About a year ago, I developed a bit of an obsession with drinking chocolate. While I am partial to Philadelphia’s Chocolate Alchemist’s inspired creations, they are made on-premises from the bean, which means you can’t recreate them at home. Thankfully, many craft chocolate companies now offer delicious, quality mixes (with cacao listed as a first ingredient, not sugar) to help us get through winter.
But first, let’s define what makes a good drinking chocolate. I personally like mine thick and dark, rich but not heavy, so I usually find hot cocoa to lack body and most drinks made from melted bars too thick or sweet. With that settled, I started experimenting with a few mixes, adapting milk and water volumes and ratios, until I obtained a drink with a taste and texture that I liked.
The three pouches above, gifted to me by Acalli Chocolate, were some of the most flavorful mixes I tried. To prepare the mixes, I drew inspiration from the “hot chocolate shot” prepared by Ritual Chocolate in Utah. I halved the amount of water recommended on the package, and dissolved 2 tablespoons mix (which is equivalent to 1/2 package) in 2 tablespoons of milk and 2-3 tablespoons of hot water. I loved the thicker texture and strong taste of the resulting drink. My favorite mix was the 1579 because of the balance of spice/chocolate. Original was next. Spicy was for my husband, as I cannot handle hot foods too well.
You can order these pouches online on Acalli Chocolate’s website. Another mix I really like is Undone Chocolate’s, which is made from Ecuadorian cacao. It is sold in powder form, so it is mixes really well with hot water or milk. Too bad my jar’s empty.
Looking for more drinking chocolate inspiration? Read John Nanci’s comprehensive post on Chocolate Alchemy’s blog. Here is how a few of my Instagram followers prepare their drink.
I make Frankencocoa! We mix a bunch together.
2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/2 cup of milk (the 2% works); mix very well, add spices (cayenne pepper, cinnamon, ginger, whatever you like) and bring to a boil so it really thickens.
The sugar and cocoa mix should be first heated up with 1/4 cup of the milk and whisked VERY well so there’s no cocoa lumps; then, once smooth, add the second 1/4 cup of milk (whole is even better, of could) and gently bring to 2 or 3 boils; that’s how it gets thick 🙂
I like Taza Chocolate Mexican Chocolate Cinnamon disc mixed with blue corn masa or atole and piloncillo. I make mine with almond milk. I pretty much make most of my drinking chocolate with almond milk or water.
Now tell me: how do you prepare your drinking chocolate?
I want to try Acalli sometime once I finish going through my own drinking chocolate things! I’m also going to try your ratios of milk and water to chocolate. I actually was given a tip regarding Undone’s drinking mix: the spicy drinking chocolate mix is basically their spicy bar ground up! I was about to get a jar of their drinking chocolate but when I heard that, I picked up one of their spicy bars and melted it down 🙂
Thanks for sharing your tip about Undone, Lori! I hope to stock up on the goodies at the next chocolate festival in DC, since there may be one again this year!