Forgive the clickbait, nowhere in MoHi has hot chocolate that looks this good.

According to our calendars, winter is supposedly right around the corner and with it, the excuse to buy copious amounts of your favorite warm drink. For Bwoggers Abby Rubel and Isabel Sepúlveda, that’s hot chocolate. Yesterday, they did the legwork for you and found the best hot chocolate in MoHi. (Because it has to snow eventually, right?)

Joe’s Coffee ($3.80 with tax):
The hot chocolate at our first stop, Joe’s, was noteworthy only for how average it was. It was a decent size (a small will definitely be enough) and hot, but not so hot that we couldn’t comfortably sip it shortly after purchase. Though it didn’t come with whipped cream, there was a nice layer of foam at the top. The hot chocolate itself, however, was kind of bland. There was a bit of sweetness but no complexity of flavor, leaving us with a cup of what amounted to hot milk and the feeling that it could be something better, if only it tried a little harder. There’s honestly not much to say; it was just…okay. If you’re around Noco, it’s certainly good enough, but don’t go out of your way for it.

Rating: 3/5

Ferris Booth (1 meal swipe):
Ferris was by far the  most convenient stop on our list (at least, if you’re on a meal plan). We were pleasantly surprised at how decent the hot chocolate there was. Nice and hot, it’ll definitely warm you up. There was definitely more flavor there than Joe’s, though it was somewhat artificial. But the artificiality reminded us pleasantly of the kind of hot cocoa your mom would make when you were a kid after you came in from playing in the snow. It was far thinner than Joe’s (obviously made with water, not milk), and they probably just use the powder your family sent you in a care package earlier in the semester. At least this way, you don’t have to mix it yourself and can avoid those obnoxious lumps. In terms of most bang for your buck, this definitely takes the cake (unlimited with a meal swipe), but there are definitely far better options.

Rating: 3/5

Nussbaum and Wu ($2.18 with tax):
This was far and away the worst hot chocolate we tried all afternoon. It was too hot to sip and the cup was quite thin, so it was almost too hot to hold either. Once we managed to get through the mountains of foam they put on top, it was taste overly sweet, almost artificial, but also bland at the same time, which we suppose is an achievement but definitely not one to be proud of. It was thicker than the others, which was the only mark in its favor. But as we walked away with the vague aftertaste of plastic in our mouths, we agreed it wasn’t enough to redeem anything about the experience.

Rating: 0.5/5

Hungarian Pastry Shop ($3.35 with tax):
The only hot chocolate to come with whipped cream, this selection seemed very promising before we took our first sip. From there, it did not disappoint. It was a good temperature, and there wasn’t too much foam on the top. It wasn’t sweet, with more of a dark chocolate flavor, but the flavor grew on us the more we drank and became an extremely enjoyable experience. It’s hard to say whether our hot chocolate experience was enhanced or hampered by the couple sitting next to us, who were clearly on a Tinder (or Bumble, or what have you) first date. On the one hand, they didn’t heed Bwog’s advice about not bringing first Tinder dates to Hungarian, forcing us to sit through their inane chatter. On the other hand, listening to an NYU Tisch student try to impress his date with a description of his Sesame Street-inspired final project was pretty hilarious. Because the hot chocolate here has to be enjoyed slowly, we were there for every minute of excruciating (but amusing) small talk. Overall, it was nice to take a moment, slow down, and enjoy the best mug of hot chocolate we’d tried all afternoon.

Rating: 5/5

In summary, if you have the time to sit down and warm up, Hungarian is your best bet but Joe’s or a dining hall work in a pinch. Avoid Nuss at all costs.