Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate Mix - Double Chocolate, 16 oz
from: Ghirardelli
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: Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate Mix - Double Chocolate, 16 oz |
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Rating:  - * Non-Dairy...PERFECT!!! ... This Ghirardelli Double Chocolate mix is absolutely a Godsend! For someone who is lactose-intolerant like me, it was almost impossible trying to find a hot chocolate mix that didn't already have some sort of powdered milk in it. This mix does not. You add it to your own hot milk (in my case, the lactose-free Lactaid brand milk.) I actually also tried it in just hot water and it was still good. It is thick, rich, not too sweet and wonderful! I am thrilled that I can enjoy hot chocolate again. Thank you Ghirardelli! Two thumbs up!!! Rating:  - * too sweet, but there's a cure. ... No,this isn't the "old fashioned" cocoa mix, there's just too much sugar in it. However, you can buy unsweetened cocoa in bulk and mix it in 50/50 and now you're getting a real hot chocolate. Of course, you can adjust the ratios to taste, 50/50 is kind of hardcore. Ghiradelli, you're not doing America any favors by making this product so sweet. Rating: - * THE BEST ... This is absolutely THE BEST hot chocolate I've ever had! It is so rich and chocolate-y. We love it. It is also delicious in a cup of coffee to make mocha. You're going to love this and after you've had it, you'll never want any other kind of hot chocolate mix. Enjoy..... Rating:  - * New Recipie: Less servings More Sugar Not recommended (I used to) ... I'm not a member of the food police. However; I get really mad when a company short changes their customers hoping they will not notice. ESPECIALLY a supposed higher end "GOURMET" producer like Ghirardelli! The quick and dirty for those who don't want to read my detailed review. **Is it better than "Swiss Miss," YES. **Did it used to be better before they over-sweetened, cut the # of servings from 20 to 12 and generally ruined a decent product? YES! **Is it over-priced and resting on the Ghirardelli name? OH YES. **Is it a way to impress people who don't know any better albiet for a price? Probably. **Do I still recommend Ghirardelli Hot Chocolates. NOPE Not Any More. (want to know why? read on) For years I have enjoyed the Ghirardelli line of hot chocolates. That is about to change! NOTE: Until this year they have born the subtitle "Old Fashioned." That designation has been dropped for reasons which will soon become apparent. They have also quite conspicuously dropped the Product Satisfaction Guarantee along with the Ghirardelli address for applying for reimbursement if you the consumer were dissatisfied. Does this bode well for us? You be the judge and by all means let Ghirardelli know. I cannot include the address due to Amazon review policies. You may however contact them by email at their website. Something I strongly encourage. As a hot chocolate lover I want the original recipie back. I hope after reading my review you will too. What is Ghirardelli doing? Quite simply boosting the sugar levels to astronomical levels and engaging in what I call "shorting." Before a serving of any Ghirardelli hot chocolate mix consisted of (3) Tbsp., (22g) yielding twenty, (20) servings per 16oz. can. NOW one serving is (4) Tbsp., (39 grams) yielding only TWELVE (12) servings for the same 16oz. can. This gives us 40 percent LESS servings per can. And at an average of $5.50 per can less s&h an increase from 27.5 cents/serving to 45.8 cents/serving. -- Some may say this is gourmet hot chocolate why quarrel over a few cents. Fair question, but lets be sure were talking about chocolate and not cheap fillers. I have a few cans still left from the "Old Fashioned" style which is what Ghirardelli has marketed for years. It IS different and I can taste the difference. However, I will post both Nutrition labels side by side for you to compare and add my analysis at the end. Hopefully the facts will be as clear to you as they are me. NOTE: the nutrition label is a requirement of the USDA. Further they are reprinted everywhere so I am assuming that this is PUBLIC DOMAIN information. (That doesn't mean that Ghirardelli will like me telling you about it.) I will be comparing Ghirardelli OLD FASHIONED HOT CHOCOLATE "DOUBLE CHOCOLATE" to the new replacement Ghirardelli PREMIUM HOT COCOA "DOUBLE CHOCOLATE." Note it is now called Hot Cocoa & not Hot Chocolate. I have Chocolate Mocha and Chocolate Hazelnut to compare as well and that the differences are negligible. It is usually only 0.5g of fat but mostly 1 - 2g of sugar is the usual difference. And of course both use natural & artificial flavors. THE COMPARISON OLD FASHIONED HOT CHOCOLATE_________PREMIUM HOT COCOA Serv Size 3 tbsp (22g) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Serv Size 4 Tbsp. (39g) Serv Per container about 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . Serv Per container about 12 Per Serving Calories 80 Cal from Fat 15 . . . . . . . . . . . Calories 140 Cal from Fat 20 Total Fat 1.5g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total Fat 2.5g Saturated Fat 0.5g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saturated Fat 1g - - -Trans Fat 0g Cholesterol 0mg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 0mg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sodium 55mg Total Carbohydrate 19g . