By Tarini Dasari and Christina Monroe

Hot chocolate: A tried-and-true winter staple, yet somehow always just a little bit disappointing. We decided to try some common hot chocolates and let our readers know what’s the best, or worst, way to go. 

1. Dunkin’ Hot Chocolate – a shockingly smashing success! If you enjoy the flavor of deeply artificial chocolate, Dunkin’ is the way to go for you. Sickly sweet and may burn your tongue off, but the delectable dollop of whipped cream is the cherry on top. All in all, a very satisfactory cup of hot chocolate. 8/10
2. Lucky Charms Swiss Miss – unpopular, or popular, opinion – Swiss Miss is bad. However, in our opinion, Lucky Charms Swiss Miss is an exception! As noted by Becky Riccio ’23, with a slightly shocked tone, “It’s good! – There’s two ways you can go with it – put [the marshmallows] in the drink and it makes it more sugary and delightful – or you could just eat them on their own.” If you’re looking for a sugary and delightful return to your childhood, be sure to try Lucky Charms Swiss Miss! Solid 7/10
3. Starbucks Classic Hot Cocoa Mix – The packaging boasts “smooth, velvety cocoa with rich chocolate notes,” and honestly, we agree! It feels like you fell into Willy Wonka’s chocolate river (which is a good thing). It’s sweet but not so sweet; this definitely could be your go-to hot cocoa. 9/10 
4. Acapella Hot Chocolate Bombs – These bombs simply don’t melt, and even after half an hour when they do, there’s absolutely no taste. And the seven measly mini marshmallows within the bombs are literal rocks; both in taste and consistency. These most certainly don’t hit all the right notes, they’re worse than the High Notes from Pitch Perfect. 1/10