Living the High Life (Cadbury Highlights Instant Hot Chocolate)

Member Name: the_oracle123

Product:	Cadbury Highlights Instant Hot Chocolate
Date:	21/10/06 (325 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Nice and creamy, gives a good chocolate fix, not too expensive

Disadvantages: Nutrition info only printed on one of the 2 sachets, can never be as good as real hot choccy

Shall we talk about diets? No, I didn’t think you’d want to. To be honest, I don’t want to either – I don’t even like REMEMBERING I’m on a diet, let alone discussing it at length…it makes me too depressed! Still, isn’t it nice when you find something which takes away some of the pain of dieting? In my case it’s usually something chocolatey, and Cadburys Highlights Dark Chocolate is no exception. These were purely an impulse buy when I came across them during the weekly shop, but I’m certainly glad I tried them!

So what are they? Basically they’re sachets of instant hot chocolate, designed for those unfortunate souls who are dieting but still need their chocolate fix – hence high in taste, light on fat and calories. The packaging is fairly simple, two separate 11g sachets joined together, with a picture of a swirly mug on the front and the words “Highlights” and “dark chocolate” underneath. Usefully, there’s also a small oval which tells you that each sachet contains 35 calories and less than 1g fat – perfect if you haven’t got time or can’t be bothered to check the nutritional info on the back.

If you do check the back, however, the nutrition information is very clearly set out and informs you that per sachet made up with 200ml water, there’s 35kcal and 0.9g fat. I’m on Weight Watchers and it’s only half a point per serving, the lowest possible points value there is. Definitely a good thing if you really, really want some chocolate but don’t want to scupper your weight loss. The one quibble I do have is that the nutritional tables are only printed on one of the sachets, so if you use the one with the info on, you don’t have the values for 100g or how much carbohydrate is in each sachet.

Making up Highlights Dark Chocolate couldn’t be easier. Just boil the kettle, shove the packet contents into a mug and pour on 200ml of hot water – I don’t bother measuring; about 2/3 of an average mug full is about right. Just be careful you don’t fill the mug right up to the brim, otherwise it’s a watery mess and tastes foul! I also found that I needed to stir the drink quite a few times, to make sure that everything was mixed properly and that I got rid of those horrible lumps which float on the top. You could splash a little bit of milk in as well, not much, just a tablespoon or so to give it a bit of extra froth and creaminess. You’ll probably find that there’s a bit of sediment on the bottom – I don’t think there’s any way to get rid of that, no matter how many times you stir it, but it’s only a bit so it shouldn’t be a problem.

I have to admit, I’m a chocolate purist and for me, the best mug of hot choccy is one which has features milk, chocolate powder and real melted chocolate, all whisked to frothy perfection in a saucepan on the hob. Too many of those hot chocolates, though, and I’ll double in size, so I’ve had to get used to second best! And really, Highlights Dark Chocolate is as good as instant hot chocolate gets. Despite the fact it’s made up with water, it’s a nice smooth brown and pretty creamy and thick in appearance, and the smell is scrumptious – really chocolatey and rich.

So what’s the taste like? Importantly, you actually can tell it’s dark chocolate flavoured. It’s nice and creamy, with definite sweetness, but there is a good bite of dark chocolate flavour underneath which stops it being too cloying or sickly. It definitely slips down a treat and I finished the mug far too quickly – always a sign of a good drink. As long as you stir it quite a few times, it shouldn’t be too grainy, although no instant hot chocolate is going to be as smooth as the real stuff, so be aware of this. A quick tip – when you’ve finished your hot chocolate, put the mug to soak immediately, or swill it around with some water before you put it in the dishwasher as it tends to leave a lot of chocolate scum on the inside of the mug which hardens very quickly…not fun to wash off or to find that the dishwasher hasn’t got it all off!

I won’t give you a long list of the ingredients, but as a rough guide, Cadburys Highlights Dark Chocolate is made mostly of dried skimmed milk and fat-reduced cocoa, as well as sweeteners and a couple of thickeners. It’s really not nutritious, and it does contain Aspartame and Acesulfame K, but as it’s so low in calories, I think it’s okay as a treat. It doesn’t state that it contains nuts or nut products, but he packet says that it “may contain traces of cereals or soya”, so be aware of this if you’ve got allergies.

I bought these from Sainsburys, at 37p for two, which works out at 18½p for 11g of dry powder, or 200ml of made-up drink…not a bad price, especially considering that most single chocolate bars are about 40p. Sainsburys also offer Milk Chocolate flavour Highlights sachets, as well as 400g jars, and they may be out there but I’ve yet to notice any other flavours such as the Toffee or Mint type you get with brands such as Options. As they’re Cadburys, these also available just about everywhere – try most supermarkets, or if you’re very very keen, you could try pound shops, which always seem to have industrial sized jars or boxes of sachets for a quid or two! Just shop around and see.

So all in all, Highlights Dark Choc is a great drink and a bit of a lifesaver for those “must have chocolate” moments. Delicious and angelic – what could be better?

Summary: Diet hot chocolate drink with a good, rich flavour.