World Flavor Cafe

Meditating Hot Chocolate

Liquid Indulgence

Bite a piece of chocolate and will send your palate on a culinary history stretching back mid-1800. However, drinking a cup of a chocolate drink and go back in time at least 4,000 years. Although chocolate drinks have changed in appearance and taste over eons of time, sometimes it's hard to believe that as a species have been drinking chocolate much, much more than what I've been melting in the mouth.

I have been Merriam subscription Word of the Day (www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/mwwod.pl) and low and behold, the word today was imbibution, which means the act of drinking or drinking or knowledge. Sounds like my kind of word. Naturally, my mind began to wander recalling the experiences of my drinking in Chocolate recent years, that is!

Although the hot chocolate term commonly refers to all kinds of hot chocolate drinks, there is a difference technique. hot cocoa is made with cocoa, dry matter resulting from the extraction of cocoa butter from ground cocoa beans. Drinking chocolate, however, is based of solid chocolate. Both are delicious. Most people prefer one over the other. A good hot chocolate is delicious and nostalgic. A drinking chocolate is, well, closest thing you can get to intravenous therapy chocolate!

Cocoa High Sierra

Growing up in North Beach San Francisco, I was no stranger to Delicious Ghirardelli chocolate hot cocoa fact that tin orange. However, as a new National Park Service in Yosemite Valley season in mid- 80, I attended a staff dinner and found my first chocolate to drink.

Our staff met at the house of our boss, Jeff Samco, which was not far the visitor center on the valley floor. Towards the end of the evening that gravitated to the kitchen and we huddled around the stove. We all watched the jar with hot milk, children who are eager to witness an ancient ritual, as Jeff slowly and patiently melted solid chocolate in your dream state, liquid. It was quite the end of food wonderful together.

Even though the resulting drink was made with one of those big chocolate bars milk chocolate, all I know is that I have experienced something special that night. I had never seen a cup of hot chocolate made from scratch. That night in Yosemite Valley, I guess I can say I experienced a warp of chocolate "Brain" at 3000 meters above sea level.

Jeff was very ahead of its time. Not only was he a confirmed foodie before the term was coined, he was doing something similar to what Europeans have enjoyed for years. We are now trying to catch up on this side of the Atlantic.

Also while in the mountains, I was introduced to a hot chocolate mixed with mint and one spirit with unsweetened coconut milk. Although a purist at heart, I am surprised to find these two beverages to be great, especially in a cold winter night. Add a cozy fireplace, and presto, you've created a little piece of heaven on earth.

Old and New Memories

What are your memories and personal experiences of hot chocolate? Do you have a preference for drinking hot chocolate?

I hope this article encourages you to migrate directly into the kitchen to make a cup of hot chocolate. What better way to toast to the final official winter months? For our spring as expected (hopefully) just around the corner.

Make your way: solid cocoa or chocolate, natural or creative wing with some extensions, with milk, water or milk alternative. Try a Hershey bar for a sensory journey of memories or experiment with some new, higher content artisan chocolates cocoa.

Personally, I like so much hot chocolate and drinking chocolate, depending on my mood. However, there is something almost meditative and slow care and taking the time to make a cup of chocolate milk by hand. We can all use a good excuse to slow the speed of life nowadays.

You can find some good recipes to start www.scharffenberger.com Click on the "recipes" and "drinks" links. For suggestions taste check out: davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2105 Lactose intolerance? You may want to check out: nytimes.com/2009/02/11/dining/11appe.html

Whether we call it a drink, or hot chocolate imbibution-is certainly a special indulgence for the brain, body and soul!

Salud!

About the Author

Savina Darzes leads
Portland chocolate tours
and manages her website
www.ChocolateTastingAndMore.com
she also does
Portland chocolate tastings.

【Kagamine Len】 Hot Cocoa ~A restless night's song~ With English & Romaji Lyrics

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