Swiss Miss Pick-Me-Up
Sometimes I get a craving for hot chocolate, but also need the caffeinated power of coffee to keep me going. When this happens I usually grab a mocha and kill two birds with one stone. Little did I know that Swiss Miss, the cocoa providing company of my youth, has created Pick-Me-Up, hot cocoa with as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. A box of this product mysteriously appeared in my office last week, so I decided to try some. What does it taste like? Well, it tastes like Swiss Miss, which is not to say that it tastes like hot chocolate. Hot chocolate is creamy, decadent, and bursting with chocolaty goodness; it leaves a coating of satisfaction on your tongue. Swiss Miss tastes like chocolate flavored water and leaves one’s mouth feeling sullied. This is a far cry from the “mouthwatering aroma” of “great-tasting chocolate” described on the back of the box.
The taste of Swiss Miss I can deal with; I have always expected Swiss Miss to be sub par in that category. What greatly annoys me about this particular Swiss Miss product is the false advertising all over the packaging. Firstly, it is within the line of products calling itself “Sensible Sweets”. What on God’s green earth is Sensible about this Sweet? Perhaps it’s the fact that it contains Calcium and Vitamin D. Well, if my body manages to get past the sugar, corn syrup, modified whey, and hydrogenated coconut oil (4 of the first 5 ingredients) and actually process any of that Calcium and Vitamin D, I will be extremely impressed. PS: when ingredients involve words like “modified” and “hydrogenated” no good can come of the product. I guess you could consider Swiss Miss Pick-Me-Up sensible if one mug replaced your usual extra large hazelnut flavored, cream and sugar filled, iced coffee from Dunkin Donuts, but something tells me that if that is your usual morning drink nothing is going to change it anytime soon.
In conclusion…Does Swiss Miss Pick-Me-Up pack the same punch as a cup of coffee? Does it at least impart that caffeinated fervor so needed in today’s bustling world? Well, no.