I bought the $32 Kate Weiser hot chocolate snowman and compared it to the $1.99 Trader Joe’s version, so you don’t have to! I will say I am a HUGE fan of Trader Joe’s in general, so I was a little biased going in – I thought, there’s no way that the Kate Weiser version could really be multiple times better than the Trader Joe’s. But, I am here to definitively say that after a thorough comparison (and approval from my toddler), the Kate Weiser version really IS worth the money. Here’s why!
Kate Weiser “Carl” the Hot Chocolate Drinking Snowman
I had high expectations of this because of the hefty $32 price tag ($40 if you count shipping!). I was not disappointed! Here’s how I would rate the Kate Weiser chocolate snowman:
- Cost – $32 … but it makes 5-8 servings, so $4-$6.40 per serving
- Appearance – 5/10 … honestly, I would have given it a 10/10 had it arrived exactly as it appears online. However, it arrived with a bunch of loose chocolate powder and a broken base (see photo) so instead of appearing white, the snowman appeared brown. Of course, when you’re shipping something so delicate I’m sure these things happen – my recommendation would be to buy it in person in a Neiman Marcus store if you’re near one.
- Melting Quality – 8/10 … the snowman melted pretty quickly and evenly into a chocolate-y puddle. However, the marshmallows were kind of meh.
- Taste – 10/10 … Amaaaaaazing hot chocolate! The box recommends you do 8 servings if you like it a little thinner and 5 servings if you want to be drinking chocolate. I did 6 servings because I wanted it on the rich side. It was sooooo good – you could tell it was high quality chocolate, and not cut with a bunch of sugar. Imagine the chocolate you get when you order churros in Barcelona … that’s how it tastes!
Trader Joe’s Hot Chocolate Snowman
I had high expectations of this snowman, too, because I usually love everything TJ’s! However, I was a little disappointed with this one. Here’s why:
- Cost – $1.99 … but it makes 1-2 servings, so $1-$2 per serving
- Appearance – 7/10 … pretty cute little guy, what can I say.
- Melting Quality – 8/10 … I was soooo disappointed with the melting. It took fooooorever and the shell is white chocolate so you didn’t get that nice melting effect of the brown and milk mixing. Also, the chocolate chips inside the snowman didn’t melt well at all and stuck to the bottom of the pan. It took a lot of stirring to make this edible!
- Taste – 3/10 … When I purchased these snowmen, the Trader Joe’s checkout guy warned me that they would be a sugar bomb and to use two cups of milk instead of the one cup suggested on the packaging. Thankfully I took his advice – I actually probably could have used three cups of milk and still found it too sugary! There was not a very strong chocolate flavor at all – it was like drinking straight sugar.
So who’s the hot chocolate snowman winner?
Kate Weiser by a landslide! Of course, a $32 chocolate snowman is gonna taste better, but does it taste $30 better? I’m here to say, definitively, YES. If you’re looking to indulge in hot chocolate, the Trader Joe’s snowman isn’t even worth the calories. Just upgrade to the Kate Weiser version and thank me when you’re done.
The ONLY situation in which I would recommend the Trader Joe’s chocolate snowman over Kate Weiser is if you have no kids or friends or family to share with. Then, it might be hard to justify a chocolate snowman meant for 5-8 servings, ha!
*This review is in no way sponsored or affiliated with Trader Joe’s or Kate Weiser, I just like to give my unsolicited opinion on everything I buy 🙂
**The Christmas tree mug below I got on Amazon, and the gingerbread cookies are from Trader Joe’s!
