Nothing beats a big mug of hot chocolate on a cold winter day. You can garnish the decadent drink with marshmallows, whipped cream, chocolate shavings, or caramel sauce to make it even more enjoyable, but what matters most is the quality of the chocolate drink itself. From Starbucks to Swiss Miss, we tested some of the most popular hot chocolate mix brands to find out which one delivers the best results.

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For our experiment, candy expert Sarah Vallie tested 12 of the most popular store-bought hot chocolate mixes, including brands like Great Value and Good & Gather. Vallie prepared the instant mixes according to the directions, which meant some drinks required hot milk and others required hot water. As she tasted each drink, she assessed taste, texture and chocolate flavor.

Vallie chose a well-known brand as the winner: Ghirardelli Hot Cocoa Mix. She noted that the finished drink is rich and creamy, with a balanced chocolate flavor. The drink requires adding 6 ounces of hot water or milk to the package, which includes semi-sweet chocolate chips for an extra sweet kick. Since Ghirardelli is a world-famous chocolate brand known for its premium products, this classic mix definitely takes it up a notch.

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An important aspect of the Ghirardelli brand is the use of high-quality ingredients in their products, and the hot chocolate mix is ​​no exception. The winning mix contains sugar, cocoa, two dry milk powders, and vanilla extract, among a few other ingredients. The real milk powders give the drink a gourmet taste as well as a creamy texture, despite the flexibility in the instructions. And the additional chocolate chips in the mix give it an intense, chocolatey flavor as they melt into the drink in real time. The melted chocolate chips not only enhance the taste but also the feel of the drink as they make it extra rich, almost like a French-style hot chocolate that uses real chocolate instead of cocoa powder.

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When it comes to the quality of their hot chocolate, Ghirardelli places a high priority on sustainability and emphasizes using ingredients that are ethically sourced. The brand maintains the quality of its products by eliminating most fillers and producing its own cocoa mass, which serves as the base ingredient for their chocolate products. In addition, the cocoa beans are sustainably sourced from an environment that the company deems good to ensure the best ingredients.

Ghirardelli offers a plethora of chocolate products, including sweet sauces, melt-in-the-mouth waffles, and one of Chowhound’s best chocolate chips. It even offers variety when it comes to its hot chocolate mixes, with mocha and double chocolate options. The company has been around since the 1800s and was founded by Italian Domenico Ghirardelli, who traveled to the U.S. to open a series of stores in California—one of which was a candy store. Over the last century, the brand has grown into one of the most popular chocolate brands in the U.S. and can be purchased in grocery stores or at one of its 17 flagship stores across the country.

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If you don’t believe us about Ghirardelli’s superiority, just look at Disney World, known for its magical and delicious treats. The chocolate maker partnered with the media conglomerate in 1997 to sell sweet treats at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and then again in 2013 to open a shop at the Disney Studio Store in Hollywood, California.

The company now has three Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop locations on Disney property: Disney Springs, Disney California Adventure Park at Pacific Wharf and Hollywood Walk of Fame. The shops offer a variety of specialty sundaes, milkshakes, hot chocolate and more. For major chocolate lovers, the shop offers a Treasure Island Warm Brownie Sundae, which consists of half a chocolate brownie, homemade hot fudge sauce, almonds and whipped cream.

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