Review - Askinosie Sipping Chocolate

My last post, I talked a little about artisan chocolates. People making chocolate directly from the bean, and how different they can taste. A bunch of these chocolate makers also make chocolate for drinking. So of course, I've ordered tons of them! If you saw my pantry shelves and how many hot chocolates I have... well, let's not even go there. One at a time. And today it's Askinosie.

I first learned about Askinosie when learning about artisan chocolates. I ordered a few bars from various makers from a website, and Askinosie's packaging was really cool. On the front of a lot of their bars, they put a picture of the farmer whose farm the beans came from. You're actually seeing the guy responsible for growing the beans that made the bar you're about to eat! And they write a little about him on the back. Really amazing!

Over at the Askinosie web store, I found a great drinking chocolate package. Yep, I got it all. The sipping chocolate, their amazing cocoa powder, a mug, and even a t-shirt. 

Their sipping chocolate (a term that just means thick, strong hot chocolate) comes in these neat cardboard canisters and has the instructions right on the front.

It also tells you where the batch of beans that made this sipping chocolate originated from. Mine is from Cortes, a state in Honduras.

You can see it's just chopped chocolate. That's always ideal! The instructions on the package calls for 4 tbsp of milk with 19 grams of chocolate. I don't have a scale in my kitchen yet, so I looked up a conversion. 19 grams is roughly 4 teaspoons.

And look at this little pot! Here in Los Angeles, there are a lot of international markets, and browsing some of them, I kept seeing these little pots in the kitchenware sections. It's only a few cups, it has a handle for pouring, and a little pour spout.

I learned it's a Turkish coffee pot, but mine is strictly for hot chocolate! It's perfect for small servings, easy to clean, and still just big enough to be able to whisk inside of it.

Askinosie's sipping chocolate isn't as thick as some others I've made, but it is nice and strong. It's a very dark chocolate flavor, pretty bitter, so if you're not used to dark chocolates yet, you may want to add a little sugar to taste. If you drop a marshmallow or some whipped cream on top, that would balance it out nicely.

I'm having mine straight, though. I love the strong dark flavor. It's that very flavor that taught me not all hot chocolate comes from a packet.

You can also taste some fruity undertones in the chocolate. If you don't at first, sip it slower and really try to taste the complexities of it. It's even a little tangy once you notice it.

So what are you waiting for, go order some of this already! While you're at their site, grab a chocolate bar or two. You'll be blown away by the flavors! Even if you think you're just getting a regular dark chocolate bar, it's going to surprise you.

I'm going to be reviewing another Askinosie drinking chocolate very soon, their Tableya. It may be the most socially responsible hot chocolate on the planet, and the story behind it is amazing.