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The Best Hot Chocolate In North Carolina? Here’s Where To Find One Of The Nation’s Best In NC

There is nothing like a cup of hot cocoa when the weather starts to get cold. Sure you can make it home and perhaps you have that perfect recipe. Or…

NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 28: Hot chocolate is poured into a mug at the MarieBelle store February 28, 2006 in New York City. A study conducted at Wageningen University in the Netherlands indicated men who ate the equivalent of one-third of a chocolate bar every day had lower blood pressure and a reduced risk of death.
(Photo by Stephen Chernin/Getty Images)

There is nothing like a cup of hot cocoa when the weather starts to get cold. Sure you can make it home and perhaps you have that perfect recipe. Or you could get some at a place like Starbucks, which is a solid choice. But what if I could tell you where you can get some of the best of best? According to Yelp one of the best places to get hot chocolate nationwide is right here in North Carolina.

Yelp recently released a list of the 50 top hot cocoa spots in both the US and Canada This is based on data from reviews. They narrowed down businesses in the "food and restaurants" category that features a significant percentage of reviews mentioning "hot cocoa" and "hot chocolate". From there they ranked those places on factors such as the total number of ratings and reviews mentioning the two terms.

And coming in at number 17 on the list is Raleigh's own Escazú Chocolates. According to their website Escazú specializes in "locally made, carefully crafted, chocolate." It comes from cacao beans from Latin America which are processed into treats such as dark chocolate bars, confections, ice cream and of course what we are talking about here- drinks.  Their "chocolate factory" is in downtown Raleigh with a retail shop in front of factory. Here you'll find what is described as  an immersive chocolate experience."

It's not just your average hot chocolate you'll find on the menu. But of course that is an option. Additionally you can try a variety of other flavors including spicy, peanut butter, chocolate-chai, and white chocolate and spices. View the full beverage menu here.

If you don't plan on visiting Raleigh soon, you don't have to completely miss out. While it's safe to assume the beverages aren't available for online purchase the chocolates are!

You can read Yelp's full list of the best hot chocolate here.

Best Christmas Movies Of All Time, According To Rotten Tomatoes

We all have our different opinions when it comes to the best Christmas movies of all time, but when it comes to the TRUTH, we can lean on Rotten Tomatoes.

We've all been there, looking up a movie's Rotten Tomatoes rating to see what we're in store for. There have even been some movies that I've looked up and seen a Rotten Tomatoes rating so low that I haven't even bothered watching it. When it comes to Christmas movies, you never know what you're going to get. In my opinion, the movies are one of the best parts of the holiday season.

There are the classics like Home Alone, The Grinch and Elf that you can't argue with. But Rotten Tomatoes released a list of the 100 best Christmas movies of all time. I was surprised by a lot of these. I haven't seen the majority of them, but I now have a new bucket list!

Check out the top 20 below and see the full list here.

20. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

19. A Christmas Story (1983)

18. Rare Experts: A Christmas Tale (2010)

17. Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)

16. Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

15. Arthur Christmas (2011)

14. Little Women (1994)

13. The Apartment (1960)

12. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022)

11. Die Hard (1988)

10. It's A Wonderful Life (1946)

9. Carol (2015)

8. Klaus (2019)

7. Little Women (2019)

6. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

5. Miracle On 34th Street (1947)

4. Tangerine (2015)

3. The Holdovers (2023)

2. The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

1. Meet me In St. Louis (1944)

Melanie Day is a graduate of North Carolina State University. She has worked for Beasley since 2012 in a variety of behind-the-scenes roles in both digital and promotions. Melanie writes about a diverse range of topics some of her favorites include travel, restaurants, Taylor Swift, and college athletics. When not at work you'll find her at a country concert or NC State sporting event.