What Makes the Best Hot Chocolate—Cocoa Powder or Drinking Chocolate?

Ask five people how they make hot chocolate, and you’re likely to get five different answers, each shaped by habit, nostalgia, and expectation. For some, it’s a quick stir of cocoa powder and sugar into hot milk. For others, it’s a more decadent beverage; they make their hot chocolate by melting drinking chocolate into warm milk for a more dessert-like cup. Each approach has its own flavor, texture, and level of effort. We asked chocolatiers to explain how hot chocolate made with cocoa powder or with drinking chocolate compare. We also discuss how to decide which one belongs in your mug.

Cocoa Powder

What it is: Cocoa powder is the classic for hot chocolate—it's also sometimes called hot cocoa. Unsweetened cocoa powder is mixed with sugar, then added to hot milk or water.

Cocoa powder is a byproduct of the chocolate-making process. It doesn’t include the cocoa butter that is in chocolate. That’s important, as without cocoa butter the drink's texture is thinner, unless it's enriched with a fat such as whole milk or heavy cream. But, depending on the style of hot chocolate you’re looking for, that can also make it more drinkable, says Jasmin McGinnis, founder of hot chocolate company Cup of Coa.

Flavor and texture: “Hot chocolate made with cocoa powder is a rougher, more acidic experience,” says chef and chocolatier Jacques Torres, founder of Jacques Torres Chocolate. It tends to be lighter in body and more direct in flavor, clearly chocolatey, sometimes slightly bitter, depending on the cocoa powder used.

“Without the cocoa butter, it lacks the ability to coat the tongue. It’s thinner, and that sounds unattractive, but you want a beverage to be thinner. Cocoa can still be rich and creamy and approachable,” McGinnis says.

Pros of Using Cocoa Powder for Hot Chocolate

• Inexpensive and widely available
• Quick to make, ideal for large batches
• Easy to customize the sweetness

Cons of Using Cocoa Powder for Hot Chocolate

• Can taste flat or chalky if not whisked well
• Lacks natural richness without added fat

Best for: Large batches, kids’ hot cocoa, nostalgic cravings, or anytime you want something comforting but not overly indulgent.

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Drinking Chocolate

What it is: Often misunderstood in the U.S., drinking chocolate is frequently lumped in with sweetened cocoa packets. It's actually very different: it’s made from real chocolate—finely ground, chopped, or shaved—that is designed to be melted into hot milk or water. Hot chocolate made with drinking chocolate and hot chocolate made from melted bar chocolate take essentially the same approach; the difference is convenience, not composition. Some brands sell drinking chocolate in powder form, but unlike cocoa powder, it’s made from whole chocolate and still contains cocoa butter.

“When I first tasted real drinking chocolate, it was a revelation—like drinking a liquid truffle,” says Kate Shaffer, co-founder and chocolatier of Ragged Coast Chocolates in Westbrook, Maine

If you don't have drinking chocolate at home, you can achieve the same rich effect by melting a high-quality chocolate bar directly into hot milk or cream. Some commercial drinking chocolates add ingredients like milk powder or sugar to improve consistency and richness, but the foundation remains the same: chocolate that still contains cocoa butter.

Flavor and texture: Because it contains cocoa butter, this style of hot chocolate is naturally thick and velvety. “That fat coats the tongue,” McGinnis explains, “and it enhances the overall feeling of indulgence and creaminess.”

The flavor depends heavily on the chocolate used. “If you start with a good-quality bar,” Torres says, “you’ll taste differences in origin—woodsy notes, smoky notes, real complexity.” He recommends starting around 60 percent cacao for balance.

The biggest pitfall? Technique. “The biggest mistake people make is pouring hot liquid over chocolate and stirring. You have to cook it,” explains Shaffer. That means gently heating the milk and emulsifying the chocolate into it. “You’re basically making a ganache first,” she says. “That’s how you get a smooth, glossy consistency.”

Pros of Using Drinking Chocolate for Hot Chocolate

• Deepest chocolate flavor and complexity
• Rich, smooth texture without extra ingredients
• Customizable by chocolate type and sweetness

Cons of Using Drinking Chocolate for Hot Chocolate

• More time- and ingredient-intensive
• Easy to make it too heavy
• More expensive than cocoa powder

Best for: A small, luxurious treat; slow afternoons; or recreating a European café experience at home.

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Cocoa Powder vs Drinking Chocolate

Which to choose depends on what you want in hot chocolate:

• Richness: Drinking chocolate > Cocoa powder
• Ease: Cocoa powder > Drinking chocolate 
• Sweetness control: Cocoa powder > Melted chocolate 
• Texture: Drinking chocolate > Cocoa powder

How to Choose the Right Style For You

There’s no one answer to what hot chocolate is right for you. Cocoa powder delivers simplicity and nostalgia. Drinking chocolate offers depth and indulgence. 

“If you want a cozy drink after something like snowshoeing, but not a full dessert, a high-quality Dutch-processed cocoa is a happy medium—darker, smoother, with a silky mouthfeel,” Shaffer says

When deciding which style of hot chocolate to make, consider a few key questions:

• How much time do you have? Cocoa powder is faster; melted chocolate takes patience.
• How sweet do you like it? Cocoa powder offers the most control; drinking chocolate the least.
• What texture are you craving? Thin and comforting, or thick and spoonable?
• Who and how many people are you serving? Kids, dinner party guests, a neighbor popping in to say hello, or yourself? You might find cocoa powder easier for a group of kids, whereas drinking chocolate or melted chocolate might be a way to cap off a dinner party if you can keep an eye on it.

The mixing method matters too. Cocoa powder benefits from vigorous whisking or blending to avoid lumps. Drinking chocolate and melted chocolate are best gently heated on the stove to prevent scorching.

And don’t underestimate quality, even for kids. “We should wean kids onto better chocolate,” Shaffer says. “There’s often less sugar in higher-quality chocolate, and kids—if given the chance—really do appreciate those flavors.”