Consumer Reports' Highest-Rated Hot Chocolate Brand Is Both Rich And Creamy

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From the best store-bought chocolate ice creams to air fryers under $60, Consumer Reports has probably rated it. The same is true when it comes to brands of hot chocolate mix. Consumer Reports' editors found Guittard Grand Cacao Drinking Chocolate to be the best of the bunch, thanks to its rich, full-bodied, and perfectly sweet taste.

Guittard being the top pick comes as no surprise, as the brand is known for its premium-quality chocolate products, and its drinking chocolate definitely lives up to that reputation. It contains 53% cacao and has a very short ingredients list, including nothing more than cane sugar, cocoa, cacao beans, cocoa butter, vanilla beans, and natural flavors. Specifically, it is made with Dutch-process cocoa, which has been alkalized to lower its acidity and create a richer chocolatey flavor. The sugar and vanilla balance out bitter dark chocolate with sweetness, making it great as either a drinking or baking chocolate. 

As a drink, it creates a semi-sweet hot chocolate that's robust and creamy. The instructions say to whisk between 1 and 4 tablespoons of mix into 1 cup of simmering milk, but the editors at Consumer Reports who conducted this taste test found that 3 tablespoons of powder achieved well-balanced and flavorful hot chocolate. They noted that a mug made with just a single tablespoon was quite bland and underwhelming.

The Consumer Reports taste tests were done with both oat milk and whole milk, but swapping out a portion with half and half or cream can make an already excellent cup of Guittard Grand Cacao Drinking Chocolate exquisite. If you like your hot chocolate extra sweet, substitute some of the plain dairy for canned sweetened condensed milk, which also creates a super silky texture. You can even combine milk and melted ice cream for the base of the creamiest hot chocolate, or pour the prepared drink right over a scoop.

Although Guittard's blend already contains vanilla bean, you can't go wrong bringing a little extra sweetness without added sugar — go for about a teaspoon of vanilla extract or, even better, vanilla bean paste. While you're near your baking ingredients, grab the cinnamon and mix a few dashes into the mix before combining it with your milk of choice for a DIY Mexican hot chocolate.

Even though the taste is certainly elevated, a hot chocolate made with this brand isn't too sophisticated for toppings. Marshmallows or whipped cream are practically non-negotiable, but don't sleep on melting a pat of butter into your cup of hot chocolate. The richness and slightly salty flavor especially complement the hit of bitterness in Guittard's chocolate mix.