Hot chocolate is the perfect winter drink: warm, creamy, and sweet, it’s truly better than coffee in every possible way. While the concoction does have a rather bittersweet origin, today we are going to rank all of the popular (least known) cafés at St. George that serve hot chocolate. 

As someone with a sweet tooth, I have spent the majority of my four years at U of T drinking and making hot chocolate. So I have tasted the best and worst hot chocolate our campus has to offer. If my list has excluded your favourite spot, let me know through letters to the editor or comments on our website. I would love to try it out! 

The Method 

To rank the hot chocolates, I will be exclusively relying on taste: Is it sweet? Creamy? Does it offer a rich “chocolate” taste? Does it have additional notes of flavour? Is it hot enough (not burning hot, but will last long)? Overall, if I enjoy the hot chocolate I will rank it 10/10. I will try to include the cost, and if necessary, provide commentary on the general vibe of the cafe, as well as how to find it! 

The Official Ranking (least to best) – This list used to be 20, but because of word limit I had to cut it down! Check the website for the other rankings! 

1. Second Cup’s Blue Hot Chocolate (5.5)- Sidney Smith Hall 

I know what you are thinking: anything called Blue Hot Chocolate is probably the weirdest thing to market, even as a part of their Winter Blues collection. From what I understand, it is basically white hot chocolate with blue powder or syrup. I will say the “blueness” doesn’t add much to the experience (other than being blue which is why it gets an extra 5 points) but it does offer a faint bitter aftertaste which does take you out of it. It is drinkable and a fun thing to try, but it is not something I am going to buy again. 

2. Oats Cafe ( 6.5) – Bay Street 

This is a very well-hidden cafe—it’s located in an alleyway, of all places. That being said, it’s so adorable. The interior is gorgeous. While their Avocado Toast Sandwich is delish, I can’t say the same for their hot chocolate. It’s a tad watery for my taste and overall nothing special. . 

3. Innis Cafe’s Regular Hot Chocolate ( 7.5/10) – Innis College 

I know what you are thinking, Innis. How could I, an Innisian, rank our beloved cafe at a 7.5? 

Well, I’m not ranking their cafe—if I were, I would rank their customer service 11/10. Rather I’m ranking their HC which costs about 2 dollars for the small size. This makes it the cheapest one on the list. Even though their hot chocolate is exactly what you expect hot chocolate to be, it actually remains hot for a good amount of time. 

4. Arbor Room’s Regular Hot Chocolate (8/10) – Hart House 

The Arbor Room is my favourite cafe on campus. Located in the basement of Hart House, the newly renovated space is a perfect place to study if you value quietness, or if you want to meet up with your friends who have classes on opposite sides of campus. A perfect middle ground. Now I really love their mocha, but since we are not ranking coffee, their hot chocolate is equally as good and is really hot! 

5. OSSIE S’more Hot Chocolate (9/10) – St. George Station Bedford 

Yes, it is coming from a small packet to which they add water/milk, but it actually tastes like s’mores. It even has a little bit of mini marshmallows to sweeten the deal. It may come in a small cup, but is better than the regular hot chocolate from most places for sure. 

6. Caffiends Strawberry Hot Chocolate (9.5/10) – Victoria College 

Located in the lobby of Old Vic, the student volunteer-based cafe is superior to Starbucks or any big food chain. Their hot chocolate is thick and creamy, and has a dollop of whipped cream and foam on top and chocolate bits at the bottom. But what makes this one special is that they added a squirt of strawberry syrup to create that faint yet wonderful note of strawberry. I will also mention that Caffineds is ecologically conscious, meaning they serve their drinks in fun mugs that you can take with you on campus (you just need to return it back). However, because they are actual mugs, they don’t stay hot very long and discourage you from going very far. It is best to bring your own tumbler if you plan on leaving the cafe. But the cafe itself is really nice, small and cozy, and they also offer small pastries to eat with your drinks. 

So that’s the official ranking! What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree? 

But of course, one shouldn’t have to go out and buy hot chocolate every day. It may seem like just a couple of dollars, but over time that adds up and you can find yourself spending hundreds of dollars a month just on hot chocolate. 

So here is a quick recipe to make sweet, creamy hot chocolate at home! This recipe is designed to be overly sweet! So adjust to your own taste!

You will need the following ingredients: 

Two of your favourite Chocolate Bars – (Mine are Dark & White Hersheys) 

Regular Chocolate Mix (quarter cup) 

Your choice of milk – mine is 2 percent (1 cup) 

Brown Sugar (three tablespoons) 

Additional things you could add: cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, marshmallows, whipped cream, brewed coffee… the list goes on.

Take your chocolate bars and break them in half. Then using a black-handle knife, chop the dark and white halves up into smaller pieces. 

On the stove, pour your cup of milk into a saucepan and put it on medium. Then add your chocolate bars and let them melt into the milk. Make sure to stir as often or it will stick to the pan. As the milk turns brown, add your chocolate mix and any of your additional ingredients. Bring it to a boil. Once it starts boiling, remove it from the heat. 

Now you are supposed to let it cool for five minutes, but I don’t have patience and have a tongue of steel….wait, that conducts heat, ugh, I hate physics….ANYWAY, you get the point. I tend to just pour into my mug/ tumbler of choice. It may be a bit too hot to sip right away, but what you should have is something thick, creamy and insanely sweet, probably well past the verge of unhealthy.