Waitrose Milk Chocolate Drink - 38 Calories

Although I’m a lifelong fan of Options low calorie hot chocolate drinks, I still can’t resist the temptation to try out any rivals appearing on the supermarket shelves. Quite recently I discovered a Sainsbury’s own brand low calorie hot chocolate which was so good I’m now buying it on a regular basis.

Then last week I noticed this hot chocolate drink from Waitrose. I don’t know whether it's new, it doesn't say so on the label. But I’m sure I couldn't have failed to miss the ‘38 CALORIES’ in large, bright pink text on the front of the label. And this is what caught my eye. So into the basket it went.

This Waitrose low fat hot chocolate drink is from the LOVE life you count… range of foods.

Here’s what Waitrose say about this range:

'Waitrose Love life you count… ‘Our fundamental belief is that few things in life are more important than the food you buy. LOVE life you count: great tasting meals and snacks when every calorie counts.'

The low fat hot chocolate drink comes in quite a heavy 250g brown glass jar. At least this should be easy enough to recycle in most boroughs.

The chocolate powder is a pale brown colour, with just the barest hint of a chocolate smell. The instructions say you should add 4-6 teaspoons of chocolate drink into a cup then add 150ml of hot water.

This amount of chocolate powder sounds quite a lot for a low calorie drink. However, it's so incredibly light and powdery, each teaspoon probably doesn't weigh as much as other chocolate powders.

There's no need to add milk as that's actually the first ingredient. It's also sweetened with sucralose so it's already quite sweet. Fat reduced cocoa powder accounts for 16% of the ingredients.

This drink is easy enough to make up and the powder dissolves quickly to make a smooth, and chocolaty drink. So what does it taste like?

The lack of chocolate smell gave me a clue as to what I should expect. The chocolate taste was far too weak for my liking. Even adding more chocolate powder doesn't make much difference. I'll be using the rest of this jar mixed with other hot chocolate powders and can't see I'll be buying it again.

It's great on the calorie front but not so good for those who like a richer tasting chocolate drink.

Available in Waitrose stores and online.

Nutrition information per 11g serving: 38 calories, 2.2g protein, 6.4g carbohydrates, 3.0g sugars, 0.2g fat, 0.7g fibre, 0.10g salt. Suitable for vegetarians.