Dunkin' Hot Cocoa K-Cups

I know, it's August, but k-cups know no calendar. These have a nice cocoa smell, like Hershey's Chocolate World. Tasty too, basically a standard hot chocolate which is quick and easy, so I like it. You can't taste the sucralose, but I do dislike that it's in the ingredients list, so I wouldn't buy these again just out of protest for that - otherwise no complaints.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa Mix kcup - Milk Chocolate

I'm still sick, but maybe I've just accepted my fate, or I'm happy that the semester is almost over? Either way, these kcups are starting to spark joy for me. This one is very similar tasting to the Swiss Miss mix, non-kcup-version. A little less sweet/milky because I put a lot of water and it's a small cup, and I kind of like that -- it's still plenty sweet/milky! Crucially, nmine only says "natural flavors", even though some pictures online show artificial flavors too, and let's just say I'm very happy I got the natural version! Good job, k cup.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Swiss Miss - Milk Chocolate Flavor Hot Cocoa Mix

I got a random packet of this, but it had no nut allergens, so to sip I supped! It was tasty, even though I just used water. Filling, warm, sweet, and creamy. Probably not super healthy, but a lovely winter treat for a cold little me.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Land O Lakes Salted Caramel Cocoa Mix

This was alright; better than the chocolate one, I think. It had a strong caramel flavor and scent, but it was warm and creamy which is what you want in a hot cocoa. Plus a unique flavor compared to plain chocolate, and not super duper artificial.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Land O Lakes Chocolate Supreme Cocoa Mix

This is a very stylish packet, and it looks big, so I used my big mug. But I think that was unwise (or I didn't mix/heat it enough), because it tasted a little bit watery and weak. Otherwise tasted like typical chocolate flavor hot chocolate, a little milky and quite sweet. Pleasant, fine, but now I have posher tastes in hochos (thanks, Dean's Sweets).

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

Swiss Miss Marshmallow Hot Cocoa Mix

Ah, winter's coming, so hot choco is in! This mix is both very fatty and very sweet (even with water instead of milk), but it is good though. And warm! Too bad the marshmallows melt instantly, I should buy separate big ones to drop in or somethin'.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Hershey's Hot Cocoa Mix - Milk Chocolate

Thanks to Dean's Sweets mainly, I've been a real HoCho connoisseur this winter. So I'm always happy to chug a new varietal. Even though this is your cheapo 50 cent hot chocolate (apparently), I liked it quite a bit. First, it's safe, and it's by a brand I trust. My hometown hero! Also, this tastes like a slightly posher version of the hot chocolate that came from a vending machine at USC. Gosh, I miss that stuff. But the point is, it's creamy, sweet, milky, and has no grittiness or artiificial taste. It is, however, quite unhealthy. C'est la vie!

Overall
Cost: 7/10 (3$ for 6 packs)
Taste: 7/10

Dean's Sweets Double Dark Hot Chocolate

I got a big bag of this bad boy, which is exciting! I'm glad it's not the Aztec one, hehe. I like the style of this bag, it's very cute with its little self-closing top, although it did leak a little bit from the bottom (too much choco!). In general this made a tasty drink, even with just water - I use 1 Tbsp per serving and you get some nice choco chips in there with the powder. This yielded 15 servings! It all mixes up decently well, although the chips kinda melt and stay at the bottom to slorp up later. Not a super strong flavor in my opinion, no real vanilla notes, just thin dark choco - but I do like it.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Dean's Sweets Aztec Hot Chocolate

I waited to drink this 'til I wasn't alone, because it contained "Aztec spices", which is very ambiguous. Not nut spices, which is a relief, but still! Anyway, I gotta be honest, this was very very weird. It was spicy, like...hot pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, carob. And then chocolate. It grew on me a little as I was drinking, especially when still hot. OK, but ultimately just...weird. (I guess I'm a vanilla girl).

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10

York Peppermint Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix

Not too bad! What I learned from making this: 1 min is not enough time to heat up water. Anyway, this tasted a little bit thinner/watery-er than other cocoa mixes (which I always make with water), but it was still a pleasant restaurant-style mint choco creamy drink. I thought it was best at the beginning of drinking and at the end, perhaps because of the extra powder that concentrated in both cases. Refreshing and not a super strong flavor.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 7/10

Dean's Sweets White Mocha Hot Chocolate

OK, I have one quibble about the labelling here -- it says dairy free on the front but it has dairy in it. What's going on lately? Label issues with this, with the Idahoan potatoes, with the A La Mode ice cream...it's like you can't trust labels!! Luckily, I'm fine to have dairy but it's still not a good omen. Ignoring that, since they're a nut free place I still feel safe. And I actually made this with water instead of milk (hoho) since I don't have milk due to not leaving my home ever. Even with water I still found this to be really tasty, although it was a little gritty. Maybe I didn't heat the water enough? I loved the white chocolate pieces that remained after I drank it all, lol. Mostly it tasted like regular hot chocolate, I didn't get a ton of coffee or "white" flavor, but it was tasty nevertheless. 

Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 8/10

Land O'Lakes Cocoa Classics - French Vanilla

Like the mint flavor, this was also good! It was sweet but not overly so, nice and creamy, tasted like marshmallow cocoa or I guess french vanilla! but not in a bad artificial vanilla way like some coffee flavorings. Nice and warm and easy to make. Delightful stuff.

Overall
Cost: 7/10
Taste: 7/10

Land O'Lakes Cocoa Classics - Mint

A fun idea, single serve hot chocolate flavor packs! I thought this was really good, and blissfully nut free. It was creamy, a little minty, with a good balance of flavors between chocolate, milk, and mint. It tasted a lot like a nice peppermint mocha latte minus the coffee. Very fun.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 8/10

Swiss Miss - Peppermint Hot Cocoa K-Cup Pods

I didn't realise K-Cups could actually produce good-tasting drinks! What a game-changer. I got these from Best Buy on super sale because they expire soon, ha ha, but now the prospect of pounding 32 winter hot cocoas in July isn't so unrealistic. There's real milk and sugar (and coconut oil = sat fat) in here in addition to whatever powdery cocoa bits are in regular k-cups. I know this because they actually printed the ingredients, which is super rare for coffee/alc and I appreciate it very much. (No nuts). This tastes a little bit gritty at the bottom, as is natural, but otherwise it's nice and creamy and sweet and chocolatey, and minty but not overwhelmingly so. Basically like a peppermint latte (is that what they're called?) from starbucks, though there's no coffee in here, which I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Anyway, this isn't good for you, but it tastes good, is convenient, and in the winter is probably quite nice!

Overall
Cost: 8/10 (6$ for 16 Kcups - on sale)
Taste: 7/10