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.