Ranking Hanover’s Best Hot Chocolate
What Dartmouth student hasn’t spent countless hours wondering where in Hanover to get the best hot chocolate? The answer, I think, is none, particularly during this bitingly cold winter. So in the self-sacrificing nature of journalism, on a quest to answer this question, I put myself on the line. When Darbeat called, I volunteered to force myself to drink cup after cup of hot chocolate — just so Dartmouth students could sleep a little bit better at night.
For the sake of scientific accuracy, I kept my order constant throughout the experiment — a small hot chocolate with whipped cream. Beginning at Dirt Cowboy Café, I also ventured to Lou’s, Starbucks, King Arthur Flour and Dunkin’ Donuts in search of the perfect cup. At each stop, I ranked my order on time of delivery, distance from campus, price, whipped cream quality and overall quality.
Dirt Cowboy:
My journey began at Dirt Cowboy Café, where my editor and I both placed our first orders. The drink cost $2.00, a reasonable price for a cup of hot chocolate, and it took three minutes to come, also a reasonable wait. It had no lid, which was a nice touch since it meant Dirt Cowboy was able to fit a huge amount of whipped cream on the top and attractively dust it with cocoa powder. At this point, I thought that Dirt Cowboy was just coasting along, doing fine but not excelling. Then I took my first sip. The temperature, sweetness and chocolate-ness were all perfect — my drink was hot but did not burn my mouth and sweet but not sickeningly so. The chocolate itself also had a rich, Belgian flavor that wasn’t overpowering. I drank about half of it, enjoying every sip, then remembered that I had just stuffed myself eating lunch at FoCo and had about four more places to try that day. Oops. I soldiered on to my next stop.
Lou’s:
Lou’s overall ranking: 8.3/10 Whipped cream ranking: 9.9/10 Price (small): $1.73 Wait time: 3 min. Distance from campus: 315 ft
Our next stop was Lou’s Restaurant and Bakery, a short walk from Dirt Cowboy. Here, our drinks were only $1.73 and seemed to be bigger than Dirt Cowboy’s were. Already impressed by the lower price, we waited again for approximately three minutes, which seems to be the standard hot-chocolate-making time. Take it from me — at this point I’m basically a hot chocolate expert (in other news, my parents are so proud of what I’m making of my Ivy League education). Lou’s put a lid on top, and neglected to add any kind of cocoa powder or cinnamon. However, the whipped cream itself was really amazing. It was heavier than at Dirt Cowboy and less saccharine — in other words, truly world class. The cream did little to cool the drink though, which was unfortunate as it came slightly too hot. I sipped gingerly, only to be disappointed by the over-done sweetness. While Lou’s was still an excellent cup of hot chocolate, Dirt Cowboy had set such a high standard that I was inevitably a bit let down. After drinking about a quarter of it (and all the whipped cream), I headed onward.
Starbucks:
Starbucks overall ranking: 6.4/10 Whipped cream ranking: 1.9/10 Price (small): $2.75. Wait time: 8 min. Distance from campus: 499 ft
In true Starbucks form, our drinks were more expensive — $2.75 for a small — and took eight minutes to arrive, counting waiting in line. Plus, the barista spelled my name incorrectly on the cup (how dare Starbucks not know that I weirdly spell “Lilly” with two L’s!). My drink came with less whipped cream than in previous stops, and the lid on top added an underwhelming presentation. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Starbucks offered shakers of nutmeg, cinnamon and cocoa powder that I could add to my drink. Being far too lazy to do that, I ignored them and focused on the task at hand — brutally judging a cup of hot chocolate. The whipped cream on top was unfortunately too heavy and not sweet enough, which made for a disappointing first sip. And when I got to the hot chocolate, I was again disappointed. It was too rich and, in all honesty, not sweet enough. I bravely kept drinking, again finishing about a quarter of the drink before heading onward.
Dunkin’ Donuts:
Dunkin’ Donuts overall ranking: 3.6/10 Whipped cream ranking: 5.8/10 Price (small): $1.79 Wait time: 2 min. Distance from campus: 0.2 mi.
By the time we walked all the way to Dunkin’ Donuts, I was not in the mood for any more hot chocolate, but after an impressively short two-minute wait (made slightly less impressive by the fact that we saw the cups come straight out from a machine in front of us) we paid only $1.79 for each cup. At this point, one of the last things I wanted to do was drink another cup. But I remembered that pain is only weakness leaving the body, and so in the interest of becoming less weak I tipped back the cup. I was very much underwhelmed by it. The hot chocolate tasted like it was made from syrup, water and canned whip cream, which considering I saw a can of whipped cream being opened before we got our drinks seemed like a correct observation. It was also too hot, which made it slightly difficult to drink out of the lid. Not wanting to put in too much effort, I finished less than a quarter of the drink.
King Arthur Flour:
King Arthur Flour overall ranking: 7.2/10Whipped cream ranking: 5.8/10 Price (small): $3.25 Wait time: 11 min. Distance from campus: 0 ft
Trying to make my last drink more authentic, I waited in line the next day for 11 minutes at KAF. I was almost late to my 2A, and the drink was the most expensive, costing me $3.25 on DBA. It came with whipped cream, but the lid on top mostly obstructed me from tasting that part. What I did taste, however, was a lot like the whipped cream at Starbucks — too creamy and not sweet enough. My first thought was that the drink was also not sweet enough, tasting basically like warm milk at the beginning. Thankfully, my 2A gave me time to finish the entire thing. It turned out that the flavor hadn’t been completely mixed in, so the bottom of the drink was far too sweet while the top lacked flavor. But the parts in the middle were excellent. However, due to the fact that only maybe half of the drink was in the excellent category, I decided to dock points.
Final awards are as follows:
Best Overall Quality:Dirt Cowboy
Best Whipped Cream Quality: Lou's