The Robinator's Foodventures: The Best Hot Chocolate

If you've ever been to Europe, you know that American "hot cocoa" blows. I put the words in quotes because 99% of what you get when you order hot cocoa or hot chocolate in the United States consists of some powdery substance that is combined with other wholly unnecessary chemical compounds, dissolved into water, and what you end up with is far from how things should be. I unknowingly began to discover the superiority of European chocolaty beverages many years ago when I randomly decided to melt a Hershey's Kiss into my otherwise completely suck-ass cup of chocolate water that I had purchased from Starbucks. We won't get into why I stepped foot into a Starbucks in the first place - it was a sin, I know, and I never need to do it again.

Anyways, in 2010, Hubby and I took a long-awaited trip to France and boy oh boy did we receive an education in food and beverage. Those folks do hot chocolate (and everything else) right! They take chocolate (real chocolate), melt it down and mix it into milk (not water), and the results are like nothing you have ever tasted here at home. It's no surprise, though, since literally everything we consumed in France, even cheap street food, was far superior to the most gourmet stuff you can obtain in the States.

Can you obtain these wonderful levels of hot chocolate outside of Europe? I am here today to tell you that you most certainly can.

Not far from where I live, there is a local chocolate maker called Taza, and they are doing things properly. You may recall my mentioning Taza in my posts for Impromptu Trail Mix and Chocolate in my Oatmeal. Check out their website to get all the info you need about them.

As I sit here sipping the cup of real hot chocolate that I just made with their products, I will tell you how it's done (and how it can be done with any real chocolate that you prefer)....the best part is that it's not difficult:

You will need:

a mug
a whisk
a good pan for heating the milk
a knife
a cutting board
milk
a Taza Chocolate Mexicano Disc (they make many delicious varieties/flavors)
sugar (optional)

First, measure out your milk. You'll need 6-8 ounces, or a regular-sized mug full (I just use the mug to measure my milk, no need to dirty a measuring cup). Put the milk in the pan and get it heating on the stove over low-medium heat.

While the milk is heating, take one chocolate disc (or approximately 1.33 ounces of your preferred chocolate) and chop it up into as small of pieces as you can. If you feel like being really thorough, you can grate it.

By now, your milk should be starting to simmer. When it just begins to boil, take it off the heat and add the chopped chocolate to it. Whisk it together for about a minute or two until your drink comes together. (I want to note here that it's important to not add the chocolate until the milk is hot. I have tried doing this by adding the chocolate before heating the milk, thinking that it would melt as the milk heated up, but it just didn't work the same -- you'll just end up having a cup of warm milk with chunks of chocolate floating around in it.)

Now, pour it back into your mug and enjoy the most luxurious hot chocolate you've ever had.

Today, I happened to use a 70% dark chocolate disc, which for some people might not be sweet enough. If that's the case for you, simply add a teaspoonful of sugar just as you would to a cup of coffee, and stir it in.