Three Chocolate Drinks

I thought today would be a great day for a cup of hot chocolate.  Being lazy, I decided I would drink one of my “canned” chocolate drinks instead of making it from scratch.  So, opening the cupboard, I found I had, not one, but three different hot chocolate drink mixes.  I may be lazy, but I can never pass up an opportunity to taste test comparable items.

In my cupboard are: Godiva’s Hot Cocoa (dark chocolate), TCHO’s Hot and Cold Drinking Chocolate, and Ghirardelli’s Drinking Chocolate.  Because I love THCO’s professional melting chocolate so much, I figured it would probably be my favorite.  As such, I decided to make it the last one, so I would enjoy it staying on my tongue after the tasting was completed.

For this tasting, I heated three ounces of non-fat milk in a glass mug and added four tablespoons of chocolate after the milk was heated.  I whisked the chocolate with my Aerolatte milk frother for thirty seconds.

First up: Ghirardelli.  This comes in very miniature kisses.  When I poured the chocolate into the cup, the kisses fell straight to the bottom of the mug.  In when the Aerolatte and moments later, the milk turned a dark chocolaty brown.  The drink has a nice rich chocolaty flavor which lingers nicely in the mouth after swallowing.  The expected sugary spike never appeared.  I find Ghirardelli chocolate, in general, to have a telltale sweet spike moments after biting into their chocolate bars.  All in all, it seems to be a decent drink.  The one noticeable downside was the whisking.  Even after thirty seconds of frothing with an Aerolatte, all the chocolate did not dissolve.  There was some stuck to the sides near the bottom of the mug.

Godiva was next on the tasting list.  This powdered drink mix incorporated easily and quickly.  Unlike Ghirardelli, there was nothing stuck to the glass.  As for taste, yet another deliciously dark chocolate drink.  Godiva’s flavor lingered even longer than the Ghirardelli.  The texture has a noticeable dusty texture to it: a feature I do not particularly like.

Finally, my favorite chocolate company: TCHO.  While it is the smallest can, my expectations were large.  The chocolate mix is a collection of coarse granules, and unlike the other two brands in this taste test, listed chocolate as its main ingredient.  The other brands listed sugar as their number one ingredient.  TCHO is the only one to suggest it would mix well as a cold drink.  When mixed, the chocolate dissolved completely.  The taste was on par with the other two, if not slightly better.  Unlike Godiva, there was no dusty mouth feel.  Unlike both Ghirardelli and Godiva, TCHO’s chocolate flavor did not linger anywhere near as long.  I found this disappointing.  I also noticed the intensity of the chocolate was less than I am used to.  Normally, I mix this chocolate with hot water instead of milk. With a water preparation, the chocolate flavor is markedly intense.

In conclusion, none of the three are bad.  Aside from the fact that no chocolate is bad chocolate, each of these provides a very pleasant experience.  I will probably stick to TCHO or Ghirardelli since I don’t care for the dusty mouth feel.  Should I run out of either of them, I will not turn down the Godiva.

What I use

I posted earlier about my choice in chocolate.  Yes, I love chocolate.  I have a passion for selecting ingredients that work well and taste best.  As a result, I have become rather picky in my choices.

I like unsalted butter.  I figure if a recipe needs salt, I can add it myself.  Land O Lakes is my usual go-to brand.  I never keep more than a pound in the freezer because I like fresh butter better.  The same goes for eggs.  Never more than a dozen grade AA large eggs in the refrigerator.  Fresh finishes first for me.  I usually buy cage-free organic eggs, but freshness is more important to me.

Even with milk, fresh means more to me than available.  On a typical week, I go through between a quart and a half gallon.  I would rather walk to the store (a couple blocks away) twice a week then use milk over a week old.

Baking powder:  For this, I look for aluminum-free.  Rumford if I can find it; Argo if I cannot.  Arm & Hammer is my baking soda of choice.

Flour, you ask?  Nothing but the best will do for me.  King Arthur brand, unbleached flours are my only choice.  They work well and are consistent from bag to bag.  Remember to measure flour by weight and never by volume.

Spices?  The smaller the container, the better for most spices.  Whole is better than ground, whenever available.  I can grind my own, and the flavor is stronger when freshly ground.  I used to use Morton's kosher salt, but have switched over to Diamond brand.  There is a difference.  Make something which requires more than a pinch of salt and you will see the level of saltiness yourself.  I switched only because converting recipes to Diamond brand is easier, not because it is better.  I still use Morton's for scouring my cast iron pans.  For scouring, Morton is clearly better.  It has to do with the shape of the crystals.

Sugar?  I haven't found a reason to prefer one brand over another yet.  I buy C&H brand because it is convenient.

Beef?  Yes, I love meat.  Grass-fed organic beef is my first choice.  If it has to have any grain-fed, then I will settle for grain-finished.  Given a choice between purely grain-fed and non-organic beef, I choose lamb.  Okay, lamb is my first choice before any beef, followed by ostrich.  Beef is third on my list, followed closely by pork and chicken/turkey.  When it comes to poultry, I hate the stuff that comes prepackaged in a solution.

I like my rice to have flavor.  Consequently, I love basmati rice.  Jasmine and Arborio are good too.  I avoid any "instant" or quick cooking rices as they tend to lack flavor.  Sorry Uncle Ben's and Mahatma: you don't make the cut for me.

As you can see, my trend is towards fresh and flavorful with as few added chemicals/ingredients as possible.  I want to add my own salt and chemicals.