Vegan Hot Chocolate, Mocha and Malt Style Drinks
Note: Packaging and ingredients can change over time, so please DOUBLE CHECK EVERYTHING, and let us know if you spot any changes or errors. We include products that state ‘may contain milk/egg’, i.e. they are at risk of cross-contamination during the manufacturing process. This is simply an allergy warning, but these products cannot be marked vegan by law. They are however, generally considered suitable for vegans. To help keep this resource going, Vegan Womble would receive a small commission if you were to purchase products via any affiliate links in this post. Affiliate links are marked with *. Read our full legal disclaimer…
Product information and photos are submitted by the Vegan Womble community – you are our eyes and ears. We will keep adding products as they come in, so please keep sending us your vegan discoveries.
If you thought that being vegan or dairy-free means that a steaming mug of hot chocolate is off the menu… good news – not at all! Check out our tips on where to buy a mug on-the-go, and our lovely list of hot chocolate (drinking chocolate), liquid chocolate, cocoa powder, ‘malted’ drinks, mocha/latte/cappuccino alternatives, and meltable chocolate spoons, flakes, buttons, nibs, drops… and more… right after the jump.
Quick links
Hot Chocolate, Drinking Chocolate, Flakes and Cocoa
Chocolate Spoons and Chocolate Drops
Malt-style, Barley and Rye, and Chicory drinks
Hot chocolate from high street chain cafes
Tip: Watch out for some brands which have similar-looking products. Examples of products which ARE NOT VEGAN:
- Clipper Fairtrade Instant Hot Chocolate (the pink one)
- Hotel Chocolat Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate
- Nesquik hot chocolate powder (it contains non-vegan Vitamin D3 – labelled as “Cholecalciferol” in the ingredients)
- Whittard White varieties and Mint flavour
Aldi
Aldi Luxury Chocolate Drink
Asda
Asda Chosen By You Cocoa
Cadbury
Cadbury Drinking Chocolate
(Cadbury instant, Options, Highlights and others all contain milk).
Cadbury Bournville Cocoa (it states for baking but can be used)
Cafe Direct
Cafedirect Fairtrade San Cristobal Drinking Chocolate
Clipper
Clipper Fairtrade Drinking Chocolate (the purple one)
Choc Chick
Choc Chick Blissful Blends Cacao Mandarin
Choc Chick Blissful Blends Raw Cacao Powder with Heart-warming Cinnamon
Chocolates El Canario Sabor
Chocolates El Canario Sabor Tradicional Cacao a la Taza
(available online from Melbury & Appleton and Tastes deli)
Cocoa Cravings
Divine
Divine Drinking Chocolate
Dr Oetker
Dr Oetker Fine Dark Cocoa Powder
Food Thoughts
Food Thoughts Fairtrade Cocoa for Baking
Galaxy
Galaxy Drinking Chocolate
Note: ONLY Galaxy option is safe for vegans as all others contain milk. This one does not – the label has a pink note stating ‘Add milk’.
Green & Blacks
Green & Blacks Organic Cocoa Powder (125g)
Green & Blacks Organic Dark Hot Chocolate Drink
Hasslacher’s
Hasslacher’s Hot Chocolate Flakes
Hot Drinking Chocolate Bar
Hot Drinking Chocolate Bar Ingredients
Hotel Chocolat
Note: Salted Caramel IS NOT VEGAN (milk). Shame!
Hotel Chocolat Classic (70%) Hot Chocolate
Hotel Chocolat Chilli Hot Chocolate
Hotel Chocolat 100% Dark Hot Chocolate
Lidl Deluxe
Lidl Deluxe Amazonas Drinking Chocolate
M&S
M&S (Marks & Spencer) Christmas Hot Chocolate Flakes
Montezuma’s
Montezuma’s Christmas Ginger and Orange Drinking Chocolate (Organic)
Montezuma’s Eden Project Mocha / Mochachino Drinking Chocolate
Morrisons
Morrisons Cocoa
Morrisons Drinking Chocolate
Plamil
Plamil Luxury 70% Organic Chocolate Flakes
Raw
Raw Hot Chocolate Original – with Madagascan Bourbon Vanilla Powder
Raw Hot Chocolate Spiced – with cinnamon, nutmeg and Madagascan bourbon vanilla powder
Raw Hot Chocolate Fiery – with Wiltshire-grown Jamaican Red chili
Rowntree’s
Rowntree’s Cocoa
Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s Cocoa
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Santo Domingo Drinking Chocolate
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Santo Domingo Drinking Chocolate with warming Cinnamon
Spanish Chocolate Company
Spanish Chocolate Company Thick Hot Chocolate Drink
Sweet Freedom Choc Shot
Sweet Freedom Choc Shot Liquid Chocolate (original)
Sweet Freedom Choc Shot Orange Spice Liquid Chocolate
Sweet Freedom Choc Shot Coconut Liquid Chocolate
(All registered with the Vegan Society)
Sweet Revolution
Sweet Revolution Instant Hot Chocolate
Tesco
Tesco Cocoa Powder
Tesco Drinking Chocolate
Twinings
Twinings Swiss Hot Chocolate Drink
Waitrose
Waitrose Christmas Gold Shimmer Hot Chocolate
Waitrose Luxuriously Rich Drinking Chocolate
Whittard
Whittard (an impressive collection follows…)
Whittard 60% Flaked Drinking Chocolate
Whittard 70% Cocoa Hot Chocolate
Whittard Caramel Hot Chocolate
Whittard Chilli Hot Chocolate
Whittard Dreamtime Hot Chocolate (contains Barley)
Whittard Luxury Hot Chocolate
Whittard Orange Hot Chocolate
Whittard Rocky Road Hot Chocolate
Whittard Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate
CHOCOLATE SPOONS AND CHOCOLATE DROPS
Cocoa Loco Dark Hot Chocolate Spoon
Lidl – chocolate chips (try warming and add plant-based milk)
Seasalt Cornwall Hot Chocolate Spoon – Dark – Mint
Seasalt Cornwall Hot Chocolate Spoon – Dark – Orange
Sir Hans Sloane Drinking Chocolate Dark Chocolate Beads
Whittard 72% Dark Chocolate Spoon
Willie’s Cacao Chef’s Drops 72% Rio Caribe
Willie’s Cacao Chef’s Drops 71% Sambriano
EXTRAS… syrup, cream and such!
