The Taste of the Sweltering Chocolate

Throughout the years, chocolate has played a very significant role in satisfying those anticipating taste buds of mine. It does not matter whether it is served as a candy bar, icing on a cake, cold chocolate milk or even hot chocolate or hot cocoa, whichever suits one's fancy.

In this case, hot chocolate is the choice of drink. This drink has always been a personal favorite since it takes the place of coffee--at least from my perspective. Every time I place the ground, brown powder into the coffee mug, I feel a sense of vividness and vibration in a playful manner. It is the sweltering and strong chocolate aroma that makes me become more alert, which is always a good sign.

During my childhood, I heard people refer to this sweltering drink as either hot chocolate or hot cocoa. The curiosity has gotten the best of me. What is really the difference between hot chocolate and hot cocoa? No difference, right? It depends on the individuals from different parts of the world. From my learned knowledge and as a chocolate aficionado, hot cocoa is the type of powdered chocolate from the ground cacao beans--in this case--the cocoa butter is not included in the ingredient. In contrast, hot chocolate is the result of a chocolate bar in addition to the cocoa butter and sugar. So the real difference is the cocoa butter content. That really does not matter because it will be consumed religiously by a chocolate aficionado, regardless of its intensity or cocoa butter content.

Getting up early in the morning is a blast, especially when the hot chocolate is on the table. Many of us, mainly Americans, are very accustomed to opening a pack of the Swiss Miss or other powdered chocolate and pouring it into their mugs. Voila! There it is--instant hot chocolate!

Recently, I had the pleasure to try out a different type of hot chocolate--Mexican style! Anyway, it is hot chocolate that is composed of the usual suspected ingredients, but with milk and cinnamon. This type of hot chocolate is a big breakfast hit south of the border and in most Mexican communities. Mexican hot chocolate has a taste that is pretty intense. It has the chocolaty smell with a cinnamon twist, which will eventually grow on the unsuspected chocolate consumer with a few swallows! The taste is, well, quite different than most of us are used to. It will make the taste buds bud a bit--it is an excellent thing. Drinking Mexican hot chocolate made me appreciate the more creative ways to make this staple breakfast (or any part of the day an individual prefers) drink.

If hot chocolate or hot cocoa has the most basic ingredients (some of them from our own kitchen), then why not make it ourselves? We can stop at our local supermarket and invest in a bag full of chocolate pieces, milk and sugar. The result: homemade hot chocolate. This is a recipe that should not be refused.

Source:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_chocolate