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The Best Hot Chocolate Ideas for Winter
What comes to mind when we say the best hot chocolate of all time? For us it’s Judy the Elf’s hot cocoa from The Santa Clause. That warm mug with 1,200 years of experience is what chocoholics’ dreams are made of.
No matter what someone’s favourite season is, everyone looks forward to having a hot chocolate during winter. Hot chocolates are a seasonal staple, meaning it’s super important to think ahead for your winter menu and make sure your hot chocolate selection is the best it can be!
The basics
A must have on every coffee shop menu is a simple creamy hot chocolate. Our drinking chocolate powder is the perfect starting point for a crowd pleaser – it’s rich, smooth and totally allergen free which means every customer can enjoy it. Just make sure to stock up on lots of different milk options to appeal to a variety of dietary needs.
Try our Hazelnut Hot Chocolate recipe for an easy syrup addition to create a creamy and nutty Nutella-inspired hot chocolate.
Another basic for your winter menu is a beautiful white hot chocolate. Not only does the blank canvas of a completely white drink give you so many ways to customise its colour, it also tastes incredible. Everything you love about white chocolate can be found in our sweet white hot chocolate powder.
Try our Pistachio White Hot Chocolate recipe and see for yourself just how great this it.
Our third option for an effortless winter menu addition uses ruby chocolate powder. With white chocolate base notes and a subtle sharp berry flavour, ruby hot chocolate comes from a different cacao bean to its better-known companions. This chocolate is naturally grey in colour, so it gets its vibrant pink colour from the natural dye of beetroot powder – don’t worry, it’s got none of the beetroot flavour! Serving a ruby hot chocolate with whipped cream, mini pink and white marshmallows and luxury white chocolate topping sauce is the ultimate luxury drink for any winter menu.
See our Ruby Hot Chocolate recipe to discover this new chocolate flavour. We’re sure it will become a quick favourite among your customers and staff.
Make it premium
A Mintel study from September 2021 found that when visiting coffee shops, consumers are most interested in seasonal and premium chocolate drinks. Up to 40% of Gen Z use Instagram and TikTok for finding places to eat and drink instead of Google. To get your menu snapped for social media, your drinks must be well-presented, eye-catching and super appealing to a hungry stomach!
An easy recipe to jazz up is our Hazelnut Hot Chocolate that we mentioned earlier. Whipped cream is an essential, but a generous squeeze of our luxury chocolate with hazelnut flavouring topping sauce will help to transform it. A healthy sprinkling of chocolate curls or chocolate flakes over the top is the final step in creating a premium holiday classic.
White hot chocolates present the perfect blank canvas for decorating in so many ways. Add our luxury white chocolate topping sauce for a complementary flavour boost, or try our other sauces for a pop of colour. Don’t forget our range of toppings which are tasty, colourful and great for adding texture.
‘Tis the season
There are so many great sweet treats linked to Christmas, so it’s the easiest season for customising drinks. We suggest a generous mixture of nostalgia, festive flavours and using your favourite Christmas treats as inspiration!
- Hit nostalgia on the head with an Orange Hot Chocolate and Mint Hot Chocolate.
- Go classic with Gingerbread Hot Chocolate or try the American way with an Eggnog Hot Chocolate.
- Use our winter spice syrup to make a Christmas Pudding Hot Chocolate for the dessert fans.
- Create a decadent Yule Log Hot Chocolate with our luxury dark chocolate powder, vegan chocolate sauce and dark chocolate flakes!
- Add a Candy Cane White Hot Chocolate to your menu for a tasty nostalgic beverage.