"drinking chocolate" news and stories

I've loved experimenting with drinking chocolates this winter. Swirling shaved chocolate into a saucepan of milk produces a far better result than anything I achieve with hot cocoa mix. I usually use dark chocolate, and sometimes add sugar until the mixture reaches my desired sweetness. That is, until recently -- the mother of my close friend is Colombian, and she brought us a bar of Colombian chocolate designed for melting into hot beverages. I can't get enough of it.

The bar is already sweetened perfectly, so you just add it to hot milk and allow it to melt. Once melted, you beat the mixture with a molinillo -- a chocolate whisker with designs native to Colombia, Mexico and other Latin American countries. The result is a deliciously foamy drink with a great chocolate kick. The product I used is called Sweet Chocolate, and the brand is Sol. I found the cheapest bar ($3.99) at Latin Pantry. But I'm sure there are others out there from Colombia as well as from other countries, so please share your favorites!

If you don't have a molinillo, you can use a normal whisk to achieve ideal foaminess. Feel free to add cinnamon as they do in Colombia, or syrups and extracts of your choice.

Source

Starbucks is discontinuing the ultra-rich drinking chocolate, Chantico, this month. The drink was released last January to generally good reviews on its appearance and creamy taste. With 390 calories and 21 grams of fat per 6-ounce serving, it received more than a few negative reviews from nutritionists, who tried to steer people away from it. It seems unlikely that the nutritional information was keeping its popularity in check, particularly since there are very popular drinks, like a Tall White Chocolate Mocha (12 ounces) that have an equal amount of calories and fat per serving. It is more likely that Chantico was promoted as too much of a “special occasion” drink to become a menu staple, like mocha lattes and cappuccinos. It probably would have fared better as a seasonal offering.

Stores will be selling their remaining stock, so if you want to get in one last taste of Chantico, do it soon.