The Worst Hot Cocoa Mix Is Actually Made By A Well-Regarded Coffee Company

For those who love indulging in a cup of hot cocoa during the winter months, or who enjoy a cup in the warmest of months (no judgment here), there's nothing more gratifying than getting your quick hot cocoa fix with an instant mix. Although the process is fast, it's still important for the delectable comforting drink to have the highest quality in flavor and texture.

That's why we did the hard work for you and recently ranked 18 instant hot cocoa mixes, focusing on the chocolatey flavor, creaminess, how sweet it was, and overall balance/texture. If the hot cocoa was on the powdery side, we took points off. The process was also carried out by using whatever the brand suggested in terms of milk or water, and if no suggestions were listed we used milk. After trying each, one brand disappointed us heavily, where the chocolate was barely there and the texture was watery. Surprisingly, this brand was Equal Exchange, which took the worst spot on our list. We even called its organic hot cocoa a "chocolate dishwater-flavored mess" and many of its online reviews were in agreement with ours.

One Target shopper commented "The flavor is lacking. Very bland." Luke, an Equal Exchange shopper, also disapproved, stating, "Does not dissolve very well in hot liquid. Not much flavor. It makes for a very bland cup of hot chocolate." Other reviews mentioned the strong lack of chocolate flavor.

Equal Exchange began in 1986 with Rink Dickinson, Jonathan Rosenthal, and Michael Rozyne, who began to fairly trade coffee from Nicaragua and later more Latin American farmers. The brand is very well-respected and reputable, as its goals are to fairly trade to respect both the farmers, sellers, and consumers of its coffee, tea, chocolate, and other snacks/products. They work with small farmers to have organic, environmentally sustainable products.

Some of the Equal Exchange's most popular items are its breakfast blend coffee and its French Roast coffee, along with its Love Buzz and Mind, Body, and Soul coffee blends, although they are pricier. As for tea, there is organic green tea and Earl Grey tea. And they have some other hot chocolate mixes such as maple and an interesting spicy flavor.

Unfortunately for Equal Exchange, its hot chocolate doesn't compare to its coffee and other drinks that tend to get rave reviews. But a possible improvement of its hot chocolate could leave the company unstoppable because clearly, its other products have people wanting more.