How do I make hot chocolate taste good with water?

You can either train yourself to get used to the flavor of hot chocolate or cocoa powder added to hot water (which is hard to do), or you can add some additional ingredients to make it taste better. Many people like to add sugar or some other sweetener (honey, rice syrup, etc.) to make the hot chocolate taste sweeter and less bitter, and this is the best thing to try first. And if you’re not keen on adding full milk, try adding just a dash of milk to the hot water, enough to add flavor and change the color to a lighter shade (you can use dairy or plant milks).