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PHOTOGRAPHY ROB SHAW. STYLING AIMEE JONES. CUP AND SAUCERFROM MUD AUSTRALIA. TEASPOON FROM FRANCALIA. STOCKISTS P176

I

remember every detail of my

abuela’s hot chocolate. The way

she made it with fresh ginger, using

local dark chocolate, and served it

in a particular blue mug. The memory of

sitting there in the Dominican Republic,

the breeze coming off the sea, surrounded

by the voices of the strong women in my

family, is something I will cherish forever.

From those beginnings, hot chocolate

has grown to be something of a fascination

for me, and over the past five years I’ve

been seeking out the best hot chocolate

and keeping a diary of my travels online

at ultimatehotchocolate.com.

Why hot chocolate? Each has a story

to tell about the originof the chocolate

used and who the maker was. At Soma in

Toronto or CacaoDada in Seoul you can

taste single-origin hot chocolates while

watching them craft chocolate from bean

to bar. You can sprinkle in spices or herbs

depending on your mood and location,

liquorice in Helsinki, rosewater with camel

milk in Dubai or cardamom in London.

In Columbia it’s served with a piece of

oozy cheese; in New York, a homemade

marshmallow. I’ve had hot chocolate with

cream infused with lavender in France,

and even topped with cotton candy.

These drinks give me a chance to delve

into the culture of the cities and cafés I’m

visiting, to discover local approaches and

flavour profiles, learning more about the

people who make them. I discovered

champurrado, a prehistoric hot chocolate,

after speaking with a young man who

promised to take me to “the best tamales

in Mexico City”. The tamales at his

family’s restaurant were good, but the

champurrado was even better. He showed

me how to make it, with chocolate from

Oaxaca, corn masa, cinnamon and, most

importantly, time. Make it slowly, never in

a rush – the same way you should enjoy it.

But above all what I love about hot

chocolate is the experience it provides

when it all comes together in one perfect

package. The hot chocolate on the 103rd

floor of the Ritz-Carlton in Hong Kong

made me feel like I was in Paris at

Christmas and the one at Café de Flor in

Paris made me feel like I was in love. The

dangerously boozy one I had in Paraty in

Brazil turned me into a singer while the

lavender white hot chocolate at Fika in

Toronto was like a perfect snowy winter

day, minus the frostbite.

There are days when my body craves

the chilli hot chocolate at Steven ter Horst

in Adelaide, and I fear I’d overdose on

Campfire hot chocolate at Mork in

Melbourne if I lived there. I’ve had hot

chocolates in 55 countries and written

about more than 450 of them, and my

search for the ultimate hot chocolate

continues. But my favourite is still my

abuela’s, the one that started it all. There’s

nothing quite like it anywhere.

Hot Chocolate

This is the base recipe I use every day.

A good hot chocolate starts with good

chocolate. I prefer 72% but you can go

darker or even use milk or white chocolate.

My favourite is Guittard, from a family-

owned company in the US, which I can’t

get here. In Australia I’ve been using

Callebaut and Valrhona, but would rather

find something local.

In terms of ready-made powders I’m

a fan of Grounded Pleasures from Ballarat.

Mork makes a nice dark cocoa, and

Monsieur Trufe in Melbourne does a little

hot chocolate kit with chocolate chips.

I also melt down bars from Bahen and Co

(a WA bean-to-bar company) but that

makes for expensive hot chocolate.

I also add herbs and spices. A handful

of fresh mint leaves, cardamom, grated

ginger or even thyme are some of my

favourites. For even more flavour, steep

the herbs or spices in the milk in the fridge

overnight. I use about a teaspoon of dried

spice, or a small handful of fresh herbs.

I like to add a tablespoon of cocoa to

this recipe below to make the drink

creamier. If you’re using a really good

chocolate, though, just let the chocolate

shine on its own.

GISELLE WEYBRECHThas soug world’s best

hot chocolate at 450 venues in55 countries. This is her story.

50 gm dark chocolate for every 250ml

full-cream milk

1 Put all the ingredients in a small saucepan

and warm them slowly over low-to-medium

heat to 80°C. Don’t let the mixture boil.

2 If you’ve added any spices you may want

to put your hot chocolate through a sieve to

filter them out.

3 Use a whisk to froth up your hot

chocolate when it’s done. Top with boozy

whipped cream for an extra treat.●

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GOURMET TRAVELLER 45