At about $1.50 per serving (including milk), this "sipping chocolate" is cheaper than your average food cart's Swiss Miss instant cocoa. It's most certainly more sophisticated than Hershey's cocoa powder, but it's also not as nuanced as a genuine sipping chocolate.
Sipping Chocolate or Hot Cocoa?
Technically, sipping chocolate (a.k.a. "hot chocolate" or "drinking chocolate") is made from shaved chocolate or chocolate pellets, whereas hot cocoa is made from powder. While many companies have crossed the line in their marketing before, calling hot cocoa "hot chocolate," this is the first time I've seen hot cocoa marketed as "sipping chocolate."
This may seem like a small distinction to make, but it's something to consider when purchasing a roughly $9 tin of something that's not much different from cocoa powder with sugar. True, its ingredients are pure (no corn syrup here), but they're basic. Although the flavor profile is more complex than Hershey's (it has a more grown-up taste and bitter edge), a drink of the same caliber could likely be made from scratch for less money and only the small effort of mixing sugar and quality cocoa powder at home.
This may seem like a small distinction to make, but it's something to consider when purchasing a roughly $9 tin of something that's not much different from cocoa powder with sugar. True, its ingredients are pure (no corn syrup here), but they're basic. Although the flavor profile is more complex than Hershey's (it has a more grown-up taste and bitter edge), a drink of the same caliber could likely be made from scratch for less money and only the small effort of mixing sugar and quality cocoa powder at home.
Cheap Elegance
The thing that sets this product apart from most hot cocoas is its elegance.
The well-designed packaging indicates to buyers that they aren't just buying a cocoa, they're buying an experience of indulgence. It may not be an experience of true European sipping chocolate, but it's also a big step up from Swiss Miss.
The name reminds me of the upscale Vegas hotel more than anything else, but it is also a reference to the Italian tradition of sipping chocolate. This connotation is reflected in the packaging copy, which is short but sweet.
As for the product itself, the texture is much richer and thicker than that of typical cocoas, and the flavor is (as I said before) more complex and grown up.
The perception of luxury and indulgence give this product a competitive edge against other hot cocoas, especially given the overblown prices of prepared hot cocoa on the market these days (including the infamous $10 cups of hot chocolate served up at the Yankees Stadium).
The well-designed packaging indicates to buyers that they aren't just buying a cocoa, they're buying an experience of indulgence. It may not be an experience of true European sipping chocolate, but it's also a big step up from Swiss Miss.
The name reminds me of the upscale Vegas hotel more than anything else, but it is also a reference to the Italian tradition of sipping chocolate. This connotation is reflected in the packaging copy, which is short but sweet.
As for the product itself, the texture is much richer and thicker than that of typical cocoas, and the flavor is (as I said before) more complex and grown up.
The perception of luxury and indulgence give this product a competitive edge against other hot cocoas, especially given the overblown prices of prepared hot cocoa on the market these days (including the infamous $10 cups of hot chocolate served up at the Yankees Stadium).
Overall Opinion
So it's not true sipping chocolate... but you could do a lot worse. For a quick, hot and tasty chocolate fix, this isn't a bad choice, and a nine-serving tin of this is better than a $10 cup of cold cocoa any day.
