Whilst continuing to try every Options drink available I decided to try the Hazelnut flavoured drink which like the others is made from Belgian chocolate and is made by the Ovaltine company. This one, much like the plain Belgian chocolate one, comes in a brown and blue wrapper with a melted piece of chocolate on the front of the packaging. The drink comes in either a multi-portioned "tub" or in a single serving plastic sachet (of which I have). The drink, like the rest in the range is simply an instant mix powder that needs adding to hot water and stirring until it's all dissolved.

When made this has a delightfully nutty chocolate smell, it's got a glorious and strong hazelnut scent to it, much like some hazelnut flavoured chocolate bars (think Ferrero Rocher or Kinder Bueno) or even a hazelnut spread. The drink has a really dark colour to it, more like cocoa than "hot chocolate" as such, which some may find unappealing whilst others will find it rather delightful as it's often a sign of the drink having a stronger chocolate taste. So to drinking it, the drink, like the rest of the range has a really thin and runny quality to it, although some will enjoy this personally I'd rather see my hot chocolate to be thick, creamy and filling though having had Option a few times recently I've come to know what to expect. So on to the taste, it's a rich hazelnut taste with soft chocolate over tones which is really wonderful and great when it hits your mouth, your tongue and your nostrils. Sadly however like many of the drinks in the range the flavour doesn't really stay with you long, it doesn't seem to last long enough for you to savour and truly enjoy, which is a shame really as it's nice.

Overall the nutty taste makes this one of the stand out hot chocolate drinks on the market, with a rich and smooth flavour, that although not able to last long enough to truly enjoy does last enough time to appreciate that it is nice. The drink could do with being a bit thicker too, though this seems like I'm being picky (and could possibly be solved by adding some full fat milk into the drink when you make it). This seems like one of the brands best drinks and is nothing less than fantastic.

Nutritional Information (per serving of 11g powder in 200ml of water)
Energy 163KJ/ 39Kcal
Protein 1.4g
Carbohydrate 5.3g
Fat 0.9g

Contains milk, soya, E340, E551 and Aspartame (a source of phenylalanine) though doesn't contain any nuts (according to the packaging)