I purchased a 15.5 Oz. bottle of this Yoo-Hoo Chocolate Drink last week. While I’ve generally avoided dairy chocolate products over the past decade or so, even these non fat ones, I reasoned that I needed a temporary stoppage from soy and almond chocolate flavored beverages. So I decided to test out this chocolate flavored water drink. This beverage brings back lots of memories of grade school that chocolate flavored soy, rice, and almond drinks just do not.
This chocolate drink (sometimes called chocolate pop) contains 260 calories per 15.5 Oz. bottle. Vitamins A, B2, B3, and D3 have been added to beef up the nutrition. The fat content is low, at 2 grams per bottle.
However, as with most chocolate drinks, you’ll find lots of added sugar in this low-fat product. So even though this is a low-fat drink, I’d still avoid it while dieting, as the added sugar and high fructose corn syrup as well as the chocolate and artificial flavors makes this drink rather addictive to my taste buds. One serving a day might be fine. But the alluring chocolate and sugar flavor combination will likely entice you to drink way more than that; especially if you’re a feeble-willed chocaholic like me.
Health concerns notwithstanding though, this chocolate drink tastes more chocolaty, and is more fulfilling than any of the soy, rice, and almond-based chocolate beverage products I’ve sampled. It’s got a thinner consistency than milk-based chocolate drinks, and is significantly sweeter too. Though I’d describe this drink as water based, it nonetheless contains milk ingredients. Milk however, far less dominates this chocolate drink than the more traditional dairy-based chocolate milks. This is not milk, though it contains milk ingredients.
Benefits, Pros, Advantages, and Features
- This drink keeps for roughly three weeks from the date of purchase in the refrigerator. That’s a decent shelf for a dairy milk product.
- At roughly $1.80 per pint bottle at my local convenience store, this product is a fair value for the dollar.
- It smells as chocolaty good as it tastes. However, the aroma is not as strongly chocolate as the actual taste. This is the reverse of coffee, that often smells more strongly like coffee than it actually tastes.
- This chocolate flavored drink has only a half a gram of saturated fat and no cholesterol.
- The color of this beverage is a dark and deep brown, much like Ghirardelli milk chocolate. It matches medium-strength dairy-based chocolate milks in color.
- Though this product is not completely protected from light exposure by its clear glass bottle and translucent label, it is nonetheless one of the small number of beverages that still comes packaged in glass. I prefer glass to plastic bottles or coated cartons, as the drink picks up lower amounts of chemicals from the bottle than it typically does when encased in plastic.
- Yoo-hoo chocolate drink does not require refrigeration until you open it. However, nonetheless, I always refrigerate it, open or not. Why? Because to me, it tastes much better when it’s close to freezing. I hate warm Yoo-hoo.
- It’s a good source of vitamins, and according to the label, it’s 99% fat-free and 99% caffeine free.
- This product is available at most grocery and convenience stores big and small.
Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, and Concerns
- No dietary fiber comes with this drink. Seems like they could add a measure of healthfulness to this beverage with the addition of at least a few grams of taste-neutral fiber.
- Though not considered a real dairy product, this chocolate drink is by no means dairy free, as it contains smatterings of various compounds derived from cow’s milk. So you can still get some dairy nutrition by drinking Yoohoo.
- It contain 52 grams of sugar per serving, and most of this is added, and of the high fructose corn syrup variety. This relegates this beverage in my diet to a few times per year at most.
- It must be kept refrigerated once opened.
- It also requires vigorous shaking before drinking, as the chocolate within quickly settles to the bottom of the container when left standing for more than a small span of minutes.
- Due to the high sugar content, in my view, it’s easy to consume excess calories via this product. This product’s sweet chocolaty flavor tests one’s resolve to consume moderately thus. It’s got a delicious, addictive, and rather strong chocolate flavor.
- Diabetics should monitor their blood sugar readings meticulously when consuming this drink, as it contains significant amounts of high GI sugar. Better yet, if I was an endocrinologist, I’d advise my diabetic patients to avoid this beverage altogether since it’s so sugary.
- To produce a lower glycemic index product, thereby suiting it more for diabetics, Yoohoo might use stevia or Splenda instead of the high fructose corn syrup for sweetening.
Ingredients
Water, high fructose corn syrup, whey (from milk), sugar, corn syrup solids, cocoa (alkali process), partially hydrogenated soybean oil, sodium caseinate, (from milk), nonfat dry milk, salt, tricalcium phosphate, dipotassium phosphate, xanthan gum, guar gum, natural and artificial flavors, soy lecithin, mono and diglycerides, vitamin A palmitate, niacinamide (vitamin B3), vitamin D3, riboflavin (vitamin B2),
Contains milk and soy.
Nutrition Facts
- Serving size: 1 bottle, or 458 millilitres. Servings per container: 1.
- Calories: 260. Calories from fat: 20.
- Total fat: 2 grams, 3% DV.
- Saturated fat: 0.5 grams, 3% DV.
- Trans fat: 0 grams.
- Cholesterol: 0 milligrams, 0% DV.
- Sodium: 410 milligrams, 17% DV.
- Potassium: 440 milligrams, 13% DV.
- Total carbohydrate: 57 grams, 19% DV.
- Dietary fiber: 0 grams, 0% DV.
- Sugars: 52 grams.
- Protein: 4 grams.
- Vitamin A: 20% DV.
- Calcium: 20% DV. Vitamin C: 0% DV.
- Vitamin D: 20% DV.
- Niacin: 15% DV.
- Iron: 4% DV.
- Riboflavin: 20% DV.
- Phosphorous: 20% DV.
Product Rating
This very low-fat chocolate beverage is a decent value. I love the taste but hate all that added sugar and salt. Nonetheless, this drink is a nice diversion from that entirely plant-based soy, rice, or nut stuff. It’s not quite as creamy-tasting as the low-fat real chocolate milks. But the signature chocolate taste that’s Yoo-hoo’s trade mark, more than makes up for any lack of dairy-like texture. So I’d rate this product at 92 out of 100.
Where To Buy Yoo-Hoo Chocolate Drink
Look for this beverage in the bright yellow bottle with the blue letters, and the white and yellow cap on top, in either the refrigerated drinks section or the non refrigerated soda pop section at your favorite large or small grocers.
References
Revision History
- : Adjusted category and tag assignments, fixed typos, and added white space.
- 2012-06-23: Originally published.