avocado8

Chantico!

I've never been a fan of Starbucks' hot chocolate—or of any hot chocolate that's made with syrup, for that matter—but today they've introduced something they call a "drinking chocolate" (very European), and it's outstanding. The banner ads for the drink, called Chantico, refer to it as (if I remember correctly) "a cup of chocolatey chocolateness, with extra chocolate on top." That about sums it up. They serve it in little 6oz. cups, which is plenty—it is indeed very intense, and those 6oz. pack 390 calories.

I sampled the stuff last week at the Starbucks at 34th & Walnut, but my Starbucks (the one at 20th and Market) didn't get it until today, so I only got the full-size serving this morning. I was thinking as I drank it (without the lid; somehow, it tastes better that way) that it was so chocolatey that it'd be hard to drink two in one day, but of course by the afternoon I was craving more. I came up with this reasonable home-made facsimilie, which is less expensive but more labor-intensive:

4 squares Trader Joe's Pound Plus Bittersweet Chocolate
4 oz. 2% milk

Melt chocolate in a 1 qt. saucepan over very low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Meanwhile, heat milk in the microwave for about 30 seconds. When chocolate is completely melted, pour about 1 oz. of milk into pan and stir until chocolate is completely smooth again. Repeat, adding 1 oz. of milk at a time. Leave on heat for another minute or two until chocolate is hot. Pour into small mug and enjoy.

This, of course, is just the way I made it; any good-quality dark chocolate would probably work just as well, as would whole milk instead of 2%. I imagine that 1% or skim, however, wouldn't be quite the same.