I’ve been drinking Mexican-style hot chocolate for longer than I can remember, and it grows ever more delicious with each passing winter. But since recently the only Mexican table chocolate I’ve had access to is Abuelita, I’ve been attempting to be a bit more creative.
Following the link above, I’ve been melting some table chocolate into milk, then I add dashes of cinnamon, vanilla extract, and powdered cayenne pepper and blend it with a whisk. I think it’s come out pretty good, but I want to make it better. So I am turning to my wonderful internet community of the last 11 years - you all!
I recently bought a disk of Trader Joe’s 70% cacao stone-ground chocolate that I will use tomorrow, I’ll report on how it turned out. Stuff like Abuelita is mostly sugar and I think only 15% cacao solids, so this will be pretty different.
The key thing, for me, about what distinguishes Mexican hot chocolate from the gourmet types of hot chocolate available in some cafes is not the spices but rather the lightness of it. Premium hot chocolate is like a melted chocolate bar and while it can be really good, it’s not as softly satisfying as a frothy cup of Mexican hot chocolate. Or maybe that’s the nostalgia talking.
So, let’s share. Who else here likes this style of hot chocolate? Favorite brands or recipes? Recommendations? I’m also curious if people find it to be too sweet (or not sweet enough), since I’ve gotten the feeling lately that my sweet taste-buds are a bit skewed compared to other people’s. FWIW I find it less cloying and more bittersweet than most other hot chocolates, though Abuelita seems to be on the sweeter side.