Fall for me means legitimately one thing. No, not leaves turning or football. Fall means hot chocolate. I actually drink it far more than is healthy, from all sorts of random businesses. It’s sadly a big enough deal to me that I can actually write about it. So, as I consider myself a bit of an expert, here are my reviews of the biggest hot chocolate names in town.

My first stop was the local Greenberry’s. Not going to lie, my favorite part about the place is the fact that it’s always full of college students on laptops, or impressive looking hipster people sipping fancy latte’s. It gives off a perfect coffee shop feel. The actual drink itself was… okay. Aside from the fact that it took about four hours to make (which is a long time for cocoa), I thought it was pretty good. It was chocolaty enough to be able to tell it wasn’t straight milk, but had a nice foam on top that really made it. I’d say an honest three out of five stars.

Next I made my way to a cheaper and slightly less classy option, McDonalds. Their hot chocolate was surprisingly good. It was the perfect temperature for me- almost too hot to drink. They topped it with a tiny bit of whipped cream. The only serious problem I had was the fact that it tasted kind of like plastic, probably due to the cup it came in. But hey, you get what you pay for I guess. A solid two out of five stars.

Finally, the classic Starbucks. Of course it was good. It always is. Starbucks just has it down. It was slightly gritty, in that perfect hot chocolate way. Not too chocolaty, not too milky, legitimately perfection. I do have to take points off for the place though. I’ve never been a major coffee shop chain kind of girl, there’s something too corporate about it. Maybe it’s a cop out, but four out of five stars.

I hate to give the best review to the big name brand, but they won fair and square. For those of you who are slightly less passionate and slightly more normal about their hot chocolate preferences, I’d say it’s definitely your safest bet.