In Mexico, the day after Halloween is known as the Day of the Dead. Rather than being a day of spooks and ghouls and frights, it's a day to remember, celebrate and pay homage to one's ancestors.

In honor of this Mexican holiday, I thought I'd share with you a wonderful new company making authentic stone ground Mexican chocolate. Even better, their doing it organically and obtaining their raw materials through direct trade relationships with growers in Mexico.

Taza Chocolate is based in Massachusetts, and they've been around for a while--since 2006, actually. They have a relatively small product line, but it's unique. They offer a range of straight-up Mexican chocolates and chocolate products, plus a few with a twist, like cinnamon, salted almonds or yerba mate. I was pleased to get my hands on a package of their guajillo chili Mexican chocolate discs.

Combining chocolate and spice is a no-brainer in Mexico, but it's something that a lot of people haven't really gotten hip to quite yet. Why not, folks?! Just a little heat really livens up the flavor of the chocolate without overwhelming it, and makes your tummy tingle ever so slightly. I couldn't resist nibbling a little chocolate au naturel, and found the chilis to be really tasty, with a slow rising heat, and definitely not too hot to handle.

You can do anything you want with Mexican chocolate. It's fantastic in baked goods, can be grated as a garnish, sneaked into your entrees (chocolate spaghetti, anyone?) - but of course, my favorite thing to use Mexican chocolate for is hot chocolate!



As the folks at Taza point out, Mexican or more specifically Oaxacan hot chocolate is typically made with water, not milk. It's a consistency thing. I'll admit that I do usually use soymilk, since it's much thinner in consistency than cow milk. For this recipe, I used a 50-50 mix of low fat vanilla soymilk and water, hoping to achieve an authentic consistency in my concoction.

Oaxacan Hot Chocolate
(Ever so slightly adapted from Taza's website. Yield: 2 servings)

1 pkg (2 discs/2.7 oz) Taza Mexican Chocolate of your choice, grated (I used guajillo chili)
1 cup low fat vanilla soy milk
1 cup water
1/4 tsp almond extract

In a medium saucepan, heat liquids to just below boiling and remove from heat. Add grated chocolate slowly, and stir to melt. Add almond extract.

Whisk the chocolate mixture vigorously until really frothy. This usually takes about 2 minutes, unless you're a weak whisker like me, and then it might take 3 or more. If you have an authentic molinillo, you should most definitely be using that instead of a wire whisk. Alas, I do not own one and the whisk seems to work just fine for me.

After optimum frothiness has been obtained, pour into two mugs and share with your sweetie! I like to pair spicy hot chocolate with a not-too-sweet shortbread and fresh oranges.

Note: If you're using a plain chocolate, consider adding a different extract, such as vanilla, cinnamon or orange. Or maybe just a little rum! For a richer consistency, try using almond milk for the entire liquid content of the recipe.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, Taza Chocolate products are sold in many specialty chocolate shops, but also both locations of Central Market and several co-ops. You can check for local stores on their website or buy from them directly via their web store.