Review - Recchiuti Dark Hot Chocolate

San Francisco confectioner Michael Recchiuti makes a packaged hot chocolate that I keep seeing turn up on lists of the best hot chocolates in the country. Like this list. And this one, too. I'd enjoyed Recchiuti chocolate bars in the past, but didn't know anything about the company or how their product was made. Well, with their drinking chocolate getting this much attention, I certainly couldn't stand idly by and let this one pass me by! I placed my order and anxiously awaited it's arrival.

Speaking of my order arriving, have you ever seen those unboxing videos on Youtube? People order the latest bit of technology and then do a video review that starts with them opening the box and continuing on through powering it up, getting it started, working with it, etc. I figured I'd give it a shot with a hot chocolate!










Everything came packaged very nice and snug, wrapped in bubble wrap and lots of paper padding. And check out that very classy packaging! I love the silver on black.

Michael Recchiuti started his chocolate company in 1997 and in the time since has established himself (and his team) as some of the best chocolate confectioners in the world. When I first came across the bars in a high end chocolate shop, I assumed they were bean-to-bar, but have since learned otherwise. Recchiuti sources their chocolate from Valrhona and E. Guittard.

The instructions are nice and clear on the back of the box. Actually, in browsing their website recently, I've noticed their packaging has changed a little bit, so your box will look slightly different.

The bag is filled with delicious smelling chocolate pistoles. Of course, as always, I tasted a few, eating some normally and savoring a few, letting them melt in my mouth to enjoy the intricacies of this chocolate. Dark and a little smokey, not tangy or fruity at all, which is nice, as I lean more towards the less tangy chocolates. (I call them tangy, but I think high-end chocolate folk call it citrus or red fruit flavors.) On their website, Recchiuti mentions that Varlhona creates a special blended chocolate based on Michael Recchiuti's palette. I wonder if this is that chocolate?

I pulled out the scale and got my measurements just right. That's a lot of chocolate for only a small amount of water!

2 ounces of water isn't very much. It's equivalent to 4 tablespoons. So already I can tell this ratio of ingredients is going to create a very thick, rich drinking chocolate.

And wow, is it ever! Made as instructed, it's a very intense drink. Tangy notes have appeared in the flavor now, and a slight hint of smokiness. And it's very thick. I needed a spoon to enjoy mine. But enjoy it I did! I scraped the cup clean with my spoon. Definitely a very high quality chocolate - dark, but still sweet. They don't give a percentage anywhere on the package, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's around a 60-65%

While I did order the marshmallows to accompany the drink, I found after a first sip that I didn't want them with it. They are delightful marshmallows, to be sure, but this drink screams to be noticed on it's own. As intense as this drink is, cranking it up even further by adding in the strong sweetness of a marshmallow was a bit much. In fact, I actually went and brushed my teeth after this drink.

I also made one with milk, using 3oz whole milk and 3.5 oz of the chocolate. I've learned over the years that my favorite types of drinking chocolate are made with milk. I'd like it to not be a pudding or ganache, but still be thicker and richer than your average hot cocoa.

While heating the milk one, I realized it was still going to be too thick for what I was looking for, so I added more milk, probably another 3oz or so. The finished drink was astounding! Drinkable without a spoon while still being very thick, and extremely rich. The milk made it creamier, which is what I prefer. Wow, what a great hot chocolate! This is not, however, an after dinner hot chocolate, or a morning pick-me-up cocoa. This is a dessert chocolate. Something meant in small portions, to savor every sip, looking for the complexities of the flavor. This is why these amazing chocolate makers are doing what they do, taking chocolate out of the corner candy store and elevating it as something that should be experienced as you would a 5 star dinner or an expensive wine.

I also made this hot chocolate one other way, what's become my favorite way to enjoy almost all drinking chocolates. And unfortunately, I did not get pictures of this version. Just a big helping of 2% milk, maybe 2 or 2.5 cups, and then I just dumped in the last 2 or 3 ounces of chocolate I had left. Mmmm, wow. Really, really good. It actually brought out a bit more of that tanginess, and it was very pleasant. It was rich, but not overpowering, and very drinkable. It tasted very much like an bean-to-bar chocolate drink, something handcrafted where the flavor of the bean and the roast of that bean can shine through in the flavor.

