European drinking chocolate

On a recent trip to the Bavarian city of Nuremberg, which hosts an especially famous Christmas market, we came upon a narrow, secluded cobblestone alley. Known in German as a "Gasse", the alley clearly predated the advent of cars with its pale-colored buildings leaning beside one another for support.

On the corner stood a little café and shop adorned with sparkling lights over its rose-colored façade. Inside was a chocoholics delight, a devotion to chocolates from Italy, Belgium, France, Austria, Africa and South America. There were artisanal chocolate bars, chocolate nibs, and truffles wrapped in shiny colored cellophane.  

The store was so small we had to walk sideways around the other customers and display cases so as to avoid knocking anything over. It seemed like a café that could’ve been in Perugia, famous for its own chocolates, or Rome. Nuremberg’s 1,000-year history saw it as an important trading center along the routes between Italy and Northern Europe, and that presence is still felt in some of its architecture.     

We could have spent days in this little shop studying the shelves upon shelves of specialties. We of course decided to enjoy the signature drink, the hot chocolate. This was not your ordinary run of the mill hot chocolate made with powdered cocoa and sugar, but one served as a good wine would be, in proper glasses with long spoons and silver trays. 

The menu featured over 20 kinds of hot chocolate. There were those mixed with coffee, almond, vanilla, and strawberry to the antique Azteca, based on the spiced drinking chocolate originating from the Aztecs. Deciding on both tradition and nouveaux we ordered one Azteca and one café. The Azteca was served just slightly warm in a tall mug with a long handled spoon. It was very thick and creamy, spiced with cinnamon and orange peel, and was only subtly sweet. It was best enjoyed with a spoon. The café was lighter than the Azteca, but very rich, hinting of freshly ground coffee beans.  

From the new world to the old

Drinking chocolate was introduced to Europe after the colonization of the New World. Mayans drank a spiced cacao-based drink from roasted cocoa beans infused in water; they even used the cocoa beans as currency. Chocolatl, a spiced drinking chocolate, was the favorite drink of the Aztec ruler Montezuma. It was enjoyed cold after being reduced in consistency, similar to the hot chocolate we drink now.  

The mythos surrounding drinking chocolate arose from its believed aphrodisiac and curative powers. Chocolate houses opened in major European cities in the eighteenth century where the elite enjoyed the beverage. Although the Aztecs and Mayans served the drink cold, Europeans served it warm, sweetened with cane sugar and adding milk.

Making drinking chocolate

Generally speaking drinking chocolate, as enjoyed in most European countries, is made from chocolate while hot cocoa is made from powdered cocoa. Because the chocolate contains cocoa butter, hot chocolate is a much richer drink. 

To make the drink, select a quality chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa. Cook the milk over a low to medium heat. We usually use whole milk from a local or organic farm, but if you’re counting calories you can substitute a lower fat one. After transferring the milk to a suitable ceramic mug, add the chopped chocolate to the milk and allow it to melt for around five minutes. Using a small whisk, mix the melted chocolate and milk together so it's thoroughly blended.  

To make an Aztec-style hot chocolate add some spices and orange peel. At food-travels.com we enjoy our hot chocolate as a dessert unto itself in ornate glasses. So throw those packets of dried power aside and try the authentic cioccolata densa as it's known in Italy.