Issue 36: The Start of a (Hot) Chocolate Revolution
#whatsinyourhotchocolate
Yesterday was National Hot Chocolate Day in the US. Although I don’t celebrate hot chocolate day (it’s a silly idea since every day is hot chocolate day), I wanted to contribute by starting a hot chocolate revolution (too strong? I don’t think so…). If you are a chocolate lover, chocolate maker, chocolate grower or have chocolate anywhere in your personal introduction, please read on.
As you all know, I love a good hot chocolate. I have been sipping, and writing up my experiences, for well over a decade at www.ultimatehotchocolate.com.
So, the thing is, hot chocolates are not really getting better…at least not as quickly as I was hoping. The coffee is getting better: you can choose origins, roast profiles and brew styles. The tea is getting good, often served in fancy pots and with stories of the origins of the leaves. The cakes and food are made from local, sustainably grown ingredients with the farmers named in the menu. You can get freshly squeezed seasonal juice and every type of milk under the sun. But the hot chocolate is most often a mysterious brown coloured liquid (sounds bad…it is bad), too often served without the love put into the other offerings.
Hot chocolates are still a mystery (but not a good one)
Most menus around the world have a hot chocolate listed somewhere, but you never know quite what you are going to get. Every time I visit a café I ask:
“What’s in your hot chocolate?”
The top three answers I’m given are:
1. “It’s a powder, I’m not sure which one”.
2. “It’s a syrup, we use it in our mocha”.
3. “I don’t know, I just work here”.
Can you imagine if you went to a café or restaurant and asked the same question about an ingredient, or a wine, or your coffee? What would you do if they answered this way? So why is it ok with hot chocolate?
Hot Chocolates are more important than you think
Firstly, as a consumer, it’s important that we get to know the foods and drinks that we are eating and sipping. What we consume matters, not just for our health, but to many others along the supply chain.
Secondly, that hot chocolate, that chocolate, has a story and it’s a fascinating (and delicious) one, one that is worthy of a better answer than “I’m not sure, but it comes with a marshmallow!”.
But it’s more than that. There are more places in the world serving hot chocolate than selling chocolate, in particular craft chocolate. The more cafes that take their hot chocolates seriously, the more they may also start exploring, talking about, and selling quality chocolate and supporting craft chocolate makers. Hot chocolate is the way we can start the conversation, to raise awareness with consumers about sustainable chocolate options, and even what chocolate is to begin with, and we can get baristas and café owners to do a lot of that work for us. Let others be your messengers (so you can focus on what you do best: eating/making/growing etc).
Let’s change this!
The more we ask, the more likely cafes will start taking notice and want to offer something they can be proud to talk about in the same way they do their other products. Next time you visit a café, ask
“What’s in your hot chocolate?”.
Even if you don’t plan on ordering it, still please ask.
“What’s in your hot chocolate?”.
Let’s make it even easier for them. Next time you visit a café, give them feedback on their hot chocolate either by sending the card below to their social media. Tell them the name of a local craft/fine chocolate maker who makes a fantastic hot chocolate mix and recommend they explore their options.
Look around you. Do the other customers look like they are more a ‘large mug of hot chocolate with whip cream on top’ crowd, or a ‘shot of dark chocolate with a pinch of salt on top’? Tell the cafe what you would like them to serve and what you would buy if they served it.
If you are a café owner and you serve a good hot chocolate, tell your customers! Bring the words “hot chocolate” on your menu to life!
And please tag #whatsinyourhotchocolate. My reasons for doing this are purely selfish. I want better hot chocolate options when I visit cafes and I want coffee drinkers to look at the beautiful rich coloured liquid in my mug with jealous and admiring eyes.
Lastly, I’m working on a Hot Chocolate Manifesto and I’d love to know what you guys think. What do you look for in a hot chocolate? What hot chocolate laws should not be broken? Let me know at giselle@ultimatehotchocolate.com or at @ultimatehotchoc.
Giselle
Chief Chocolate Sipper at www.ultimatehotchocolate.com.
