My journey for the "perfect" drinking chocolate has brought me to many places, and more often than not, I've been disappointed. Even in North Beach San Francisco, the places I visited did not serve an Italian-style drinking chocolate, but instead featured an American hot chocolate, made from powder, and most often, branded "Ghirardelli."
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othing against Ghirardelli, mind you, as it is a San Francisco tradition, and thus, it was my first stop to find a drinking chocolate after returning from Italy. At the time, I was still a novice in drinking chocolates, but my palate knew what it was desiring. Ghirardelli's "Decadent Drinking Chocolate" may have had a pleasant bittersweet bite, living up to its description as "intense chocolate flavor in every rich velvety sip," but this American cup of chocolate was not "it." It lacked the rich dense texture and balanced depth of chocolate flavor for which I longed. And for $4.95 a cup, it felt like a big tourist rip-off.
It was in Oakland, at Bittersweet Cafe, that I found my first drinking chocolate in the states that began to revile in taste what I enjoyed in Italy. Made with water rather than milk, this was more "European" than "Italian," but it had a balanced bittersweet chocolate bite that I enjoyed, even though it lacked the thick consistency for which I longed. For a local place with locations (at the time) in Oakland and San Francisco, this was very promising at $3.95 a cup, though out of the way for me to get to regularly. Though I enjoy a cup of their standard Bittersweet (and have a frequent buyer card to prove it), I knew I would continue to search until I found a place that was "just right."
At Oaxacan Kitchen in Palo Alto, I discovered a different kind of drinking chocolate that I have come to also enjoy - Mexican-style drinking chocolate, which adds cinnamon and often chili, reflecting the origins of chocolate. Experts believe that the Olmec people in Mesoamerica were the first to crack open a cocoa pod from a cacao tree around 1200-200 B.C.E. The Aztec and Mayan civilizations inherit this "food of the gods" and use cocoa beans to make a drink known as "chocolatl," which is said to mean, "bitter water." The beans were dried, crushed, mixed with water, and flavored with chili or vanilla, served on special occasions -- hot for Mayans, and cold for Aztecs.The version of Mexican drinking chocolate at Oaxacan Kitchen was served warm, infused with cinnamon, and accompanied by chocolate ice cream and a "to die for" flourless chocolate cake. While the drinking chocolate was creamy, it was a bit too subtle in its milky chocolate flavor for my tastes. The cinnamon was nice, but a dash of chili or cayenne would definitely have enhanced the flavor profile and would have added the spice it needed.
With a friend in town in the fall of 2009, I had the opportunity (or excuse) to check out a few more chocolate places in San Francisco on my hunt for a good drinking chocolate. On the San Francisco Gourmet Chocolate Tour, I was exposed to many new fine international chocolate destinations that I didn't know existed downtown.
On our 3-hour tour which began at the Ferry Building and ended near the Powell Street BART station, we visited two places that offered drinking chocolate. The first was Leonidas in the Crocker Gallery on Post Street. To be honest, it has very watery and weak in chocolate taste. Not a repeat performance for me, though the truffle from this Belgian chocolate company was very nice.
The other place on our tour that served drinking chocolate was Cocoa Bella in the Westfield San Francisco Centre on Market Street. After sharing about my disappointment at Leonidas, the chocolate barista assured me that their drinking chocolate would definitely suit my chocolate palate. Because it was getting cold and this was our last stop, I decided to order a spicy drinking chocolate for the road. Made with milk and spiced with cayenne, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, it had a smooth slightly creamy texture and a nice kick that needed to be slowly sipped. The flavor was fine (what I had expected at Oaxacan Kitchen but didn't get), yet it was not rich and thick, and found me still not totally satisfied. I probably should have ordered their "classic" with dark chocolate instead.
On our way to the car after our chocolate tour, my friend wanted coffee. Being near Philz, I knew this is where we needed to go. While I wasn't planning on ordering anything, the barista, Jacob, hearing of my drinking chocolate obsession, made up a cup of their hot chocolate "on the house" to demonstrate that they do serve a good chocolate, not simply an overly sweetened hot cocoa. Though already on a slight chocolate high, this third drinking chocolate ended up being the day's best. Though not thick and creamy in texture, it was a balanced bittersweet brew. The fresh sprig of crushed mint added a wonderful depth to the already rich dark chocolate flavor.
When Philz opened in Berkeley, just blocks from my school, I would make periodic stops for their "hot chocolate." While not exactly what I crave in a "drinking chocolate," it does satisfy my palate, especially when my first choice in Berkeley isn't open! At Cioccolata di Vino, the owner, Rebecca, uses her homemade chocolate ganache as the base for her "drinking chocolate," which she then infuses with a touch of vanilla. It is wonderful, and though not rich, thick, and dark like I savored in La Verna, the Italian cafe atmosphere of this little local restaurant, does satisfy my spirit on many levels, especially when she allows me to study there in the afternoon and enjoy her chocolate chip cookies, fresh from the oven. (It's hard to believe, that with all my visits there, I don't have a picture of me and a cup of her drinking chocolate!)To be sure, during the first six months of my quest, I did locate some good quality drinking chocolate in the San Francisco Bay Area. Though nothing was "perfect" when compared to my experience in La Verna, I felt satisfied -- satisfied, that is, until January 2010 when my drinking chocolate tastes went on an international tour. Three weeks in New Zealand and Australia changed my expectations and standards, and you'll find out how in my next blog post tomorrow. The drinking chocolate search continues.
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