It’s the season of festivities, it’s the season to indulge in Hot chocolate. Drinking a glass of warm chocolate is almost to synonymous to this cold chill and big time nostalgia. That luxurious taste of warm cup of cocoa infused in some milk is nothing less than indulgence. The way it warms your whole body is exquisite!
Warming hot chocolate, sea salt , cherry wood smoke and toasted homemade marshmallow ; The campfire hot chocolate is Colocal's most loved creation. It’s a perfect winter pick and is a visual and sensory treat. The smoked Cherrywood adds a Smoky flavour to the signature 55% hot chocolate and a pinch of sea salt brings out the best of chocolate goodness. Accompanied with Colocal's in-house marshmallows the hot chocolate goes a notch up as it instantly melts in the mouth says Nishant Sinha, Co-Founder, Colocal.
History
The modern chocolate bar that we see didn’t emerge until the mid-1800. But before that chocolate mostly meant as a beverage. As early as 500 BC, the Mayans were drinking chocolate that was made from ground-up cocoa seeds mixed with water, cornmeal, and chili peppers, much different from what we have today. By pouring it back and forth from a cup to another they would mix the drink and enjoyed it beverage cold. It was even unsweetened, rather made with water and flavoured with spices and flowers, then made frothy by repeatedly pouring from one vessel into another.
It was in early 1500s that cocoa was brought to Europe by Cortez and the drink gained popularity once it was adopted by the court of King Charles V and even by the Spanish. Later the drink began to be served hot and sweetened and the Spanish took credit for that.
In 1700 when it came to London it gained its popularity even though chocolate was very expensive. It was then that the President of the Royal College of Physicians, Hans Sloane, brought from Jamaica the recipe for mixing chocolate with milk, which made the drink more palatable in his opinion. And from then there has been no looking back.
Makeover
If you think this hot mug of chocolate is just sinful, don’t worry studies say that myriad of chemical compounds contained in chocolate trigger the brain to release endorphins that induce feelings of feelings of calm and as chocolate contains cocoa butter, which acts as natural energy source. Over the years this mug of chocolate saw much innovation like the like Gingerbread to Black cherry bourbon to Kahlúa Hot Chocolate to Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate and more. Urvika Kanoi, owner-chef, The Daily adds “Hot chocolate to winter is what coffee is to mornings or maggi is to mountains. It is the rich, velvety, smooth and comforting flavours that make it so delicious. The drink is served at the perfect temperature usually sippable the minute it hits the table - it feels like a hug in a mug. We have always experimented heavily every year right from maple bacon to grand marnier, salted caramel , oreos , hazelnuts and even truffle oil has been a part of our hot chocolate lab. Our menu sees minimum 8 different kind and this makes for one of our best selling sections in the winter and we can’t wait for our patrons to try what we have to offer this season!
Ingredients
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
• Pinch of rocksalt
• 1 cup milk or any combination of milk, half-and-half, or cream
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 marshmallow
Method
• Whisk together the cocoa, sugar, rock salt, and add 2 tablespoons milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until all are dissolved. Whisk in the rest of the milk and heat it over medium heat, whisking constantly. Stir in the vanilla and serve.
• If you like it frothy, blend it in the blender.
• Place the marshmallow and pour the hot chocolate