Why not use cocoa and make your own – you could add syrup, use coconut milk or cashew milk for extra creaminess.
Want cream on top? Squirty cream is available!
Camp Chicory & Coffee Essence
Schlagfix Vegan Squirty Cream (can)
Soyatoo Dairy-free Vegan Spray Cream – Rice Whip
Soyatoo Dairy-free Vegan Spray Cream – Soy Whip
Homemade recipe: Whip up Coconut cream/milk
MALT-STYLE, BARLEY AND RYE, CHICORY DRINKS TIP
Do you miss that ‘malt’ taste, like Horlicks, Ovaltine and Maltesers? Or fancy a different kind of caffeine-free latte or cappucino?
Malted: Try making a ‘malted’ hot chocolate by adding Oat milk (such as Oatly) or malted-type drink powder (such as Barleycup).
Latte/Cappucino/Mocha: Combine the chocolate/cocoa drink with coffee (caff/decaff) or for a gentle latte or cappucino, try a roasted barley or chicory drink.
Many of these are in Holland&Barrett and independent stores.
A.Vogel Bambu Instant Coffee Substitute
(Chicory, Wheat, Malted Barley, Figs, Acorns)
Barleycup Powder (Instant Cereal Drink)
(Roasted barley, rye and chicory. Caffeine free.)
Barleycup Original Granules (Instant Cereal Drink)
(Roasted barley, rye and chicory. Caffeine free.)
Nestle Caro Chicory & Rye Drink
(Roasted chicory and rye)
Orzo coffee Organic Ground Roasted Barley
Prewett’s Organic Chicory Drink
(Roasted organic chicory)
Prewett’s Roasted Instant Chicory Drink
(Roasted organic chicory)
Whole Earth Organic No Caffeine Drink
(Barley, malted barley, chicory, rye, figs)
For a quick super-milky drink, warm up some chocolate plant-based milk (Oatly, Alpro, “Dream” have options).
HOT CHOCOLATE FROM HIGH STREET CHAIN CAFES
Tips on grabbing a hot chocolate on-the-go: Watch out for hot chocolate in coffee shops – even those made with soy milk, because there are instances when the following are NOT vegan:
hot chocolate base
flavoured syrup
drizzle on top (eg caramel)
chocolate sprinkles or dust
People in vegan Facebook groups have reported being caught out by non-dairy syrups in a flavoured hot chocolate, for example.
Please send us your tips! This is a work in progress, so if you have a tip please contact us (Facebook etc.) and we will update the article. Thanks!
Costa
VW Chatroom tip: Soy Toffee Apple Hot Chocolate – dairy-free but not suitable for allergy sufferers due to potential cross-contamination. If ordering, do so without sprinkles or cream and with soy milk.
Starbucks
VW Chatroom tip: Classic hot choc with soya milk is usually fine – chocolate powder sprinkles should be dairy free but ask to be sure. Can add syrup, eg Peppermint to get Mint Hot Chocolate.
Cafe Nero (TBC)
Example: Spicy Orange with Soya milk
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Pumpkin Spice Syrup (and others) was not vegan when they took their own container box down and we checked ingrediants in a Starbucks in Dublin in 2017
I have a milk protein allergy. Whenever I have tried Hotel Chocolat products I’ve had a reaction. High chances of cross contamination was behind the withdrawal of the short lived dairy free range. So, I wouldn’t recommend it as a first choice to vegans.
Rowntree’s cocoa powder lists “flavourings” as an ingredient as well as cocoa. I understand the flavourings could be vegan, just weird how they do not list it as one of their vegan products on the Nestle website. Makes me doubt whether it is vegan.
They don’t list anything that is a ‘may contains’ allergens and therefore like lots of vegan lists is shorter than it ought to be. If you find out otherwise then please do let us know.