A Study in Southern Cocoa

In my tenure as Lady of this Esteemed House, I have sampled numerous chocolates beyond the reaches of the walls of my home city. Oceans are traversed in pursuit of fine hot cocoa, and, indeed, many excellent drinks are found, but they all share one characteristic in common. All are from the Northern Hemisphere. This appears a lack of rigour and study given that the idolized beverage of this blog has its origins in Ecuador, a nation with most of its land firmly planted south of the equator. With this review, I extend the reaches of my writings.

This hot chocolate originates from a place further south than Ecuador. Sol del Cusco is a Peruvian brand that makes a dissolvable hot chocolate bar. Sourced directly from the country of origin, I was eager to try a freshly prepared South American cocoa product. The preparation was quite simple. The chocolate bar is added to two-hundred millilitres of water and heated until dissolved. Then, one litre of milk is added, y listo: a Peruvian cocoa on the northern side of the globe.

I must admit that this version of the drink was not so wonderful. Frankly, it was watery and quite unappealing. However, this House understood that grand potential lay within this product, and an amendment was made. Rather than use water the next time this recipe was attempted, I used cream and halved the amount of added milk. The result of this was a rich and flavourful beverage that had enough structure to uplift the unique flavours of Sol del Cusco. It was dusted with cinnamon flavours and not overwhelmed with sugar. Elegant floral notes filled the cup, reminiscent of the chocolates I have tried at Kasama in Vancouver - a chocolatier where products are far less processed than the average Lindt. In flavour, it was much different than a traditional French chocolate, but it was just as divine.

This modified chocolate naturally finds its place in Heaven. I enjoyed this introduction to South American hot chocolate and assure my dear reader that it is the first of many.