I ranked festive hot chocolates from various coffee shops, and one stood out as the best among the rest
London: So, I decided to dive into the festive hot chocolate scene this year. You know how it is—Christmas vibes everywhere, and all the coffee shops are rolling out their seasonal drinks. I hit up Costa, Starbucks, Cafe Nero, Greggs, Pret A Manger, and Black Sheep Coffee to see which one really nailed it.
First off, Café Nero took the crown. Their millionaires hot chocolate is just divine! It’s sweet but not too much, and honestly, it tastes like a millionaire’s shortbread in a cup. At £4.75, it’s a bit of a splurge, but totally worth it for a treat. I also tried their Christmas tiramisu latte, which was creamy and just the right amount of sweet.
Next up was Costa, which came in a close second. I had their caramel nutcracker hot chocolate, and it was pretty good. It had that lovely caramel flavor without being overly sweet. The festive spice latte was smooth and packed with Christmas spices—definitely a cozy choice.
Pret A Manger also impressed me with their festive orange hot chocolate. It was creamy and balanced perfectly with the chocolate and orange flavors. Their caramelised almond latte was nice too, giving off those marzipan vibes.
Now, Starbucks was a bit of a letdown. I tried their gingerbread latte and a couple of hot chocolates, but they just didn’t hit the mark. The gingerbread latte was too bitter, and the fudge brownie hot chocolate was watery. Not worth the price, if you ask me.
Black Sheep Coffee didn’t even have a festive hot chocolate, which was a bummer. They had an iced mint matcha latte that was minty but didn’t really taste like chocolate. And their gingerbread latte was smooth but lacked that gingerbread kick.
Lastly, I tried Greggs’ orange hot chocolate, which was the cheapest at £2.60. It was okay, but the orange flavor was a bit too strong, and the hot chocolate itself was kind of watery.