Willoughby's (at Loria on York)

194 York St, New Haven CT
This new site opened up very close to my office, so I went in to try.

They have a spicy hot chocolate but I was advised by the staff that the normal hot chocolate was more chocolatey and rich, the way I like it.

I found it be to mediocre, lacking the satisfying chocolate taste that I seek. It was very milky and left a strange aftertaste in my mouth.

2/5

Crema Cafe (Cambridge, MA)

Had the Mexican spiced HoCho here. Tasty spice mixture, not very rich, not very chocolaty. I wish it had been darker and less milky.

27 Brattle St

Cambridge, MA 02138

Get Directions

(617) 876-2700

* approximate times

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Unverified listing

2/5

JoJo's cafe

http://www.cafejojo.com/
1177 Chapel St
New Haven, CT 06511

Hot, strong cocoa flavor, not too dark or too sweet and very well rounded. I got a large ($4.25) without whipped cream, though my hochoco said the whipped was very good. Not as thick as many of the premium drinking chocolates, but a sincere flavor.

4/5

Bottega Giuliana

I arrived before they had recovered from St. Patrick's day business and mess, but they were kind enough to fire up the machinery and get a hot chocolate coming my way. Nice people there.

The chocolate was very dark, and not sweetened much at all. I suspect they neglected to water it down with milk or cream. Rich taste, but not balanced. I will have to try again, but now they are only open for dinner hours.

2/5

Homemade

It's always hard to compete with homemade hot chocolate, and I can often manage to make better drinks at home than I can buy outside. However, this requires the range, time, energy and attention. Sometimes I'd rather just spend some money to get some chocolate, so I do.

When making HoCho at home I often blend chocolates, try to use milk instead of water, and add some spices. I enjoy sprinkling in combinations of:

• cinnamon
• clove
• nutmeg
• allspice
• cayenne
• black pepper
• vanilla

Some spices I've tasted elsewhere or want to try out soon:

• bay leaf
• cardamom
  
• chili powders

I know there were more additions I was contemplating, but they escape me. What would you like to try in your next cup of warm beverage?

Atticus Dark Cocoa (70%)

For a few days they had some sort of Mexican Hot Chocolate, which was basically warm chocolate milk with paltry spices mixed in (at least when I had it), but they seem to have a more permanent and more interesting item on the menu: Dark Cocoa.

This is a nice degree of dark for drinking chocolate, and not so thick that it makes you regret drinking a whole cup. It's rich, earthy, smooth and very chocolatey. If I were going to replicate at home I'd add a touch of cinnamon and allspice, but all in all it's very good for my usual craving.

4/5

Places to cover

A short list of places we'd like to touch on in this blog:

• MarieBelle (NYC)
• City Bakery (NYC)
• Gastronomique (NH)
• Publick Cup (NH)
• Atticus (NH)
• Koffee on Orange (NH)
• ABP (NH)
• Starbucks

We're always looking for new spots, if you discover something.