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Drinking Chocolate

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Drinking chocolate is one of those quiet office staples that disappears fast, sitting on the bench next to the coffee and tea for the afternoon pick-me-up and the cold-day morale boost. We stock it in the sizes that actually make sense for a workplace, cafe or busy household: bulk bags and tins from 750g up to 5kg, so you refill the tin instead of running out by Wednesday.

The range covers the names people reach for first, Cadbury, Nestle, Milo and the Belgian-style Bon Accord, plus a self-contained vending mix for machines. Buying the big bag drops your cost per cup, and with a Business Pass or credit account the maths gets better again for offices ordering every month.

Keep it dry. Seal the bag tightly or decant into an airtight container so kitchen humidity does not make it clump, and keep the scoop dry. Stored cool and sealed it holds flavour for months, which is the advantage of the larger bags.

Yes. Cadbury drinking chocolate makes a good cold chocolate milk or milkshake, and Milo is a year-round favourite served cold over ice or blended into milk. Mixing into warm milk first helps the powder dissolve before you chill it.

Not quite. Milo is a malt drink made from barley malt, milk and cocoa with added vitamins and minerals, so it tastes maltier than a straight chocolate and is popular both hot and cold. It comes in a 1.9kg resealable tin.

At roughly 25g a cup, a 2.5kg bag makes around 100 mugs, a 3kg around 120, and a 5kg over 200. Vending and machine servings are often smaller, so the 750g mix stretches further per gram.

The Nestle vending mix is a complete cocoa and milk powder formulated for machines with a whipper. Because the milk is built in, you only add hot water. You can make it by hand in a mug too, it just will not froth the way it does through a machine.

Milk gives the best result for drinking and hot chocolate, because the fat is what makes it taste rich and smooth. Water works if there is no milk, but it is thinner. The exception is the vending mix, which already contains milk powder, so it only needs hot water.

Drinking chocolate is sweetened cocoa powder that you stir into hot milk or water, like the Cadbury, Bon Accord and Flying Cup bags. Hot chocolate, such as the Nestle Rich and Creamy, is a creamier blend made to go into milk for a more indulgent cup. In daily use they are close, but hot chocolate tends to be richer.

Drinking chocolate, hot chocolate or vending mix?

They are not all the same powder. Pick by how you make it and how much you get through:

Classic drinking chocolate (add hot milk or water)

  • Cadbury 2.5kg, the everyday office and home favourite, hot or cold
  • Bon Accord 3kg, a richer Belgian-style blend
  • Flying Cup 5kg, the big foodservice bag for cafes and high-traffic kitchens

Rich hot chocolate (blends into milk for a creamier cup)

  • Nestle Rich and Creamy 1kg

Malt drink (cocoa, barley malt, vitamins and minerals)

  • Nestle Milo 1.9kg, hot or cold, in a resealable tin

Vending and dispenser mix (just add hot water)

  • Nestle Chocolate Vending Mix 750g, a complete cocoa and milk powder for machines with a whipper

As a rough guide at about 25g a cup, a 2.5kg bag makes around 100 mugs, a 3kg around 120, and a 5kg over 200.

