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Satisfy your hot chocolate cravings with these decadent drinks from the Starbucks menu (and secret menu). See which hot chocolate is the most popular and get ideas on how to customize them!
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Hot Chocolates at Starbucks
Sweet and perfect on a chilly day, Starbucks Hot Chocolates range from their signature classic to seasonal favorites that only show up on the menu during the winter months.
All Starbucks Hot Chocolates are made with steamed 2% milk and topped with whipped cream. They’re flavored using syrups and sauces.
Check out the most popular Starbucks Hot Chocolates and see a list of Hot Chocolate secret menu drinks below.
RELATED: Starbucks Chocolate Drinks (Including Secret Menu)
Starbucks Chocolate Sauces
Mocha sauce
Starbucks uses a chocolate sauce made with bittersweet chocolate they call mocha sauce. There’s no coffee in mocha sauce even though technically mocha contains both chocolate and coffee. The mocha sauce isn’t very sweet.
White chocolate mocha sauce
Made with sugar, condensed skim milk, coconut oil, and cocoa butter, there’s no actual cocoa solids in white chocolate mocha sauce. It tastes like sweetened condensed milk and it’s much sweeter than the mocha sauce. White mocha sauce is the same thing as white chocolate sauce.
Flavored white chocolate mocha sauce
The seasonal White Hot Chocolate drinks are made using a flavored white mocha sauce like toasted white chocolate mocha sauce. The seasonal sauces aren’t available all year.
RELATED: Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha Drinks (Including Secret Menu)
Tips on Ordering Hot Chocolate
Ask for kid’s temperature
Any Starbucks hot drink, including hot chocolate, can be made at a lower warm temperature that they call kid’s temperature. They’ll heat the beverage to 130°F instead of the usual 160°F and that means you don’t have to wait for it to cool down.
Make it smaller
Any hot chocolate can come in an 8 ounce “Short” size for children (or adults). The short size is available to order in person and on the app.
Mix and match the sauces
The mocha sauce on its own in steamed milk isn’t too sweet and can be a little bitter due to the bittersweet chocolate. To make your hot chocolate sweeter, ask for 1-2 pumps of white mocha to be added to your drink.
Dairy-free alternatives
Need to make it dairy-free? You can replace the usual 2% milk in hot chocolate with any of the other milks on the Starbucks menu and leave off the whipped cream.
RELATED: 17 Starbucks Drinks For Kids
Best Starbucks Hot Chocolates, Ranked
There are 6 hot chocolate drinks on the Starbucks official menu as of this writing. Here is a ranked list, starting with the best and most popular.
1. Hot Chocolate
2% Milk + Mocha Sauce + Whipped Cream
Caffeine in a grande: 25 mg
Calories in a grande: 370
Sugars in a grande: 37 g
The most popular hot chocolate on the menu is their signature classic. The mocha sauce is drizzled on top of the whipped cream. Ask for it with Vanilla Syrup if you want to make it the way Starbucks originally made it. Or add white mocha to make it sweeter and creamier.
Drink sizes: Kids/Short, Tall, Grande, Venti
2. White Hot Chocolate
2% Milk + White Chocolate Mocha Sauce + Whipped Cream
Caffeine in a grande: 0 mg
Calories in a grande: 440
Sugars in a grande: 55 g
A solid second place with hot chocolate fans, get this when you want something sweet without any caffeine.
Drink sizes: Kids/Short, Tall, Grande, Venti
3. Peppermint Hot Chocolate
2% Milk + Mocha Sauce + Peppermint Syrup + Whipped Cream + Dark Chocolate Curls
Caffeine in a grande: 35 mg
Calories in a grande: 530
Sugars in a grande: 69 g
This drink shows up on the menu only during the winter months but you can get this all year if you don’t get the dark chocolate curls.
Drink sizes: Kids/Short, Tall, Grande, Venti
4. Peppermint White Hot Chocolate
2% Milk + White Chocolate Mocha Sauce + Peppermint Syrup + Whipped Cream + Dark Chocolate Curls
Caffeine in a grande: 0 mg
Calories in a grande: 520
Sugars in a grande: 74 g
A seasonal drink that you can get all year if you take out the dark chocolate curls.
Drink sizes: Kids/Short, Tall, Grande, Venti
5. Toasted White Hot Chocolate [Seasonal]
2% Milk + Toasted White Chocolate Mocha Sauce + Whipped Cream + Holiday Sugar Sparkles with Crispy White Pearls Topping
Caffeine in a grande: 0 mg
Calories in a grande: 430
Sugars in a grande: 57 g
Available only during the winter due to the toasted white chocolate mocha sauce and the sugar sprinkles.