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Total Carbohydrate 34g Dietary Fiber 1g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dietary Fiber 2g Sugars 17g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sugars 29g Protein 1g . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Protein 2g Vitamin A 0% - - C 0% . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vitamin A 0% - - C 0% Calcium 0% - - Iron 2% . . . . . . . . . . . . . Calcium 2% - - Iron 6% Ingredients: Virtually Identical for old and new. All are in same order except for some grammatical changes with ONE exception. The Unsweetened Chocolate does not list being processed with Alkali on the new formula where it was on the old. Now the uncomfortable facts: (given Fat = 9 cal/g, Carbohydrate and Protein = 4 Cal/g) Serving Size UP: . . . . . 17g (77.27% increase) ****** Servings DOWN: . . . . . . 8 (40% Decrease) ****** Calories UP: . . . . . . . . 60 Cal (75% Increase) Calories from fat UP: . . 5 Cal (33% Increase - about 1/2 g worth) Total Fat UP: . . . . . . . . 1g (66% Increase ~ 9 Calories) Sodium UP: . . . . . . . . . from 0 Total Carbs UP: . . . . .15g (79% Increase 15 x 4 = 60 Calories) ****** SUGAR UP: . . . . . . . . .12g (71% Increase 12 x 4 = 48 Calories) ****** Fiber UP: . . . . . . . . . . .1g (100% Increase) Protein UP: . . . . . . . . . 1g (100% increase 4 Calories) BOTTOM LINE: I am no food scientist and I know sometimes the numbers don't always add up exactly but it is painfully obvious that most of the extra 60 calories went into sugar. However, others have complained about the Ghirardelli mixes being too sweet. To my taste the NEW formula is much too sweet! The Nutrition label bears out my biggest gripes with this REFORMULATED product: (1) It was sweet before. Now by UPPING the SUGAR so dramatically and adding salt as a sugar booster I no longer like it. (2) Not enough fat and other ingredients were added to convince me that any REAL gains in CHOCOLATE were made. ## The TASTE of the new formula bears this out. (I have taken to cutting the serving size and adding Cocoa powder to get more Chocolate and less sugar. (3) I DESPISE the shorting (Pumping it full of sugar and Cutting the servings by almost HALF.) (4) And the price stays the same for less. That really frosts my goblet I can no longer recommend this product. Ghirardelli You had a decent thing going and you blew it. PERSONALLY, I'm forwarding this review to the company and since Hot chocolate is just that. I'm going to experiment making either a home-made ganache syrup (melted chocolate & cream) or trying to find a way to finely grate or powder high quality chocolate to make my own brand. That's Really All The Old Style Was. Hot "Chocolate" not Cocoa. I'm sure for people with way too much money there are Hot chocolates available through boutiques where price is no object or... it IS the object. I'm not that rich. Besides if I come up with a home version that curls your toes then I may go into business myself or just enjoy it with a few friends. Rating: - * Great cocoa flavor like none other, but waaaaay tooo sweeeeet ... Whoah! I just peeled myself off the ceiling after drinking a cup of this. This might be better named "Double Sugar" Flavor Hot Chocolate mix. First, the good stuff. There is no doubt in my mind that Ghirardelli continues to make a distinctive, excellent quality chocolate. The cocoa used in this mix is smooth, dark, fruity and aromatic. Nothing else like it that I've ever tasted. Now, the criticism. There is just too much sugar in the mix. The recommended proportion of mix to 8 oz milk is four tablespoons. (By the by, there is no powdered milk in here. You must add your own milk--or soymilk or rice milk--great option for lactose-intolerant types.) People, you are using a quarter cup of mix at 4 Tbs and most of the mix seems to be granulated sugar, which you can taste and crunch in your mouth if you sample the dry mix. Cutting down fifty percent on the mix gave me an acceptable cup of cocoa but...it was no longer double chocolate and it had naturally a poorer mouth feel and aroma. Double Chocolate Mix is some of the best cocoa I WOULD have had, if Ghirardelli could see their way to making a lower sugar version, and please, no sugar substitute, which I don't like to use. Summary; great chocolate flavor, unsurpassed. But overly sweet. If you don't like supersweet cocoa, pass this up. If you do love extremely sweet hot drinks, you will absolutely adore this mix. |
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