Or...."How I Saved the (Hot Chocolat) World from Parkerization"...delivered in my most strident/whiney/scoldy/SweetAlice tone of voice I can muster.
Last Oct, returning to Selva/Wolkenstein after a fabulous visit w/ ElisabettaForadori, we took the back roads and stopped high atop Passo di Pordoi. As the others took the tram up to the top of the mountain to take in the vast view of the Dolomites, I hung out in the lodge there for a couple of hrs. So I ordered a (European-style) hot chocolat. Holy $shit...this stuff is good...thick & chocolatey. And then ordered another...and then yet a third. They were so good...as I sat there in the warm sunlight streaming in the window and took in the majestic views.
When I returned home, I was determined to have hot chocolat...beyond just dumping a few tablespoons of Nestle Quick into a glass of warm milk. So I ordered a cappucino steamer:
CappucinoSteamer (except mine was priced at $74).
Over the last 3 weeks I've been experimenting w/ my hot chocolat. You just dump some (quality) chocolate in a mug, add some milk, bring the steamer up to a full head of steam, insert the nozzle into your cup, and let 'er rip...until it's steaming hot and the chocolate has melted.
I've found that if you add more & more chocolate, including white chocolate, and transition from milk-->half&half-->cream; you can make your hot chocolat thicker/richer/more intense. Finally, last week, I reached the ne plus ultra of hot chocolat...by the time it'd cooled down to drink, it was no longer a hot chocolat beverage...it was like drinking a chocolat fondue....very thick/intensely chocolate...but no longer the delicious hot chocolate beverage I'd enjoyed atop PordoiPass.
Since then, I've cut back on the chocolate, gone back to half&half diluted w/ whole milk...and realized I'm enjoying my hot chocolat now as a beverage. The views of the Jemez and Sangre di Cristo mtns are not as mind-boggling as the Dolomites..but I guess you can't have everything all the time.
It dawned on me this weekend how my hot chocolat experience parallels my NapaVlly Cabernet wine experience. At one time, I thought the more extraction, the more oak, the more alcohol you could get in your Cabernet...the greater the Cabernet experience. Maybe so...but I was not enjoying those Cabernets as much as I used to. But....now....I done see'd the light and joined the AFWE..I like my Cabs to show more restraint & balance....and more enjoyable to drink.
I've tried a few sweet LateHrvst Zins w/ my hot chocolate. Don't work so well. The best match I've found is a wee dram of BlackMesa Chocolate-Flavored dessert wine....diluted w/ a bit of Viognier.
Tom