Christmas has arrived in the Welsh capital as the Cardiff Christmas Market and the Cardiff German Market, which run alongside each other, have opened in the city centre. Not only is this bringing lots of festive cheer to Cardiff, it is also bringing lots of food and drink options - including hot chocolates.

Currently on offer from Cardiff Christmas Bar in the Cardiff German Market is seven, yes you read that right, seven, different hot chocolates. To save you pondering over which one to go for, we've done the work for you.

We have tried five out of the seven hot chocolates, as one wasn't in stock (the Terry Choc Orange hot choc) and we opted for a luxury hot chocolate, which is the same as the standard hot chocolate, just with added extras, and I was taken by surprise at which one turned out to be my favourite. You can read all the food and drink available at Cardiff Christmas Market and Cardiff German Christmas Market here.

READ MORE: I went to Cardiff Christmas Market on the opening day and it has put me in a real festive mood

HANDY INFO: Cardiff Christmas Market 2023: Full list of stalls, places to eat and opening hours

So read on to find out our favourite hot chocolates from the Cardiff German Christmas Market, which we have ranked below. You can keep up to date with the latest What's On news by signing up to the newsletter here.

1. Ferrero Rocher hot chocolate

This took me by surprise, I will not lie. Normally if I go to someone's house or sweet treats get handed around the office, if they are Ferrero Rocher's, the nutty chocolate balls, my heart sinks and I sadly decline.

So I went into trying the Ferrero Rocher hot chocolate with little hope, but I was blown away. It was so rich, creamy, and perfectly chocolatey. You couldn't really taste the nuts, which normally puts me off a Ferrero Rocher, but the little you could taste only added to the hot chocolate.

For a delicious winter hot chocolate that will certainly warm you up on a cold day, I would definitely recommend. The Ferrero Rocher hot chocolate costs £6.

2. Luxury hot chocolate

Now this one didn't surprise me. It was the one I thought I would enjoy most and for £5 you get a hot chocolate with cream and flake. This was, as I expected, a solidly good hot chocolate with a generous helping of cream and the fun of the flake too.

The hot chocolate tasted milky, much better than watered-down ones, and is a great Christmas treat. Although not as creamy as the Ferrero Rocher hot chocolate it was still a winner in my eyes.

3. After Eight hot chocolate

Another hot chocolate that took me by surprise was the After Eight hot chocolate. Again, I don't really like After Eights (Christmas can be a tough time when the only chocolates on offer somewhere are After Eight or Ferrero Rocher) but this hot chocolate was much nicer than I expected.

At first, you get the hit of the hot chocolate goodness, and then subtly sneaking in at the end is the taste of the mint. It is not overpowering, so you don't feel like you've instantly cleaned your teeth and accidentally swallowed some toothpaste, but instead a nice extra flavour. This makes a very delicious drink and if you are a mint lover, this should be your choice. You can pick up one for £6.

4. Brandy hot chocolate

Now, I like a drink, you can read my ranking of activity bars in Cardiff here, but I don't really like brandy. Again, like I said, Christmas can be a tough time.

The brandy hot chocolate was nice, still lovely and sweet and chocolatey, and you are hit with the taste of the brandy at the end. It is definitely nicer than drinking brandy on its own and if you like brandy you are sure to enjoy this hot chocolate, which costs £7.

5. Baileys hot chocolate

Coming in last place, but only because I also don't really like Baileys, is the Baileys hot chocolate. Also costing £7 this hot chocolate was the most alcoholic, so if you are after a boozy hot chocolate this is the one, and just my personal least favourite. I'll be sticking with the Ferrero Rocher hot chocolate this Christmas.