of the can is actually air! Oh, and you obviously can't get the cafe's ambience so the price of 2 cups of hot cocoa might be stretching it. 3.5/5


• Others: It's a shame that such a great hot cocoa mix is wasteful when it comes to the packaging (more space/air means higher transportation charges). I also encountered difficulties opening the can. However, some credit has to be given for the shaker top. 3/5

Final score: 74.3%


In a nutshell:A bit on the sweeter side of things but definitely recommended for actually tasting like the hot cocoa you get from TCB&TL cafe. I admit, all-water mixture is nothing to shout about but they did suggest both milk and water preparations so you can't exactly penalise them for that.

Godiva Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa

Brand: Godiva Chocolatier

Name: Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa

Tagline: Luxuriously rich hot cocoa

Origin: USA

Servings: 12

Weight: 13.1oz/372g

Price: RM103

Availability: Godiva, KLCC

Ingredients: Sugar, cocoa (processed with alkali), milk chocolate (sugar, milk, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, skim milk, butter (milk product), bittersweet chocolate (sugar, chocolate liquor, anhydrous dextrose), emulsifier (soybeans products lecithin), natural flavour and flavouring (vanilla). Cointains milk and soybeans products.

Nutritional information: Calories 130kcal; Fat 2.5g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 5mg; Carbohydrate 25g (Sugars 22g); Protein 1g

Instructions:

Best prepared with milk.

STOVETOP:
Bring 1 cup (8oz) of milk to a simmer, making sure not to boil. Pour milk into a cup or mug and stir 3 tablespoons of hot cocoa mix.

MICROWAVE:
Pour 1 cup (8oz) of milk into a microwave-safe cup or mug. Heat on high for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes or until hot, making sure not to boil. Add 3 tablespoons of hot cocoa mix and stir.

Review: I have to make it clear, this hot cocoa costs RM103! Okay, got that out of my system. With the power of internet (*ehem* amazon *ehem*), you'll discover that it only costs USD15 (about RM47) and you start thinking of importing it yourself and selling it right in front of the Godiva boutique. But no matter, we're trying to be objective here, aren't we?

• Taste: As with all milk chocolates, it is on the sweeter side of the scale and bordering cloying but still pleasant. I don't detect any bitter after-tastes (which might be good or bad), or any other after-tastes for that matter. A bit less sugar would have been good, though. 7/10
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Smoothness: The hot cocoa mix is in powder form with white specks (skim milk). It does seem a bit gritty once dissolved and has a slight powdery texture. 3/5
  
  
  


• Meltiness: The powder dissolves easily once mixed with hot milk and thankfully, the grittiness mentioned above is purely appearance-wise. There are some cocoa powder remnants at the bottom of the mug though but not much wastage. 4.5/5
  
  
  


• Thickness: The hot cocoa has a watery-thin texture when poured but the creaminess, oh my! Definitely a schizo hot cocoa. The creaminess is probably due to the butter in the ingredients' list (yes, butter!). Everybody together now, butter is gooooood...4/5
  
  
  


• Worthiness: Honestly, I find it hard to be objective 'cause I can't help but think 'this has got to taste phenomenal or else' just because of the price tag. It does taste pleasant but is it worth RM103? Unfortunately, no. USD15 (about RM47) is definitely more palatable. 1/5
  


• Others: Is exclusivity a problem? What about horrible mark-ups? Yes to both, but it's unfair to penalise this mix twice (refer above). Packaging is standard and it has not made any outrageous claims. It has, however, provided clear instructions so it deserves at least a light pat on the back. 3.5/5
  

Final score: 65.7% (low score due to absurd price)


In a nutshell: One of the better-testing sweet hot cocoa on the market but only worth it if you're paying the American price.