Taste Test - Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate

Its starting to get cooler and with that, thoughts often turn to hot chocolate. The other day, I mentioned my favorite hot chocolate mix-in, but what about the hot chocolate itself?

I'll be honest, I usually just stick with the Diet Swiss Miss mix. Its cheap, low in calories, and if you are going to mix it with other items (be it alcohol, whipped cream, or other), you don't really notice the watery taste...

But what about other brands of hot chocolate? There are hundreds out there. So initially, I decided to stick with Swiss Miss- lots of flavors and easy to find. With the help of a friend, we taste tested three of their popular flavors: Rich Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, and Milk Chocolate with Marshmallows. We skipped the mix-ins and toppings and just added the mix to hot water. Here are our thoughts:

• MILK CHOCOLATE: This flavor was our least favorite. It didn't have a lot of chocolate flavor and wasn't as rich as the other two options.
• RICH CHOCOLATE: This version definitely had the most chocolate flavor. It was my favorite!
• MILK CHOCOLATE WITH MARSHMALLOWS: My friend thought this was the best of the three, even when liking the regular Milk Chocolate the least. I think it all comes down to the marshmallows. I love when they melt and you have the foamy topping.

My thought is to buy (or make!) your own marshmallows and add it to the Rich Chocolate flavor. But absent that, definitely go with the marshmallows!

Given the number of hot chocolate mixes out there, I am thinking a hot chocolate bracket is in order, until I whittle down the versions until I find the favorite. With that in mind, what are your favorite hot chocolate mixes? I want to stick to mixes right now- perhaps a bracket of real recipes will follow!