When the weather starts to get cold, warm beverages get brought out, one of which is hot chocolate. This cozy beverage is a great drink to snuggle up with. So, I went to multiple shops around town to find the ultimate hot chocolate.

     First off, Starbucks. This coffee shop chain has a very distinct hot chocolate with bitterness from the dark chocolate being the key element in this drink. The drink, however, was somewhat watery with the dark chocolate being the only thing that was setting it apart from all the other hot chocolates.

     Next was McDonalds. The hot chocolate there had vanilla undertones and wasn’t rich or watery. It was a plain hot chocolate with nothing to set it apart, and personally, was my least favorite as it really didn’t have anything that set it apart from the other stores.

     Dutch Bros was the place I thought was the best. It goes down very easily. It had a very nice milk chocolate flavor that didn’t overpower the taste buds and was overall a very nice drink. 

     The hot chocolate at the Human Bean had a nice texture, and the chocolate flavor presented very close to Dutch bros.

     The last place I tried was The Brown Cow. It tasted a lot like Dutch Bros hot chocolate, with a nice chocolate taste without being watery or too strong. And it is way cheaper; however, it felt like it stuck to my throat. 

     All of these places are great options to get hot chocolate with differing tastes and textures. However, the one place that stuck out compared to the rest of them for me, was Dutch Bros. From the rich flavor to its thick, but easy texture to drink, it just has it all. However, if you want a similar taste without spending as much money, then try The Brown Cow, which is located next to Safeway and JOANN’s.