Drink sizes: Kids/Short, Tall, Grande, Venti
6. Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate [Seasonal]
2% Milk + Mocha Sauce + Toffee Nut Syrup + Whipped Cream + Caramel Drizzle + Sea Salt Topping
Caffeine in a grande: 25 mg
Calories in a grande: 460
Sugars in a grande: 59 g
Flavored with mocha sauce and toffee nut syrup the salted caramel comes from the caramel drizzle and salt topping.
Drink sizes: Short, Tall, Grande, Venti
Secret Menu Hot Chocolates
Secret menu drinks are customized Starbucks beverages created by Starbucks fans that got popular on social media.
Always order secret menu drinks by providing the drink recipe (ingredients and customizations) instead of the drink name since baristas aren’t trained in making them.
7. Frozen Hot Chocolate Frappuccino [Secret Menu]
Base drink: Double Chocolaty Chip Creme Frappuccino
Customizations: Add vanilla syrup and whipped cream blended in
How to order it: “Can I get a grande Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino with 3 pumps vanilla and whipped cream blended in?”
A Frappuccino version of a hot chocolate.
Drink sizes: Tall, Grande, Venti
8. Black and White Hot Chocolate [Secret Menu]
Base drink: Hot Chocolate
Customizations: Add white mocha chocolate sauce, reduce mocha sauce
How to order it: “Can I get a grande Hot Chocolate with 2 pumps mocha and 2 pumps white mocha?”
Half mocha and half white mocha, this drink goes by many other secret menu names like Zebra Hot Chocolate and Tuxedo Hot Chocolate.
Drink sizes: Short, Tall, Grande, Venti
9. S’mores Hot Chocolate [Secret Menu]
Base drink: Hot Chocolate
Customizations: Add chestnut praline syrup, mocha drizzle
How to order it: “Can I get a grande Hot Chocolate with 4 pumps chestnut praline syrup and mocha drizzle on top of the whipped cream?”
If your Starbucks is out of chestnut praline syrup, try replacing it with toffee nut syrup.
Drink sizes: Short, Tall, Grande, Venti
10. Iced Hot Chocolate [Secret Menu]
Base drink: Box of Horizon Chocolate Organic Milk
Customizations: Add ice
How to order it: Get a box of the Horizon Chocolate Organic Milk in the refrigerated case then ask “Can I get this chocolate milk over ice in a grande cup?”
This is a great drink for kids who want to have a Starbucks cup of their own to drink from.
Drink sizes: Tall, Grande
11. Mexican Hot Chocolate [Secret Menu]
Base drink: Hot Chocolate
Customizations: Replace water with soy milk, add mocha sauce, white mocha sauce, cinnamon dolce syrup, top with cinnamon powder
How to order it: “Can I get a grande Hot Chocolate made with soy milk and no water, and with 1.5 pumps mocha, 1.5 pumps white mocha, 3 pumps cinnamon dolce, and cinnamon powder on top of the whipped cream?”
A spiced hot chocolate that’s sweet and comforting.
Drink sizes: Short, Tall, Grande, Venti
12. Snickerdoodle Hot Chocolate [Secret Menu]
Base drink: White Hot Chocolate
Customizations: Half white mocha, half Cinnamon Dolce syrup, add Cinnamon Dolce Sprinkles
How to order it: “Can I get a grande White Hot Chocolate with 2 pumps white mocha and 2 pumps Cinnamon Dolce syrup and can you add Cinnamon Dolce sprinkles on top of the whipped cream?”
This drink used to be on the official Starbucks menu years ago but it’s no longer so it can be considered a secret menu item.
Drink sizes: Short, Tall, Grande, Venti
RELATED: 60 Low Calorie Starbucks Drinks
Questions You May Have
Can I make Hot Chocolate dairy free?
Yes! Since Starbucks makes their Hot Chocolate with 2% milk, you can replace it with any non-dairy milk on their menu. Remember to ask for “no whip” if you really want it dairy-free.
How can I make Starbucks Hot Chocolate the way they used to make it?
About a year ago, Starbucks removed vanilla syrup from their Hot Chocolate recipe, making it a little bitter and less sweet. To order it the way they used to make it, ask for a grande Hot Chocolate with 4 pumps of vanilla syrup. Adjust the number of pumps by adding or subtracting pumps based on the size you’re ordering.
Is there caffeine in hot chocolate?
Yes, there’s caffeine in the mocha sauce so there’s caffeine in the Hot Chocolate. But, there’s no caffeine in the White Hot Chocolate since white mocha sauce is made without real cocoa solids, only cocoa butter.
Related
- 19 Starbucks Caramel Drinks (Including Secret Menu)
- 31 Vanilla Starbucks Drinks (Including Secret Menu)
- 21 Strawberry Starbucks Drinks (Including Secret Menu)
- 50+ Popular Starbucks Secret Menu Drinks
- Every Starbucks Drink Ranked by Caffeine Content
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