For a rich cup of hot chocolate after an Easter egg hunt, choose 100% unsweetened cocoa if you want to control the sugar in each cup. Drinking chocolate with 32% or 50% cocoa already contains sugar, so you’ll need to make fewer adjustments when serving. Check the cocoa content, ingredients and allergen information for the exact product: the word ‘intense’ alone isn’t enough to tell these recipes apart.
If cocoa content is what guides your choice, compare the recipes rather than relying on their names. The Carrefour and Auchan products described here contain at least 32% cocoa in their intense drinking chocolate, while Poulain lists 50% for its 1848 product. Auchan also offers 100% unsweetened cocoa. These percentages alone don’t tell you what the drink will taste like once prepared.
If you’re serving drinks to suit different preferences, Auchan’s 100% unsweetened cocoa lets you add the milk and sugar separately. It takes a little more preparation than drinking chocolate that’s already sweetened.
Pre-sweetened drinking chocolate can be quicker to measure out for several cups. Before choosing a Carrefour, Auchan or Banania recipe, though, check the ingredients and allergen information on the pack you plan to serve.
For drinks to serve around an Easter egg hunt, start with what matters most to you: cocoa content, control over the sugar, ease of serving or how much you’ll need to store.
| What to consider | What to check | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Cocoa content | Check the cocoa percentage for the exact product; don’t infer it from the word ‘intense’. | For a rich cup, I look for a clearly stated cocoa percentage rather than a promise about flavour. Around 36% of consumers would make this intensity their priority. |
| Sugar content | Compare the ingredients and sugars per 100 g of powder; also check how much you’ll use per cup. | If I want to adjust the sugar in each drink, a pre-sweetened recipe gives me less room to do so. Around 29% of consumers would prioritise having control over the amount. |
| Ease of serving | Check the preparation instructions and allergen information on the pack you’ve chosen. | When several people are waiting for their hot chocolate, I prefer something that’s easy to prepare and measure, even if the recipe is already sweetened. Around 21% of consumers would prioritise this convenience. |
| Pack size | Compare the net weight with the number of cups you expect to make, and check how to store the product after opening. | For occasional use, I want to avoid choosing a pack without thinking about what will be left after the event. Around 14% of consumers would make pack size their priority. |
Carrefour and Auchan state that the intense drinking chocolate products mentioned here contain at least 32% cocoa, while Poulain lists 50% for 1848. The recipe name is no substitute for checking its ingredients.
Check the percentage on the exact product, then decide whether you’d prefer a pre-sweetened powder or cocoa you can prepare to suit your taste.
With Auchan’s 100% unsweetened cocoa, you can choose how much sugar to add. For the hot drink described by the brand, you’ll also need milk. Sweetened drinking chocolate doesn’t give you the same control over the amount.
If you choose pure cocoa for serving, have the extra ingredients ready and adjust each cup as you prepare it.
Santé publique France explains that displaying Nutri-Score is voluntary. Whether or not it appears on the pack, it’s no substitute for checking the ingredients, nutrition information and allergens.
If it’s displayed, treat it as additional information and compare the ingredients of the products you’re considering.
BOFiP-Impôts describes a levy that applies, under certain conditions, to non-alcoholic drinks that are ready to consume and contain added sugars. This doesn’t mean that dry powder for mixing can automatically be treated as a drink covered by the levy.
When choosing your drinking chocolate, check the ingredients and the sugar content shown for the exact product.
Poulain 1848 is worth considering when comparing pre-sweetened drinking chocolate: Chocolat Poulain lists 50% cocoa in its ingredients.
Auchan’s products make it easy to compare intense drinking chocolate with at least 32% cocoa against 100% unsweetened cocoa.
Carrefour Classic’ Intense is drinking chocolate listed as containing at least 32% cocoa. The product listing cited here is for an 800 g tin.
Banania Original combines cocoa, cereals, banana and honey. It’s a different kind of recipe, rather than an option for those looking for a high cocoa content.
Carrefour and Auchan list Nesquik powders, including a variant called ‘Moins de Sucres’ (‘Less Sugar’) in the ranges reviewed.
These pack sizes are worth comparing for the cups you’re planning to serve at an Easter egg hunt. To choose between a richer recipe and one that’s easier to serve, check the ingredients of each product: a percentage in the product name doesn’t necessarily represent the cocoa content of the powder as a whole.
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When planning drinks for an Easter egg hunt, consider this 400 g pack in relation to the number of cups you expect to serve. If you’re looking for a specific cocoa content or need to take allergens into account, check the ingredients and information on the pack before choosing it.
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This 450 g pack is another size to consider when serving several cups. Don’t assume its recipe is the same as the 400 g pack: compare the ingredients, sugars per 100 g and allergen information on both packs.
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Consider the 1 kg pack in relation to the number of cups you’ll serve and how you’ll use it after the Easter egg hunt. Don’t assume that ‘34%’ in the name refers to the cocoa content of the whole product: check which part of the recipe it applies to. The description mentions milk and possible traces of nuts; check the pack’s labelling.
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The 320 g tin is worth considering if you want to match the amount you buy to the drinks you plan to serve. The word ‘Intense’ doesn’t specify an overall cocoa percentage, so check the ingredients if this is important to your choice. The description mentions milk; check the labelling before serving it to anyone with this allergy.
No. Santé publique France explains that producers display Nutri-Score voluntarily. Whether or not it appears on the pack, check the ingredients and nutrition information for the product you’re considering.
No, it isn’t a direct way to compare their ingredients. BOFiP-Impôts describes a levy that applies, under certain conditions, to non-alcoholic drinks that are ready to consume and contain added sugars. Dry powder for mixing shouldn’t be presented as automatically covered. Instead, compare the ingredients and sugar content listed on each pack.
Prepare the drink, then adjust the sugar separately to suit each cup. For its 100% unsweetened cocoa, Auchan suggests making the drink with milk. Check the pack instructions before deciding how much to use.
Check the ingredients and any ‘may contain’ warnings on each pack before serving. Banania lists wheat in its Original recipe, while Chocolat Poulain warns that 1848 may contain milk. Don’t assume that the same information applies to other products from these brands.