What is your favorite hot chocolate?

Do you have a method of making it yourself with real chocolate, do you buy a particular brand? Do you put marshmellows in it...homemade or commercial?

[Robin Garr]

I rarely drink it ... great comfort experience, but who needs the calories and sugar?

Nevertheless, it crossed my mind the other day that it might be really good to make a hot choc with quality chocolate and coconut milk. Mounds Bar in a cup!

In Nyc I like the richness and intensity of the hot chocolate at Grom, which is also my favorite ice cream place in Nyc.

Don't make it much at home these days, we view it more of a public treat. But when I used to go through hot chocolate phases it was usually mainly darkish (70%) chocolate, and a bit of milk, always pretty heavy on the chocolate.

We use Penzeys' Dutch Cocoa with a drop of honey and a shot of Raspberry Cordial.

[Jenise]

Not a hot chocolate drinker either. But we did receive a gift of Starbucks cocoa mix a few years back that Bob loves. It favors a dark chocolate profile and is lower on sugar, so you make an intensely flavored hot chocolate without it being overly sweet.

I use Droste or Rademaker cocoa (dutch process) and mix it with butter, sugar, salt, and hot water (or milk). I control the sweetness and the richness.

On a whim, my wife brought home some Dagoba Hot Choco mix.

(Background: Dagoba, at founding, was a tiny company intensely focused on organic choco, and came out with some (then ahead of its time) choco-fruit blends that were pretty damned good.

They were subsequently consumed by the Hershey's empire (as were Ghirardelli and some others about that time), and now...they're really just another average choco producer.

So we tried the Dagoba. Warmed the milk without boiling it, mixed it slowly, taking care.

Meh. Eventually I suppose we'll get through the can (maybe when the grandkids come over), but neither one of us is motivated for another cup.

I grew up in a hot chocolate loving house. Mom had a cup every morning with her toast. That is all I remember her having for breakfast. Our kids loved it and I would make it for them in the winter, with marshmallows. They liked to watch the mellows twist and turn in the microwave. Gene loved it too. For some reason our favorite brands were no longer available. He drinks coffee now and I drink a tomato/vegetable based juice concoction with a lemon ice cube, hot sauce and lime wedge. Our weather has been in the 20's every morning and I am craving a good hot chocolate with home made marshmallow.

I rarely drink it ... great comfort experience, but who needs the calories and sugar?

That's my general take on hot chocolate. But I've been known to indulge while manning a telescope at one of our Astronomy club's public observing sessions, in below-freezing weather.

-Paul W.

I rarely drink it ... great comfort experience, but who needs the calories and sugar?

That's my general take on hot chocolate.

You could say that for anything, and then you'd never eat!

But I agree about the sentiment as it applies to bad versions of hot chocolate, or anything else for that matter. Although excellent versions are worth it!

[Robin Garr]

excellent versions are worth it!

Concur. I'm still going to try it with coconut milk, for instance.

The last truly great hot chocolate I had was some years ago in Paris. Rue de Seine; chilly, blustery day; fatigued, as I always am, by the walking that seems so natural and wonderful in Paris; stopping at random for a glittery shop for a 'pot du chocolat'.

Sinfully rich and velvety. And a very small cup is all it takes.