I think there’s nothing better than cuddling up to a cozy fire with a hot cup of hot chocolate on a cold night. Now, there are those that will be happy with your run-of-the-mill go from the tap, to the microwave and stirring from the torn pouch of dry mix in 2 minutes and your done kind of hot chocolate. But for me, not just any old cup of hot chocolate will do — not when nowadays – you have some seriously fancy schmancy hot chocolate to choose from and we’re talking the latte and cappucino of hot chocolates here.  I found a couple of hot chocolates that I thought were definitely worth the little extra effort and now I’ve been okay – not happy but okay with the heated water-dry mix hot chocolate before but nothing beats a good cup of heated on the cooktop, warmin you from the inside out cup of hot ‘milk’ chocolate. First, for you just good old fashioned hot chocolate lovers, nothing beats Ghirardelli’s Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa.  The recipe for a Hot Steaming cup of Cocoa is right on the side of the can. Make sure to top it with a good dollop of whipped cream or a handful of marshmallows to make it extra special!

For all you hot choclate lovers who like a little spice or heat to your chocolate then I have just the ticket — from Whole Foods – Allegro Coffee comes Single Origin Drinking Chocolate – the Flavor is Organic Mayan 73. It has just a hint of cinnamon and chilis. It is not so hot that it’s bitter or too spicy to drink but it’s enough to give the drink a good flavor and a great combination when married with the chocolate. Not to sweet either, lovely with whipped cream but don’t think it’ a marshmallow kind of drink.

Organic Mayan 73 Drinking Chocolate

Now, what else could possibly be better with a nice steaming cup of hot chocolate than a bar of chocolate but not just any bar of chocolate it has to be bold, different daring. Enter – Vosges Haute Chocolat Red Fire Bar. It is a great combination on a cold night with both of our Hot Chocolates.

First, when you bite into it and begin tasting the bar, you will get that sweet fruity taste of the dark cacao, then as it starts to melt you begin to get just a tad bitter sweetness of the cinnamon and then the hint of heat from the chili starts to come from the back while the full depth of the aroma and sweetness of the chocolate begin to follow through now until it all begins to meld together. All in all, very smooth and creamy. Not too hot or spicy and not as acidic as one would think for the combination of the spice with the chilis. Definitely go out and get one of these and try it for yourself with a cup of hot chocolate!

Mmmm…warm yourself right up!

Vosges Haute Chocolat Red Fire Bar

Tags: chocolate, hot chocolate, winter warmers

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