Winter weather in Kansas often prompts people to seek sources of warmth. From new winter jackets to soft, cozy blankets by the fireplace, people seek anything to help them avoid the cold. Because of this, warm drinks such as hot chocolate have become a staple during the chilly season. With that said, these are the five best places to get hot chocolate in the Kansas City area. This list is based solely on my opinion, but I did take both taste and price into consideration when ranking these hot chocolate locations.
- Starbucks
I have never been a fan of Starbucks hot chocolate. For a Grande (medium) hot chocolate, you will be charged about $4.50, so price-wise, Starbucks comes in as the most expensive hot chocolate on this list. However, I strongly believe that you don’t get what you pay for when ordering a hot chocolate at Starbucks. The taste of this hot chocolate is why it’s so low on this list for me. When I drink hot chocolate, I want it to be sweet and rich in flavor; however, Starbucks has failed to do this for me time and time again. A cup of hot chocolate at Starbucks tastes more like a cup of hot water.
- Pilgrim Coffee Co.
I’m going to be honest; I had high hopes and expectations for this one. Pilgrim Coffee is a cozy coffee shop about a half mile away from Blue Valley North, and I have heard very good things about their coffee. However, I was very underwhelmed by their hot chocolate. While they did have a solid chocolatey flavor–though it was a dark chocolate flavor, which I wasn’t a fan of–it was very obvious to me that they used a watery base. With a medium hot chocolate costing you $4.35 at Pilgrim, I just don’t see this being worth it.
- Swig
I wasn’t expecting much from Swig, but I was pleasantly surprised. The best way I can describe the taste of a hot chocolate from Swig is if a Hershey’s Kiss was turned into a cup of hot chocolate. It was very sweet and quite rich in its milk chocolate flavor. The only downside I found was that it was very thin, which typically means that the base is fairly watery. The price was also quite reasonable at $3.49 for a medium which makes it the most affordable on this list.
- Panera
Panera might be the most underrated option on this list, but I was very happy with their hot chocolate. The use of a milk base was evident to me, and I am convinced they also used steamed milk as well. At a reasonable price of $4.29, the only thing holding Panera’s hot chocolate back for me was the level of sweetness. I would have liked it to have been a little sweeter. But other than that, Panera is a very solid option for hot chocolate.
- 7 Brew
I have never had a bad experience with a cup of 7 Brew hot chocolate. It has quite literally never left a bad taste in my mouth. It is so simple yet so good. They don’t try to do too much with their product, but the flavor is almost perfect. 7 Brew hot chocolate is sweet and has a strong chocolate flavor, but nothing about it is overwhelming. A medium will cost you about $4.15, but every penny is worth it in my opinion, and that’s why it ranks at the top of my list. If you have never tried it, I recommend you do this winter.
