Hot chocolate is so much more than a nice drink...

My absolutely favorite drink of all time: Hot Chocolate!

Hot chocolate is a drink most of us have had as children when there's snow on the ground and we've just come back inside from playing in the cold. Cheeks half frozen, nose falling off, and eyebrows coated with ice, we tear off our gloves and drink a cup of pure Heaven. If our mother really loves us, she'll put little marshmallows in too. Somewhere in the process, magic happens. A childhood memory creeps into our brains and grabs hold for eternity.

 

It's pretty well understood that smells and tastes can trigger powerful recall of our past. Drinking hot chocolate is an especially good trigger (at least in my opinion), and takes us on a whirlwind tour of the happiest times in our lives. After all, how can anyone be sad with a cup of hot chocolate in their hands? I don't think it's possible. Actually, I believe any bad day will become a great day with a single sip of hot chocolate. It's magical stuff. Ambrosia--the drink of the gods; so good regular humans can't have it. But, we have it now. And like the fire Prometheus brought, once we have it, we aren't about to let it go again.

 

Okay, silliness aside, I am so grateful to the inventors of hot chocolate. Other cultures have different versions, such as a little shot glass of sipping chocolate--a wonderfully thick version that isn't drunk in gulps, but sipped delicately and savored. More varieties abound, and I couldn't possibly list all the styles available. Here's a travel idea: go to places based on their different styles of hot chocolate; enjoy your world hopping!

 

Just a moment... mmmmm... ah, the sweet memories.

 

- M