It is a gray, drizzling, miserable day here, so I’m treating myself to a mug of hot chocolate. My mug is mug-sized (way bigger than the 6 ounces “they” seem to consider “a serving”), so I used one envelope of “Dark Chocolate Sensation” and one envelope of “French Vanilla.”
Yum!
It’s beyond a gray, miserable day here. And theoretically I’m supposed to go interview clothing shopping in it. Blech. Also grocery shopping.
But I may also have some hot chocolate, in a bit. I’m definitely going to have many cups of hot tea.
I’ve moved on to Earl Grey – but the chocolate was delightful.
Don’t forget to buy a pair of stiletto heels for your interview. 
After many tries, we’ve determined that the best hot chocolate is Ibarra: Mexican Chocolate Ibarra Authentic Mexican Sweet Chocolate Drink Mix 19 oz
It’s thick, rich and has a hint of cinnamon. It might be too much if you are used to the “packet” stuff. Use 1 puck per cup!
This gal I’ve been seeing taught me an awesome trick about a month ago. We were drinking hot coco, and she put a square of a chocolate bar in each of our mugs. I didn’t notice anything different, until the very last drink. A mouthful of pure, melted chocolate goodness slid into my mouth as the last swallow. It was a moment of pure bliss; I don’t think I’ll be able to drink coco without a square of chocolate ever again!
Oh, so you’re thinking I should actually make my money by having a person follow me around with a video camera and put a series of “what not to do in Chicago winters” online?
An interesting prospect, only I don’t know anyone who could do the filming. Also, I’m not a fan of broken bones.
At least the puppy is in the middle of a growth spurt, so she’s sleeping a lot. I hope this lasts for all of today and tomorrow, at least.
I slipped into a snow drift at work so I’ve already been back home to change (and a hot shower to warm up). I get my hot chocoalte from the Nestle machine here at the office, press the button and there you go. I have a packet of Godiva hot chocolate mix at home but I’m saving that in case I have a guest.
Great. Now I’m craving hot chocolate, and the only stuff that I could possibly get my hands on at the moment is the syrupy brown liquid that Tim Horton’s considers a reasonable facsimile of hot chocolate.
I’ll show you all once I get home, though, and make myself a proper cup of hot cocoa with a shot of Starbucks liqueur. Nyah.
A buddy of ours recently introduced me to Xocolatl hot chocolate and I need to go buy some. I love it! I don’t care for sweet hot chocolate, and this stuff is great.
My new favorite is:
2 oz of 70% high-quality chocolate
1 cup of milk (preferably full octane, but it’s still good with 1%)
Heat up the milk, chop up the chocolate and put it in the milk, use a hand-held blender (I use a mixer) to froth it up, and enjoy.
Best. Hot. Chocolate. Ever.
Finally, someone who else uses a whole puck per cup! My husband thinks I’m crazy; he only takes half. I put a touch of Penzey’s double-strength vanilla in mine, too. Yum. Ibarra is hard to beat.
For those late, cold evenings when there’s nothing to do but sip hot cocoa and curl up with a good book…A healthy splash of peppermint Schnapps makes even the lowest-quality hot cocoa delicious.
I have a high-protein diet, require at least 90g a day. So I make high-protein hot chocolate when I’m cold: I put one cup of whole milk in a small, heavy saucepan (8g of protein) and whisk in 1/3 of a cup of milk powder (8 more grams). Bring it up to a simmer and whisk in two heaping TBSP of Ghirardelli Hot Cocoa powder (2g). An 18g cup of chocolate yumminess!
My personal favourite - Fry’s cocoa made on the stovetop with a shot of Sortilège, a maple whisky from Québec. Chopin Nocturnes or Miles Davis 2nd quintet on the stereo, curl up and let it snow…
Those of you who live in Chicago (I spot two of you at least, yes?) need to check out Vosges Haut Chocolate and pick up some Aztec hot chocolate. The rest of you should order it. I love the stuff; everything I’ve tried since has been thin and flat in comparison.
I just applied there, actually. What’s the place like? On top of that, what’s the staff dress-code like?
Seriously, a job involving chocolate would be lovely, but possibly wallet-draining and hip-inflating.
It’s delicious.
To work there? You’re going to have a lot of people walking in who have NO IDEA OF WHAT THEY ARE DOING and will be asked the same stupid questions over and over again. On the upside dress code seemed to be black polos, so at least when you put on 20 pounds in your first month it’s hide-able. I know the discount is substantial but I can’t remember what she told me now.
Black polos I can do. Stupid questions over and over I can do, I’ve worked retail before.
Substantial discounts I can really do.
That’s encouraging, thanks!
You can buy Mexican chocolate with the cinnamon in it already. There’s an outdoor market close to Blue Kangaroo where you can buy the special stirrers for frothing up the Aztec chocolate drink as well. That’s some good drinking.
off topic, Hey chique, long time no see, hope you are well up the Frozen North!
I am not a coffee drinker, but boy can I make a mean cup of hot chocolate. I switch back and forth about 50/50 between Mexican chocolate and a 72% Ghirardelli’s intense dark. With the latter, I’ll sometimes throw in a little red thai chili and almost never add sugar. It’s something like the chocolate version of black coffee 