I woke up today to a cold, gloomy day.  It had rained last night, and the last droplets of rain clung precariously to the now barren, bony, tree branches like crystals on a chandelier. T’was the perfect day for a cuppa hot chocolate.

If you recall, I had this stash of chocolate I looted from my recent trip to Asheville. Read about my trip to the quaint little town of Asheville here.

The slab of Mexican chocolate was looking at me longingly, every time I opened the fridge.

Today was the day.

I sampled Mexican hot chocolate last year when I was in Mexico for my honeymoon. But that’s a separate story, a story that I’ve been trying to write since then, but for some reason, I keep putting it off.

Anyway, unlike the classic American hot chocolate, Mexican hot chocolate is more ‘milky’ than creamy. It is made with whole milk and Mexican hand-ground chocolate that has a very grainy texture because the hand-grinding doesn’t really get to all the sugar crystals. Oh, and it has cinnamon! The milk to chocolate ratio is very high, resulting in a hot beverage that is just easy on your throat. Despite being a severe chocolate addict, I prefer my hot chocolate less creamy. For some reason, I do not enjoy the way my throat feels after consuming a cup of hot chocolate that leaves a creamy residue. A chilled chocolate cake with a creamy chocolate ganache on the other hand… yumm!

So for those of you with tastes similar to mine,you will enjoy this hot chocolate better than the traditional, creamy American Hot Chocolate.

Which is exactly what I did, and sitting here on this cold, gloomy day, sipping my perfect cup of hot chocolate, I am instantly transported to that amazing breakfast buffet in Cancun that had me spoilt for choice.

Do you see that thin lip of chocolaty goodness floating on the top of the cup. That’s another thing about Mexican Chocolate. Since it’s just plain whole milk, you get that chocolate ‘skin’ form at the top that just breaks apart and dissolves when you stir it in. Ugh, just so gorgeous!