Issue 12: Best Australian Hot Chocolate Mixes
G'day!
We loved every second of our trip through the Gascoyne region of Western Australia in a rented 4wd with two tents on the roof. We haven't been allowed to leave our little pocket of the world since pretty much the beginning of the pandemic which has given me a chance to look at home grown drinking chocolate options. I bought lots, and brought 11 with us on our trip to try every morning.
If you want to see the trip as it played out, and all of the hot chocolates, follow me on Instagram at @ultimatehotchoc.
I'll be writing up all of the reviews shortly but until then, here is a sneak peak of some of our favourites and, of course, all the recent hot chocolate news.
Thanks for following!
Giselle
In Australia they offer you white and pink marshmallows with your hot chocolate.
Most addictive: 17 Rocks 70% Dark Hot Chocolate with Chilli. Perfect Chilli hit
Most luxurious: Atypic 75% Dark Hot Chocolate
Crowd favourite: Mork Natives and Mork Honey
Most "If I have to go sweet, this is the only one I'd consider": Birdsnake drinking chocolate 45%
Most interesting flavour notes: Metiisto 70% Guara Drinking Chocolate
Most popular with espresso drinkers: Hunted and Gathered 70% Drinking Chocolate
The one you will probably end up eating instead of sipping: Monsieur Truffe Dark Chocolate
Most beautiful packaging: Jasper and Myrtle Spiced Rum Toddy Drinking Chocolate (style and substance!)
Kid's favourite: Ratio 60% Drinking Chocolate
Most incredible aroma: Cailo 75% Drinking Chocolate
A List of Bean to Cup Drinking Chocolates in Australia
Here is a list of all of the fantastic drinking chocolates offered by Australias bean to bar chocolate makers (and there are lots!).
Click here for more.
And if you want to visit Western Australia once the borders open
Visit Shark Bay, a World Heritage Area and spend some time on shell beach, a deserted beach made up entirely of little white shells.
Hire a 4WD and go camping. Along the way you can stay at Stations (cattle, sheep) which have beautiful views and often hot showers.
Carnarvon is home to amazing fruit and a space museum. The sky is so clear here that NASA built a station to support missions.
Lake Barllard has the world's most remote art installation and it is amazing.
This Week's Hot Chocolate News
Mary Grace in the Philippines has their hot chocolate in to go bottles now since no one can sit in and enjoy it. Soon...
Brazilian chocolate brand Dengo, has a (relatively) new headquarters/factory in central Sao Paulo with clear tubes that show cacao nibs being transported to a restored 1940s milling machine. They sell some beautiful ceramic hot chocolate mugs on their website that I now want so badly!
Frankford Candy was granted registration of the use of the word Bomb in the hot chocolate beverage categories from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (for those chocolate balls filled with cocoa powder and marshmallows that you plomb into your mug of hot milk to create a hot chocolate, like this new Harry Potter inspired one at Le Comptoir de Mathilde in Paris). Obviously, no one in the US Trademarks office knows anything about hot chocolate…
A magazine in France went through all the powdered hot chocolate mixes in the shops to find the healthiest, and least healthiest options. Main finding: most are made of sugar, not chocolate, on average 20g for a mug of 200ml. If you live in France, the brand Jolivia came out first.
TCHO Chocolate is now Certified B Corp because of its ongoing sustainability efforts.
If you love potatoes, tomatoes or chocolate thank Indigenous Latin American Cultures
Hotel Chocolate in the UK are raising their prices before Christmas in part to make additional investments in its cocoa farming communities.
The Shangri-La in Singapore has a new Chocolate themed afternoon tea. Insert drool here.
Raaka Chocolate partnered up with Willa’s Kitchen to create an organic dark chocolate oat milk using Peruvian cacao (and water, aots, maple sugar, vanilla extract and sea salt).
Any links you want to share? Send them to me here.
Changing the way we view hot chocolate, one cup at a time.
Have a great week and if you need more hot chocolate visit www.ultimatehotchocolate.com.
Giselle