Chocolate, a native to Mexico, has been a staple there for centuries already. Initially, they enjoyed chocolate as a drink. They made variations og chocolate by incorporating different flavors and ingredients such as honey, spices, and nuts, among many others. The chocolate beverages they made did not have a sweet taste to them. Nevertheless, it was well-loved by the Aztec and Mayan royalty.

The Aztecs were whipping up and enjoying their hot chocolate drinks when the Spaniards arrived. They took the cacao beans along with them as they headed home, and started enhancing the flavors by adding milk and sugar.  You can trace the roots of the hot chocolate drink recipe back to that. Shortly thereafter, chocolate became all the rage in European royal places. Special china pots and cups were produced, intended only for drinking hot chocolate. Nowadays, such kitchenware are considered as collectors’ items and can sell for a fortune if they come in a complete set.

Hot chocolate drinks are still enjoyed by the people of Mexico today, and the rest of the world, for that matter. They prepare it with cinnamon and authentic Mexican chocolate. And if you have access to a disk of Mexican chocolate in local Latino markets, then your chocolate drink gets all the more authentic. Otherwise, just opt for unsweetened chocolate.

And among the things that make a real Mexican hot chocolate such a winner is the frothiness. In contemporary times, mixers or immersion blenders are utilized to create froth, but the authentic way to do so is by means of using a whisk called molinillo.

A molinillo is a wooden tool which was invented by the Spaniards in the 17th century in Mexico. The molinillo is held between the palms and rotated by rubbing the palms together. By doing so, you create froth in the drink. Molinillo's are actually still available even in this day and age. You can look them up and buy them online.

But before anybody was able to come up with the idea of creating the molinillo, they used to create froth by pouring hot chocolate back and forth using two cups. This certain frothing process tends to make hot chocolate cool down, and you wouldn't want your hot chocolate cold, do you?

Today, frothy chocolate is made using machines. But if authentic Mexican hot chocolate is your thing, a molinillo can always come in handy! 😉

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Joanna Maligaya

Staff Writer/Content Developer at Chocolate University Online

Ever since she can remember, Joanna has always considered chocolate as the ultimate food for her soul. She believes in the saying, “9 out of 10 people love chocolate, and the 10th always lies.”

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