Hot Chocolate of the Day: Maltesers

On one of my many shopping excursions for hot chocolates, cocoas or drinking chocolates, I came across a few interesting selections at World Market, which specializes in gourmet foods and unique items from around the world. One of my finds was Maltesers, a single serving instant hot chocolate from the UK. Maltesers is manufactured by Mars, Incorporated, or the company that makes the legendary Snickers candy bar, Twix and Skittles. Although this product is primarily for the UK market, it is equivalent to the very popular Swiss Miss hot chocolate here in the states.
With that in mind, I prepared myself to try a hot chocolate with what I call the "tri's and di's" or any beverage with large fancy names that we neglected to remember after high school or college chemistry. The bottom line is that Maltesers is not a pure chocolate beverage but potentially an enjoyable one for many.

Since I was running late to work and my boss was flying in preparation for another Release to Design meeting for the next release of the product line I manage (...you know my side job), I took my Maltesers single serving packet with "only 99 calories per serving" to the office. The instant chocolate mix contains milk, soy and barley gluten so any one allergic to anyone of those ingredients should take heed to the product alert.

Upon opening the packet and pouring the contents into a cup, I was surprised at the faint brown color. The mix was primarily cream or white....interesting. I knew this was be milk chocolate beverage but I was surprised by how light the coloring was of the mix. After mixing the contents with water, I proceeded to take a few pictures of this tasting (and hoped my co-workers do not walk in on my obsession with hot chocolate in the office kitchen). I returned to my office to savor the experience, or at least prepare my taste buds for a new experience. On the first taste, I immediately thought it was bitter. The beverage deepened in color by this time and the aroma was a mixture of Ovaltine and Carnation's Malt Mix. Uhh! Duh! This beverage is a parody of the UK version of Whopers called "Maltesers".

After a few more sips, the flavor began to wear on me as I became acclimated to the malted hot chocolate. Would I enjoy this again? Once in a while. I've become enamored of true hot chocolate thus instant mixes have become quite distasteful to me. However, I do prefer Maltesers over other common instant hot chocolates such as Swiss Miss or Carnations.

Hot Chocolate Shopping Spree

During my last trip to California, I made my usual trip to Surfas Culinary store in Century City. Surfas is where I get all my ingredients to make my hot chocolate recipes. During this trip, I walked away with Anisette Sugar, Vosges la parisienne couture cocoa, Horlicks Original Do Not Disturb (not a hot chocolate) and danesi dancioc. Since I have yet to try any of these beverages, this should be quite interesting.

The Vosges la parisiene couture cocoa is ranked #2 on About.com’s “Top 10 Drinking Chocolate” list. As for the Horlicks Original Do Not Disturb, is a malted milk beverage from the UK. According to the jar, Horlicks is a sleep aid manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. With all of the drama in my life, I need something to calm my hyper self down at night. If this does the trick, I will definitely sing the praises of Horlicks. Lastly, danesi dancioc is from Rome, Italy. I do not know much about danesi dancioc. However, I have seen their adorable danesi caffe cups and saucers in a few stores.

Stay tuned for my tasting experience!