There's hot chocolate...

...and then there's Peruvian drinking chocolate.

The kind of chocolate you sip, not gulp; that doesn't need the unnecessary adornment of marshmallows because you don't want to to ruin the deep, dark richness of something so gloriously amazing; it's the kind of drink that doesn't just go down your throat, it slides- slowly and smoothly, allowing you to taste every complex flavor, every velvety molecule...

So Jude and I were at Whole Foods for dinner and we decided that instead of coffee, we'd try something different tonight. We got hot chocolate instead, and the guy at the coffee bar suggested that we try two different kinds- one Peruvian and one Costa Rican, just to taste the difference. We got the Costa Rican one first and it was good, one of the better hot chocolates we've had.

Then he made us the Peruvian one.

And with one sip, Jude and I stared at each other like we had just experienced something phenomenal. Because it almost was. We were literally floored... It is the single best hot chocolate we've ever tasted. Like espresso is to coffee, this has got to be the best way to really taste liquid chocolate. Served only in a small cup, this single-source artisan hot chocolate has very little milk content, which means you get to taste the deep intensity of the chocolate. And like good wine and coffee, good drinking chocolate is heavily influenced by its region of production. Because the region of Peru that produces this chocolate is also abundant in bananas and orchids, this means the chocolate is infused with very complex flavors that mingle sweet fruity notes with rounder, deeper floral ones...

So yes, Peruvian drinking chocolate at Whole Foods- the most luxurious $1.99 you will ever spend... :)