Trader Joe's Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Well, with Thanksgiving behind us, the beginning of the holiday season is here. To start that warm fuzzy feeling you get inside of you, I've got a cup of hot chocolate. I should also note that this is also my first Trader Joe's product review. I'll be adding some of their house brand's lineup of drinks because they just opened a new store in Portland, ME, and they've gotten quite a bit of attention. So before you try to make it through their extensive lines to the cashier, I'll let you know if it's worth it.

You don't have to get your nose very close to notice the peppermint. This peppermint is also peppermint. The light foam on the surface doesn't last long, but the little bits of chocolate in the mix don't melt completely. On the tongue the chocolate take the front seat from the peppermint, but it's certainly still there. As for the body of the drink, that's up to you, and who doesn't want it thick and creamy? So I'd recommend using the milk instead of boiling water, and don't be scarce with the powder.

For a powder based hot chocolate, this will be my choice for the cupboard. Not a bad start for Trader Joe's. B (good)

P.S. What everyone's talking about around town is the "two-buck-chuck" wines. I'll get to that soon.

Land O Lakes Mint Hot Chocolate

It's the first day of November so I think it's appropriate to review my first hot chocolate. This selection obviously not from a small company like most of my other reviews, but it was recommended to me by my fiance and is easy enough to find in any grocery store. So here's my thoughts on my first drink concerning mental health for cold weather. Land O Lakes

The back of the package stated that it was a good idea to serve this with some whipped cream on top, but I find it has a little layer of foam already. It smells of the mints they leave for you at restaurants like Olive Garden, (of course it's the same thing, mint and chocolate). Once tasted the same two things return, but the chocolate is very milk chocolate. It's almost as if this was made with milk instead of boiling water. The aftertaste is simple as well and almost non apparent.

This uncomplicated drink reminded me of common products like your standard Hershey's bar and I think children will adore it. I found the perfect word for it to be mediocre, which matched the score of C (decent).

P.S. I realize my fiance likes this because of the memories of her childhood.