by Robbin Holden

Created on: December 03, 2009

Hot chocolate versus hot cocoa, is there a difference? Actually, there is. Most people, myself included, use the terms interchangeably when referring to the hot beverage. In my search for the difference, I found that even recipes use the terms interchangeably. So, then, what is the difference? The difference comes in what you use for your main ingredient. If you make your hot beverage with actual chocolate, then it should be called hot chocolate. If you make your hot beverage using cocoa powder, then it should be called hot cocoa. That's the difference between the two.

What is the difference between chocolate and cocoa powder? Cocoa is the dried, fully fermented fatty seed of the Cacao tree from which chocolate is made. Cocoa powder is made by grinding cocoa seeds and removing the cocoa butter from the dark, bitter cocoa solids. Pure, unsweetened chocolate contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Most chocolate that is eaten is sweet chocolate- chocolate that is combined with sugar. Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that has the addition of condensed milk or milk powder.

That being said, can you tell the difference between them when using one or the other in a hot beverage? Is there a difference in the end product if you use chocolate versus cocoa powder? Armed with two basic recipes- one using chocolate and one using cocoa powder, I headed to my kitchen. Both recipes had the same ingredients except for the chocolate and cocoa powder- just milk and sugar. Here's what I found:

Both recipes were simple enough to prepare, although there is a little more work involved in preparing the chocolate and melting it. Within only a few minutes I had my samples prepared and called in my two taste testers. First, we sampled the hot chocolate. It was smooth, rich and chocolatey. Then we sampled the hot cocoa. This, too, was chocolatey, but also seemed sweeter and not as smooth.

Both versions were very good. The hot chocolate tasted richer, while the hot cocoa tasted sweeter, even though the sugar amounts were the same for both recipes. One of my sons preferred the hot chocolate, but my other son preferred the hot cocoa. After much sampling, I finally decided that I preferred the hot chocolate over the hot cocoa. I liked the richness of the drink rather than the sweetness.

In the end, I believe it comes down to personal taste and convenience, but I do think the extra effort in using melted chocolate is worth it.

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