Cadbury Drinking Chocolate 2.5kg GL1036722
Cadbury Drinking Chocolate 2.5kg, Hot Chocolate
$36.79 inc. GST or as low as $34.96
QTY inc. GST
1-4 $36.79
5-9 $36.06
10-14 $35.69
15+ $34.96
FREE Delivery. Dispatch as early as Monday from Auckland.
Sku: GL1036722
Nestle Rich & Creamy Hot Chocolate 1kg GL1018873
Nestle Rich & Creamy Hot Chocolate 1kg
$21.89 inc. GST or as low as $20.80
QTY inc. GST
1-4 $21.89
5-9 $21.46
10-14 $21.24
15+ $20.80
FREE Delivery over $30. Dispatch as early as Monday from Auckland.
Sku: GL1018873
Flying Cup Drinking Chocolate 5kg GL1010825
Flying Cup Drinking Chocolate 5kg
$89.99 inc. GST or as low as $85.50
QTY inc. GST
1-4 $89.99
5-9 $88.20
10-14 $87.30
15+ $85.50
FREE Delivery. Dispatch as early as Monday from Auckland.
Sku: GL1010825
Nestle Milo 1.9kg GL1009941
Nestle Milo 1.9kg
$66.89 inc. GST or as low as $63.55
QTY inc. GST
1-4 $66.89
5-9 $65.56
10-14 $64.89
15+ $63.55
FREE Delivery. Dispatch as early as Monday from Auckland.
Sku: GL1009941
Nestle Chocolate Vending Mix 750gm GL1016963
Nestle Chocolate Vending Mix 750gm
$25.99 inc. GST or as low as $24.70
QTY inc. GST
1-4 $25.99
5-9 $25.48
10-14 $25.22
15+ $24.70
FREE Delivery over $30. Dispatch as early as Monday from Auckland.
Sku: GL1016963
Bon Accord Drinking Chocolate 3kg GL1012628
Bon Accord Drinking Chocolate 3kg
$62.95 inc. GST or as low as $59.81
QTY inc. GST
1-4 $62.95
5-9 $61.70
10-14 $61.07
15+ $59.81
FREE Delivery. Dispatch as early as Monday from Auckland.
Sku: GL1012628

Drinking chocolate, hot chocolate, Milo and vending mix: what is the difference?

They look similar in the cup but they are built differently. Drinking chocolate, like the Cadbury, Bon Accord and Flying Cup bags, is sweetened cocoa powder you stir into hot milk (or water in a pinch). Nestle Rich and Creamy is a hot chocolate, a creamier blend designed to go into milk for a more indulgent cup. Milo is its own thing again: a malt drink made from barley malt, milk and cocoa with added vitamins and minerals, and it works hot or cold. The vending mix is the clever one, a complete powder of cocoa and skim milk that only needs hot water, because the milk is already in it, which is why it suits machines and self-serve stations where there is no fridge.

Pick the pack size for your setting

This is where buying right saves real money. A home or small team gets through a 1kg to 2.5kg bag at a sensible pace. A busy office kitchen, a school staffroom or a cafe is better off on the 3kg or 5kg, where the cost per cup drops and you are not reordering every fortnight. The 750g vending mix is sized for the machine it feeds rather than the crowd, and Milo's 1.9kg resealable tin is the easy one to leave on the bench because it seals itself between uses. If you are stocking a workplace, work backwards from cups per week: a 5kg bag at roughly 25g a cup is over 200 servings, so it carries a 20-person office for weeks.

How to make a good cup

For drinking chocolate and hot chocolate, heat milk rather than water if you can, because the fat is what makes it taste rich, then stir in two to three teaspoons per mug and adjust to taste. A small splash of cold milk first turns the powder into a paste and stops lumps before you top up with the hot. For the vending mix, hot water is all you need. Milo is happy hot or cold, and a cold Milo over ice or blended into milk is a summer staple here, so these bags earn their place year round, not just in winter.

Stock the whole office kitchen in one go

Hot chocolate rarely travels alone on the order. Most offices restock it alongside the coffee and tea, and if you run a self-serve or takeaway setup you will want disposable cups to go with it. Putting the kitchen consumables on one regular order keeps the bench stocked and the delivery count down, and a Business Pass adds discounts on top of the bulk pricing for teams that buy every month.

Storing the big bags

Bulk powder keeps well as long as it stays dry. Once a bag is open, fold it down tight or tip it into an airtight container or canister so it does not clump from kitchen humidity, and keep the scoop dry. Milo's resealable tin handles this for you. Stored cool and sealed, these bags hold their flavour for months, which is the whole point of buying the larger size.

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