There’s something truly comforting and timeless about a mug of hot cocoa. There’s no better way to warm little hands and bellies at the same time on a cold winter day in Wisconsin!
Whether your cocoa style is traditional or trendy (hot cocoa bombs, anyone?), these locations in the greater Milwaukee area will help take away the chill.
Traditional Hot Chocolate
Blüm Coffee Garden
4930 W Loomis Rd, Greenfield, WI 53220
(414) 282-4220
blumcoffeegarden.com
Surrounded by plants and beautiful brick hardscapes, Blüm Coffee Garden offers serenity and tranquility right next door to Bluemel’s Garden & Landscape Center. This café serves Colectivo coffee, and it comes highly recommended by our readers and trusted hot cocoa connoisseurs.
Goddess & The Baker (The Corners of Brookfield)
340 High St., Brookfield, WI 53045
(262) 505-6560
goddessandthebaker.com
Serving up Instagram-worthy pours and scrumptious breakfast and lunch fare, this Chicago transplant will make you feel like royalty. Some of their drinks even come dusted with edible glitter! Besides traditional hot chocolate, their menu also includes “liquid chocolate” – a rich and creamy European sipping chocolate topped with whipped cream, cocoa powder and a wafer. Choose from flavors like salted caramel and chai, or order a flight to share with your crew!
Vintage Grounds Coffeehouse
S74W16825 Janesville Road, Muskego, WI 53150
(414) 422-0556
vintagegrounds.com
Hot cocoa sippers of all ages will feel welcome at this Muskego café. They have board games and seasonal kids’ crafts, as well as a children’s area with coloring, a tea set and old-fashioned trains. Seasonal drink specials can be ordered with or without coffee, and they also try to keep hot cocoa bombs from Glory B’s Sweets in stock.
Avenue Coffeehouse
911 Milwaukee Ave., South Milwaukee, WI 53172
(414) 304-8060
avenue-coffeehouse.com
This little coffee shop is conveniently located in South Milwaukee, and the locals love it for the brew selection, delicious pastries and top-notch service. You can even place an order online and pick it up curbside.
Kilwins
5758 N. Bayshore Dr., Glendale, WI 53217
(414) 967-4803
Website
Bayshore’s locally owned chocolate, fudge and ice cream shop does hot chocolate a little differently. Kilwins uses hot milk to melt their own shredded dark chocolate, then top it with whipped cream and more shredded chocolate for the ultimate indulgence. Can’t get enough? Buy a bag of their chocolate shred so you can make it at home too!
Dia Café
6601 Northway, Greendale, WI 53129
(414) 246-2002
diaynochewi.com
Located in Historic Downtown Greendale, Día Y Noche is a café by day and a restaurant/bar by night. On the day side, Día Café is a daytime coffee shop and bakery that aims to provide the best coffee blends and authentic pastries that Latin America has to offer. Kids will dig the Chocolate Caliente (hot chocolate with whipped cream), and adults will get a kick out of the Mayan Mocha (espresso, milk, chocolate, cayenne, cinnamon, and whipped cream, served hot or iced).
La Reve
7610 Harwood Ave, Wauwatosa, WI 53213
larevecafe.com
This french bistro in Tosa offers a classic European version of your favorite winter drink. The pastry kitchen grinds the fine chocolate, steams whole milk and half and half, and tops each rich cup with whipped cream.
Allo Chocolat
234 W Main St, Waukesha, WI 53186
allochocolat.com
Waukesha’s local candy shop offers a decadent sipping chocolate on Fridays and Saturdays. It is a small cup of rich, thick chocolate for $2.00.
Hot Cocoa Bombs
Gingerbread House
S63 W16147 College Ave., Muskego, WI 53150
(414) 422-9601
gingerbreadfarmhouse.com
You’ll feel right at home when you step inside this 1885 farmhouse turned bakery and café. Order a cup of Ghirardelli hot chocolate, or make it a “Zebra” by adding some white chocolate. We dare you to look inside their bakery display case without taking one or two items home. They also happen to make some of the prettiest and yummiest hot cocoa bombs around, with varying designs to match the current season. The bombs are individually packaged and make great holiday gifts or party favors. Pre-order yours over the phone, then pick them up at the convenient drive-through window. Don’t forget to stop and say hi to the chickens outside!
Cocoa Tree Confectionery
1330 W. Mequon Rd., Mequon, WI
(262) 643-4692
cocoa-tree.com
Owned and operated by a former stay-at-home mom, the Cocoa Tree Confectionery is renowned for its colorful bonbons and delectable chocolate treats, but their hot cocoa bombs are DA BOMB! Traditional or flavored varieties (French Vanilla, Dark Chocolate, Mint Truffle, Peppermint, Salted Caramel) are available. They have coffee and tea bombs as well.
It’z My Party Cakery
Based in Milwaukee, WI 53228
414-257-9777
itzmyparty.com
Once featured on Food Network, this home-based cakery creates custom edible works of art, including cake, cookies, cake pops, truffles, brownies, and – of course – hot cocoa bombs! The bombs can be customized to virtually any theme you like, including non-traditional shapes like a zombie grenade, a football, or a snowman made out of two stacked hot cocoa bombs.
Hillside Coffee House
237 E. Ryan Rd., Oak Creek, WI 53154
(414) 304-5559
Facebook Page
Located inside an old building that has served as a schoolhouse, photo studio, city hall and police department, Hillside Coffee House has been in business since March 2020, about a week before all indoor dining was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Grab a cup of coffee and a yummy pastry before grabbing a few hot cocoa bombs to go. A reader who recommended this café also tipped us off to the onsite lending library.
Chocolate Falls
N88W16748 Main St., Menomonee Falls, WI 53051
(262) 415-5808
Website
This Menomonee Falls-based bakery and chocolate shop creates different hot cocoa designs for every season – Christmas, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter and more. They sell fast, so be sure to pre-order yours a couple of weeks in advance. Also available in 4-pack gift sets.
Hot Cocoa On The Go
Style Up Group
Based in Milwaukee
(414) 241-0441
styleupgroup.com
This Hot Cocoa Pop-Up is basically a ready-to-go party, and it’s the perfect solution for those hard-to-plan winter birthdays. Style Up Group handles the details and logistics from their Zara mobile bar trailer, including complementary seasonal décor. We speak from experience when we say this company always goes above and beyond to wow everyone! Their Hot Cocoa mini package is two hours or less, and you can order the hot cocoa to be served “Traditional” or “Styled Up” – featuring customized toppings like colorful sprinkles, flavored syrups and two kinds of marshmallows.
Better Together Café
1301 N. Chicago Ave., South Milwaukee, WI 53172
(414) 376-3800
bettertogether.cafe
This café started out as a food truck launched by a husband-and-wife team in August 2018. Last summer, they enlisted the help of their three young children to renovate the old Dairy Queen in South Milwaukee. You can now visit them at their new brick-and-mortar location, or you can still book the truck for an event. You’ll find traditional espresso drinks and hot chocolate on their menu, but this place is more well known for its specialty milkshakes (with or without coffee). These dreamy shakes have beautifully sweet toppings like candy, cookies, fancy cakes, sprinkles and – of course – whipped cream. Besides menu mainstays like oreo, s’mores, fruity pebbles, cinnamon toast crunch and unicorn, they offer a monthly special in the “Better Shake” (January’s Blue Moon is pictured above).
