The one most used in Mexico is to take it
hot with atole [a maize gruel], dissolving a
tablet in hot water, and then stirring and
beating it in the cup with a molinet, and
when it is well stirred to a scum or froth,
then to fill the cup with hot atole, and so
drink it sup by sup.The first European “factories” for making
the spiced chocolate paste were built in Spain
around 1580, and within 70 years chocolate
had found its way into Italy, France, and
England. These countries purged the drink of
most added flavorings except sugar and
vanilla. At first, vendors of lemonade sold it
in Paris; coffeehouses — themselves an
innovation — served it London. But by the
late 17th century, chocolate houses were
thriving in London as a kind of specialty
coffeehouse. The idea of making hot
chocolate from milk seems to have arisen in
these places.