We’re quickly entering into the festive season, and that can only mean one thing: hot chocolate!

Being away from home can sometimes remind us of missing comforts – especially when your current surrounding is an under-heated student flat or house. But if you’re looking for a warm and cosy winter, I have the perfect solution; the ultimate guide to hot chocolate in Durham. As a result of being someone who is too fussy to like tea or coffee, in a place where ‘going for coffee’ is key to socialising, I have tried hot chocolates from a range of locations. Here we will be rating the various options Durham has to offer.

Costa 

Starting with one of the most basic choices, Costa. 

Pros:

• Well-known/safe brand 
• Variety of nice flavours as part of their seasonal menu, including Terry’s Chocolate Orange (a personal favourite of mine) 
• Big marshmallows (might be a con for some people) 

Cons:

• Expensive (small hot chocolate can be around £4) 
• Basic 

Starbucks 

Pros:

• Again, have a range of special flavours 
• Good whipped cream 
• Has nice seating, great place to study at 

Cons:

• Relatively expensive 
• Tastes kind of milky/not very strong in terms of chocolate flavour 
• Basic 

Caffé Nero 

Pros:

• Can get student discount there
• Alright choice of flavours 

Cons:

• Atmosphere always feels dark and crowded in store 

Greggs 

 Pros:

• cheaper 
• some festive choices e.g. mint chocolate 
• You can get a free hot drink, when downloading the Greggs app for the first time. I went for the seasonal orange flavoured hot chocolate

Cons:

• Sometimes tastes watery 
• Feels wrong going into Greggs for anything but a sausage roll 

Greggs’ hot chocolate

Whittard

Pros:

• Free samples in-store!
• Probably some of the best tasting hot chocolate ever 
• SO MANY flavours, frequently updating them (I recommend cookies and cream) 
• Perfect Christmas gifts for friends and family 

Cons:

• EXPENSIVE (£10) for a tub of hot chocolate powder 
• Make yourself at home, not served ready 
• never tastes as nice at home as it does in the samples 

Cafédral 

Pros:

• very underrated, tastes great 
• reasonable price, especially for takeaway 
• Cute atmosphere and seating 

Cons:

• No laptop policy, can’t sit and study whilst there
• Small room, tables can feel crowded when busy 

Vennels 

Pros:

• Decent hot chocolate 
• Cute atmosphere inside, multiple stories so usually space to sit 

Cons:

• Other places do better
• Sometimes quite stingy on marshmallows 
• Expensive, because everything is there 

Chapters

Pros:

• Lots of delicious traybakes to go with the hot chocolate 
• Relatively nice atmosphere/aesthetic 

Cons:

• Expensive 
• Aesthetic of the hot chocolate varies, sometimes looks messier 

Waffley

Pros: 

• Looks cute 
• Generous with toppings 

Cons:

• Can be a bit sickly if you get a chocolate waffle as well as hot chocolate 
• not sure if they do takeaway?

The Billy B Cafe

Pros:

• Convenient location to grab whilst studying 
• Cute cup designs

Cons:

• Overpriced 
• Tastes watery 
• No cool toppings 
• Too hot/scolds your tongue 

Whitechurch

Pros:

• Overall good taste 
• Pretty interior
• Close to the library, great for a quick study break 

Cons: 

• Expensive 
• Easy to finish quickly (for some reason I find myself drinking these fast, maybe slightly smaller portions?)
• Wifi/Signal is always terrible in there (for me anyway, on EE network) 

Flat White 

Pros:

• Looks really cool/trendy 
• General vibe in there is nice 

Cons:

• Expensive 
• Long queue outside 
• Too rich/strong: doesn’t actually taste as nice as it looks 
• Only one marshmallow and smallish cup (kind of a rip-off considering the price)

Whetherspoon (Spoons)

Pros:

• Really cheap
• Can get free refills 
• Alright place to study 

Cons:

• Not the nicest taste (but still ok)
• No toppings 
• Often weak if the machines haven’t been refilled 

Claire’s ‘Hot Chocolate’

As an added bonus, I will be mentioning hot chocolate made by The Bubble’s very own Lifestyle editor, Claire! This creation came about one very eventful evening in her flat at Josephine Butler, after Claire mentioned that she had never made hot chocolate before.

Pros: 

• Unique 
• Was good to dip cookies in 

Cons: 

• Was not hot chocolate (pretty sure it was a churro dipping sauce)
• We realised half way through heating the pan up that we had turned on the wrong oven hob 
• Neither of us can measure very well, so the milk to powder ratio was questionable 

Remember this ranking is purely based on my own personal opinion! If you’re a dedicated hot chocolate lover, or feel inspired by this article, Durham now has its own hot chocolate society. More details can be found on Instagram at @duhotchocsoc