I’m dreaming of a White (Chocolate) Christmas…

Christmas is nearly here, and to me at least, Christmas is nothing without a bit of hot chocolate to keep those fingers warm and get into the festivities. As Cork’s resident hot chocolate connoisseur, allow me to take you on a journey through my top picks of places to get creamy chocolatey goodness this holiday season.

  1. O’Conails, French Church Street

As if this was even a question. O’Conail’s specialise in hot chocolate – you can rest assured that they know their stuff. It’s rich, it’s creamy, it’s glorious – and it comes with a batch of chocolate drops for your eating pleasure. My only complaint is that there’s never enough of it. Their chocolate flakes for homemade hot chocolate is also great, and a top hit amongst my housemates. I recommend Milk Chocolate for beginners.

  1. Gloria Jeans, Castle Street, the Savoy

Gloria Jeans is really underrated for their hot chocolate. It’s absolutely delicious. It’s properly warm, it comes in 3 flavours (white, milk and dark) and though it’s dearer than O’Conail’s, they actually do a decent large cup size. And they add marshmallows for free! Definitely recommend if you’re looking for something new.

  1. Café Eco, Winthrop Street

If you can get over the excessive amount of ‘Alt’ kids that seem to live inside there nowadays, Café Eco / Web Workhouse is a good shout. Their Hot Chocolate On A Stick is cool and unusual; my only complaint about them these days is that the milk is never quite warm enough for my tastes. I want my hot chocolate HOT, dammit!

  1. Perry St Market Café

If you really want to treat yourself I heavily recommend here – hot chocolate is costly, but it tastes good, and usually comes with cookies or a brownie for your dollars. I like going here when I’m feeling pretentious and hipster and feel like drinking things out of clear glass mugs. It’s also very nice for a mildly sophisticated friend-date.

  1. Starbucks

I mean, if you like your hot chocolate how you like your coffee – generic, slightly sickening and in a red mug that always causes controversy, I guess you could get Starbucks hot chocolate? I’ve never particularly liked it; in fact, I don’t think I’ve ever finished a mug of it. So take from that what you will.

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