Hot Chocolate

In ancient times, the Maya and Aztec civilizations prepared a cold, spiced drink from chocolate. The Conquistadors brought this drink to Spain, where it eventually evolved into the hot beverage we refer to today as cocoa. Cocoa is a mixture of cocoa powder and hot water. The drink is generally sweetened with sugar or a sugar substitute, though the Aztecs chose to drink their version unsweetened. The Maya however, sweetened their beverage, referred to as xocoatl, with honey. The spiced drink of the Aztec was called cacahuatl. Cocoa powder is produced by removing a portion of cocoa butter from the bean, grinding the rest into a fine powder. Many consumers confuse hot chocolate and cocoa, often believing them to be the same. However, while cocoa is mixed with hot water and cocoa powder, hot chocolate is actually produced from shaved chocolate. Hot chocolate tends to have a richer flavour since it also contains the cocoa butter that was originally removed from the bean during the production of cocoa powder.