The Good: Tastes good, Intriguing idea
The Bad: Not the most environmentally impressive packaging
The Basics: Not a food to try to live on, Butterfinger Hot Cocoa is a good dessert on cold nights or just when one wants something different from standard hot chocolate!
As time goes by, I find myself happy to try new things, both to expand my knowledge and experience as well as to have new things to review. Sometimes, trying something new reminds me of something I have not had for quite some time. So, when my partner picked me up some Butterfinger Hot Cocoa mix, it made me think about how it has been quite some time since I reviewed the Butterfinger Crisp candy bars (that review is here!). Moreover, it has been quite some time since I have had an actual Butterfinger bar.
The thing is, I drink an awful lot and even in the summer, I seem to enjoy hot drinks more than the average person. As a result, I leap on new teas and cocoas with a vigor and a range of experience that makes my reviews a resource for those looking ahead to cooler months. And if there is a sale on Butterfinger Hot Cocoa mix this summer, it's a good time to stock up on it!
Basics
Butterfinger Hot Cocoa mix is a hot chocolate mix put out by Nestle. The box of hot cocoa packets is a pretty standard eight oz. box, containing eight one-ounce packets of hot chocolate. Trading on the general flavor of Butterfinger candies, Nestle emerges with a hot chocolate that is anything but the normal hot chocolate. Whomever at Nestle thought to try to make a drink out of the peanut butter and chocolate flavor of Butterfinger candies deserves a lot of credit for originality. Anyone looking for a very different dessert beverage will find a lot to enjoy with this.
Ease Of Preparation
Butterfinger Hot Cocoa mix is very easy to prepare, as most hot chocolate products are. Because each packet in the box is a single serving, one need only have a mug large enough to accommodate the powdered mix and some water with a little room for mixing it around. Because the powder has some mass to it before it is dissolved, I recommend using an 8 oz. mug.
Preparation is simple; empty the contents of a single packet from the box of eight into an eight ounce mug. Bring a pot of water to a near-boil - Butterfinger Hot Cocoa does not require boiling water, just very hot water. Boiling the water does not cook the powder, so if one does boil the water, there is no adverse consequence to the beverage. Once the water is hot, simply pour six fluid ounces of water over the powder and stir it up. It is that easy to make!
Taste
Butterfinger Cocoa is a treat that smells exactly like what it is. Mixing up the Butterfinger hot cocoa mix one is rewarded with the aroma of a giant Butterfinger bar being cracked open in front of one's nose. The chocolate scent is sublimated to the buttery, rich flavor of the center of a Butterfinger bar.
Tasting the beverage, is not quite as rewarding, but it is still delicious and sweet on its own. Not tasting like chocolate, the Butterfinger hot cocoa is buttery and sweet with a slight hint of the dryness that comes from eating Butterfinger candy bars. For those in love with the taste of Butterfingers, this is a close approximation of the candy bar flavor in beverage form, though it is missing some of the chocolate flavor that one might enjoy mixing with the peanut butter flavor of the candy bar. While Butterfinger hot cocoa has a nutty and flavorful taste, it is not exactly the flavor of peanut butter either.
As the beverage cools, the chocolate flavor comes out more, but the drink becomes far less of a satisfying thirst-quencher. This is a great comfort drink, though and it is a close approximation of the candy it claims to be mimicking.
Nutrition
Butterfinger Hot Cocoa is a chocolately drink, so any expectation that this is a beverage that is going to meet a lot of one's daily needs is fairly unrealistic. Still, there are worse beverages out on the market. One serving - a single packet - has 120 calories, thirty of which are from fat. With three grams of fat, this drink is not a dieter's beverage, but it could be worse. Butterfinger Hot Cocoa has no cholesterol or any vitamin or mineral nutrients (like iron or calcium), but it does have 160 mg of sodium. This is not a food to try to live off of.
It is hardly a surprise that Butterfinger Hot Cocoa is not a nutritious food product considering that the primary ingredients are sugar, corn syrup solids and vegetable oil. For those with allergies, it is noted on the package that the powder is made on machines that process soy and wheat, so the gluten-intolerant individuals will have to avoid this.
Storage/Clean-up
Butterfinger Hot Cocoa mix is ridiculously easy to store and clean up. Because the packets are individual servings and self-contained, as long as one does not store the packets underwater, they will last. My box of cocoa, purchased in May 2009, has an expiration date in March 2010, but it is hard to imagine this would not last past the expiration date so long as the packets inside are kept cool and dry.
Cleaning up Nestle Butterfinger Hot Cocoa mix is easy, as it is a powder which may be easily brushed up. If one spills it after it is mixed with water, it is likely to stain lighter fabrics and one ought to consult one's fabric guide for cleaning if that happens. Mugs, though, clean right out with hot water as this fluid does not stain ceramics.
Overall
A very original concept, the Butterfinger hot cocoa is a taste treat which fans of the candy will enjoy.
For other hot chocolate drinks, please visit my reviews of:
Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa
Nestles Chocolate Mint Hot Cocoa
Land O’ Lakes Chocolate Supreme Hot Cocoa
6/10
More food and drink reviews are available at the index page here!
© 2011, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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