This week, Value for money looks at five popular varieties of hot chocolate.

Cadbury's Drinking Chocolate

€2.85 for 500g, €5.70 per kg

Highs: As comfortingly familiar as hot buttered toast on a cold winter's evening, this has an air of nostalgia about it that the others can't hope to compete with. It is sweet — but not excessively so — and as it is made with 25 per cent cocoa solids, it retains a pretty pronounced chocolate flavour. As pleasant as it has always been without being outstanding and a large tub can't help but last a long time. It is also on the cheap side.

Lows: We lined up all the options in glasses and were disappointed to note that this was the greyest of the lot. The powder doesn't dissolve particularly well and when left sitting for more than a couple of minutes it separates in a disconcerting fashion from the milk.

Verdict: Pleasingly familiar and pleasantly cheap

Star Rating: ****

Cocoa Direct Drinking Chocolate

€4.49 for 250g, €17.96 per kg

Highs: This is a fair trade, feel good option that tastes pretty good too. Smooth and sweet, but not excessively so and the chocolate flavours are very pronounced. It is surprisingly rich and the powder dissolves almost immediately after the milk is added. It has the darkest colour. The tub has a picture of the grower (well, a grower) to hammer home the fair trade message.

Lows: At 60 per cent, the sugar content is quite high. And, while the powder dissolves well, it does leave a small residue on the tongue. The instructions also call for three teaspoons of powder to be added for each cup which makes us fear it won't last too long in the larder and that's pretty bad news when you consider the cost.

Verdict: Very nice but pretty pricey

Star Rating: ****

Cola Cao

€2.95 for 400g, €7.38 per kg

Highs: Given its bright yellow packaging and the cartoon gorilla that leers out at us from the wrapper, we're pretty sure we're not this product's target market but a couple of things about it appealed. It is very easy to make, with both hot and cold milk, and it tastes okay. It also comes with added vitamins and folic acid and is cheaper than most of the competition.

Lows: The manufacturers are just deluding themselves if they think they can sell this as a nourishing drink, although if it helps recalcitrant kids get their calcium then at least it is doing something right. We're not sure why they bother promising us a chocolate drink as all we could really taste was the sugar.

Verdict: Too sweet

Star Rating: **

Green Black's Organic Cocoa

€3.29 for 125g, €26.32 per kg

Highs: This is another fair trade product from a brand that is getting a whole lot better at positioning its products prominently in our supermarkets — although what has happened to the Green Black's Chocolate biscuits which disappeared from supermarkets a couple of months ago? Made with 100 per cent cocoa powder.

Lows: The maker suggests we put one heaped teaspoon into our cup, which we did, but the end result was pretty tasteless so we added a second teaspoon and that didn't make a whole lot of difference. It is surprisingly dull, not at all chocolatey, and, while it might be ideal for cooking, we couldn't recommend it for drinking. And we weren't best pleased at the price we had to pay.

Verdict: Too bitter and too dear

Star Rating: **

Hot Choc Dark Chocolate Drink

€4.39 for 150g, €29.37 per kg

Highs: Now this is more like it — rich, dark indulgence in a funky little tin. Forget powders, this is made from 100 per cent Belgian chocolate. The tub contains little beads of dark chocolate made with 45 per cent cocoa solids. The chocolate has to be dissolved in milk, which is a bit of chore, but once it's done, it delivers the finest, richest and smoothest chocolate drink we tasted by a mile.

Lows: It needs more preparation than the competition and, given its nature, leaves a lot more chocolate in the cup which we had to spend quite some time inelegantly and rudely removing with our fingers. And then there was the price, over five times dearer than the cheapest option we tried.

Verdict: Hmmmmmm. chocolatey

Star Rating: *****