The Good: Wonderful mint flavor, Environmental impact of canister, Good flavor, Fairly good ingredients
The Bad: Comparatively expensive, Chocolate flavor is not very strong.
The Basics: For those who love chocolate and mint flavors, Stephen’s Gourmet Chocolate Mint Truffle Hot Chocolate does a pretty good job of pleasing consumers!
It was not very long ago that I learned about the existence of Stephen's Gourmet Hot Cocoas. When I started buying and reviewing Stephen's Gourmet Hot Cocoas, I was pretty psyched to learn that they had a Chocolate Mint Truffle flavor cocoa. The Stephen's Gourmets that I found were all from my local discount store that has a completely random, constantly-rotating inventory. So, when I returned from my recent trip and they actually had the Stephen’s Gourmet Chocolate Mint Truffle Hot Chocolate, and in bulk, I was pleasantly surprised. I bought almost all of it . . . just to be sure I would have some if I actually liked it.
And I did.
Stephen’s Gourmet Chocolate Mint Truffle Hot Chocolate is flavorful and good, but the chocolate flavor is not quite as robust as I would hope, though the mint flavor in it is quite good.
Basics
The Chocolate Mint Truffle hot cocoa mix is part of the Stephen’s Gourmet premium hot cocoa line. The mix comes in a one-pound canister and is a flavorful blend. For each mug of cocoa, this not oppressively expensive, but it is pricier than most major brands of hot chocolate.
Ease Of Preparation
The Chocolate Mint Truffle hot cocoa mix is fairly easy to make. The cocoa is rather enduring and the new canister I bought late last week had an expiration date of May 12, 2018! Because it is resealable and has some preservatives in is, this is likely to last virtually forever unopened. A single serving is three rounded Tablespoons and ¾ cup of hot water. One needs to measure out the cocoa to reconstitute it.
As a result, preparation is not difficult, but requires some measuring that packets do not. The canister must be opened, the powder measured out into a mug that is at least eight ounces large. Then, simply pour hot (near-boiling) water over the powder and stir. Stir the powder until there are no blobs of cocoa powder visible in the water or giving resistance from the bottom. The beverage will have a dark brown color to it and will be uniformly fluid.
Taste
Stephen’s Gourmet Chocolate Mint Truffle hot cocoa smells minty, but with a sweet milky quality to it. As a result, the aroma from the Stephen's Gourmet Chocolate Mint Truffle Hot Cocoa is not a cooling mint scent, but the aroma is recognizable as mint.
On the tongue, the Stephen’s Gourmet Chocolate Mint Truffle Cocoa has a very sweet flavor. The sweet, milky flavor is inviting, but then finishes with a delightful peppermint flavor. The chocolate flavor is incredibly subtle, while the peppermint flavor is clear, but sweetened and muted by the milky accents. The result is a drink that tastes like hot, sweet, peppermint milk where the chocolate flavor appears as a flavor that acts to mellow the coolness of the peppermint flavor.
The Chocolate Mint Truffle Hot Chocolate has a strongly sweet aftertaste which dissipates quickly after the last of the beverage is consumed.
Nutrition
Stephen’s Gourmet is a hot cocoa mix and therefore not the most nutritious things ever, though the Chocolate Mint Truffle flavor could be far less nutritious than it is. While I am used to reviewing things like all natural teas where the ingredients are all easily pronounceable and recognizable, the Chocolate Mint Truffle hot cocoa has very few ingredients that cannot be easily identified. The primary ingredients are sugar, dairy product solids and maltodextrin. It is not vegan compliant as a result of the whey and dry milk in the mix. This flavor of Stephen's Gourmet Cocoas is actually gluten-free.
What is not a mystery is how high this product is in sugars. In each cup of Chocolate Mint Truffle Hot Chocolate, there are 150 calories, twenty-five of which are from fat. There are two grams of saturated fat, so while one might be tempted to curl up and enjoy this while resting, they are likely to pay for it later on! There is no cholesterol, but a significant 8% of one's recommended daily allowance of sodium out of a single serving of this beverage! There is a little protein, 1 gram, but not enough to live off this. In other words, this product is not a nutritious food product. But it is flavorful!
Storage/Cleanup
So long as one leaves the Chocolate Mint Truffle powder in its canister, it ought to stay usable. One assumes it will last quite a while and dissolve appropriately when one attempts to use it. The canister, for those of us who consider the environmental impact of such things, are much more environmentally friendly and affordable than packets would be.
Cleanup is very easy. If the product spills while dispensing the powder into the mug, simply wipe it up or brush it up with a dry or damp cloth. If it has already been reconstituted with water into hot cocoa, simply wipe it up. Light fabrics are likely to stain if this gets on them, in which case consult your fabric care guide to clean it up.
Overall
Stephen’s Gourmet Chocolate Mint Truffle hot cocoa is good, but not an incredible balance of chocolate and mint flavors, which is what most consumers are likely to want out of it.
For other Stephen's Gourmet Cocoa reviews, please check out:
Pumpkin Spice Cocoa
Peanut Butter Cup Cocoa
Peppermint Candycane Cocoa
7.5/10
For other beverage reviews, please visit my Food Review Index Page for an organized listing!
© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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