Chocolate , just hearing the word alone evokes images of luscious taste sensations comparable to no other sweet confection. Since the first cacao bean was cultivated around 250 AD chocolate’s smooth, velvety, creamy texture combined with its intense rich flavor has been seducing men and women for centuries. The Mayans, who established the first known cacao plantations and developed the first recipe for hot chocolate, and the Aztecs, who flavored their chocolate with chili peppers, would be in awe of how far chocolate has evolved to be enjoyed not only by the elite, but all around the world.
Chocolate grows on trees, appearing in its raw state as melon-like pods on the 40-60 foot tall trees known botanically as "Theobroma cacao," which means "food of the Gods." This tropical tree has grown wild in Central America since prehistoric times. It also grows in South America, Africa, and part of Indonesia.
Like “High Tea” and “Afternoon Tea”; the terms Hot Cocao and Hot Chocolate are often used incorrectly. Hot cocoa is made from cocoa powder, which is chocolate pressed free of all its richness, meaning the fat of cocoa butter. Hot chocolate is made from chocolate bars melted into cream. It is a rich decadent drink – often referred to as “drinking” chocolate.
During my recent visit to Paris I had the pleasure of experiencing Angelina, a Salon de Thé, on 226 Rue de Rivoli. The hot chocolate is far from ordinary – the taste is almost beyond words; warm like the sweet nectar from a heavenly chocolate truffle. While there I discovered it open in 1903 under the name Rumpelmeyer and was often frequented by the likes of Marcel Proust and Coco Chanel.
Are you a Hot Cocao or a Hot Chocolate Connoisseur?
See you next Thursday for more Chocolate delights...
images: google search
