Hot beverages are the best way to really drink in the cozy. Sure, there are those year-round iced coffee people, but you just can beat a hot mug of something tasty on a cool morning. What’s in your mug? Whether it’s hot cocoa, coffee, or tea, we found the best brands of the best hot drinks in our many, many taste tests.
Gird your tongue, we scalded our mouths on more than one occasion taste testing many, many cups of cozy drinks in order to bring you the very best warm drinks you should be buying. Stock your tea drawer. Fill your coffee cabinet. And make sure you’re doing so with the best hot beverages.
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- Nestle Rich Milk Chocolate Hot Chocolate Cocoa Mix
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Hot chocolate is one of the best hot drinks out there. And this is the best hot chocolate mix by far. It is so rich and creamy and chocolatey. It is the only hot chocolate mix we tried that still tastes like it was made with milk even when you make it with water! That’s really saying something. This is the type of hot chocolate you want to slurp up all winter long. — Jordan Myrick
Read the full ranking of the best hot chocolate mix
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- Twin Peaks Original Pour Over 100% Colombian Coffee
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We’ve got a new addition to our collection of the best hot drinks: our brand new number one best instant coffee. Twin Peaks makes an instant pour over coffee that is roasty, toasty, and just strong enough. Unlike a lot of other instant coffee, this stuff tastes more like fancy third-wave coffee than diner coffee. And it’s ready in seconds. If you start your morning with a cup of joe and very little time, this is the best hot beverage for you. — Justine Sterling
Read the full ranking of the best instant coffee
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- Great Value 100% Arabica Colombian Ground Coffee
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These K Cups took the top spot in our ranking of the best Walmart coffee pods. The coffee is a little bit fruity (but not crazy acidic), it’s round and earthy, and it’s bold, so it can stand up to some milk and sugar or creamer. Sporked’s Gwynedd Stuart wrote that it was “much better than a lot of the more expensive K Cup coffee” and this one’s cheap as heck. — Justine Sterling
Read the full ranking of the best Walmart coffee pods
- Organic Fair Trade Wake Up Blend Ground Coffee
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Trader Joe’s has such a huge selection of coffee, but there is one that reigns supreme. The best Trader Joe’s coffee is the Organic Fair Trader Wake Up Blend Ground Coffee. It’s lightly fruity and not acidic. Skip all the other coffees. This is the TJ’s coffee to buy. — Jordan Myrick
Read the full ranking of the best Trader Joe’s coffee
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- Lipton Black Tea Bags
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Lipton makes some of the best tea bags out there (specifically the best black tea). I know there are fancier and more unique options, but these Lipton black tea bags are perfect in every way. The tea tastes great, they come in gigantic boxes, and the price point is low. Plus, you can find them almost anywhere! If you’re stocking a tea drawer to make the best cozy drinks, this tea is an absolute must-buy. — Jordan Myrick
Read the full ranking of the best black tea
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- 365 Organic Green Tea
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Whole Foods 365 brand organic green tea bags are the best tea bags when it comes to green tea. It’s a complex green tea that isn’t bitter at all, which we love. This tea is one of the best hot beverages, but it’s also really good iced. Who doesn’t love a multipurpose product? — Jordan Myrick
Read the full ranking of the best green tea
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- Bigelow Vanilla Chai Black Tea
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This is the best chai tea bags brand you can buy in grocery stores across the U.S. Can you get better chai at an Indian restaurant or grocery store? Yes. If you don’t have access to one of those, however, this will definitely do in a pinch, especially if you’re also a fan of vanilla. — Jordan Myrick
Read the full ranking of the best tea bags
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- Tejava Black Tea
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If you’ve moved beyond tea bags and into tea pods, then these are the best tea K Cups to buy. The tea tastes fresh and rich and floral—like really great black tea, as it should. If you’re getting your hot beverages from a Keurig, you need to stock up on these tea pods. They make tea so good, you won’t even need honey. — Justine Sterling
Read the full ranking of the best Keurig tea pods
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- Peet’s Coffee Pumpkin Spice K-Cup Pods
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If you want it to feel like fall all year long in your house, buy the best pumpkin spice coffee, aka Peet’s Coffee Pumpkin Spice K-Cups. The coffee in these little pods has a well-rounded, balanced blend of pumpkin pie spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, clove). This made our list of the best pumpkin spice coffee at Sporked two years in a row! — Jordan Myrick
Read the full ranking of the best pumpkin spice coffee
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Looking for a tea you didn’t see on this list? Check our our full roundup of all the best tea bags.
