Warm up with chocolate
I know all about shivering. Every year as winter makes its uninvited presence in Utah, I get that same feeling that makes my entire body, specifically my jaw, shake uncontrollably.
I also know all about the remedies for winter trembling. They include large flames in a fireplace, warm soup or hot chocolate. Since my landlord won’t let us light fires in my house and my soup isn’t nearly as good as my mom’s, I’m left with hot chocolate that can be purchased at about any gas station or coffee shop in town.
For those of you who are like me and need something to help survive the next freezing months ahead of us, I’ve discovered a few easy, cheap places to buy and drink the best winter invention since the blanket. Each cocoa will suit a certain personality or mood at the time of consumption. Take your choice.
The creative cocoa
There’s something about being able to make a hot chocolate masterpiece at a place that has everything ready for an artist’s imagination. At 7-Eleven, customers can buy a 20-ounce cup for $1.37. Customers never get the same hot chocolate twice if they don’t want to because of the 7-Eleven hot chocolate and coffee bar which includes more than 10 different syrups, creamers and spices. The gas station even has more than one flavor of cocoa. Customers have their choice between regular Hershey’s and Hershey’s Kisses Cherry Cordial Truffle cocoa. I suggest the latter. It seems to have personality.
The mini marshmallows at the gas station add a personal flair to any cup of hot chocolate, but the creative genius has no reason to stop there. The customer may as well add one or more of the following: hazelnut, chocolate cream, amaretto, half and half or Irish cream, all of which come in little mini samples you would see on a hotel continental breakfast spread. The final taste is whatever the customer makes it, and that is where the beauty remains in the 7-Eleven hot chocolate.
Although the atmosphere is friendly, customers are in and out and many of them in a hurry. Being creative takes time and is a certain environment that 7-Eleven lacks. I mean hot dogs, Cheetos and Slurpees surround the bar, and there is no place to sit. But if all the customer wants is a cup of hot chocolate with a few extra ingredients, the 24-hour convenient store is the place to be. For about five minutes.
The intellectual cocoa
For nearly the double the price of 7-Eleven’s hot chocolate, a bookworm can kick back at Borders and enjoy a 12-ounce cup of steamy hot chocolate. Made fresh with milk the moment the customer orders, the $2.71 chocolatey fluid is everything an intellect could want while musing over paperback novels or newspapers. Borders’ hot chocolate is produced by Seattle’s Best Coffee and is made by laid-back young adults in their 20s. The taste of the hot chocolate is different than the cheap stuff you get at drive-thrus and gas stations. It’s a little bitter, like dark chocolate, with a rich aftertaste.
I would usually say marshmallows are better and more fun than Cool Whip, but at Borders, the whipped cream they place on top of the drink makes up the difference and more. The cream has a nice smooth, vanilla taste and could be eaten plain by the spoonful.
With the intellectual cocoa, brainiacs can linger at wooden tables or relax on brown, leather couches. Those who don’t want to read can enjoy light background music and eavesdrop on conversations. It’s a comfortable atmosphere, my favorite of all esteemed hot chocolate venues.
The trendy cocoa
Starbucks was the first place I tried a cup of dark hot chocolate. For $2.68, customers get 12-ounces of a warm drink of perfect temperature. The lingering taste of bittersweet nestles itself in taste buds of all who try it. In fact, when a craving comes along, they will most likely remember Starbucks because it’s different.
The nice thing about Starbucks is you order at a counter next to a case full of pastries that make you want to drool. Crumb-covered coffee cake is temptation for the eyes and mouth. The other hot chocolate retailers had baked goods too, but they didn’t look as appetizing. You can’t really compare a 7-Eleven donut to a Starbucks frosting-covered pastry. For music lovers, free iTunes downloads are given out every day at the customer’s request. Ten points for Starbucks.
Cool people hang out at Starbucks with books or laptops. In fact, in some ways, the coffee establishment is a little too cool. It’s something cliché from a movie. There seems to be a certain type of people who hang out there. The type that want to sit among a little art on the walls and stylish furniture. However, in spite of fitting into a cookie-cutter coffee mold, somehow the shop also seems open to new ideas and people. It’s almost liberal. While Starbucks did not have the best hot chocolate, they do have a nice setup, acoustic music in the background, dim lights and an intimate ambiance.
So there you go. Hot chocolate is waiting to be sipped. Find the one that suits you and your lifestyle, and don’t be afraid to switch it up a bit.
Manette Newbold is a senior majoring in print journalism. Comments and questions can be sent to manette.n@aggiemail.usu.edu.