Drinking Chocolate For hundreds of years, and possibly for thousands, chocolate has been a drink. French, Spanish, Aztecs, Olmecs… the chocolate’s history dates back to the deepest shadows of pre-civilization. There are two basic types of chocolate drinks: hot cocoa (or iced cocoa) and drinking chocolate (or hot chocolate). Both can be made with either water or milk as the base liquid. The difference between the two is that cocoa is made from cocoa powder containing very little cocoa butter, and the latter is made whole chocolate, which naturally contains more than 50% cocoa butter. If you have ever been to a café in Paris, trying to puzzle through a menu scrawled in chalk at the back of a counter while the proprietor stares at you with open hostility, you may have made the safe call and said, simply, “chocolat chaud,” hoping for a hot chocolate. What you got, however, was an intensely rich, powerful concoction that tasted like an entire jungle of Theobroma cacao chocolate trees had sprung up from your taste buds. The European style of drinking chocolate has found a passionate following in North America, and we are excited to offer a close selection of some of our favorite drinking chocolates from Guittard, Askinosie, Cafe Tasse, and Michael Recchiuti. Featured Recipe: Try our recipe for the most delicious, satisfying, and intriguing French-style drinking chocolate you will ever experience! Get it here
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