I perfectly understand why this hot chocolate has made so many lists of the best hot chocolates, and I certainly rate it up there myself. If you also order the marshmallows, I recommend saving them for days when you make this drink at a very different ratio of milk to chocolate than what is described on the package. And don't forget to tell them you heard about them here at Melting Mug!

Pick it up at their online shop here!

Review - Tcho Superberry & Regular Drinking Chocolate

This time I'm taking a look at a couple selections from Tcho chocolate. Tcho is a trendy chocolate maker in Berkeley, CA, with the slogan of "New American Chocolate". Their bars come in a huge variety of flavors. I wouldn't say they are one of my favorites, but I do buy their bars when I come across them, mainly because of the interesting, fun flavors.

TCHO has some fascinating ties to the technology world. One of their founders, Timothy Childs, worked on vision systems for NASA's Space Shuttle, and their current CEO and President (Louis Rossetto and Jane Metcalfe, respectively) are co-founders of Wired magazine. Pretty cool!

I've enjoyed their drinking chocolates for quite some time now, at least a couple years. Long enough that their packaging tins have changed design, in fact! The square tin is their older style, the cylinder is the latest.

The flavors of Tcho's that I'm enjoying today are their Regular Drinking Chocolate and the Superberry Drinking Chocolate. Oddly, it looks like they don't sell the Superberry flavor anymore. Wonder why? I attempted to contact them to ask why, but haven't heard back as of publishing this review.

I made a small portion, closely following the directions on package. Superberry was very interesting, unlike most of the other flavored drinking chocolates I've had. It tasted of deep, dark chocolate with an infusion of raspberries and blueberries. Definitely not your ordinary hot chocolate, which really makes it a shame that they no longer sell it. It's fruity, but not overwhelmingly so. I actually wish there was a bit stronger of a fruity tang to it. Still, a great variation on the standard hot chocolate.

For their Regular Drinking Chocolate, there are multiple instructions for the drink. I did the instructions for the shot. Very rich and dark, with tangy notes, very slightly fruity, but not at all like the Superberry. Very tasty, but more than a shot of this would be a lot, unless you took your time drinking it and had something to dip in it. Drinking this chocolate definitely brings out the intense flavors and subtle notes in a way that you might miss if this was a bar chocolate.

I also tried the drinking chocolate in a milder mix, using 1½ cups of milk and the same 3 tbsp of chocolate that the directions call for. It created a very mellow hot chocolate. Very dark, not sweet at all, and none of the fruity tanginess that it had as a stronger shot. It is very good, especially as a morning drink.



All in all, I would definitely recommend Tcho drinking chocolates. Delicious chocolate, definitely a treat if you're still only used to the powder packet varieties of hot chocolate. It's sad to see their Superberry off the market, as the world of quality drinking chocolates can certainly use all the gourmet varieties it can get. Maybe some online sellers still have it in stock? If you find it, give it a shot!

Review - Sarabeth's Hot Chocolate Parisienne

Back in October, I happened to be in the San Francisco area for my engagement party. Anytime I'm in a different area, I like to take every opportunity I can to look for new and different chocolates. On this occasion, we happened to swing by Kara's Cupcakes for a quick treat before heading back to Los Angeles. In the same shopping plaza as Kara's, there was a Sur le Table.

If you've been in a Sur le Table before, you know it's a store full of awesome cookware and products. I like to go in because they usually have a great selection of quality chocolate. This time, however, I found a hot chocolate I'd never heard of before. Sarabeth's Hot Chocolate Parisienne.




Sarabeth's has at least five restaurants and a bakery in New York, plus a few other restaurants in places like Key West and Tokyo. Apparently they got their start making jams. It turns out they can certainly make a fine hot chocolate, as well!

On the label, she talks about what inspired the recipe. This recipe is her attempt to match the legendary drinking chocolate of Angelina in Paris. I've been to Angelina, and I think she's done a pretty good job. Although, to be fair, nothing can replicate the experience of being in Paris, in Angelina, with the amazing ambiance of that gorgeous, classic tearoom.

The mix contains both cocoa powder and chocolate, which is a combination I love. This gives it the creaminess and extra flavor of real chocolate (because real chocolate includes the cocoa butter, which is basically fat), while also delivering the strong dark intensity of the cocoa powder (which has the cocoa butter removed).

