Food Fanatics: Hot Chocolate

Food+Fanatics%3A+Hot+Chocolate

Megan Curling, Editor-in-Chief

By Megan Curling

As the holiday season slowly creeps around the corner and temperatures begin to drop, there is nothing more longed for than a nice, hot beveridge. Leaving the oddly hot October afternoons in the dust, this winter is predicted to be a brutal one for North Carolina leading people to ask just one simple question. Not things as silly as, ‘where do I buy a generator?’ or ‘should I invest in a new set of tires for the impending snow?’ but rather an actual intelligent question: ‘where can I find the best hot chocolate?’

   Truly Homemade

Reminiscent of what my parents often refer to as “the good old days” comes this classic straight from the chocolate God’s website at hershey.com. Mixing 8 oz of hot milk with two tablespoons of chocolate syrup, I made my first cup of homemade cocoa with a sense of excitement and wonder. However, I have to say this concoction was simply not to my liking, I took one sip, deemed it as “gross” and passed it along to my family members to finish. I have since been told that perhaps whole milk would have done better than 2% but given that in this time of holiday thankfulness, I used what I had already, this endeavor can simply be written off as a fail.

   Swiss Miss

THE staple of my snowy childhood days comes the beautifully powdery Swiss Miss herself, with marshmallows of course. Resurrected from the depths of my cabinet now filled with adult drinks such as tea and coffee, I watched as the mountain of substance united with the milk in my microwave. As the beeps went off, I excitedly whipped open the door and took a sip of the cult classic staple. Although I will admit that the marshmallows seem more chalky and less heavenly than I remember, the drink still stirred up fond memories and a feeling of adoration for simplicity that the homemade just did not do.

   Starbucks

Ah yes, for it is not a true American taste test without capitalistic influences. Venturing to our local Barnes & Noble to redeem my free monthly drink at the establishment that has been infiltrated by the mediocre coffee chain, I confused the barista by straying from my monthly caramel iced coffee and ordering a venti hot chocolate, because when it is free, you go big. A mere 43 seconds, yes, I timed it, after completing the transaction, the whipped cream topped drink was in my hands. Nearly burning the tip of my tongue off, I tasted it, having never done so before. Although creamier then the other two combined, this drink was simply too rich, perhaps with chocolate or with a waste of money, but nevertheless, did do the job of warming me up. However, I could not finish it and ended up pouring most of it out.

   Camino Bakery

Admittedly, I am somewhat biased to my high school hideout of Camino on W 4th Street. However, I have actually never had their hot chocolate, seeing as I am more of a tea and apple cider girl myself when it comes to overpriced goodness. Yet I sucked it up for this experience and must admit, the hot chocolate was pretty darn great. I do not have much to say as I am not sure what to say. It was simply creamy, proportionately perfect and just really hit the sport. Kudos to the man playing chess when I was experiencing this euphoric experience.

 

Long story short, no matter your budget or your preference, there is a hot chocolate out there for you; just buy yourself some whole milk, mix the powder a little more, allot a large chunk of your savings towards your local coffee shop budget, and BAM! You will be in the holiday spirit.