Frozen Hot Chocolate: Who Does it Better?

Every summer, Dunkin' Donuts adds a new frozen drink to their ever-extensive drink menu for customers to enjoy. There's been a SoBe Energy Coolatta; a Tropicana orange juice Coolatta; and a Captain America Tri-Color Coolatta featuring the new cherry flavor, combined with vanilla bean and blue raspberry to create a flavor fusion fit for an Avenger. This summer was also the debut of their "Piping Cold" frozen hot chocolate, which has become a huge hit. With over 700 fans on Facebook, this former wintertime-only drink is now being enjoyed in the summertime swelter. What a delight this is!

Dunkin' Donuts Frozen Hot Chocolate complete with a Captain America jelly donut. Perfect summertime duo.

However, unbeknownst to the masses, Dunkin' is NOT the first restaurant to take hot chocolate, freeze it, and call it Frozen Hot Chocolate. Serendipity 3, a hole-in-the-wall eatery on the Upper East Side of Manhattan did it first, and even has a few extra Rs in the name to give a good burr vibe. While Serendipity 3 is no threat to Dunkin' Donuts and it's massive flock of Coolatta chugging, donut devouring fans, this question still arises: can a chain restaurant with thousands of stores nationwide make a better Frozen Hot Chocolate than a boutique coffeehouse on the Upper East Side, or is Serendipity 3, the originator of this frigid treat, the be all and end all of the Frrrozen Hot Chocolate? 

Serendipity 3's Frrrozen Hot Chocolate in all it's huge glory.

More often than not, we shop with our eyes first, so here's the presentation category. Serendipity 3 serves their Frrrozen Hot Chocolate in a giant goblet on a saucer and tops it with fresh whipped cream and chocolate shavings. While all Dunkin' Donuts doesn't really stand a chance in this category with it's plastic cups, orange straws and canned whipped cream,  I'll give them a few sympathy points for their Captain America cup they're using this summer to promote the movie. 

The first sensation we have with food we just purchased with our eyes is the smell. Since you can't really smell these drinks given the containers they come in and the whipped cream doubling as a masking agent, we'll bypass the category and skip to the palate sensations: taste and consistency. Serendipity 3's Frrrozen Hot Chocolate is richer and creamier, their fresh whipped cream is also creamier and thicker, and the chocolate shavings add a melty feel the drink. 

On the other hand, there's an iciness about the drink that makes it hard to suck through a straw when it is first served. And when eaten like a sundae with a spoon, it has a crunchiness to it that isn't all too appealing to the senses. Dunkin' Donuts wins the consistency battle with it's drink-ability and sipping ease, but with it's canned whipped cream, and chocolate syrup settled at the bottom causing a diluted flavor, loses the overall taste war.

At the end of the day, a Serendipity 3 Frrozen Hot Chocolate with it's richer chocolate flavor, fresh whipped cream, and larger size surpasses a Dunkin' Donuts Frozen Hot Chocolate, despite Dunkin' having a better consistency. When your flavor is lacking, consistency isn't going to save it.

It's nice of Dunkin' Donuts to bring Frozen Hot Chocolate to the American masses, but it doesn't quite do the Serendipity 3 original Frrrozen Hot Chocolate the justice it deserves. Remember folks, an original is always better than a copy. 

Keep Smilin' :)