There is no indication on the tin or their website revealing where they source their chocolate from, just "Semisweet Belgian chocolate bits" listed in the ingredients. This doesn't mean much, honestly. Semisweet is very vague nowadays, with more and more chocolate manufacturers putting the actual percentage of cocoa mass on the labels of their products. Semisweet simply means slightly more cocoa than milk chocolate. Milk chocolate can range in cocoa content anywhere from 10% and up. Bittersweet also means somewhere floating between milk and dark chocolate, so it really doesn't mean anything different from semisweet. These terms are pretty useless, in my opinion.

Compared to many of the other drinking chocolates I've reviewed, this one tastes a bit more towards milk chocolate rather than dark. Very tasty and sweet. Adding a bit more of the mix can really intensify it, though, if you'd like a bit more of a dark chocolate flavor.

In what is quickly becoming a tradition of hot chocolates I review, it turns out Sarabeth's is also a sofi award winner, the 2008 "Outstanding Hot Beverage". The article on the sofi website quotes co-owner Bill Levine on the history of their drink, “The restaurants are where the product started, and we have been serving the same hot chocolate for close to 20 years, We use only the best chocolate and cocoa.”

You can definitely taste the quality chocolates in it. It melts smooth, smells marvelous, and is not very complex. Just a great, rich chocolate flavor, not too dark or strong, begging to be topped with your favorite whipped cream or marshmallows.

You can also pick up this great hot chocolate over at Amazon. It's definitely a great all-around hot chocolate. It's good for mornings or midday, when you may want a lighter flavor, yet it could also be strengthened up for a great after dinner drink by adding an extra tablespoon or two of the mix.

Has anyone been to one of their stores in New York? I'd love to hear about it!

Review - Fran's Dark Hot Chocolate

On my last trip up to San Francisco, I came across Fran's Dark Hot Chocolate in a grocery store. After spending the last few days working on a sugar-free, healthy hot chocolate recipe (for a future blog post), this one was a real treat!

Fran's Chocolate is a chocolatier out of Seattle, Washington. I'd seen some of their chocolates assortments, but until now, did not know they made a drinking chocolate.

The ingredients list is nice and simple, so I was expecting a pretty good hot chocolate. Opening the tin and checking it out also raised my hopes. It was nice, very fragrant and crumbly.

To find out a little more about the chocolate, I wrote to Fran's Chocolates. They kindly answered all my questions. I'm having good luck contacting chocolatiers lately, after also being able to contact someone at Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates a while back.

I was informed that they source only the finest premium chocolate made from the highest quality cacao beans. Felchlin is the chocolate supplier they use for their Dark Hot Chocolate.

In fact, their Dark Hot Chocolate was the winner of the sofi™ Outstanding Hot Beverage Award in 2007. Pretty cool! (Another hot chocolate I've reviewed also won the same award in 2011.)

I made their hot chocolate using milk and followed the instructions perfectly. Wow, what a great hot chocolate! Rich and chocolaty, no complex flavors here. Not very dark, and very creamy and milky.

I'd suggest if you want a breakfast variety, try cutting the amount of chocolate in half. It's pretty rich, definitely more of an after dinner drink.

I would definitely recommend picking this up if you come across it, or ordering some if you just want a great quality, tasty hot chocolate on hand. My only complaint is how small the tin is. Following the instructions, you'd probably only get 4-5 cups out of it. But then again, maybe that's just me. Perhaps I just want too much of a good thing.

The kind folks at Fran's also sent along their recipe for making an Iced Drinking Chocolate:

¾ cup milk
8 tbsp Fran’s Dark Hot Chocolate

In a saucepan bring the milk to a simmer. Add the chocolate and whisk until smooth and melted. Remove from heat and serve immediately or place in ice bath, stirring occasionally until cool. Pour over ice and enjoy!

If anyone gives it a shot, please let me know what you think of it!

Recipe - Dick Taylor Craft Chocolates "Ecuador" Hot Chocolate

I've mentioned before that I'm very much a fan of artisan chocolate makers. Many artisan chocolate makers also create their own hot chocolates, and I've even reviewed a few already, like Chuao and Askinosie.

Today we're going to make a hot chocolate using chocolate from an artisan chocolate maker who doesn't yet offer a drinking chocolate. Dick Taylor Craft Chocolates is a tiny company in Northern California, and they are cranking out some of the best chocolate being made anywhere on Earth.

