Why We Ranked This Iconic Chocolate Drink The Absolute Worst In Our Taste Test

Chocolate milk is a treat that appeals to children as much as it does to adults. Dairy and plant-based milk brands alike produce chocolate drinks to fulfill those nostalgic cravings. With so many options on the market, we tasted 10 chocolate milk brands, ranking each one on criteria like quality, nutritional value, taste, and overall experience. Surprisingly, Yoo-hoo, one of the oldest producers on our list, came in dead last in our taste test.

Yoo-hoo is an iconic, century-old chocolate drink that's played a big role in pop culture, which we thought would enrich the overall experience. Unfortunately, its historical significance does nothing to compensate for its low-quality and terrible taste. One glance at the ingredients list made for a troubling discovery of numerous unknown compounds and ultra-processed sweeteners, which instantly put nutritional value in last place. Notice we used the word "chocolate drink" instead of chocolate milk for Yoo-hoo, a deliberate choice due to its dairy milk-derived contents (versus containing actual liquid milk). While powdered milk, whey, and sodium calcinate are shelf-stable dairy products that give bottles of Yoo-hoo long lives both in and out of the fridge, they don't do its taste and quality any favors.

The actual liquid ingredient in Yoo-hoo is water, and a pour of Yoo-hoo had the appearance of muddy water in our test. It also tasted like watered-down cocoa powder with a fake sweetness, compliments of its dreaded high-fructose corn syrup. Plus, because it's water-based, you don't get that comforting creaminess and thick mouthfeel that many of the high-ranking chocolate milk brands possess.

While our negative review of an iconic brand like Yoo-hoo might sound controversial, there are plenty of chocolate milk lovers out there that agree. We found reviews from Influenster and Reddit that certainly looked past the nostalgic value. The terms "chocolate water," "milkshake of sadness," and "sugar water" were used to describe this chocolate drink. One Influenster customer put it nicely by using an analogy: "Yoo-hoo is to chocolate milk what powdered Tang is to orange juice. Made primarily of water and corn syrup," which kids might enjoy because they're "more interested in the sugar corn syrup than the quality of the cocoa." But for those of us with more developed palates and more nutritional concern, it's just not going to cut it.

Customers also complained about the long list of artificial components and dairy products that aren't quite milk. Many customers said they'd rather use powdered hot cocoa mixes or chocolate syrup to mix into a glass of milk than drink Yoo-hoo. The truth is that quality and nutritional value go hand-in-hand with taste. Our top pick, Promised Land Midnight chocolate milk, has a short ingredient list of natural, whole ingredients, including real milk. And milk doesn't necessarily need to be dairy milk, either. The go-to plant-based milk brand, Silk, won our vote for the best tasting chocolate almond milk.