Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Out of Vancouver, BC this company is rather zany with new chocolate products. One of their latest is a cube of chocolate on a stick that you stir a mug of hot milk with...very cute!
http://shop.beta5chocolates.com/products/hot-choc-sticks

I'll stay with spoon stirring some probably better chocolate, for much less cost, plus less wood waste.

BETA5 was chosen as one of the top ten chocolatiers in North America by Dessert Professional magazine; also was awarded silver worldwide and gold & silver in Canada - all in 2012.

OK, so if it's really good chocolate I'll want to get a 5 kg block of it, not a small amount like that.

Along the same lines, does anyone have a good recipe for sipping chocolate i.e., very thick hot chocolate like the kind starbucks briefly introduced a few years ago?

Not sure if this is what you're looking for, Nancy (I never had the Starbucks version and haven't tried this recipe), but since it's from Marcel Desaulniers I'd think it would be pretty tasty!

Cup o' Dark Chocolate

3-1/4 c heavy cream
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 T. granulated sugar
Unsweetened whipped cream (for garnish)

1. Place 3/4 cup of the heavy cream in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with whip. Whisk on high until stiff, about 1 minute. Refrigerate the whipped cream until needed.

2. Place the chocolates in a large heatproof bowl. Bring the remaining 2-1/2 cups heavy cream and the sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir with a whisk until smooth.

3. Pour an equal amount of the chocolate ganache into 8 of your favorite coffee cups, filling each about halfway. Top each serving with a few tablespoons of whipped cream.

p.s. In his "Chef's Touch" notes, he says that tempered glass cups with a pedestal base, typical of those used for Irish coffee and other hot drinks, are perfect for this, as "seeing the chocolate through the glass is part of the sensual experience." I might have to give this one a try

Emilie

They were working on the style of Spanish chocolate al taza. You can order bars of the stuff from La Tienda and chocosphere, and possibly Zimmerman's in Ann Arbor, MI. My favorite brand is Valor. My absolute favorite stuff is from a chain in Spain called Cocoa Sampka, but as far as I can tell they don't ship, alas.
Basically, it's good chocolate thickened with a hit of cornstarch.
If I was ever to own my own food business it would be a truck selling this chocolate and churros.

Thanks Emilie and Becky! Both variations sound good! Emilie, I will have to try this recipe. Desaulniers seems to know his chocolate. And Becky, I enjoyed hot chocolate in Spain, and will have to experiment. I think that the Starbucks version had only a little little milk/cream. Maybe I'll contact them...

So, It may be closer to your recipe, Emilie:
http://www.komonews.com/news/archive/4172976.html

Though I also found one recipe that included cornstarch.