The first time I tried one of their bars, I fell in love. Some of their chocolates are fruity, some are much more of a deep, strong chocolate flavor, and many of them have things like coconut or fig mixed in.

Last fall, I attended my first Artisanal LA show here in Los Angeles. It's a small local convention type of thing that is mostly about foods, condiments, and candies. Anything local and edible turns up here.

To my surprise, Dustin Taylor and Adam Dick had a booth there! I got to chat with them a bit and had a great time sampling most of their bars. For every compliment I paid them regarding their chocolate, they returned the favor, praising us chocolate bloggers for helping spread the word about their amazing products.

That's Adam on the left, with the mustache. Dustin is in the plaid on the right.

The packaging they do is just amazing, probably my favorite artisan chocolate wrappers out there. So detailed, on beautifully textured paper, each one is a work of art. Both Dustin and Andy are carpenters and have built and refurbished furniture and boats. That idea of pride in craftsmanship and really creating something by hand, from scratch, is what inspired their ship-building wrappers.

We're going to use their 76% Ecuador bar, which is one of my favorites. Their 72% Belize, however, is a Good Food Award winner and would also make an excellent choice.

Even the bar itself is a masterpiece! The detail work in the molding is gorgeous! It's almost a crime to break it and eat it. Once you taste it, though, you realize the crime would be NOT eating these bars. So delicious!

To make the hot chocolate, I heated 1 cup of water. Once it was almost boiling, I broke up about half the bar and dropped the small pieces into the water, whisking as I went. You can add as much chocolate as you like. Pay attention to the thickness and texture as you go, and just stop adding chocolate when you reach the consistency you prefer. I added a bit more than half the bar, and it made a nice, thick sipping hot chocolate.

I served mine with some Plush Puffs Vanilla Bean marshmallows. If you like to make your own marshmallows, that's the way to go. If not, then these are the ones I recommend buying. Plush Puffs are wonderful!

Wow, what a perfect after dinner dessert! Using water lets the flavor of the chocolate really come through unimpeded, which is exactly what you want when using chocolate like this, chocolate made by hand, directly from the bean, in a small workshop. You can taste every nuance of the bean. I like to add the marshmallows and eat them quickly, as if I just ran them through a chocolate fountain.

Do you have a favorite chocolate maker? Try it out with one of their bars. If you haven't yet tried Dick Taylor chocolates, I strongly suggest ordering some. There is absolutely no way you could be disappointed!

Review - Ticket Kitchen Hot Chocolate on a Stick

If you can eat it, someone has put it on stick. I suppose that goes for things you can drink, too. Which brings us to this - hot chocolate on a stick!

Hot chocolate on a stick has been turning up all over the place lately, especially on Etsy. It's a great, creative way to give something different and delicious as a gift. Of course, commercial chocolatiers have gotten in on the fun, and this is the first one I tried. It's a five pack from the Ticket Kitchen in San Francisco.

They're doing some very interesting things with their hot chocolates there at Ticket! Check out some of their flavors. If you don't see one you like, go ahead and suggest one! They also sell all their hot chocolates in whatever serving sizes you may need, whether you're just hanging out by yourself or hosting a party.

The pack I bought has two flavors, French Truffle and Three Chili. I tried the French Truffle for this review. As is becoming standard with gourmet hot chocolates, they give you two different sets of instructions for making it, American style and European style. I tend to like the European. It's thick, using half the liquid that American style uses, and it uses water instead of milk, which really lets the flavor of the chocolate come through undiluted.

I used my melting mug for this one, since it is perfectly sized for smaller European style portions. Quickly boiled some water and set this little square of perfection right down into the mug.

The melting was interesting. It took a little longer than it would have taken on the stove, which of course was to be expected since I removed the water from the heat and put it in the mug.

I waited patiently until it was completely smooth to taste even the tiniest bit. Wow, what a great hot chocolate! The French Truffle flavor is great, it tastes like a rich, vanilla bon bon melted into a liquid. Absolutely delicious and worth ordering!

If you do go and order some, and they happen to have one of those "how did you hear of us" sections on their order form, be sure to tell them the Melting Mug sent you! And if you try a different flavor than I did, please let me know what you thought of it. I'm very curious about their other amazing selections.